Settling Down

Chapter Twenty: Your Help

An almost empty bottle of apple juice and a bowl of fruit. The remains of a little bowl of lasagna as well as another cup of apple juice. A plate with half a slice of the pasta left and a crinkled water bottle sat next to a pile of mail. Xfinity: cable bill. Wells Fargo: checking update. Verizon: monthly bill. Kohls: the latest and greatest for back to school. Junk, garbage and waste.

Further down the hall, a young little girl laid sprawled out on her bed, exhausted from playing with her new friend. A monkey stuffed animal was trapped under one arm as her curly dark hair fanned out. The fluffy pink blanket Mary always slept with was pulled up to her chin as the small night light on the side of her desk swirled slowly.

And laying on a larger bed in a similar position was a much younger little boy, swaddled in a baby blanket that he had carried around with him. I had tucked the sheets of my bed in around him and had surrounded the little one by pillows, not wanting Roland to fall off the bed.

Now all that was left was the man for whom I was waiting. He would be here any minute, dressed in blue jeans and an olive tshirt, his hair ruffled from frustration. He'd come into the house and set his cello down in my living room before quietly greeting me.

I sat down on the bed, gently rubbing Roland's back as he slept. His face scrunched up a bit before relaxing, his little footie pajamas keeping him bundled up.

The night slowly slipped away my eyes grew even heavier from exhaustion. Soon, I kicked off my shoes and snuggled under the sheets, telling myself that I would just take a short nap.

Warm lips slowly drew me back to consciousness, the heat pressing gently on my forehead. I groaned softly as I turned towards the edge of the bed, slowly opening my eyes.

The room was completely dark except for the light shining in from the hallway. Robin knelt by the bed, smiling wide while his eyes searched my face. His hand wandered up to my hair and neck, gently running his fingers through my hair. My fingers curled around his wrist and gently squeezed.

"If you continue doing that," I begin to mumble, my voice not quite right because of the sudden awakening, "I might just fall asleep again." My warning caused Robin to chuckle before kissing my head once again.

"Alright, love." He whispers. "I was just going to get roland and then I'll be-"

"No." I groan, running my finger down his wrist. "Can you please just stay? For a little?" I whimper. Robin opened his mouth to protest but I cut him off. "I miss you." I tried to guilt him into staying for just a bit longer. "Just until I fall asleep? I wanna be with you for a little bit."

I didn't know what time it was or when he had gotten back from his rehearsal. All I knew was that I had missed Robin for too long. I just wanted to see him as much of him as possible. To watch him watch me, to hear his low voice and to feel his calloused fingers tangled in my hair.

Robin released a small breath and began to run his fingers through my hair. "Fine." He leaned forwards and brushed his lips against mine, making a sense of warmth run through my body. "But only because I love you so much." Robin's tone was playful as he spoke, eliciting a gentle start of a laugh from me.

"I love you too." My voice was barely audible as I allowed myself to fall asleep.

A/n: hey guys! So as you can probably see, THIS ISNT THE LAST CHAPTER!!! YAY!!! In my other two books, Find Me and Home Bound, I've only written 20 chapters for you to actually read. But since this is my first sequel, I figured to give you all something extra for being so amazing! Right now I have two more chapters planned and an epilogue but who knows if I'll change it by the time you're reading this. Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter and please feel free to give me feedback! Thanks so much!