Chapter 35

35

Shelby

Obviously after the second time throwing up, I'm no longer thinking it's just too much partying with Auntie Dani.

Twenty minutes later, Auntie Dani texts that Nathan threw up.

My first thought?

Fuck.

There's nothing quite like a stomach bug going through a family.

I'm now in preparation mode, which means getting Oakley cleaned up, consoled, and tucked back into bed. This time I put a towel on the floor, along with a trashcan.

It also means waiting.

I figure every couple hours, maybe four hours, he'll be throwing up.

Then what…?

One good thing about Oakley is that when he doesn't feel good all he wants to do is sleep. So he goes right back to sleep pretty quick.

I cover my face with a towel and find Faust in the kitchen.

He's at the sink. He looks like he's hovering over it or something.

"Well, looks like the stomach bug has hit us," I say to him. "If you need to stay away to keep from getting…"

Faust looks back at me with the most miserable face I've ever seen.

"I threw up in the sink," he groans.

"Oh… no…"

He nods. "Yeah. Stomach bug. What the hell?"

I cringe and shrug my shoulders. "We're all going to get it. That's my best guess. Nathan is sick too."

"How?"

"Germs, Faust. Little kid germs. They're sometimes the worst. If you want to know my best guess? Oakley picked it up from school and brought it home. Takes a little bit to settle in. Guess what…"

"It's settled in," Faust groans.

He leans back toward the sink.

I've never seen Faust sick and vulnerable like this before.

I walk up to him and rub his muscular back. "Okay, Faust. You need to get into a bed. Since we've all been near each other, just stay here. Your place is contaminated too. Just crash in my bed here. I'll get another towel and another trashcan."

"I'm fine," he says. "I'll be fine. I don't need…"

He grabs for his stomach.

He makes an awful growling sound and then heaves into the sink.

I pat his back and catch myself smiling.

I don't know, something about this feels sort of romantic.

We're just a regular family dealing with a stomach bug going through the house.

"You know, if I knew the sounds you make when throwing up, I would not have slept with you," I say.

Faust lets out a growl and looks back at me.

He's so miserable it's cute.

This is the life I want. With him. With us. With our family.

"I need to get into bed," he succumbs.

That's a good thing.

Halfway across the apartment I swear I feel my stomach start to feel a little bit sour.

My jaw clenches tight and I know it's only a matter of time before I'm throwing up too.

Two hours later, Faust and Oakley are in the bathroom together, throwing up.

A nice father and son bonding moment.

My mouth is bone dry and I keep sipping flat ginger ale, knowing any second now I'm going to get sick.

Dani texts me and says she feels sick too.

Faust and Oakley emerge from the bathroom and Oakley tugs at Faust's arm, wanting his dad to accompany him back to his bedroom.

It's a sweet moment.

I take a deep breath and I smile.

Then I turn, lunge for the kitchen sink… and I throw up.

I'm shivering with a blanket around my shoulders as I stand over a pot of chicken noodle soup. Everyone could be sick but we all still needed to eat.

Hands touch my shoulders and I lean right back against Faust.

"What are you doing?"

"Making dinner," I whisper. "Gourmet. From a can."

"We can have something delivered, sweetie," he says.

He reaches and turns the burner off and pulls me away from the stove.

He turns me around.

There's no way I can possibly look decent right now.

I feel gross, weak, pale, and I'm tired.

Faust though… it's not fair that he can be sick and look the way he does.

Now as far as Oakley goes, he's already back on his feet. His little immune system kicked some serious stomach bug ass. We made him promise us he would stay in his room and not get too amped up so he doesn't get sick again.

"What do you want to eat?" Faust asks.

"Ugh. Food. Makes me feel sick."

"Yeah. I think I might be getting a little appetite back."

"I'm sorry about your hockey game." I frown.

He touches my face. "I've never missed a game before."

"Wow. That makes me feel really good about myself."

"I think of it as a badge of honor. Fatherhood matters more than hockey."

"Do you mean that or are you just that sick?"

"I'm not sure," he says.

He winks.

Faust forces me back into bed and then orders soup for delivery.

These are the small moments of being spoiled that I love the most. When you need help or you need someone and they're there. When you don't feel good and you just want to crash in your bed and have someone bring you chicken noodle soup. And they show up.

The third time Faust checks up on me, I end up grabbing his right hand.

I hold on so tight you'd swear I was falling off the bed.

"I'm so sorry," I say in a hoarse voice.

Then the tears come.

Faust steps closer to the bed and puts an arm around me.

His right hand runs through my hair.

He knows what I'm talking about just by saying I'm so sorry .

"How can I ever make it up to you? How do I make this right? What do I do, Faust? What can I do?"

His silence is loud. Louder than anything I've heard in my life.

Faust won't sugarcoat things for me. He'll spoil me but he won't lie to me. He'll hurt me but not in a bad way. Sometimes honesty hurts. That's all there is too it.

"Time," Faust says.

Just one word.

The thing I took from him is the one thing I have to give him now.

Time.

Dubbed The Stomach Bug of Death , it's all gone in just a couple days.

Oakley is back at school.

Faust is back playing goalie.

Dani and Nathan are all better too.

Dani is thrilled that it wasn't her fault that Oakley got sick.

As for me, the last two days I've been a writing machine.

The book is moving along. My agent loves the words. The publisher is breathing hard down her neck for me to get this done. There's an end in sight.

Of course that comes with a million other questions.

The original plan has always been to finish the book, collect the money, and buy a house for Oakley and me.

Now… with Faust…

I mean I can live right here in this apartment as long as I need to.

I'm not sure it's the best for Oakley though. That's just my projection because I want him to have a house with a front porch, a back porch and a yard to play in. I want him to have the small town kind of feel and ride his bike and make friends.

First things first .

That's what I keep telling myself.

Words so far today have been a little slow so I'm changing up the scene.

I'm going to find a café, sit there and type until Oakley is done with school.

I pack up my laptop and as soon as I step out into the hallway I hear a voice next to me.

I'm not supposed to be hearing the voice but Faust's apartment door is slightly open.

It's a woman's voice. "All the paperwork is there, Faust. Are you sure about this?"

"I'm more than sure," he says. "I don't want to be questioned."

"I'm always going to question and push at you," the woman says. "Especially with this. This is a big thing."

"Audrey. Stop."

Audrey…? Who the hell is Audrey? What is Faust planning…?

"Well, I would personally take a minute to think about this," Audrey says. "This is huge. And you're not telling her."

"No."

Her…

Am I the ‘her' in this story?

"You know, as a woman…"

"I don't need your opinion on this," Faust says. "You did your job. That's it."

"Fine then. I hope this works out for you, Faust. I'll leave it at that."

The door opens some more and I quickly jump back into my apartment and shut the door. I put my right eye against the peephole and watch as a woman in very nice, business-like clothes walks down the hallway.

Who is she? A lawyer? Oh, fuck. Faust has paperwork with his lawyer… and it involves me…? Which means it involves Oakley…

My heart jumps into my throat and I feel sick again.

There's only one logical reason Faust would need a lawyer and paperwork when it came to myself and Oakley.

He's going to come after me for custody of his son…