Page 15 of Room One Hundred and Nineteen: Watching Her

I felt her eyes on me with every step I took, but I was determined. I hadn’t been able to sneak in a moment with her, but this I could do. I could help Elena with her difficult morning. I grabbed my bag out and slung it over my shoulder before locking the car with the fob. Then I pulled out an extra pair of scrubs and handed them to her.

“They might be a little long, but we can staple cuff them inside.” She looked at the fabric in her hands.

“Staple cuff? she asked, and I nodded. “When I was a kid, my mom was a mess. An addict. So, a lot of times when I was in foster care, the clothes I got were a little too big, and no one really cared, so I learned to use a stapler to cuff pants when they were too long.” The words tumbled out quickly, exposing way too much about myself. Fuck, I wasn’t even sure I’d ever told Josh and Rick about that.

“Miles—“

“Come on, kids gotta get to daycare, and we gotta get to work.” I hurried her in attempt to ignore that I’d probably made her pity me.

“But—“ Her hand reached out and grasped my wrist. “Miles.”

“What?” I glanced at her. There was something different in the way she was looking at me.

“I’m…” Her eyes watered, and I frowned.

“What is it?”

“Nothing.” She shook her head and gave me a watery smile. “Thank you.”

“Thanks? For what?”

“This.” She lifted the pants before stuffing them into the bag she always carried around with her. One I knew carried extra outfits for the kids in case they had an accident during the day, sweaters in case the night grew cold, and snacks in case they got hungry. It was a real-life Mary Poppins bag. Our girl was the best mom I’d ever seen. She always prepared for anything the kids might need. The only problem was that while she was taking care of everyone around her, no one watched out for her.

Not anymore. Not once we jump-started this thing into overdrive and sealed the deal at Club Sin with her as our guest.

“I just need to look for something, umm, to wrap around me.” Elena whispered. My eyes dropped down. Her scrubs were stained. You could hardly see it unless you looked hard enough.

“I cannot believe this is happening. This is so embarrassing,” she groaned quietly, almost as if to herself. I wrapped my arms around her in a hug. One that she not only allowed but returned.

“Nothing to be embarrassed about. I got you,” I promised before pressing my lips to the top of her head. I opened my messenger bag and pulled out a hoodie. “Here.” I stepped back, and without her saying a word, she let me slip the hoodie up and over her head.

“It might be a little long, but that’s what we need until we can get you to a changing room, yeah?” I encouraged quietly.

When her head slid through the neck opening, I caught her eyes, and once again, they were glassy with sheer appreciation. “No crying.” I scowled.

“These are good tears.”Good tears.Only a woman had those.

“Still, kids might freak out if they see you upset, okay? We got this. You mind if I help them out of their car seats?” She shook her head.

Then, because I really liked to press my luck, I leaned forward and kissed her right smack in the center of her forehead before I rounded the car and did what I’d told her I would.

The three of us had met Mike and Betsy a handful of times. They were great kids with a lot of energy.

“Dr. Jefferson!” Betsy grinned, and Mike fist bumped me. Carefully, as I spoke to them gently and listened to them tell me about their day so far, I helped them out of their car seats, then each one took my hand.

“We ready?” I asked, my eyes focused on Elena, who was watching us quietly.

“Ready.” She smiled, and just as she was about to reach for that heavy bag, I dropped Mike’s hand for a split second to take it from her before clasping his hand again.

“Oh, that’s too heavy—” she started to say, but I shook my head.

“Can you believe your mom? She thinks I’m not strong.”

“It is heavy.” Mike laughed, and Betsy agreed before they both giggled. I playfully huffed.

“I got this. Come on, guys. Maybe we can talk your mom into stopping at the cafeteria for some froyo before we gotta get to work?”

“Froyo!” They cheered, and even though she might have rolled her eyes, Elena led us toward the cafeteria, where I treated them to frozen yogurt, even getting Elena to sit and eat some, too, after she went to the bathroom to change.

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