Petrichor: Chapter 13

SERENA

Walls, floors, roofs and windows. Put all of it in a blender and you got yourself a home. For some people, home wasn't a place, it was a person. An embrace or a touch that made you feel safe and understood through the toughest of judgments and petrifying obstacles. I spent half my life trying to find something that came close to it. I hadn't realized fate had placed my home inside of a man who's damaged soul matched mine so perfectly, it frightened me beyond belief. It didn't stop me from spending days on end sitting beside his hospital bed, waiting for him to come back to me, to us. The boys were just as anxious to see him get better than I was. Not to mention the little one growing inside of me, whom I had yet to tell Daniel about.

He'd woken up a few times during these last two weeks, in a groggy and incoherent state of course, but I'd take that over the worst case scenario, which was him not waking up at all. Today he was wide awake and eager to get himself out of that hospital bed and back home. The doctors had recommended more rest for him at home, and I had asked him if he had any tranquilizers for my stubborn ex-husband, who I already knew wasn't going to listen to a word I said concerning his health. He also warned me about his pain medication intake, and to make sure he wasn't growing addicted to them since he was susceptible to dangerous addictions like alcohol. But didn't we all have some kind of addiction to something that was detrimental to us? And what if your safe place to land was also a sink hole that could swallow you whole in an instant? Daniel's vice was alcohol and mine had always been him. It had taken me a while to figure that out and when I did, I stopped fighting it. Letting go of things you had no control over didn't make it easier, but it left you with a sense of freedom that helped you get through most days.

"I'm going to kill you once we get home. Do you have any last words?" I warned him, as I leaned against the doorway in his hospital room while he gathered his things and threw them into a duffel bag. He didn't look afraid at all. In fact, my threat had amused him so much, he felt the need to stop what he was doing and pull me into the room, pushing the door closed before he pushed me up against it and crushed his lips to mine until I had no air in my lungs left. That's what it felt like to love someone like him. The pressure builds up in every corner and crevice of your body with or without his presence, until you found yourself desperate for more air, more of him, more of everything he could possibly make you feel. The bad, the good, and everything in between.

"I'll take a rain check on that death," he claimed, his lips pulling away from mine just to curve into my favorite smile.

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Wiping my hands with a dish towel, I stepped out into the backyard through the patio door and took a moment to watch my boys trying to catch fireflies with their hands. Something I knew Marley had taught them while she had been taking care of them while I was at the hospital tending to their father. Given the circumstances in which he had ended up in the hospital to begin with, I wouldn't have allowed them to stay with her had she not profusely apologized for her part. It still didn't erase the fact that ten years from now, there were going to be viral videos still roaming around on the internet of Daniel getting shot by a damn rapist. No one had cared that he was bleeding out, or that he might've died if Michael and Marley hadn't rushed him into the hospital, and hadn't stuck around to wait for an ambulance. I was pissed at everyone who'd been involved, especially Marley, who's desperate attempts at keeping Daniel and I apart had almost caused him to die. He could've gone home that night if she hadn't insisted he'd go with her to dinner. He could've been playing catch with his boys in the yard instead of taking it upon himself to be the hero. Although she hadn't forced him into the line of fire, I wasn't sure if I could ever forgive her for trying to keep him away from me. I wasn't sure if either of us could forgive each other at this point.

"Boys! Time to set the table!" I called out to them, and returned to the kitchen to wipe down the island before I began to serve the meal I had slaved over for an hour and a half now. When they still hadn't run into the house with their dirty sneakers, I sighed in frustration, cursing myself for having kids with a man who'd passed down his inability to listen to his children and turned the corner so I could shout once again. They were supposed to set the table for us and the rest of the group who wanted to join us for Daniel's welcome home dinner and they were apparently trying to test my patience tonight.

"You're pregnant?" Daniel's puzzled tone stopped me cold and I had no choice but to turn and face him now. He had my phone in his hands as he replayed a message from my doctor confirming an appointment for a sonogram this week, his eyes trained on me as he waited for me to speak.

"I was going to tell you, but then you got shot and—"

"Is it mine?" he interrupted with an accusation that made me want to punch him in the throat. I rolled my eyes at him, crossing my arms after throwing the dish towel into the sink.

"That's a stupid question."

"Not at all. You have a boyfriend remember?" he countered, with a smug smile on his ridiculously handsome face. He knew damn well that Vince didn't really matter at this point. I hadn't talked to him in weeks and he had apparently decided to let me know he wasn't taking those vacation days after all. I didn't take it personally. Chasing bad guys is what he loved to do and I wasn't about to keep him from doing it.

"He's not my boyfriend and if you're trying to piss me off on purpose—" my words were cut short when he walked towards me and leaned into me for a kiss that melted the anger he had purposely planted during this entire conversation. I could feel him smiling against my lips as he pulled away, nuzzling his nose against my cheek softly, while his hands were busy pulling me into his warm body.

"I would never piss you off on purpose," he lied through his wolfish grin and I glared at him as I pushed him away from me, causing him to chuckle.

"Idiot. Go get your boys if you want your friends to eat tonight," I threatened, smacking his flat behind away from me as he started to kiss at my neck. Laughing, I pushed him into the backyard and turned towards the front door when I heard the doorbell ring. Walking towards it, I looked through the peephole and raised an eyebrow when I saw it was Jesse on the other side of the door. I hesitated before deciding to open it. I had no idea why she stopped by, especially since I didn't invite her to tonight's dinner.

"Can I help you?" I asked, trying to mask my hatred for her. I was a mother now. I had to watch how I treated other people around my kids. Jesse looked like shit. The circles underneath her eyes weren't helping her at all, and she looked like she hadn't been eating either. Despite me disliking her, what happened to her in that parking lot couldn't have been easy for her. The nightmares looked to be haunting her more than the actual experience.

"I just wanted to give you this," Jesse answered cautiously, reaching for something in her purse, bringing out an envelop that was apparently meant for me. I brought out the papers from inside, and skimmed through them. Raising an eyebrow, I looked up at the woman as she rubbed her arms and looked away from me.

"You're giving up your share of the shop?"

"I can't stand by and watch someone else I care about die in front of me," she admitted, holding my gaze as I remembered Daniel mentioning something about an ex-boyfriend of hers dying right in her arms. I couldn't picture him or anyone else I loved dying in front of me and being able to live a normal life after that. The mental torment I assumed she must be under constantly placed her under a new light for me, but it wasn't enough for me to excuse her behavior around my ex-husband while we were together. She'd conveniently tried to be alone with him and often dragged him out to events that she knew I wouldn't be caught dead at. She'd been too desperate in getting him to see how she was the better option, when there was ultimately no contest to win. Daniel's love had always belonged to me and everyone else in between were simply stepping stones that kept his inner demons at bay.

"I don't think I'm the one you need to show this to," I corrected, lifting my chin up as I stepped aside to let her in. Something had changed in her gaze since the last time I had seen her around Daniel. She was finally giving up on what she felt for him. And that alone was reason enough for me to hand these papers over to Daniel, so he could decide if this is what he wanted or not.

I led her out into the outdoor dining area, where Daniel and the boys were busy trying to cover up the fact that they were already eating when they were supposed to wait until the rest of the guests got here to eat. I glared at each one of them as Jesse entered and Daniel's eyes crossed back and forth between us.

"Jesse has a few things she wants to discuss with you," I announced, still glaring at them while their combined cheesy smiles quieted down my annoyance. Daniel got up from his seat and helped me get into mine, which was planted next to the boys, and kissed my cheek before heading inside the house with Jesse.

"Mami?" Zach called for me and I reached for a napkin so I would wipe off the gravy from the corner of his mouth.

"Yes, baby?"

"Is it true we're going to be big brothers soon?" he questioned and I smiled at how excited he seemed to be at the news. Daniel must've talked to them while I was busy with Jesse inside.

"You guys are going to help me take care of her or him right?"

"Uh, maybe, Mami. Maybe!" Zander answered for them both, stuffing a piece of bread into his mouth he had hidden in his pocket and I chuckled as I pulled them into me so I could squeeze them tight. To think I was going to have another one of these irresistibly cute kids was going to be a challenge. I just hoped this next one wont have Daniel and I running around like chickens with their heads cut off as well.