My Sunshine ✔

[ 21 ]

Lewis rushed to put his clothes on. The grey hoodie was discarded on the floor as he ran to the living room. Narco was asleep and Lewis didn't want to wake him, which proved to be an easy task. He leaned in and gave a short peck on Narco's forehead. A grin spread on his face as he stuck the note on Narco's wrinkled forehead.

Lewis was out the door in a second. He drove in relative silence, the traffic absent at this time of the day. He was late because he didn't hear the alarm; it was set for 5PM rather than AM. He cursed his luck as he turned left.

Lewis ran out of his car after parking it. Panting, he fished the keys out and unlocked the door. He jumped to the kitchen, preparing breakfast for Rose. He decided to make bacon, eggs, and toast. It was fast and easy enough for him, satisfying for Rose. He woke her up as he waited for the pan to heat up. Rose groaned, of course, clinging to her sheets as Lewis pulled her towards the bathroom.

"Rose!" Lewis called as he flipped the poached eggs, serving toast and bacon on a plate. She came down dressed and carrying her bag.

"Come on," He pleaded, serving the cooked eggs on her plate.

Lewis chewed on a piece of toast, looking at the time as he ushered his daughter to eat faster. It was already seven-thirty and they needed to be there at eight. And of course luck despised him to the bone. Today was their monthly walk to school, and Rose would never in a million years let him break that promise.

He grabbed Rose's bag once she had finished her painfully slow eating. The two walked out of the house, hand in hand.

"Did you ask Narco?" She looked up at the towering male.

"About what?" Lewis asked back, clearly not remembering anything. Rose smacked her forehead and shook her head.

"About being my babysitter!" She glared, Lewis chuckled.

"I'll ask him today, okay?" Lewis nodded to himself as his daughter skipped a few steps ahead.

The two arrived at school just in time.

"I'll be calling Daisy's parents!" Lewis pointed a finger at his daughter who was waving him off, busy talking to her friend.

Daisy was Rose's best friend. Weird, considering they both were named after flowers. Rose said that they bonded over that and were practically inseparable. Lewis allowed her to have sleepovers on Fridays since she begged for it. He wasn't strict, always encouraging her to make friends. He also knew for a fact that Daisy's mother would take good care of her and wouldn't lay a finger on her. If she did, her fingers might magically disappear.

Lewis turned around, walking away from the school and humming to himself. He enjoyed the trees lining the sidewalk. He would've loved to sit on a bench and look at the rustling leaves on a backdrop of blue.

Yet again, his body was tired, muscles sore and tense, and he desperately needed a cup of coffee. He texted Daniel to come over in the evening so they could go to the bar together. Lewis walked home quietly, enjoying the cars that blared their horns and ruptured his eardrums. He loved every bit of going deaf.

Lewis sank back on the couch as he sipped on his coffee, replying to emails and texts. Take the car, lock the doors, call Miranda for Rose, don't drink.

He clenched his jaw. Every time he thought about alcohol his mind would conjure up violent memories of bottles smashing, ragged breaths, screams of despair and anger. At least Daniel could have said 'No, he doesn't drink. Let him be.' but he didn't. And that irked him.

The thought about alcohol made him sick. Of course, he didn't judge people who drank, but he didn't want to nor liked to indulge. So, he was fixated on being sober. Daniel was going to get an earful. Lewis was saving his energy for it.