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Nothing more than the soft pad of approaching footsteps alerted me to Junior's approach, and I turned my head just as he appeared in the doorway to Haley's bedroom.
Although he looked great in his uniform, I wasn't shocked to see the bags under his eyes had gotten worse, and he looked greasy. Still good, but greasy. Ever since he had been enlisted into the brand-spankin' new homegrown Chester's Mill militia, he had been working almost every second he was awake. And they needed him, I couldn't deny that. But it was still hard, to want him the way I did and know he couldn't be around a lot, not for me or Haley. He had increasingly been spending the night at the house I had called home for the past five days (ever since this thing came down over us), which was great, but the majority of the time I got to spend with him we were both asleep.
So I was glad to see him back early for once, if eleven could be called early when he'd been working since 6 this morning. Haley had just fallen asleep, and although I knew she'd want to see her brother, she had been having a hard time getting to sleep and I wasn't about to wake her for him.
So I rose slowly, careful to not make the bed squeak too much, and with one final look, I was satisfied that she was still sound asleep.
Junior just watched as I tiptoed across the room. He backed up to allow me to get out and shut the door behind me, then I threw myself into his arms. He seemed surprised, but adapted quickly, fitting himself against me soundly with his chin rested on top of my head and his arms under mine. I clutched his torso tightly, burying my face in his chest. I would've been happy to stay there forever.
Too soon, he pulled away, taking my face in his hands as he did and smoothing my hair down. "What's wrong?" he asked.
And that, I guess, was what I loved about him. I knew Junior was a bit off his rocker, had known ever since we had hooked up that first time. But he cared for me, so much, and that was something I was in sore need of on this side of the dome, where I had nobody. And he knew me, sometimes it felt like he knew me better than I knew myself. Like tonight, he knew I was worried without having to ask. His eyes and voice were already calming me down.
"Nothing, I'm just glad to see you. You know, the normal things to be worried about when we're trapped in here," I explained.
He didn't look totally satisfied, but let it slide for the moment. He took my hand in his and led me down the hall to his room. I led the way from there, leading him to the bed and pushing him down gently so I could rest against his chest. He wrapped an arm around my back, clutching me to him as I rested my head on his broad chest and traced patterns on his stomach over his police shirt.
“Look at this,” I half-heartedly tried to joke. “You come home from your day of saving the town, all bloody and bruised I’m sure, and you still end up comforting me when it should be the other way around.”
“You comfort me just by being around,” he murmured, his left thumb rubbing comfortingly up and down my upper arm.
“I’m glad. How was your day?”
“The usual. Idiots being themselves. Didn’t get banged up too bad today though. How was Haley?”
I could sense he didn’t want to talk about his day, and I didn’t want to force the issue. “She was great. I think she may be tiring Mrs. McAlister out, though.” The Rennies’ neighbor had been watching the youngest Rennie for the duration of the crisis, when the eleven-year-old would normally be in school. I helped out by picking her up and walking her home after that, and recently, I had been spending my evenings here. I made food, cleaned, and kept the girl company. She needed someone, and both her dad and brother were far too busy to provide that for her. Men and their duties, but I didn’t mind. It gave me something to do, a purpose and the sense that I was helping out.
“I was thinking about that,” Junior began, and I could feel his hesitation about whatever he was about to bring up. “I have an idea.”
“Spill. I’m all ears.”
He took his arm back from around me, and dragged me up so I was straddling him. I moved closer to him, sitting right on his groin where I could feel him already getting hard just from me being there. He loved it when I was on top; practically had a fetish for it.
“I know I’ve only known you for a few weeks, but for some reason I trust you. More than I should probably; I trust you with Haley and running the house when dad and I are gone. Mrs. McAlister is a good woman, but she shouldn’t have to watch Haley all the time, and there’s no way my dad or I can get enough time off to help out. So I was thinking, maybe you could just start watching her all day for us. My dad and I can keep you fed and let you stay here in return. Plus, I get to keep you close to me.”
The words filled me with warmth. “I’d love to do that. Haley needs someone, and helping out makes me feel useful.”
His mouth fell into a lazy smile. “Good. It’s a deal then. Haley will be glad to have you around all the time; she hates going to the McAlisters. And dad and I will just be glad to have a woman around the house again.”
“Your dad approved of this?”
Junior shrugged. “Yeah. I was surprised too; I mean he expressed his dislike for us fucking when we’re not married, but there’s not much he can do about that, and he knows it. So he agreed.”
“Good. Because you’re not getting rid of me anytime soon,” I joked, but it fell flat, and as if to save the moment I tugged his lips up to meet mine by the collar of his shirt. He seemed content after I had agreed to the plan.
“Why would I ever want to get rid of you?” he asked as we separated, but not by too much. I laid my head down onto his chest and let my eyes slide shut, taking deep breaths and hoping he’d absorb some of my renewed sense of peace.