He missed Caleb, mason really did. He missed his friends humor, the inside jokes, the easy laughter that had come even before he had money, and the knowledge of a friend who wanted him for who he was. And mason really, really missed his friend being the one to raise his kid. Annie was cute, the way all newborns were, and mason would have gladly taken a bullet for her even before her parents had perished, but the person he was now co parenting with? Mason would have rather eaten a shoe than ever considered living with Lia, let alone raising a child with her. Still, it was for Caleb, and Annie, so he kept moving forward, even in the cloudy haze of grief after the funeral, and even after Annie had been up all night sobbing her little lungs out, leading to his current position, prone on the couch, child finally still and silent on his chest. A creak of the floorboard signalled lias presence, and he spoke without opening his eyes, doing his best to keep his voice level to avoiding waking Annie. “While I’m so thrilled you managed to sleep through last night, she just went to bed, and if you wake her up you’re the one that gets to deal with her for the rest of the day. Please, for the love of everything holy, be quiet” // @thcblackrosc














