Vanilla And Cocoa

Chapter 31 "Pinky Promises"

When we got home, we were exhausted. Justin didn't even ask if he could go to his house and I didn't want him to so it worked out.

My mom greeted us tiredly and I shifted Merissa on my hip, kissing my mom on the cheek. "Hey."

"Y'all tired?" She asked, her eyes passing over all of us.

Justin nodded slowly and sat the table across from my mother.

"Yeah, I was just about to wash Merissa up and settle in. I'll wash the dishes later." I said softly and something like pride grew out in my mother's eyes.

"You go do that."

I nodded and passed by Justin, squeezing his shoulder. I heard Justin talking lowly as I headed upstairs to bathroom. Merissa lazily lifted her head as I ran the water. "Sleepy?"

She hummed and rubbed her left eye slowly. "Where is Justin?"

"He's downstairs. I'll tell him to come tell you good night after your bath." I explained.

She looked upset at that. "He won't sleep in our room?"

I pressed my lips together and stopped the water from running, putting my finger in the water to see if it was the right temperature. "It'll be a tight squeeze but I'll see what we can do."

She brightened up and I helped her strip down so she could get in. I helped her clean up and then dried her off when she was done. When we exited the bathroom, Justin was standing outside my bedroom door.

"You mind squeezing in the bed with us tonight?" I asked in passing.

He followed us into the room and shrugged. "I don't know."

I picked out Merissa's pajamas out of my drawer and gave them to her. Merissa perked up and put on her clothes, turning to Justin with a nervous grin. "I thought since we haven't seen you, it would be nice. Like a sleepover!"

I looked at Merissa for a moment before turning to Justin. "Well?"

"We could sleep on the couch. It pulls out into a bed, doesn't it?" I could see his jaw click and I narrowed my eyes.

"It's uncomfortable." I countered.

"It's a bed." Irritation clear in his tone.

We stared each other down and slowly, I realized that this is new and we're all still adjusting. Merissa and Justin have been through hell and back, trying to adjust. Trying to adjust to this. To a home. Merissa is trying to have Justin stay with her without seeming too needy because he's her only blood family left but she also wants to stay with me.

Justin is trying to distance himself and not seem like a burden while keeping Merissa close. On top of that, he's still going through withdrawals.

My shoulders slumped in defeat and I sighed. "You're right. Merissa, how about you sleep on the couch tonight with your brother? I'm sure you would like that more. You haven't seen him in awhile."

Justin watched with wide eyes as Merissa frowned at me. "What about you?"

"I'll be fine, sweetheart. Go ahead." With that, Merissa and Justin left the room.

I ran a hand through my hair, scratching an itch before sitting on my bed. And I began to think.

Let's start with school. It was my senior year. All of my friends were graduating in less than seven months. I was doing a terrible job of keeping up with my school work as of late but managed to stay at C average. I needed to fix that.

Second, my mom. She needed a break after everything she's done for me, she needs it. I'll work on that soon.

Merissa. She's a sweet little thing but she manages to keep things to herself and bottles it up. Not a good trait to stick to. She needs someone to talk and vent to because that could potentially end badly. Maybe get her a diary and get her to talk about it at the end of every week?

Justin. He needed help and I was going to give him all that he needed. As well as everyone else. He just needed to realize that it was okay to lean on people for help. His withdrawals were going to give him a hard time and he also needed to catch up on school work. We could help him with that. Anything else like...feelings could wait.

And last but no least, college. It had been in the back of my mind, slightly nudging and prodding every so often. Graduation was still months away but I still needed to consider my options.

I rubbed hands over my face and sighed loudly. Let me take this one step at a time. It's time for me to hit the ground running. I will not let this defeat.

I stood up with newfound determination and exited my room, heading downstairs. I noticed my mother was no longer in the kitchen so she must have went to bed. I spotted them curled up on the bed and I sat down on the edge.

Justin huffed. "What?"

"Come sleep upstairs."

"No."

"Fine." I crawled over both of them and got under the covers on the other side.

"What are you doing?" Justin hissed.

"Sleeping."

"Go upstairs."

"No."

He groaned and turned his back to ignore me. I grinned and moved closer pressing against his back. "You're welcome."

I felt him try to get up and I constricted him with my leg and arm.

"Uh, no."

"Why are you being so difficult?" He snapped.

"Why are you? Don't you dare run from me. You deserve this. I promise you. You are not a burden. So, don't reject me. Don't."

He slowly relaxed and I let him go. He turned over to face me and the front room was silent except for the sound of Merissa's snores. "I'm sorry."

I smiled and placed a hand on his cheek. "It's okay. I know it's hard for you and you're irritated. And," I let out a breath. "I just don't want you to bottle it up and try to deal with it alone."

Justin pressed his forehead against mine and I closed my eyes. "I promised that you that I would try."

"We didn't pinky promise." I mumbled and he laughed under his breath.

"We can do it now." He whispered.

I cracked an eye open. "Really?"

I felt his head move against mine as a nod. We extended our pinky and wrapped them tightly around each other. I laughed, feeling childish but happy in the moment.

"Don't laugh. You wanted to do this."

"Right, right. This is serious, no laughing allowed." I said smiling.

Justin squeezed my pinky a bit before speaking. "I pinky promise to let my friends help me in my recovery and I'm going to try to not throw a pissy fit when they do."

"I pinky promise to help you in your times of need and to make sure you and Merissa are happy and healthy again." I whispered to him.

"Thank you." He said softly, releasing my pinky.

"Bring Merissa over here."

Justin complied without question and laid Merissa in-between us. I intertwined our fingers and placed them over Merissa's chest.

"There's no need to thank me, Justin. This is for you. The both of you."

Justin squeezed my fingers tightly but did not say anything. We fell asleep in the quiet of the living room.