Beautiful Broken Promises(28)

My back faced the window and when I opened my eyes, I smiled when I saw two bright, smiling faces snickering at each other. They were each other’s best friends. No matter what kind of situation we had been thrown into, I could never regret the bond that had grown between them. They didn’t need TV, video games, or an endless string of toys to occupy themselves. They had each other, and the games they created between the two of them amazed me every day.

Currently, they seemed to be in some kind of staring contest, seeing which one could go without blinking first. Braden could always make Kate giggle, which caused her to blink within seconds. It was the best sound in the world to wake up to.

“Good morning, sweethearts,” I said, stretching and thinking about how I wished I could sleep for a few more hours. I was shocked when I saw that it was already eleven in the morning. Even with eight hours of sleep, I still felt as if I had been run over by a bus. Ever since I’d gotten sick, I hadn’t felt like I could ever fully recharge my batteries. I was always running a little low and really hoped that went away soon. “How long have you guys been up?”

“Shh!!” Braden and Kate promptly admonished me. Their little fingers covered their mouths in a highly dramatic fashion.

“Daddy’s sleeping!” Kate whispered. “He didn’t leave.” She smiled brilliantly as if she couldn’t believe he really stayed.

“Duh, Kate. He crossed his heart, remember?” Hmm, he was supposed to have been sleeping when Lane said that. Sneaky boy.

I rolled over in the huge, king-size bed and looked at where they had pointed moments ago. A cough sputtered out of my throat at the sight of Lane. Last night, he had pulled the couch across the room and pushed it flush against the side of the bed Kate slept on.

His large body could barely fit across the length of it. An average human being would have made that piece of furniture look like a normal, full-length couch, but a man built like a Greek god made the poor thing look like an armchair. One of his legs was draped over the low backside and his feet were hanging off the end. His undamaged arm was slung above his head, dangling over the end. He had the sling back on and his injured arm was cradled against his chest. He didn’t look even a little bit comfortable, and I felt bad that we had all stretched out in that magnificent bed while he squashed himself onto that plastic-looking furniture.

“He has a lot of muscles,” I heard Braden whisper. I had to agree with him there. He told me that he didn’t work for the police department anymore, but I wasn’t sure what he did now. Regardless, all of that fighting he had been learning to catch Flores really had kept his body in outstanding shape.

“That’s because he’s a superhero,” Kate informed Braden.

“I’m gonna have muscles like that too,” he told her.

“I’m sure you’ll be just as strong, buddy,” I chuckled. “Just remember you have to eat all of your vegetables. I bet Lane always eats his spinach.”

The crease in Braden’s nose crinkled and I could tell he was deep in thought. I had a feeling he was weighing the odds of leafy greens actually causing muscles in his head, which made me laugh to myself.

“Let’s let him sleep in a bit more. We can go play in the other room until he wakes up.”

“But...” Kate hesitated. “I think he would be sad if we were gone.”

“We’ll be super quiet, mama,” Braden added with an exaggerated whisper.

“Alright. Well, I’m going to take a shower, but I’m serious you two, do not wake him up.” I dumped out books from the backpack and even some crayons and coloring pages for them to share.

“Thank you, mama,” Kate murmured. My heart clenched at her words. How much longer did I get to be her “Mama”? I just couldn’t stand the idea of it being any different, but I knew things would unquestionably change sometime soon.



LANE -

Sleeping on the floor probably would have been a better choice than that tiny-ass couch. My legs were hanging off the arm of one side and my feet were asleep from the blood loss. That annoying pins-and-needles feeling poked from the inside out. I slowly twisted my feet in a circular motion and turned my head toward the tiny whispers that came from the bed.

Kate and Braden were leaning toward one another, deep in conversation.

“That’s a really good job, sissy,” Braden said.

“Thanks. I’m making it for you, and you can add it to the other pictures I made you,” she replied.