The Hardest Part Is Letting Go Of Your Dreams

A month later Ruby and I have moved into our own place and my body has healed from Franks attack. William had a friend who was sub letting his fully furnished apartment and was happy to let us stay for however long we wanted. Frank has been coming around every day and spending a few hours with Ruby and William visits quite a lot too. Ruby has adjusted well to the big change which I am thankful for. William and I have spent a lot of time together in the last month and we are growing closer but I'm unsure exactly what my feelings are for him. Frank only makes it harder because he texts me every night with the same message. 'I love you and I miss you so much, come home your side of the bed is too cold.' The first few nights were hard, my resolve crumbling but I pulled myself together and reminded myself of why we are like this. Tomorrow is Ruby's birthday and I've organised a little party for her. Mikey and his girlfriend are coming in the morning and we are having the party in the afternoon. It's getting late and Ruby is already in bed asleep but Frank is still hanging around, helping me with last minute preparations for the party. He's attempting to arrange streamers around our living room but he's gotten himself tangled in it and the sight makes me laugh. He turns his head to look at me and he flips me off before laughing too and I stick my tongue out at him. "Well are you gonna help me out of this or just watch me all night?" He asks jokingly and I joke back. "Well I was just gonna watch but I guess I can help." I stand up and walk over to him, helping him get out of the mess he's made and he goes to take a step away but a strand of streamer we didn't see is wrapped around his foot and he trips, grabbing my arm to try and steady himself but he takes me down with him. We both hit the floor and Frank immediately looks over to see if I'm ok. I look back at him before bursting out laughing and saying "Idiot." He starts laughing too and we lay on the floor for a few minutes laughing until our sides hurt. I roll my head to look at him again and he's there, waiting for me and he seals his lips over mine. I freeze for a second thinking about whether this is what I want but I'm tired of being lonely so I kiss back, rolling my whole body to face him and he rolls too and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me against him as we kiss. We lay on the floor sharing kisses until I need to pull away to breathe. I pull back and pant into his mouth as his hand comes up to cup my cheek and he whispers "God you're so beautiful Gee." I feel myself blushing so I lean back in to kiss him again. When we pull apart for the second time I sit up and so does Frank. "It's kinda late, do you wanna stay tonight?" I ask and he stares into my eyes, looking for any sign that I'm not serious and he nods his head frantically. "I don't want to do anything, just to be clear" I tell him and he nods again and says "Of course, anything you want babe." I slowly drag myself off the floor and we go into the bedroom, deciding to leave the rest of the decorating until tomorrow. I grab my pyjamas and leave the room, going into the bathroom to change and on my way back to the bedroom I check on Ruby who is sound asleep cuddling Billy, Suzie laying on the floor. I tiptoe in and pull her blanket back up, kissing her forehead lightly before sneaking back out of the room. When I go back into the bedroom Frank is sitting on the edge of the bed in his boxers and when he sees I'm in pyjama pants and a tshirt he says "Uh do you want me to put on pyjamas?" I shake my head and say "Wear whatever you want." He nods and I walk over and climb into bed. Frank climbs in the other side and I reach out and turn the lamp off before laying back down and staring at the roof, just listening to Franks breathing beside me. After a few minutes of silence Franks hand slides over and into mine, linking our fingers together and I roll my head to look at him in the dark, his face just visible in the moonlight. He smiles at me and I smile back before rolling to face him, keeping our hands linked together. We lay there staring at each other for what feels like hours, just studying each other's faces until my eyes drift shut and I fall asleep.

The next morning I wake up with my face pressed into Franks neck, his arms wrapped around me holding me to his body. I pull back and see he's already awake and he quickly rushes out "Sorry babe you were shivering in your sleep so I thought id help. Sorry" "Its ok" I tell him and he smiles at me. Just as I'm about to get up the door opens and Ruby runs in jumping up on the bed and when she spots Frank she screams out "Daddy" and crawls up, launching herself into his chest. They lay there and cuddle before Ruby pulls away and slides over to cuddle into my side. "Happy birthday baby girl" I tell her and she smiles wide and turns to Frank and says "I'm this many daddy" and holds up four fingers. "Wow very good Rubes who taught you that?" "Daddy and Bill" she says and I freeze, waiting for his angry reaction again. He smiles and says "Very good, you're very clever." Ruby claps her hands and giggles before Frank says "How about I make pancakes for breakfast?" And Ruby bounces around excited. "Go wash your hands first remember Rubes?" She nods and jumps off the bed, running from the room and I turn to look at Frank. "So you've been spending a lot of time with William huh?" He asks and I nod my head, not game to speak a word. "Good, I'm glad you had a friend." I sit there stunned as he leans in and kisses my cheek before standing up and leaving the room.

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