Page 98 of When Alec Met Evie
He’s quiet on the way home, leaning back in his seat, eyes closed, one hand lifted to his forehead. His jaw is clenched, and I wonder what kind of pain he must be in. He has to be medicated, but it doesn’t look like it’s doing him much good.
Because I told him I wouldn’t, I don’t ask him any more questions about how he’s feeling, so we end up making the entire drive in silence.
Inside, Alec’s parents have already gone to bed, and the rest of the house is dark. The light is on in the twins’ room, but otherwise, there’s no sign of anyone else being awake. I walk with Alec to his bedroom door. “I’m going to go check on Juno, then I’ll come back and help you get settled.”
I disappear before he can protest—because he might—and go in search of Megan.
She’s sitting in the living room, reading by lamplight with Juno’s baby monitor sitting on the side table beside her. She smiles when she sees me. “Hey! You’re back! I tried to get my parents to stay up, thinking Alec might need the morale boost, but then I remembered they’re actually grandparents and that might be elder abuse, so I let them go to bed.”
“I think that’s pretty much all Alec wants to do anyway. How’s Juno?”
“Sound asleep,” Megan says. “She drank her whole bottle and went straight to sleep like a champ.”
“Perfect. Thank you for taking care of her.”
“Do you want to just leave her here tonight? Her portable crib is in the guest room I picked for myself. She’s welcome to stay in there with me.”
I look at my watch. I hate to wake her up just to drive her home when she’s already asleep. And shehasbeen sleeping longer and longer lately. Now that she’s had a bottle, she might even sleep through till morning. If she does, and I don’t pump before then, I’ll be miserable by the time she wakes up, but I don’t have my pump with me, and I’d rather stay here and risk being uncomfortable than leave and have her wake up when I’m not here to feed her.
“If she stays, I stay,” I say. “She might sleep all night, but she might not, and since she’s out of bottles, I’m all she’s got.”
“Sleepover?” Megan asks, hope in her eyes. “Just like old times?”
“Fine. But I have to go check on Alec first.”
I find him sitting on the edge of his bed, phone in his hand. He looks up as I enter the room and tosses the phone onto the comforter behind him. His injured knee is still braced, his leg extended out in front of him, but he makes room for me anyway, pulling me into the space between his knees so he can wrap his arms around me. He drops his head onto my chest, and I lift my hands to his hair, slowly massaging my fingers into his scalp.
“What do you need?” I ask. “Drugs? Water? Something to eat?”
“Just you,” he says simply, and my heart squeezes in my chest.
“See, the trouble is, I’m not made of calories, and you just burned about a billion in your game. Let me fix you something to eat before you sleep.”
His arms tighten around my waist. “I’m too full of painkillers to eat,” he says. “I’ll just have a big breakfast in the morning.”
“Let me help you get settled, then.” I take a step back and study him. “The brace stays on while you sleep?”
He nods. “But I can sleep in these.” He pats the top of his thigh.
“Good. That’s easy. Shoes off, then.”
It takes a few more minutes of Alec begrudgingly allowing my assistance before his coat is off, his teeth are brushed, and he’s finally situated in bed, his knee propped up on two extra pillows.
“I don’t want to wake Juno this late, so I’m staying here tonight,” I say. “I’ll be here in the morning.”
He reaches for my hand, tugging me closer, so I sit down on the edge of the bed beside him.
His thumb runs across the tops of my knuckles as he tucks my hand against his chest, then puts his own hand over mine, like he’s holding me in place. “Stay with me?” he asks, his eyelids heavy, almost half-closed. “Just to sleep. I just…don’t feel like being alone.”
I lean down and kiss him because it feels impossible to do anything else. “Okay,” I whisper against his lips. “Just give me a quick sec.”
In a matter of minutes, I’ve found a pair of Alec’s pajama bottoms to replace my jeans, washed my face with the hand soap in his bathroom—a decision I will possibly regret in the morning—and claimed a spare toothbrush from his bathroom drawer to brush my teeth.
Luckily, since it’s Thanksgiving week and I knew Megan and her parents would be in town, Victoria isn’t expecting me to work tomorrow, so staying over really shouldn’t be a big deal. But since I left Megan with Juno’s baby monitor and an expectation that I’d be sleeping upstairs in her room, I have to at least let her know my plans have changed.
Evie
Slight change of plans. I’m staying with Alec tonight. If Juno wakes up, will you bring her to me?
