WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY

The agreement

She had to fall in love with the place so quickly, now it would hurt to not take him up on his offer, what if he is as controlling as he was when they outside that apartment building, even though there was nothing violent about him that time, it was protective and caring and God did she love this place. ”As long as we agree you will ease up on the big brother complex,” she said and he smiled at her with a smile she is pretty sure she had never seen before. “Okay, I can work on it.” he said getting himself a bottle of water and another one for her too, “...I’ll go put the car seat in the truck so we can get your stuff. A few nurses and doctors bought you and Andrew clothes since you guys are leaving us now.” “Meet you outside then,” she said and went to wait for him outside.

Just like that she had moved in with Dr Alexander Russell, the met who practically lived in her erotic dreams. She was glad he saw her as a baby sister to protect or else she would be pregnant in no time judging by the dreams she is having. She sat there in awkward silence waiting for Alexander to finish making her a sandwich, “So I can’t cook to save my life, I make a mean sandwich though, so you won’t really go hungry.” he said giving her her sandwich and placing her drink on the coffee table next to her, she put down the sandwich and sat on the sofa before Alexander could help her. He had spent the whole afternoon assembling both the cots they got from the nurses and doctors. Andrew was sleeping on the camp cot they agreed would be in the living room so she wouldn’t need to go far to put him to bed. He sat next to her on the sofa.

They ate in silence, it was a comfortable silence. Hanging between them now was the promise of the agreement of how she would pay for her stay. That conversation was not had that night, just Andrew crying because he was in a strange place. Alexander stayed up with them both until the baby fell asleep on his steal chest on the sofa with Casey beside them. Soon they followed him. It was only in the morning that Alexander realized that they fell asleep there and he just covered her in his mother's favorite quilt and put the baby in his cot and got ready for work. He dreaded getting to work because Samantha would troll him for being tired, even though she knew he hadn't been with a woman in four years, this time his freedom was on the line and so was his medical license. This was the only thing he had now, that he promised his mom before he died. 

Alexander got to work after his can of Redbull and just luck would have it, Samantha was the first person to see him and he tried to act like he didn't see her, but knowing his best friend, she would follow him to his office and sure enough she did, "Why are you avoiding me? What happened with your new roommate?" she asked excitedly and she already knew he was not looking to talk about it by the change in his mood as he turned to face her. "Nothing happened Sam, nothing can ever happen," he sounded hurt by the last part. "And why not? Alexander you deserve to be happy," she said and he just walk to his window, not wanting to look at her because he would end up believing her lies. "Until I get bored of her and by that time I matter to her more than her own child and she sees her only option is killing herself than live without me and I lose my license and also go to jail, Samantha the last four years have not been easy and I won't relapse now," he turned his features almost hostile as he told her his fears. "Bullshit Alexander I won't let you do that to yourself, you're using your past to cover the fear of getting out there and doing it right this time, talking about how you were destined to be alone, but you're not, I'm here. I love you Alexander," She said going over to hug him and she felt him relax into her for a second and the he went rigid again and then heard Jason's voice, "If you weren't my brother this would worry me," the sarcasm that oozed from every syllable was unmistakable and Alexander knew he deserved it after everything he had done to him in the past.

Samantha greeted her boyfriend and looked at both of them and they were in a dark place right now and she was the only one that could help Alexander out of it, Jason was easier because he would talk about it, but Xander would just stay in that guilt until it completely consumed him and then go and do something stupid. "If we were in the business of holding people's pasts against them, you and I would not be together would we Jason?" she asked and he shook his head seeming to calm down. "Look man I'm sorry, I know you're not that guy anymore. I don't know what got into me, can I make it up to you by taking you to lunch today?" Jason said seeing the pain in his big brother's eyes. "I can't, I'm using my lunch to pick Casey to bring her to your physical therapy appointment," he said taking his phone and everything else he needed to start his rounds. 

For three weeks this was his routine, sleeping with Casey and Andrew on the Sofa, coming to work and talk about the possibility of a future he knew deep down was not his. Casey was walking again, even though not completely, but at least she could get up and make herself a sandwich and she was on crutches now and no more wheelchair. He couldn't wait to get home and get started on dinner with Casey. Those were words he never thought he would ever think. Casey had domesticated her and all without expecting anything romantic with him, that's why it was easy being with Casey, she was the second woman after Samantha to call him out on his bullshit. The difference was Samantha did it despite the knowledge of his past.

He went home and found she had started on dinner, He went to wash off his day and took Andrew and went to join her in the kitchen, "And there I was thinking I'd learn to cook, but now you're doing it without me," he teased placing Andrew on the counter. "Don't be dramatic, just because I got tired of sitting and doing nothing all day," she said laughing at him, she couldn't help but notice that he was I better mood today, she hated how he acted like he took her in out of obligation sometimes, so many times she thought she would leave him as soon as she sold her wedding ring and now that the money was finally in her account she didn't want to leave him, she was falling for him, sometimes she could see he is too, times like here and now and then sometimes he is distant and professional, even though he did everything they did everyday, but it always felt like he is on autopilot.