Chapter Thirty Seven: ChangesTrigger warning: Minor car accident and flashbacksOne Year Later"Good morning." Lucas said.
"Good morning sweetie!" I said, smiling.
I sprayed the table before wiping it clean with a dish towel. Lucas walked over to the sink and got a glass of water before sitting down at the table.
"What is on the agenda today?" I asked.
"I was suppose to ask you if I can stay over at Wyatt's house after school." He said.
Wyatt was a little boy that Lucas had befriended at the beginning of the school year. I had met his parents a few times while dropping Lucas off at school. Wyatt's father was an attorney, and his mother was a dental assistant. Both had very busy jobs, but managed to be there for Wyatt without struggling. I told them if they ever needed a place for Wyatt to go he was more than welcome to come to the apartment and hang out. Wyatt himself was very energetic and quite the character when it came to bad jokes. Lucas was always telling me the latest joke, the next one always worse than the last.
"Are his parents okay with it?" I asked.
"Yeah! His mom has the weekend off!" He told me.
"Well, as long as you are finished with your homework before you go I don't see the issue." I said.
"I'm going to go pack!" He said.
He darted off the chair and sprinted to his bedroom.
"Homework Lucas!" I called after him.
I laughed and shook my head as my phone went off.
Up for company? -N
Always! -RI stood up and finished cleaning up the kitchen before walking into the living room. Oliver was laying on the couch until he heard a knock on the door and immediately jumped up and started barking.
"Oh stop it! It's Nathan you silly thing." I laughed.
"Is that Nathan?!" Lucas asked.
"Yeah!" I said.
I walked over to the door as Lucas came out of his room now dressed for the day and sat on the couch. I opened up the door to find Nathan standing there and gave him a kiss before letting him inside of the apartment. Oliver came over to him with his tennis ball before dropping it at his feet before huffing a little.
"Hi Nathan." Lucas said.
"Hey little man. What's up?" Nathan asked.
"I'm going to a sleep over today." Lucas announced.
"That sounds fun!" Nathan exclaimed.
I walked over and gave him a kiss on the lips.
"Happy Anniversary." I said.
"Happy Anniversary." He said, smiling.
Today was our one year anniversary which was crazy to think about. I ended up giving Nathan a key to the apartment a few months ago because he was here so much it made sense. I had a stable schedule with work now that I was in a official position, but there was still a few days where I would have to stay late. If that was the care I would text Nathan and if he was able to he would come sit with Lucas until I got home. It was nice for Lucas to have a male figure in his life, someone to teach him the things that I cannot. It was great watching the two bond and form a friendship. It was less great watching them scream at the tv during the latest episode of Sim of the Dead which became their favorite show.
"Hey! Are you going to be over next week for the new episode?!" Lucas gasped.
"For the season finale?! Heck yeah kiddo!" Nathan said.
"Sweet, hey mom we need some popcorn!" Lucas said.
"I will see what I can do." I said, chuckling.
Lucas got off the couch as Nathan sat down and watched Lucas toss the ball to Oliver.
"Hey, what did I tell you Lucas? Take him downstairs please." I said.
"Sorry mom." He said.
Lucas leashed Oliver before taking him out of the apartment. I sat down next to Nathan and leaned over giving him a quick kiss.
"So, Lucas is going to a sleep over?" Nathan asked.
"Yeah, maybe for the whole weekend." I told him.
Nathan made a humming noise.
"What's spinning in your brain mister?" I asked.
"I think it's time for you to come to my house." He said.
Nathan refused to let me come to his house. At first I found it extremely strange for obvious reasons. Was he hiding something? Did he have a home? I waited patiently until he was finally ready to tell me just why we never went to his house. He bought a fixer upper, and by fixer upper I meant heavy on the fix part of the word. The way he described it was being held up by a few rusty nails and holes in the roof. Imagine having multiple buckets on the floor to catch the rain so he wasn't living in a lake. He was embarrassed for me to see it like that even though I told him that there was nothing to be ashamed of. But he insisted that we wait until it was officially renovated and which his new income it was going a lot faster. He would sent me snip bits of parts of rooms and it was coming along nicely.
"Is it done?!" I gasped.
"It is, and what better opportunity then a sleep over?" He asked.
"Can we go now?!" I asked.
Nathan laughed and took my hand.
...
"So, this is it!" Nathan said.
I took both his hands in mine and swung them back and forth. The house was small, but had a charm to it with it's stone walls on the outside and a grey wooden roof. There were a few bushes around the side and in the front with little pink flowers on them. The front porch was empty but had a perfect spot for a nice little bench we could sit on.
"It's lovely." I said.
"You haven't even seen the inside." Nathan giggled.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" I asked.
Nathan led me to the front door and we walked inside to the most beautiful kitchen. The walls were a soft yellow coloring that paired with the teal green counters and cabinets. On the wall between the bathroom and bedroom was a white steering wheel to a ship that complimented the kitchen very well. There wasn't room for a full dining room table so there were three bar stools lined up. There was a countertop stove top built into the countertop, and an oven built into the cabinets. On top of the oven there was a raised sink which I loved. I looked around in awe as Nathan stood by the front door smiling at my reactions to all the little decorations.
"So what do you think?" Nathan asked.
"This is beautiful." I whispered.
"I'm glad you think so because it cost a pretty penny." He laughed.
"I can imagine, it probably cost more than my apartment alone." I said.
"You wanna go sit on the couch?" He asked.
He took my hand and led me a few feet into the living room. It was small, tucked away in a little corner but it was perfect. It had just enough room for the couch and a television with two small tree plants on either side. Nathan sat on the couch before I sat down next to him and took in the surroundings.
"I'm surprised the couch doesn't clash with the walls." I said.
"I wasn't going to go with a yellow couch at first, but it is so comfortable." He told me.
"That it is." I said.
Nathan leaned over slowly before giving me a deep kiss.
"That was nice." I whispered once we broke apart.
"I don't think I've shown you the bedroom." Nathan said.
"No, I don't believe you have." I said.
Needless to say we didn't stay in the living room for long.
...
"Hey that's not fair!" Nathan gasped.
"Yeah well life's not fair!" I giggled.
"You sound like my mother." He said.
"Gee thanks." I said.
I raised the pillow over my head as Nathan prepared to seek his revenge.
"WAIT!" I squealed.
Nathan whacked me with a pillow as I screamed out.
"That was hard!" I said.
"Oh, I'm sorry I forgot I was the one who started this little war!" He said.
I laughed.
Nathan raised his pillow again and I screamed.
"NO!" I cried.
"I'm going to get you!" I laughed.
"I'm not afraid of a girl." He teased.
"Oh yeah?" I asked.
I raised the pillow before whacking him in the head.
"How is that for a girl?" I asked.
"It was kind of weak." He said.
"Weak?! Well what about this!" I said.
I raised the pillow.
"Truce! Truce!" Nathan said.
"What, too afraid that you'll be beat by a girl?" I asked.
"No, but Lucas is calling." Nathan said.
He pointed to my phone and sure enough, Lucas' picture was flashing on the screen. I leaned over and grabbed it before answering it and bringing it to my ear.
"Lucas? Is everything okay? It's the middle of the night!" I said.
"Is this Raegan Barnes?" A woman asked.
"This- This is her, who are you? Where is Lucas?" I asked.
Nathan was immediately alarmed.
"Hi Raegan, this is Dr. Smith down at County General-"
"Where is my son?!" I demanded.
"I'm calling to let you know that your son Lucas was brought into the hospital a half an hour ago." Dr. Smith stated.
My heart stopped, "The hospital?! Is he okay?!"
"Your son was involved in a car accident-"
Everything happened so quickly yet very slow at the same time. After she said the words car accident the phone fell from my hands and I went numb. Nathan asked me what was going on before realizing I was in shock. He quickly grabbed the phone from the mattress before getting off of the bed to talk to the doctor.
"Ma'am?" The man asked.
"This is Officer Peters, and I'm Officer Sampson." The girl introduced.
"Why are you here?" I asked, my voice shaking.
"Ma'am, we are here to inform you that there was a car accident a few hours ago. A semi truck turned over and caused a massive car pile up on the interstate. It took a while for us to clear everything up and-" Officer Peters started."Raegan?"
I could hear Nathan, but it was like I was in some kind of trance. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe, and I couldn't talk.
"Raegan?"
"Not again." I finally managed to say.
"Can you just tell me why you are here? Please." I demanded.
"Mrs. Barnes, we regret to inform you that your husband Ian was involved in a serious car accident. Due to his injuries he sustained during the accident he was rushed to the nearest hospital where doctors did everything they could to save him. But unfortunately they were unable to bring him back. I'm sorry but Ian passed away Mrs. Barnes." Officer Sampson said.
"NO!" I wailed."Raegan, we have to get to the hospital." Nathan said.
"It's happening again." I whispered.
"It's not happening again, okay? He is going to be fine. Raegan, he is going to be fine." Nathan assured me.
"Ian-" I said.
Nathan grabbed my hands and squeezed them before rushing to the living room before returning with my shoes. He knelt down at my feet and slipped them into the shoes before throwing on a t-shirt. I don't even know what happened in the next twenty minutes but before I knew it we were standing in the hospital. I heard babies crying, people yelling, and children laughing but I felt like this was a nightmare.
"Raegan?" Nathan asked.
I realized that we were standing at the registration desk and the nurse was looking at me impatiently. I looked at Nathan for a few moments before swallowing and taking a deep breath.
"My name is Raegan Barnes, I got a call from a Dr. Smith about my son Lucas?" I asked.
"I will let the doctor know you are here, please take a seat." The nurse said.
Nathan led me to the rows of chairs in the waiting room.
"How did we get here?" I asked.
"I drove us here, you went into shock which is why you don't remember." He explained.
"I froze, I'm sorry." I said.
"You have nothing to apologize about, I have you." He assured me.
I leaned into him and closed my eyes trying to fight back the tears. Lucas needed me to be strong for him right now and I could do that even if I was scared to death.
"Raegan?"
I looked up to see a young doctor standing there with a clipboard. Nathan and I stood up and I grabbed his hand bracing for the worst.
"I'm Dr. Smith, we talked on the phone a little bit before someone took over." Dr. Smith said.
"Yes, I'm sorry I guess I went into shock." I said.
"Very common, as a mother myself I can't say I wouldn't of done the same." She said, giving me a gentle smile.
"Is Lucas okay?" I asked.
I was thankful for the reassurance, but I needed to know what was going on.
"Your son is okay, he was brought in a little bit ago. Thankfully he was wearing his seatbelt so he only sustained minor injuries." She told me.
"What about the others? He was staying with a friend." I asked.
"The other little boy managed to go unscathed, the mother however has a few broken bones and a possible head injury. Overall though everyone will pull through." She explained.
Dr. Smith explained that a driver ran a red light, but thankfully hit the front end of the car instead of the middle. The other driver was an elderly man who thought the light had changed. He was fine as well, and was distraught over the entire situation. Dr. Smith walked us down the hall to a room where she knocked before we entered the room.
"Mom!" Lucas gasped.
"Baby!" I said.
I ran over and threw myself at him before gathering him in my arms.
"I'm okay mom." He said into my shoulder.
"Let me look at you." I said.
He had minor cuts but otherwise he looked like he was untouched.
"It was so scary mom." He told me.
"I know sweetie, I am so sorry that happened." I said.
"Hey mom?" He asked.
"Yes?" I said.
"Do you think dad was scared?" He asked.
I stroked his cheek before giving him a small smile.
"I think your dads accident happened so fast that he didn't even know what was going on." I said, my voice cracking.
"That's good." He whispered.
I leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.
A few hours later we were home, and by home I mean we were at Nathan's house. I wanted to get Lucas somewhere to rest as quick as possible and Nathan's happened to be closer. Lucas loved it just as much as I did and insisted we bring Oliver over some day so he could experience having a yard to run around in. I set the bags we got from the store down on the countertop before going to help Lucas get situated on the couch.
"Are you sure you don't want to sleep in the bed? I can take the couch." Nathan suggested.
"No, this is fine! The tv is huge!" Lucas gasped.
I laughed, "You can watch a bit of it but you need to get some sleep."
"Okay mama." He said.
I kissed him on the forehead before heading into the kitchen. Nathan opened his arms and I walked right into them before melting in his arms.
"Rough night." Nathan whispered.
"I've never been so scared." I said.
"I know, but you did amazing." He told me.
"Only because you were with me. I don't know what would have happened if I just stayed there frozen on the bed." I said.
He kissed the top of my head.
"You don't have to do anything alone anymore, I've got you and that little boy now." He whispered.
"Thank you." I said, a few tears falling from my eyes.
I closed my eyes and just let Nathan hold me for a few moments later before getting Lucas his pain medicine and a glass of water.
I decided to do a time jump because I think I'm going to wrap this story up in a chapter or two. BUT, don't worry it's not the end for these three! I'm going to make a new story with them, I just don't want to this one be too long if that makes sense! A new story for their new chapter in life! =] I hope you enjoyed!
