chapter 4

~sullivan~

       I walk out of my bedroom, only to hear a bunch of noise coming form Caelus's room. His door is slightly open, so I glance inside to see what he could be doing this early. He's packing up is clothes in his suitcase, which I find odd since to my knowledge, he hasn't found a place to live yet.

       "What are you doing?" I ask.

       Caelus looks at me momentarily before he goes back to packing. "I said I'll only stay for a week at most. It's been a week. I got my paycheque, so I can stay at a motel for now."

       I know it's not ideal for Caelus to stay here after we were no longer together, but in all honestly, it hasn't been too bad. It hasn't been bad at all. He's a good roommate, even sometimes taking Kona out to play with her in the backyard because he wants to play with her. He cleans up after himself, he doesn't touch the food he knows I like having as a quick meal, he doesn't bother me when I'm working.

       I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I'd rather him stay indefinitely until he can find a place of his own than to stay at a motel. Not only will staying him instead of renting a motel room allow him to save money, but there's only one motel in this area and it's... not the best place to stay. It's a hotspot for criminal activity, no matter how many criminals have been arrested there. I don't want Caelus accidentally getting wrapped up in anything, or worse, get hurt from something.

       "You can stay until you find a place," I say.

       "No, it's fine," Caelus says. "I don't want to be a burden to you."

       "You're not," I assure.

       Caelus hesitates, deciding if he should stay or just go to the motel to stay out of my way. As he's thinking, Kona wanders into the guest room and sees that Caelus is putting clothes in his suitcase. She then proceeds to grab the suitcase off the bed and drop it onto the floor, spilling the clothes in the process.

       "I think she wants you to stay," I say.

       "Are you sure you don't mind?" Caelus asks.

       "I'm sure," I say. "You can save up more money by staying with me. A motel isn't a stable place to live, anyway. You don't know if you'll end up being kicked out or not able to pay for another stay for some reason."

       "I guess..."

       Kona picks up one of Caelus's shirts from the ground and places it back into the open dresser drawer. She's really adamant about Caelus staying. She has only known him for a week, but it looks like she's already so attached to him. I guess it helps that there are times where Caelus is here while I'm at work, so Kona isn't home alone.

       "I really don't mind if you stay longer, Caelus," I say since he still seems a bit hesitant. "I know we're not married anymore, but I think because of that, it's easier for us to live together. We don't have any obligations towards each other as long as we're respectful."

       "Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Caelus says. "Okay, I guess I'll stay. Thank you. I promise, I really will keep looking for a place to live, and one of my co-workers is even keeping an eye out for listings."

       "Don't feel like you should rush into moving out," I say. "As long as you find a roommate you feel safe and comfortable with." Caelus smiles his thanks and begins to unpack his clothes again. 

       I go back to following my morning routine by taking Kona out for a morning run. When we get back, I head to the kitchen to make breakfast for both me and Kona, only to find Caelus already cooking some scrambled eggs and bacon at the stove. When he sees me, he says, "I'm making breakfast for you too. As a sort of thank you for letting me stay longer."

       "Oh," I say. "You didn't have to."

       "I know. But I still wanted to."

       "Then thank you."

       As Caelus finishes up with breakfast for me and him, I make breakfast for Kona. At least Caelus making me breakfast saves me a bit of time. I can either stay home longer before heading off to work or I can go into work early. I'll depend on my mood when I'm done getting ready.

       Honestly, I'm a bit happy Caelus decided to cook breakfast for the two of us. He has always been a good cook, even for something as simple as bacon and eggs. The food he makes is always so flavourful and has the best texture.

       I kept telling him when we were married that he should pursue a culinary career, but he always refused, saying he only likes cooking when he doesn't feel obligated to do that. A culinary career would ruin that.

       I can always talk to him again to see if that changed in the two years we've been divorced but at the same time, it's none of my business. We're not married anymore, so what he's doing for a job is his business and his only. I don't think he'll appreciate me talking to him about it.

       Since Caelus made breakfast for the two of us, I wash the dishes after we're done eating. It's definitely what we should have done when we were married; whoever didn't cook dinner should be the one cleaning up, but instead, we were always arguing about who should clean up. Neither of us wanted to do it.

       I guess the two of us living together when we're no longer married is oddly making us better roommates. It's easier to live with each other without the pressure of a relationship and having to make each other happy. Now, the only thing we have to do is respect each other's space. And it's not like we completely hate each other. Maybe we did when we got divorce, but being apart for two years fixed that. I do still care about him, just no longer in a romantic sense.

       He may not know it, but I'll always be here for him.

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plot twist: sullivan trained kona to unpack caelus's stuff to stop him from moving out. jk jk.