Chapter Three-Hundred and Forty-Two
Claire snuggled up to John on their sofa, tucking her shoulder under his arm and resting her head against his chest. She could feel the weight he'd dropped, his bones jutted out at odd angles in his hips, occasionally digging into her ribs as she laid against him. "Senior Prom is this weekend…" She mumbled, placing her fingers under his chin and kissing his nose. "Do you wanna go? Or should we stay in and have a movie night?"
His eyes softened, his tender lips brushing over her head. "I will do whatever my princess desires, for her wish shall be my command."
She hummed a laugh, smiling as another episode of the Addams Family started to play. "You're a dork." She looked down at the wedding magazine in her lap, thinking about how in less than three weeks they would be Mr. and Mrs. Johnathan Kurtis Bender. "I'd rather stay home and save for our wedding." She flipped the page, running her fingers over the beautiful white lily center pieces.
John smiled, taking her hand gently in his. "I'm your dork." He whispered, running his fingers over her nails before he kissed each one. "I like those."
"Yeah?" She tilted her head to the side, tracing over the page. "I hoped you would."
Clarissa leaned against Thomas's chest, contently watching the teens as they exchanged ideas for the wedding. "They're perfect for each other." She smiled, turning to face her husband. "Do you realize, that John might have saved our marriage?"
He nodded, kissing her lips. "He showed us that nothing is impossible."
Dominic tiredly paced up and down the hallway of their newly finished house, bouncing Sage as her tummy upset her. He listened to Justin as he confided him, but still hardly heard a word he said. "Listen, Tech, I'm a eighteen-year-old father of four who is still trying to save for a fucking wedding and hold down a solid job while playing bass in a band. I'm running on empty at this point."
Justin nodded, taking Sage from his cousin and placing a hot water bottle on her belly. "This is an old trick my Mom used when she worked in the NICU. When a baby would get fussy, she'd put a warm water bottle on their belly to help the colic." He looked over to the recliner, only to see that Dominic was already sawing logs and a line of drool was making its way down his chin. He laughed, slowly standing before he placed a blanket over Dominic's lap and began to take care of Sage for him.
Allison sat in her bedroom, letting Mr. Crabcakes crawl across her bed as she thought about the odd behaviors John had been showing since they'd gotten back from Florida. She hated the idea of him using again, but she couldn't do anything to help unless she could explore his hiding spots. And God only knew how many he had around this place.
Andy yawned as he stepped inside, picking up the crab as he nearly fell off of the bed and placing him back in his habitat. "What's up?" He asked, taking a seat beside her and resting back against the pillows.
She shrugged, silent as usual. She rarely spoke and when she did, she always had something to say that would blow your mind; but right now, she didn't have anything to talk about.
Andy smiled, sweeping a few crumbs of Captain Crunch off of her bed. "John was just in my room. He wants me to be his best man, and Claire was wondering if you would be her maid of honor."
She nodded, her dark hair falling over her eyes. "Of course!" She snuggled up to his side, sighing in contentment as they both drifted off to sleep.