He seemed to be falling apart in slow-motion, right before her eyes. His hands trembled as he gripped the mug in his hand. He inhaled shakily. His eyes became rimmed with red.
Abruptly, he broke the tense silence. “I-I’m sorry. Can I—Can I use your washroom?”
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"Yeah, of course. Down the hall, first door on the right," Devon directed him softly.
Great going, genius. He obviously didn't want to talk about it, so why would you ask something like that? Curiosity killed the cat, you know.
“I-I’m sorry,” he choked out, “I don’t know what’s gotten into me.” Which was an enormous lie, but he said it anyways as he slipped away into the safety of the washroom.
As soon as the door was closed behind him, Sebastian broke down, silently, without making a single sound. And he just stood there and cried, wiping away each tear just as two more came trickling down. Strange, how even the mention of that simple name could set him off like this…
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Devon sighed and set her head in her hands, covering her face with them. Gosh, she was such an idiot… Why did she have to ask about it?
He was one of the few people she could almost call a friend, and she'd gone and said something about his daughter's name. Whatever had happened to the baby's mom, it couldn't have been good. Not if I made him react in such a way.
Sebastian took a shuddering breath in, scrubbing furiously at his teary red eyes. “Goddammit,” he muttered, but the curse came out choked, twisted. Eventually, his hands had stopped shaking enough for him to successfully wipe his face clean. But unfortunately, the same could not be said about his tortured mind.
Blonde curls.
Green-hazel eyes.
The sweetest laugh.
I balled his hands into fists and slipped from the bathroom, returning to Devon.
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Devon had taken a deep breath and pulled her face from her hands. Instead, they were wrapped around the mug of cocoa in front of her. She managed to force a smile onto her face as Sebastian reentered the room.
She didn’t say anything. What was there to say? “Hey, I’m sorry I made you thinks about something you clearly didn’t want to”? No… That would just be dumb.
“I’m sorry,” Sebastian apologized, unable to meet his host’s eyes for more than a few seconds. “That was rude on my part.”
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“Don’t worry about it. We’ve all got thing we’re going through, right?” Devon said softly with a small shrug. Goodness knows I am…
“We do… but I’m still sorry.” He chewed on his bottom lip, inhaling shakily.
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Devon nodded slowly before taking a sip of her drink. “Anyway… Your hot cocoa will get cold if you don’t drink it soon,” she murmured around her mug.
Grateful for the abrupt topic change, he reached once more for his mug and raised it to his mouth. "How old is Layla, again? Three?"
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"Yeah, she's three. She turned three in January," Devon said with a small smile. "What about Ella? How old is she?"
Inhaling deeply, Sebastian took a moment to steady himself before replying. "Ella's a year and a few months. Fast learner, though, she was walking at nine months."
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Devon's hesitant smile widened a bit at the bit of information. "Wow. That is fast. Layla started walking around… Fourteen months, I believe it was. She started talking around eight months, though. And she's been quite the talker ever since," she chuckled.
(fun fact: Ella is very loosely based off of my sister when she was a baby. Not now, though, lol)
Sebastian echoed her quiet laugh, slipping back into the rhythm of causal conversation. "She's adorable, and whip-smart, too. Even for her age," he complimented sincerely, referring to Layla.
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(Lol. Cute. ;)
“Thanks. She doesn’t do so well in the listening part, though,” Devon declared with a small smile as her gaze drifted over to the living room. She could hear the girls babbling to each other and the toys they were playing with, and it was rather adorable.
"She's a toddler, it's only natural," Sebastian chuckled, following her line of sight to where their daughters were playing. "It'll come with time…. then disappear entirely as soon as she becomes a teenager."
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“I’m not excited for the teenager stage,” Devon chuckled, taking a sip of her drink. “If she’s this rebellious now, she’s going to be such a handful as a teenager.”
“Ouch,” he winced, chuckling softly. “You’ve got time to prepare, I guess.”
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Devon sighed and shook her head with a soft chuckle. “I certainly hope so. She is sweet, though. I’m sure she’ll be a great girl when she grows up… Though, as her mother, I may be a little biased.”
“True, you might, but as a person outside the family, I can confirm what you’re saying,” I pointed out.
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“Glad to hear I’m not the only one who thinks so,” Devon said with a small smile. “I’m sure Elle will be an amazing girl, too. She’s already pretty, so I’m sure she’ll be even more beautiful when she grows up.”
Elle.
Sebastian didn't know if Devon had replaced Ella's name with her mother's by accident or if she was using a nickname, but either way, the familiar word sent a pang through his heart.
"Thank you.." he said sincerely, volume dipping.
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(That was my fault, crap… Sorry, I mixed the two up. Do you want to change it? Because I’m not sure why Devon would say that otherwise…)
(it's fine dw about it
Maybe she just meant to use a cute nickname without realizing?)
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(Hm… That could work, I guess. 🤷🏼♀️)
Devon’s smile didn’t waver as she nodded once and glanced down at her mug again. “Any time, Sebastian…”
(Should we skip?)
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(I was wondering that, too… When to?)
(good question
What could we do that's not bumping into each other or play dates?)
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(Hm… Maybe he gets into a fight and calls her? Would he do that in this one?)
