Page 31 of Shattered Dreams

I have plenty of space here for them to stay. He said something about Amelia leaving for a trip, but I can’t remember how long she’s supposed to be gone.

There are three empty rooms upstairs that can be turned into bedrooms. I was trying to figure out what to do with them. Now I know. I’ll just need to get them beds, dressers, probably clothes too. Whatever they need. Paul will give me shit about it, but I have the money. That’s no concern. He doesn’t have much of anything right now, and the best way to do this is to just do it. Worry about the rest of it later. Paul doesn’t have any family close by, and no other friends he can lean on. It’s not like he can stay with Amelia.

I pull out my phone and start searching for furniture, telling myself I’m not jumping the gun. I’m just doing what best friends do. What other options does he have?

I pick out two matching bedroom sets, but in different colors. I get the grey one for Paul, and the black one for Maddox. Both come with queen-sized beds, two end tables, and a dresser. They’ll fit perfectly in the rooms.

They’ll need to shop for their own clothes and decorations themselves. I guess I could throw in some generic stuff like pajamas and sweatpants. T-shirts. Socks. Underwear. Essentials. That should be okay, I think. As quickly as I can, I add everything to my cart. I get shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, hairbrushes, everything I can think of. Whatever I forget, I can get later. But I have to do this before Paul gets back in here and argues with me about it. Because he most certainly will argue with me about it. So, I’m not giving him the chance.

I’ve just cashed out when the sliding door opens with a whoosh, the warm air coming in with him. He closes it, then sits beside me.

“Everything okay?”

He settles his beer on the island, batting it back and forth with his hands as he sighs.

“I had to talk her out of coming back from her trip.” He licks his lips, and stares at the bottle. “I told her we were fine, and that’s the most important thing, so she should stay. Told her I got it covered.”

His voice is barely a whisper, and I hate seeing him like this. He glances out of his peripheral, at me, and my heart breaks at the sight.

“Yeah, no need for that. We’ve got this. We’ll figure it out.” I reach out slowly, setting my hand on his shoulder. He relaxes a little, his brown eyes tired and glistening as if he’s been fighting tears for a while. I give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “I’m turning the two extra rooms down here into bedrooms for you and Maddox.”

“You don’t have to do that, Dre. Really.”

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to.” My voice is low, though there’s no need to whisper because the kids are asleep, and it’s just us, but still, there’s a tension between us that is irrefutable. I know how he feels. Maybe it’s not exactly the same as how I felt when I lost Victoria, but I know the look of defeat. The look of exhaustion. And I know how much of a support Paul’s been these last for months for me. It’s the least I can do for him.

“And you can’t argue with me because I already ordered everything,” I say, giving him a soft smile, hoping it will help.

Paul frowns at me. “How the hell did you do that? I was gone for five minutes”

“I’m really good at spending money.” I give him a reassuring smirk as I rub his shoulder and he leans into my space as his gaze finds mine, searching for something I can’t quite place. “Now, tell me what happened.”

He takes a deep breath, then lets it out. “I don’t even really know. Everything was great today, I mean. With you and Rylee.” He blinks. “Then I got home and there were people everywhere, and sirens and…” He swallows hard. “I thought there was no way it could be my place. But… that was his bike under the burning window. Where he always leaves it. Even though I tell him all the time to pick up his shit, he—”

“Hey,” I say, letting my hand slide over to his neck. I gently massage it as he lets out a heavy breath, hanging his head. “It’s okay. You’re good.”

“I just don’t understand how something like this happens so quickly.”

“I’m so sorry, Paul. I know that doesn’t help. Nothing I say can bring back all the stuff you lost or fix what happened.”

“It’s just stuff,” he says. “Stuff that can be replaced. Thankfully, most of Maddox’s baby stuff is at Amelia’s. His clothes, toys… all that can be replaced, but Maddox…” His throat gets tight as his body tenses. “No one was hurt, and that’s what matters.”

“Yes, it is.”

His eyes are red and watery, but there’s a familiar warmth in them.

“Thank you, Andre,” he says, his voice cracking. “Just… thank you.”

I pull him in for a hug. He needs it, even if he won’t ask. And maybe I need one too, because I’m hurting for my best friend and his son.

Chapter Twelve

Paul

Andre wraps his arms around me, and a huge weight falls from my shoulders. Instinctively, I wrap my arms around his waist and take a deep breath. He still smells like sunscreen and chlorine, but there’s an underlying scent of sweat, too, but it’s not a bad smell. In fact, it’s weirdly comforting. Familiar.

His skin is warm where I touch him, but his chest, his hips, his back are anything but smooth. My palms settle over the thick muscle of his back; his solid foundation grounding me in a way I haven’t felt in a long time.

I don’t know how long we stand in his kitchen. All I know is that I don’t want him to let go.