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“Are you leaving?”
I pulled into the driveway Rocky had directed me to and shifted the van into park. “Do you want me to?” I asked. The kid was cool as hell and had talked my ear off the whole way to their house. I had been a little worried that he would be standoffish since I was a strange guy to him.
Yeah, I had been wrong thinking that.
“If I go to school, my mom is going to need someone to keep an eye on her.”
I nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“But if I don’t go to school, I’m going to be too tired to take care of her, so someone else will need to take care of her,” he countered.
“You are also right again,” I chuckled.
“So,” Rocky drawled. “I guess it would just be best if you stayed, and that way, all of our bases are covered.”
“That sounds like a good plan to me, Rocky.” I had planned on staying either way, but if he didn’t want me to stay, I would have been sleeping in the van. Thankfully, he was cool with me, so I would be able to sleep in the house.
Rocky smiled broadly and slid open the door. “I’ll get the front door if you want to get Mom. She’s dead to the world right now. She might be heavy,” he advised.
Maybe for a ten-year-old to carry, she would be heavy, but I could more than handle Olive. “I got your mom.” I moved around the van and opened the passenger door. I lifted Olive into my arms, and she rolled into me. She rested her head on my shoulder and sighed lightly.
I carried her up the sidewalk, and Rocky held the door open.
“Her bedroom is down the hallway to the right,” he whispered.
I nodded and stepped into the house.
Rocky had turned on the lamp by the door, and I could just see enough to move down the hallway. I kicked open the door to her bedroom and gently laid her on the bed.
A moan fell from her lips, and she turned her face into the pillow. I pulled the blanket over her and slipped out of her room. I left her door open to make sure I could hear if she needed anything.
“Is she still sleeping?” Rocky asked when I walked back into the living room. He was kicking off his tennis shoes and scratching his butt. Obviously, the kid was already comfortable with me.
“Uh, yeah. I think she’s going to be out of it for a bit.” I’m sure her adrenaline from the night had finally worn off, and she was going to sleep for a good bit as long as she wasn’t in too much pain.
Rocky yawned loudly.
“Why don’t you get in bed, and I’ll keep an eye on your mom,” I volunteered.
“Do I have to go to school tomorrow?” he asked.
That was something I didn’t have the right to decide on. “Uh, well, if I don’t know what time you need to be up to go to school, then I guess I can’t really get you up on time, can I?”
“Right.” Rocky waved at me. “I like the way you think. I’ll see you when I wake up.”
I nodded and watched him disappear down the hallway.
Definitely a cool kid.
I flopped down on the couch and kicked off my boots.
I wasn’t too sure what to expect in the morning, but all I knew right now was that I needed some damn sleep.
In the morning, I would deal with whatever else the world had to throw at me.
I had enough.
*
