Back to You(56)

“She’s okay. She’s been sleeping for a while now.”
Michael nodded, running his hand through his hair as he exhaled. “Thank you again. I’m sorry you had to give up your evening.”
“It’s fine,” Lauren assured him with a shake of her head.
He nodded, walking past her into the living room. For a second he stood there, looking down at Erin, and then he exhaled a heavy breath, sitting down on the recliner beside the couch and dropping his head into his hands. “You can’t imagine what this does to me,” he mumbled.he corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. , le
“She’ll be okay, Michael. It’s just a virus. It’s almost over,” Lauren said, following him into the living room.
He shook his head, still looking at the floor. “That’s not what I meant.”
He looked totally dejected, and Lauren stood there, watching him but not pressing him further. Instead, she battled the innate reaction she had to cross the room to him, to kneel in front of him and wrap her arms around him, anything to take that look off his face.
“The only reason I’m even going back to school is for her,” he finally said, glancing up at Lauren. “But it means I have to leave her when I could be spending time with her. It means I can’t take care of her when she needs me.”
He shook his head and looked over to where Erin lay sleeping on the couch. “Her mom’s not around. I’m hardly around…” He trailed off before looking back at Lauren. “It’s just, like, am I doing the right thing? Is it worth it? I just…I just wish I knew, ya know?”
Michael sat back against the seat and closed his eyes, sighing heavily.
“Hey,” Lauren said softly, walking toward him. “You’re doing the right thing. You’re building a future for her. Most parents are away from their children during the day. It’s the whole reason I have a job,” she added with a tiny laugh, hoping he would smile in return.
His eyes remained closed, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and Lauren smiled, closing the distance between them and kneeling on the floor next to the chair. “It’s the time that you do spend with her that counts,” she added. “And you’re doing an amazing job.”
Michael laughed humorlessly. “You’re still the same,” he said with a shake of his head.
“But you are,” she insisted. “She’s smart, she’s motivated, she’s so kind to everyone, Michael. She’s a perfect little person. And she adores you.”
Michael opened his eyes fully then, looking at Lauren with such intense emotion that she felt her legs falter under her weight, and she dropped gently from her kneeling position to sit on her calves, her eyes falling to the arm of the chair in between them.
After a minute of silence, she heard him shift in the chair. “You know something?” he said softly, and when Lauren looked up, she saw he was sitting up now, closer to her, his eyes intently on hers.
“That first day I dropped her off…the first time I had to leave her…the only thing that kept me from running back in to get her was that I knew she’d be with you.”
Lauren’s breath left her in a soft rush, her eyes locked on his, and he smiled gently. “It’s true,” he added.
“Miss Lauren?” Erin’s tiny voice called, and both of them whipped their head in her direction.
“Hey baby,” Michael breathed, sliding off the chair and kneeling beside his daughter. Lauren could only watch him, still stunned into silence. “I’m here now. You okay?”
“I don’t feel good, Daddy,” she said with a tiny whimper, and he brushed the hair away from her face and pressed his lips to her forehead.
“I know. You’ll feel better soon.”
Erin pulled her knees up into her chest, lying on her side, and Lauren wondered if her stomach wa muscle flex in the side of his jaw7 shoulders hurting her again. “Is Miss Lauren gone?”
“No, I’m right here,” Lauren said, finally finding her voice again.
“Can you stay with us tonight?” Erin asked softly, closing her eyes.
Michael glanced back at Lauren, his expression startled, before he turned back toward his daughter. “Honey, Miss Lauren can’t stay here. She has to go home.”
“No,” Erin said, pulling her brow together. “I don’t want her to leave.”
“Erin,” Michael began, but Lauren cut him off.
“I’ll stay, sweetheart.”
Michael turned toward her, and Lauren quickly mouthed, “Just until she falls asleep.”
He nodded, bringing his attention back to Erin, and Lauren crawled over to them, sitting on the floor by Erin’s feet. Michael stroked her hair for a minute before he turned, sitting up against the couch by his daughter’s head.