chapter 2

~sullivan~

       I open the front door to my house and walk inside with Kona. The moment I take Kona's leash off, she makes her way to the kitchen, knowing that it's time for breakfast after our morning run.

       I walk into the kitchen to get her breakfast ready. The washroom is closer to the kitchen than the front door, so now that I'm in the kitchen, I can clearly hear the shower running from inside. That surprises me. Caelus isn't exactly a morning person, so there's no way he would willingly be awake taking a shower at six-thirty in the morning.

       I don't think much about it, though. Caelus can do what he wants. He's just a temporary roommate and then he'll be out of my life again. It will be best for us to just live our lives separately while we're forced to be in the same house again.

       The shower turns off and a few moments later, the washroom door opens just a crack. "Hey, Sullivan?" he asks.

       "Yes?"

       "I forgot to grab my towel. It's in my bedroom. Can you get it for me?"

       "No. I'm getting Kona's breakfast ready. You can get it yourself."

       "Sully, if you wanted to see me naked, you could have just asked."

       I look towards the washroom, seeing Caelus's head peering through the small crack of the open door, shielding the rest of his body behind the door. "I don't see how telling you to get your towel yourself is any indication that I want to see you naked. And please, do not call me Sully."

       "Well, I need to walk to my bedroom to get my towel," Caelus points out. "And since I don't have a towel, that would mean walking through the house naked."

       Seeing as I'm not interested in seeing my ex-husband walk naked around the house, I decide to get his towel for him. It's just sitting on top of his bed, so I pick it up and walk to the washroom, tossing it towards him. "There."

       "Awe, I was kind of hoping you wouldn't give me the towel," Caelus says.

       "Why?"

       Caelus stares at me for a bit. "You still don't get the hints people drop, do you?"

       I walk back to the kitchen to continue getting food for Kona. Thankfully, she's a patient dog so she didn't throw a fit when I temporarily stopped to get Caelus a towel. She's just sitting as she waits. "I don't get why you would drop hints towards me."

       "It's called teasing you, Sully," Caelus says before closing the washroom door. Caelus has always been a teaser, ever since we first met. It's no surprise to see that he's still teasing me after seeing each other since our divorce two years ago.

       I set Kona's food bowl down in her usual spot. She waits until I give her the cue to start eating.

       I start to prepare my own breakfast and as I do, Caelus walks out of the washroom, fully changed and drying his hair with the towel. "Smells good," he says.

       "It's not for you," I say. "You can make your own breakfast. Why are you even up at this hour?"

       "I haven't slept yet," Caelus says. "I was getting ready to head off to bed."

       "That isn't healthy."

       "Would you say the same thing to someone who works nights and have to sleep during the day?"

       "Do you work nights?"

       Caelus is silent for a few moments. "No."

       "Then your point is invalid."

       "You're invalid," Caelus mutters before he heads to the spare room, closing the door behind him. Always so mature with his responses. I guess that hasn't changed in two years. I'd think that he would come up with better insults and responses now that he's twenty-six, but I guess not.

       I don't have work today unless I get called in for a case, so most of the morning is spent in the living room with Kona. Part of me also wants to see if I can help Caelus find a place to live, but I decide against it. It's his responsibility. He can find a place without my help. I don't know what he can afford and the area he wants to live in anyway, so it's best if I don't insert myself into his business.

       I just hope he'll be able to actually find a place soon. He isn't exactly a horrible person to live with; it hasn't even been a full twenty-four hours, but he doesn't pry himself into my personal space. I would just rather not live with my ex-husband.

       The only reason why I agreed to let him stay here was because I truly don't want him to go stay with his family. I may be divorced to Caelus and had fallen out of love with him, but I don't want him to go back to a toxic, and sometimes dangerous, family. If it keeps him safe, then it's better for him to stay he temporarily.

       Caelus ends up getting out of the spare room around noon, despite that meaning he had less than four hours of sleep. He tiredly heads to the kitchen and opens the fridge to find something to eat.

        He stares at the inside of the fridge for a while, so I say, "There are some blueberry bagels in the fridge freezer," knowing it was one of his favourite quick meals to have.

       "Cream cheese?" Caelus asks.

       "In the fridge. Top shelf."

       "Thanks."

       As Caelus is slightly thawing the bagel in the microwave so he can cut it in half, he asks, "You don't have work today?"

       "I'm on call on weekends," I say. "I don't go into the office unless there's a case I'm needed in. There's nothing right now, so I'm home for the weekend. What about you? Do you still work at the sandwich shop?"

       "No, I'm working at the local amusement park now," Caelus says. "I'm off today."

       "So you're going to be here all day bugging me?" I ask.

       "No, I'll give you your space," Caelus says. "I'll probably just be in the kitchen or the spare room trying to find a place to live."

       "Did you find anything yet?"

       "Nope. It's hard to find a cheap place to rent nowadays, even with a roommate. But I'll find somewhere soon. I won't be here forever."

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caelus is just like me going to bed at 6:30 am (jk i've been going to bed at, like, 4 pm send help)