Page 82 of Pain
They were a beautiful pastel pink, and Matt wondered what she was up to.
When Gretchen returned, she handed the flowers to Faith. "These are one of my favorite flowers. They are called the Faith rose."
Faith's eyes went wide. "They have my name?"
"They do, and just like you, they are strong and beautiful," Gretchen told her.
Surprising everyone, Faith reached out and wrapped her arms around Gretchen, hugging her tightly.
It was the first contact Matt had seen her have with anyone other than him since she'd come home. He swallowed back emotion as he met Gretchen's gaze as Faith continued to hug her. No matter what anyone said, the day was a total success.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Xander watched as Faith finished with the clay she'd been using, carefully putting the unused portion away. They'd gone to the craft store earlier, and she'd talked him into not only buying her the markers she wanted, but also clay, so she could make animals to set around her bedroom. He was impressed with how well she molded the clay and how realistic the animals looked.
"Want me to set them up on the shelf to dry all night?" He nodded to the board the animals now sat on.
"Yeah, thanks. Do you think we can get more clay tomorrow?" Faith asked as she went to wash her hands.
"I think you still have enough. Besides, your dad will be home tomorrow, and I can't sneak you things when he's around. He's already going to kill me for spoiling you today."
"You're not spoiling me. I needed those things." Faith grinned.
"If I got you what you needed, we'd be at the bookstore and not the craft store." He tapped her gently on the top of her head.
"When will Dad be home?"
"I'm not sure. He had some stuff to do at work. It's a big case they are working on and it might take a few more hours." He sat down at the table with her. "We can watch a movie or something if you want."
When Matt had been asked to come into work, Xander didn't think twice about offering to stay with Faith. She trusted him, and there had been a few other times Matt had left them alone when he had to run errands or other things.
They were still slowly moving things from Matt's old house to his, and sticking the rest in storage. The plan was to sell the old house, then find a new one that Faith felt safe in. It was going to take time, but Xander didn't mind having them stay with him. He'd come a long way in the last few months, going from a man who never had anyone over to living with the man he was fucking.
"You pick the movie this time." Faith went to the cupboard and pulled out the microwavable popcorn. "I'll cook."
"Okay, but you better make two. You know I won't get any if you only make one." He winked at her.
"Liar." She laughed. "You're the one who eats it all." She grabbed a second bag out.
He kept an eye on her as he scanned the list of kid-friendly movies, finally settling on something about a pig living on a farm. It was hardly the type of movie he'd pick to enjoy, but at least it wasn't animated like so many others they'd sat through.
"I hear you're going out with your grandma this weekend. Are you excited?"
Faith frowned. "I don't know. She wants to take me to some fair thing. She says I'll have fun, but Grandma is kind of boring."
It was the first time she was going to go out without Matt around, and they were all curious how it would go. Matt was more a mess about letting her go than Faith was about going, and Xander didn't blame him. It was hard to get over the fear that she could be taken again, and as much as Matt wanted to be with her all the time to protect her, it was unrealistic to think he could. The older Faith got, the more she'd go out with others, and it was something Matt had to get used to. Xander planned on distracting Matt the whole time as best he could to keep his mind off what Faith was up to, and to keep him from driving his mother crazy with phone calls checking up on them every ten minutes.
"Grandparents can be boring. Mine used to travel a lot, then they'd come home and make me watch videos of their vacations. I was like seven, trying to understand where they'd gone and why they were so excited to see boring stuff." Xander reached into the fridge and pulled out two juice boxes. He'd much rather a beer, but as with everything else in his life, things were different when you were hanging with a ten-year-old. He'd cut his smoking habit in half since Faith moved in.
As they sat down on the couch with their popcorn and apple juice, Xander thought about how different his life had become. He'd never dreamed he would be sitting with a child watching movies in his own living room. It wasn't who he was, or at least who he had been. Obviously, it was who he was now. He glanced over at Faith and smiled as he hit play. "Don't fall asleep."
She rolled her eyes. "It's early still. You're the one who falls asleep on the couch all the time."
"I'm old. That's what old people do," he teased.
"You're not old." She tugged on his beard. "See, no gray hair. Old people have gray hair like Grandma or Gretchen."
"That is true, they do. So, I guess I'm just lazy then?" He nudged her with his elbow, glad that she was finally getting used to the small touches and didn't shy away when he was close to her.
