The Hardest Part Is Letting Go Of Your Dreams

William lets me inside and sits me on the couch. "Gee what happened?" "Same old shit" I spit out, taking the tissue he's offering me and wiping the blood off my chin. "Fuck baby I'm sorry. You can stay here as long as you like." I smile weakly as I say "Thanks William." A few minutes of silence later William says "Wait, where's your kid?" "Ruby's with my brother, he's visiting at the moment so I sent them away." William nods and takes my hand, pulling me up from the couch and taking me into the bedroom. When we get there he gets me a pair of pyjama pants and leaves the room so I can change. Once I'm done I call out to him and he comes in and climbs into bed with me. I lay there for a few minutes before the stinging in my eyes gets too much and I finally let the tears spill, William immediately pulling me into his chest and holding me close as I bawl my eyes out. I cling to him, desperate for affection and the next thing I know my eye lids are too heavy to keep up anymore.
The next morning I wake up still in Williams arms and I find myself smiling at the feeling. After we drag ourselves out of bed William gets in the shower and I pull out my cell and call Mikey. I find out where he and Ruby are and when William gets out of the shower we head off to the hotel they're at. When we get there Mikey opens the door and Ruby runs straight into my legs, wrapping her arms around them. I bend down and pick her up, planting kisses all over her face and making her giggle. "I'm sorry baby girl" I tell her when I stop kissing and settle her against my chest. She reaches out a little hand and rests it on my cheek as she says "Love you daddy." I smile wide and say "Love you too baby." I plant another kiss on her face before I turn and face William. "This is my friend William, you wanna say hello Rubes?" She waves at him and says "Hi." William smiles wide and says "Hey Ruby." I put Ruby down and she runs back over to the bed and grabs Suzie while I talk to Mikey. "Thanks for keeping her safe Mikes." "No problem Gee, are you ok?" I nod and he hugs me before pulling away. "So this is William huh?" I smile slightly and nod and they introduce themselves to each other. "Well Gee I'm heading home today so I guess I'll get going now. Don't be a stranger, you need to visit more often and bring this adorable little girl with you." I nod and tell him we will and Ruby comes over and holds her arms up, Mikey picking her up and cuddling her. "Ok cutie pie it's time for me to go home. I'll see you soon ok." "Bye Unk Mikes" she says before kissing him and he puts her down, picking up his bags and saying goodbye, leaving the room. I gather up Ruby's little bag of belongings that they brought with them and William picks up Ruby, carrying her down to the lobby and holding her while I check out. Once we leave the hotel we walk back to Williams apartment and Ruby runs around checking out everything. Once she settles down being in a new place William and I sit on the floor and play with the few barbies Mikey grabbed for her to play with in her bag. "Where's daddy?" She asks after a few hours and I look to William, wondering what I'm meant to tell her. "We're having a little vacation right now and daddy stayed home. Don't you like it here?" She screws her face up before saying "I miss daddy." I sigh, knowing I shouldn't keep her from him and decide to take her home. "Gee I'm going with you. What if he's still angry?" I nod in agreement at Williams words and we leave his apartment, heading off towards home. When we get there Frank comes running to the door but stops in his tracks when he sees Ruby in Williams arms. "What's going on?" He asks, his voice wary. "I needed somewhere to stay last night didn't I?" I snap back and he lowers his head in shame. Ruby squirms until William puts her down and she runs over and says "Hi daddy" holding her arms out to be picked up. "Hey baby girl" he says as he picks her up and forces a fake smile on his face for her. When he puts her down again she runs into her room and Frank turns on us again. "So you're fucking again?" He snaps and I open my mouth but William beats me to it. "No we're not but you're fucking lucky because I would love to be with Gee. I would never ever lay a hand on him." Frank looks pissed off and takes a step towards us. "Stop" I say, holding my hand out towards him and he does what I say. "William thanks for letting me stay but I'll be fine now" I tell him and he stares into my eyes, checking for any sign I'm lying and he says "Ok, if you need me you know where I am. Bye Gee." When he leaves the apartment I push past Frank and go into the bathroom, getting in the shower and letting myself cry again.

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