Athalia Quinn

26 - Piggy

"I don't want a fuckin' pink pillow on my bed."

"It's cute!"

"No."

I grab a pig stuffed animal and set the pink pillow back on the shelf. "How about this tutie cutie little piggy?"

"No."

"Fine, we'll bring it home for Coach," I decide. Little does Levi know, I'm going to sneak it onto the bed when we get back. Hehe.

I set it in the Target cart, and ask, "How did you come up with the name Coach anyway? Were you, like, a sports player back in the day?"

Levi pushes the red shopping cart to the next aisle. "Nicolas named him," he says. "And really? Back in the day?"

"Yeah, dude, you're old," I tell him, scanning the home decor on the shelves.

"I'm three years older than you."

"Good math, Grandpa."

He rolls his eyes.

It's almost winter, a little over two weeks since I officially moved in with Levi. He is continuing to pay the expenses for my mom's house for when she comes back, and I pitch in some of the money I earn from work to help out.

It's nice—living with Levi. I really, really like it with him. The first couple nights, I woke in the middle of the night from nightmares. I guess seeing my mom again triggered something. But I was easily calmed having Levi's comfort beside me, plus the hot cocoa he prepares for me helps immensely.

I think about momma, sometimes. Well, a lot of times. Mainly things like if she's getting better, and if she's making some friends wherever she is doing whatever she is.

Today, I was apparently worrying about her too excessively, so Levi offered to drive us to Target to get anything I wanted for my new home in order to get my mind off my mother.

New home doesn't feel right. I think Levi's house has always been home to me.

"So, what's Nick's reasoning behind the name Coach?" I pat Levi's arm so he stops the cart, and I climb in, placing the pink pig stuffed animal on my lap. "Was he a sports player?"

Levi leads us to the candy aisle, where I gladly reach for a couple bags of gummy bears. "He was drunk during the Super Bowl, and kept calling the damn dog Coach, so it stuck."

I grab a pack of Sour Patch Kids for Levi. "I've always wanted a dog," I state, even though no one asked.

"Yeah?"

"A rottweiler just like yours," I continue.

He nods, "Now you have one."

I smile.

Figure he's not really listening anymore, since he's too busy placing groceries on me, so I keep talking. Can't annoy someone who's not even listening! "Y'know what else I've always wanted?"

"What?"

"A yacht."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yep. My Uncle Jesse used to have one."

He pauses, his pretty eyes looking down at me. "You don't have an Uncle Jesse."

Oh, maybe he was listening. Whoops. "How would you know?"

"Because Uncle Jesse is a fucking Full House character," he counters, flicking my forehead.

I reach up, flicking him in return. "There are real life Uncle Jesse's too, ya know?"