Page 14 of Higher Notes (Chaotic Abyss #2)

Chapter Fourteen

Sikes

“I’m not sure this tub will fit all three of us. Is it too late to change?” We were doing the final walkthrough for the new house. The contractor finished three weeks early thanks to Easton, I’m sure. But I was certain this tub was smaller than the one I’d ordered. The problem was we’d been spoiled staying at Mickey’s and now I wanted the same one we had there. You know, small outdoor pool-sized that didn’t fit into a normal non-mansion house.

“Dude, the house is done. We. Will. Fit.” Snipe was clearly done with this conversation.

“I assure you, Mr. Whitlock, that this is the exact tub you selected while at the showroom. We’d have had to extend this wing of the house in order to accommodate anything larger.” Daniel, our superintendent, said. William, the owner of the construction company, was normally who we spoke with, but he had a previous engagement to attend. “Shall we move on?”

Dana was near giggles when we entered her room. They’d given each of us a roll of blue painter’s tape to mark anything that had to be fixed including paint blemishes. So far, we’d not taped a single thing.

“Finally a room fit for the family matriarch,” Jason curtsied.

“This is so exciting. I can’t wait to decorate it.” Dana smiled so wide I thought her cheeks might burst but inside, I was equally excited. Just had to keep my cool and not blow my cover. You know, the hard ass protector one who also played dress up with his little princess.

This nearly perfect inspection had Easton written all over it. That man never failed to impress, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find he’d stopped by daily and called out any errors he found.

But how exciting was this? Building our own home and formally starting our life together.

“I just can’t believe this is real,” Dana hugged Jason tight as she squealed. “That this is our life.”

“It’s all uphill from here, Mom.”

“Mr. Sniper,” Nolan tugged Snipe’s hand. “What if I get scared in my new room?”

“You can sleep with me, and I’ll protect you,” Nicole assured him. “Wyatt will protect us, won’t you, Wyatt?”

“Of course, and so will Mr. Sniper. Plus, we’ll have a super de duper state-of-the-art security system installed, too.” As though she’d accept any other reply. I couldn’t wait to teach her self-defense. That girl was already a take no shit kind of gal and I loved her to bits for her fierce attitude. Now I just had to teach her the moves to back it up.

“See, Nolan, everything will be fine.” Nicole was so motherly it was scary. Right down to holding and patting his hand reassuringly.

Fizzbo had the team who set up all the systems scheduled to install ours tomorrow. He’d already arranged it through Easton and they were ready to roll. We were moving in this weekend but had to meet the furniture delivery truck here tomorrow as well.

While Dana worked, we’d been at the apartment packing what they wouldn’t need to use before Saturday. The movers would be there bright and early that morning. Jason, Snipe and I planned to drop our stuff off here first then head over to meet them. We wanted to limit the amount of stress on Dana. The overworked mother of four was about to become very pampered.

Well, while we were in town at least.

Tonight, Chaotic’s new CD as well as Embrace’s dropped and there was a release party at Mickey’s place. All Social and Chaotic band members would be in attendance. I was happy to report that included Marley. He’d kept his promise and pulled his head out of his ass and met with Mickey a minimum of twice a week, sometimes three times since Jason lost his shit. I was so freaking proud of him. Did I want him to lose his tender side? Not at all. But having others walk all over him like Marley had didn’t fly with us.

“Hey, Easton, what’s up?” Jason pulled away from the group but had the call on the speakerphone.

“Is now a good time for great news?”

Jason smiled at the staring crowd. “Absolutely, walking the house right now.”

“Well then, I won’t keep you. Wanted to let you know Chaotic Abyss first CD had enough preorders that it dropped in at gold!”

“Fuck yeah!” Jason screamed and apologized before Nicole corrected him. “Sorry, Nic, but that’s awesome. You are the star atop the Christmas tree, Easton.”

“Happy to help. Congrats. I’ll call the others, and we’ll see you tonight.” Easton hung up.

“Jason, I’m so proud of you!” Dana was the first to congratulate and hug him. “You worked so hard for this and never once gave up.”

“Thanks, Mom. This is major. I wonder if we have a chance to hit platinum right out of the gates?” Anything was possible but I was so ridiculously proud of our man.

“Congratulations, Jason. I haven’t had a chance to listen to your music, but I promise I’ll download the CD tonight. Shall we continue so you can get to your party?”

“Thanks, let’s get to it.”

Appliances were in, including the washer and dryer. All fingerprint resistant stainless as Dana and I had picked out. I’d settled for a less expensive Quartz countertop, but it would work just as well for what we required. Friday, the three of us planned to hit the grocery store and stock up. The less stress after the move the better. Taking time to get settled in was important, especially where kids were involved.

“The landscaping looks great.” Jason opened the sliding door and stepped out onto the patio. “The kids will finally be able to play outside without us worrying.”

“Needs a jungle gym.” I’d already picked one out as a surprise. It’d be here any day now and the contractor agreed to install it for us.

“You didn’t?” Jason’s smile countered the harsh tone he’d attempted but failed to take with me.

“Oh, but he did,” Snipe ratted me out.

“Here are your keys and one last thing. Easton has decided to make this a gated community, so you’ll see the installation of the gates and guard shack in the coming weeks. The binder with everything you need to know along with emergency phone numbers is on the kitchen counter. Welcome to the neighborhood, we’re happy to have you. You’ve designed a beautiful home we know you’ll be happy in for many years to come.”

“Thank you for everything,” Jason said as we each shook his hand.

I handed out the keys, Dana was all smiles as she took hers.

“I have no words. What you three have done for our family deserves sainthood.” Tears welled in her familiar eyes, the same shape and color as the man Snipe and I had fallen madly in love with. “Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”

She’d thanked us a million times already, each one just as heartfelt as the last.

“You’re welcome.”

“Come on, Mom. Let’s get you back to work.” Dana had taken a long lunch to complete the walkthrough with us but was saving her vacation days for this summer to be home with the kids.

It would be nice to be able to have her stay home full-time, but we knew she’d never go for that. She insisted on paying a portion of the combined living expenses but the three of us already agreed to only let her pay for groceries. Sometimes, but definitely not this first expensive stock up. She had no clue how much Snipe and I consumed. That reminded me, I wanted to add a deep freezer to the garage.

Today we swapped Jason’s car with Dana’s van. The kids were on spring break so the three of us were babysitting. The days we couldn’t Gabe watched them.

“You’ve been quiet today, Gabe,” I heard Jason say. Snipe and I were in the front seats, the twins were in their car seats in the middle, and Jason and Gabe were in the third-row seating in the back.

“Don’t wanna move.”

“Why? The place we live in is a dump and here you’ll have your own room.”

“What about my friends? I’ll have to make new ones. Rich kids hate poor kids.”

Before I could interject where I wasn’t wanted, Jason did. “Rich kids hate poor kids? Where’d you hear that crap and who’s rich and who’s not?”

Gabe huffed. “My friends said we’re rich now, so I don’t like them anymore. I never said that, but they won’t sit with me at lunch now.”

I’d never understand the mind of a child.

“One, we’re not rich. Two, we’re moving to Mill Creek, not Medina next to Bill Gates. And three, if they treat you that way they weren’t your friends to begin with.”

While Jason was dead correct, I saw Gabe’s side, too. Kids could be cruel and during a time when you’re teetering on the brink of those angsty teen years, everything sucked.

Mental note, get the kids involved in activities where they’d meet other kids with like interests.

Thinking like a parent was exhausting…

Gabe grumbled and turned away from Jason, though I heard what he said. “I wish my dad was around.”

“You’ve got us, Gabe.”

“You’re not my dad!”

“No, we’re not, but we love you like a son.” I couldn’t take this. “My dad was around and I wish he wasn’t because he used me like a punching bag.”

“That’s not very nice at all. Someone needs to spank him,” Nicole tsked. I’d forgotten about little ears being focused on Gabe and Jason’s conversation.

“No, it wasn’t, and it just goes to show that not everyone is worth having in your life. Sometimes found family such as ours is better than anything.” I caught a glimpse of Gabe in the rearview mirror, red-faced and silently crying away from prying eyes. More than anything I wanted to hug him and tell him it would be okay but in this case actions would speak louder than words and he’d soon learn that Snipe and I were men of honor, and we loved our newfound family fiercely.

“Well, I love Wyatt and Hayden and I’m glad we get to keep them.” Nicole, damn, that girl had me wrapped around her finger.

“We love you all, too,” Snipe added. “Anytime you want to talk or need a hug, we’re your men. We have great listening skills.”

Gabe didn’t respond but he heard Snipe. Time was what Gabe needed. I only hoped he didn’t make any bad choices before then. Especially ones that affected the family as a whole.

I made a last-minute decision to take the kids somewhere fun for lunch. At least, it sounded like fun to me. Wasn’t sure how Gabe would see it but it was worth a try.

“Mr. Wyatt! Cheesy, Cheesy!” First time Nolan had called me Mr. Wyatt.

“Yay!” Nicole cheered. “See, Nolan. I told you Wyatt was the best. You’re my new BFF, Wyatt!”

“Hey,” Sikes protested. “What am I, chopped liver?”

“Liver! Yuck!” the twins said in stereo.

“We love you, too, Mr. Sniper.”

“Thanks, Nolan.” Snipe wasn’t upset but it was cute watching him play along. “It’s nice to be loved,” he mock sniffled. He adored these kids as much as I did.

“Yes, we love you, too, Hayden.” Nicole and her whole proper first name deal was amusing.

“Hey,” Jason pulled me aside as the troops unloaded. “Thank you.”

Whew. “You’re welcome. But we should probably talk boundaries later. Wasn’t sure if I’d overstepped by not first asking.”

“It would take a lot for either of you to overstep. If you think it’s right, go for it.” Jason leaned up and kissed my cheek. “Love you.”

“Right back at cha, babe.”

“You good with that, Snipe?” Jason asked him.

“10-4.” Then he got his kiss, too.

“Let’s roll.” Jason took Nolan’s hand while Nicole claimed mine. Sikes took Nolan’s other hand, and they swung him between them.

“Wheee!” He giggled and squealed. “Again!”

Nicole shook her head with a heavy eyeroll and sighed. “Boys.”

Shit. Hadn’t thought this one through. The loud sounds of the video games at one point had been a trigger for both of us, though it’d been a long time for me. I didn’t want to assume the same for Snipe but, fingers crossed, he hadn’t had an episode since the doctor adjusted his meds.

As if sensing the same thing, we turned toward each other at the same time. A simple nod of the head to designate we were okay was shared. Jason, as cognizant as we were, watched the interaction between us. With everyone assured all was good, we proceeded deeper into the screaming adolescent depths of video games and cheesy madness. Thank fuck, I’d have hated to leave and break the kids’ hearts. Especially since Gabe’s eyes were alight with excitement.

“You order the food, and I’ll take care of the tokens,” Snipe offered then headed for the wallet-draining machine.

“What does everyone like on their pizza?” I asked Jason. Gabe went with Snipe. Jason and I kept the twins with us.

“Same as last time. Just pepperoni and drinks. Can I chip in?”

“While I appreciate the offer, let Snipe and I do this for the kids. If that’s okay with you?” Jason fronted all the money for the furniture for the kids’ rooms. I had no clue what his finances were. Probably something he, Snipe, and I should sit down and hash out. Not necessarily to the dollar but a shared account for housing expenses would be wise.

Little did the kids know but the contractor was painting their rooms in their chosen colors tomorrow. We asked them to hold off until after the walkthrough today so it would be a surprise come Saturday. We wanted them to be comfortable and excited about this new adventure and having things they loved would help.

Two hours and an ungodly amount of money later, Snipe, Jason, and I had played more Skeeball and ticketing games than we had in our lives. All to win…wait for it…a stuffed unicorn and bear that stood no taller than six inches each.

Yes. Six. Inches.

The equivalent of what you’d find at a local dollar store.

But the two six-year-olds currently snoring soundly in their car seats firmly gripping the new stuffies were more than worth it. The fact that the angry preteen actually smiled while we were there exemplified the worth of loss of income.

The way to a preteen’s heart was through game tokens. Duly noted.

Huh, that could get expensive…

We carried the twins inside and right to bed. Gabe immediately logged into his gaming system and was lost to it for the remainder of the afternoon. Meanwhile, the three of us went through the closets boxing donations and labeling things to move. By the time Dana got home from work, we had dinner cooking and everything we could packed.

Then we headed out for Jason, Marley, Nigel, and Josh’s time to shine. I loved that they were having a party for their first CD launch.

The music was thumping and could be heard outside Mickey’s house as we pulled up.

“The party is in full swing already.” I swear, Jason hadn’t stopped smiling since he got the call from Easton. “I’m so fucking excited to hit the road.”

What we didn’t expect was for Diamond to pick him up and swing him around as soon as we stepped inside.

“Fucking gold right off the bat. So proud of you guys and the new CD fucking rocks!” Diamond squeezed Jason as he sat him down. “Sikes, Snipe, bet you’re ecstatic.”

“We are and being privy to the whole process only deepens that.” Jason and the guys worked hard and honestly, not being biased at all but Chaotic’s music, hell, all the Masterson’s bands for that matter were some of mine and Snipe’s favorites.

Josh, Marley, and Nigel barreled around the corner and nearly tackled Jason.

“Dude, we fucking did it!” Josh howled. It was great to see him get his break and see the friendship building between him and Jason.

“We did and gold on our first drop!”

It was only up from here for the guys and Snipe and I were happy to be along for the ride.