Single Father

Chapter 6

Sunday, February 2nd. My alarm goes off at its usual time at 9 am. I stretch out my hands above my head until they are flat on the wall.

The covers are only on one of my feet and the rest of the covers lay on the floor. My shirt was, at some point, thrown off last night since I remember putting one on, but woke up with a bare upper body. The room is very warm when I sit up in bed. I think back to last night and remember every detail.

I have some insomnia when I get warm at night and I wake up around every 30 minutes. I remember waking up at 12:43 and changing out of my sweats and into some workout shorts.

I only know the time because when I got out of bed I stubbed my toe on the nightstand. My old nightstand was small. This one is large and sticks out pretty far and I'm not used to it.

When I stubbed my toe I sat down on the bed to rub it and looked at the big clock the rested on the desk. Glowing green numbers shined back revealing the time, 12:43.

I woke up maybe 7 other times last night. During those, I probably kicked off the covers, took off my shirt, opened the door, and threw the pillows off.

I looked around and saw a fan in the closet looking at me.

Wow. I could've used that last night.

"Oh, good morning sunshine." I hear.

I look up to see Cole standing outside my door with a smirk on his face. I grumble and turn around in the bed. My head snuggles in my arms and my legs kick the rest of the covers off.

Then I feel something cold on my back.

"Yikes!" I yell turning to see Lauren with an ice pack in her hand. She runs back to Cole and hides behind him. They are laughing as I rub the spot on my back.

I look up at them and Lauren hides more behind Cole. I hop out of bed and head towards them. "That wasn't nice Lauren!" I yell and I start to run after she takes off. As I'm about to make it out of the door Cole's arm catches me and I'm brought to a stop.

Cole laughs a little harder as I try to get away and chase Lauren. I struggle until I'm free from his grip. Then I run in the direction Lauren went.

This leads me to the kitchen and I see her behind the counter hiding in the oven door reflection. When I reach the counter she sees me as well in the reflection and lets out a small scream when I run around it.

She barely makes it out of my reach and runs to the living room. "Cole!" She yells. "Cole-" She dodges a chair. "Cole stop him!" Her laughs interrupt her words and right before she can make it to the stairs that lead to the storage and laundry room I grab her.

My arms wrap around her waist and I swing her around. As I'm holding her I dodge Cole as he tries to steal her away. Lauren's laughter is loud and her head falls back on to my shoulder as she grabs onto my arms.

I find a couch and set her down. She tries to escape but I block off her exit and grab the ice pack from her hands. The bottom of her shirt is slightly untucked and it's a perfect opportunity.

I slip the ice pack in the little opening and Lauren gasps. But she gets lucky because at the same time the ice pack comes into contact with her skin Cole steals it from my hands.

"Okay okay," Cole says laughing and helping Lauren up from the couch.

"Not fair!" I yell jokingly as I fall to the ground and pout. "She started it!"We laugh some more then my stomach grumbles.

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After breakfast, Cole and Lauren say they are going to get ready for mass and they head to their room.