What is Home

Chapter Thirty-One

My attempt at getting more information about Pierce's past failed. I didn't expect him to open up though. He has always said he likes to keep his past his past and not relive it all over again. I definitely think that it's way worse than he leads it to be though. When I saw him for the first time I knew he was fucked up. But the stories he has shared paint a much different story. It doesn't match what I saw on his face.

We sat on the floor in the bathroom for a while not saying much. Only a few 'you okay?'s were shared. We needed the silence to process what we had just gone through, more like what I had just gone through.

My stomach grumbling broke the silence as both of us looked at each other with a laugh. "I think that pizza is waiting for you Charlee Baker." Pierce said as he stood up extending his hand to me to help me up.

We made our way into my room and I tried to stomach the cold pizza but it was difficult. Every time I swallowed I had to fight to keep down the contents in my stomach. Pierce could sense my struggle but kept it to himself. He didn't want to make things worse. He knew how hungry I was and that I needed this.

After forcing the pizza down my throat, I knew I should have let Pierce go home for the night, but I couldn't. I was being selfish.

Pierce grabbed my tv remote off my bedside table and turned the tv on. Something I hadn't done since being in this room. I only ever used the laptop that the Leighton's gave me upon arrival. He clicked through the channels until he hit some rom-com that he knew I would probably enjoy. I smiled at him but he didn't even notice it.

Before we even realized it, we had sat through an hour of the movie and it was nearing the end. My eyes were getting heavy, so I curled up into Pierce's side resting my head against his chest. His arm found its place around my shoulders.

The next thing I remembered was being woken up as my mom knocked on my door. I didn't open my eyes but I knew it was her. She was the one who always came to say goodnight, or to tell company to leave. I heard the door creak open and her feet tiptoeing towards my bed. By the fact that she said nothing Pierce must have fallen asleep as well.

I felt the weight of a blanket fall over me and the light in the room disappear as she turned my light and television off. I couldn't believe that she was actually going to let me sleep in a bed with a boy she knew that I loved.

As the sound of my door clicking shut hit my ears I felt myself drifting back off to sleep. I curled into Pierce getting as close as I possibly could, and found what I hoped to be happiness in my dreams. The dreams that would be interrupted when two little bodies filled the bed that I shared with Pierce. My bed was definitely not made for four people but it would have to work because there was no way either of them were going to leave.

"Charlee?" Lucy said in a whisper trying not to wake Pierce knowing that he wasn't used to all of this.

"Yeah?" I moved her hair from her face as I put my back to Pierce. His arm dropped heavily on my side as he adjusted in his sleep to my movements. He pulled me tightly into him moving me slightly away from my sister who moved herself to fit closer to me.

"Do you love him?" Her eyes shined in the light from the moon that entered through my bedroom window.

"Pierce?" Her little head nodded against my pillow. "I do, but I think you should try to get some sleep. Both of you." I reached my hand over and ruffled Luca's hair. "I love you both."

"Love you." They said in unison before we all fell back asleep.