The sunlight from the windows in the living room causing the entire thing to glow and reflect off the glass accents. Sharon Raydor, slowly opens her eyes, the sunlight burning them, she sighs. It had been a long night for her, whether she realized it or not. A putrid smell attacks her nose and she realizes it's radiating from a bag of vomit beneath her. She feels her abdomen, an arm wrapped around her that wasn't Flynn's and a face resting against her back. It takes her a moment to realize it's that of the young man she's been raising.
Rusty feels her begin to stir, having been up with her all hours of the night, holding back her hair, he bolts his eyes open, ready to do it again. He sighs, "Shit, it's bright in here." Realizing she isn't leaning off the bed, he moves over, letting her roll to her back, "Hey."
Sharon slowly glances to him, "What happened?"
"You got drunk...then got sick..."
"Shit." She whispers.
"How do you feel?" His voice sincere, slowly sitting up.
"Fine...no hangover." Sharon watches him, "You stayed up all night for me?"
"Did you think I wouldn't?" Rusty runs his hands through his hair, then rubs them over his face, "I think I got a few hours."
She nods, taking his hand, "Thank you."
He nods, "Kate will be up soon. You need to get a shower."
Looking down at herself, then over to him, "You changed my clothes?"
"You had on a nice business suit. Of course I changed your clothes."
Sharon snorts, slowly sitting up herself, "And this means I can't feed Kate any time soon."
Rusty nods, "Go get a shower, I'll make you a bottle for her...and I'll clean this up."
"I can do that."
Quickly he snaps, "Please, go get a shower, Sharon. You smell like barf."
Sharon slowly glances over her shoulder to him, nodding silently as she gets up, prodding to the bathroom. She knew the boy was angry with her. She could tell. Sharon closes the door behind her, shaking her head ever so slightly as tears come to her eyes. She fucked up.
Rusty walks about the room, cleaning up the vomit, throwing it in the outside trash can, then folding up the bed, throwing the sheets and blanket in the wash. He goes to the kitchen and begins breakfast. This morning it would be a thick keish, especially with the extra mouth to feed. It would be easy. He sighs, pouring himself a glass of organic cranberry juice.
Flynn reads the newspaper in bed, glancing to his partner as she walks in, "Hey. Where the hell did you go last night? Saw you sleeping on the blow up bed in the living room with Rusty when I got the paper."
Sharon stands at her dresser, glancing to him via the reflection of the mirror, "Nowhere...just didn't want to wake you up when I got back."
"And your car is missing...which leads me to believe that you were drinking."
She freezes, standing there in her robe.
He nods slowly, "I'm right, aren't I..."
"Yes." She swallows.
Andy sighs, folding up his paper before getting off the bed and walking over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He softly kisses her exposed shoulder, "Was the wine good?"
Sharon shakes her head slowly, "It was good wine, but...Rusty is pissed. You should be too."
"Why?"
"I stopped drinking for you and for him...and then I couldn't drink while I was pregnant with Kate and...I just want to go back to work. This was all easier when it was the only thing I had to worry about."
"Yeah, but Shar...That's not ever going to be the only thing anymore. Hasn't been for a while now. There's Rusty and Kate...and the other kids." Flynn shakes his head.
"Are you mad at me?" Sharon turns in his arms, looking him in the eye.
"No. Not at all." He leans in, kissing her softly, "I could never be angry with you."
She swallows, leaning her head onto him and quickly taking in his smell, "I really am sorry, Andy."
"It's a lot to deal with. I know it is." His arms encase her, rubbing her lower back, "Everything will be okay though."
"Yeah." Sharon wipes her tear stained cheeks, "I think Rusty is making breakfast. I can smell it. Let me change and I'll be right out."
"I don't want to let you go." Flynn kisses her temple, "Sykes said that guy from yesterday checked into a Veterans shelter. He's getting the help he needs."
She nods, "That's good." She leans back, looking into his eyes.
"Yeah." He leans his head down again, kissing her lips softly.
Sharon deepens the kiss, her tongue flicking out against his teeth to his awaiting mouth. She raises her hands up, taking hold of his face as her towel falls.
Flynn smirks, pulling her closer.
Rusty knocks on their bedroom door before opening it, "Hey, Eve is in bed and-" He pauses, turning away, "Whoa. That was...I never...I think I'm blind now." He quickly walks away from the door, Kate in his arm as he returns to the kitchen.
Sharon begins laughing, holding onto the man in front of her, "Let me get dressed."
Andy makes a face, "Do you have to?"
"I do." She nods, "Can you go find out what he was saying about Eve?"
He turns, sighing, "Yeah, alright. We'll do this later?" Flynn cleans up the newspaper, scattered about the bed.
"Later." Sharon smiles slightly as she pulls clothing out for herself.
"I'm sorry you had to see that, Katie. They're ridiculous, grown adults. You have loving parents. I'm sorry for your luck." Rusty sits at the bar, Kate in her usual vibrating bouncer as she watches her brother as he eats the kiesh he had prepared.
"I'm sorry you have loving parents?" Flynn smirks to the boy, putting a slice of the food onto a plate, "This looks damn good."
"Ones that are old and can't keep their hands off one another. Yes." He glances to the baby, "Yes, Katie, I'm sorry."
He smirks, nodding. He then looks to Rusty, "Was Sharon bad last night?" His voice hushed.
Rusty slowly looks to him, then nods, "She needs to talk to someone."
"Thanks for taking care of her." Flynn eats the food, then moans, "This is damn good."
"It's a hobby."
"You were saying something about Eve when you..."
"She was in her bed crying." Rusty nods, "Was asking for her mom, but I think Sharon will probably go in there regardless."
Eve Raydor stands at the mirror in the room, slowly removing the large bandage covering her midsection with a shaky hand. A robe draped over her shoulders as she stands without a shirt, it almost cleverly conceals her breasts as her panties conceal her nether regions. She hadn't actually looked at herself like this yet. It had been a week and she couldn't bring herself to do it. Eve hisses at the stitches covering the area. She had them other places too, but they'd easily go away. These were large and noticeable.
Sharon silently slips into the room, looking to her daughter. She hadn't seen the full scale of the wounds herself. She can't help but swallow and look away.
"They hurt." The younger woman whispers.
"I can get you a pain pill-"
"I don't want a fucking pain pill." She leans both hands against the dresser. Her eyes coast from her abdomen to her face, discolored with bruising, "I look like a monster."
"No, you don't." Sharon shakes her head.
"Look at me." Eve's voice full of emotion, "These will never go away."
"Flynn's are barely noticeable."
"But you still see them." She closes her eyes, tilting her head to the side, disgusted with herself, "You'll always see them."
Sharon moves closer to her daughter, placing a hand on her bicep, "They are a symbol of something you overcame. Something you survived."
"He turned on me. I loved Michael and he turned on me." Eve swallows, "How can I trust someone again?"
"You just do. You bite the bullet and you'll feel it." She nods, "Just like I did with Andy."
"You stuck with Andy because you got knocked up. You know it's true." Her knees begin to wobble, "Help me to bed?"
Sharon wraps an arm around her daughter's waist, helping her back over to the bed, "It's not true. It's just a happy accident."
"Should have been me." Eve yells at her, "You know that."
She swallows, "If it was you, she wouldn't have been Kate."
"And now...I don't care anymore. I lost my baby, lost my man, I've...The only thing I have left is my job and I'm sure they're thinking of ways to get rid of me too."
"What do you mean 'lost your baby'?"
"I was pregnant too...and I lost it...right before the second trimester started. I have the greatest luck, don't you know?" Eve shakes her head.
"I didn't know, Evey. I didn't know. I'm so sorry." Sharon gently holds her daughter as they sit on the edge of the bed together.
"I just want to be happy. Is that too much to ask?" The young woman has tears brimming in her mud colored eyes.
"Never, but sometimes happiness isn't about what happens to us. Sometimes it's about what doesn't and finding out what works in life. Sometimes it's about what we make happen for ourselves."
"Don't give me that inspirational bullshit. It might work on Rusty, but it doesn't work on me." Eve moans, gripping the sheets of the bed, "I just want to sleep today. I just want to sleep."
Sharon nods slowly, "Want me to get you a pain pill?"
"I don't like taking pills." She begins to shake her head, "You know that."
"Let me put new bandages on you, and then give you something. Please, Evey, I can't see you hurting."
"I deserve to hurt."
"Why?"
Eve shakes her head slowly, "To help me feel. I need to feel things, Mom."
Sharon keeps her arm around her daughter, "Not like this."
The girl remains quiet for a moment, "Help me with my bandages..."
She retrieves the bandages, helping Eve apply them carefully, "Rusty made breakfast. I can bring some to you."
"Whatever." Eve looks away from her mother.
"Or I can make you a smoothie...I've become pretty good at it, believe it or not."
"The blender doesn't explode?" She can't help but smirk.
Sharon rolls her eyes a little, "Really, you all think I can't use a simple blender. I've never blown up the microwave."
"You're microwave things now?"
"Leftovers." She smiles up to her daughter, gently clasping the bandage behind the girl's back, "That should be it."
Eve gently hugs onto her mother, letting tears come to her eyes as she lets her face fall into the other woman's hair, "I'm sorry." She whispers.
"It's okay. We'll take care of it, Honey." Sharon holds her daughter closely.
"I'm sorry." She repeats, not wanting to move.
"I know."
"I am."
"I know, Eve." Her mother continues to hold her, gently helping her lie down, "I'll bring you a smoothie."
"Something healthy." Eve watches her mother.
"Yeah." Sharon smiles, kissing her daughter on the head before walking to the kitchen to make the girl a smoothie with her medication crushed into it.