Temporary Home by Aliyah Burke

well. And Master Guns is gonna pull through.”
    “What if he doesn’t?”
    He swallowed hard. That wasn’t an option he wanted to think on. “We have to think positive, Laila. He’s a strong man, always has been.”
    Tears slipped down her brown face and he reached out to wipe them away with his knuckle.
    “Bone cancer is not like a heart attack, Sam.”
    “I know. Doesn’t change the fact he’s still of strong constitution, Laila. We have to be strong for him, too.” He lifted her chin with his fingers. “None of this tells me why she told you to tell Dean and his cousins to get out.”
    “I don’t like them in my home. I don’t feel welcome there anymore. And I don’t feel welcome here now, after saying what I did to Roxi.”
    “So tell them to stay in a hotel.” It felt odd saying those words, considering he hadn’t had to go to one.
    “After Thanksgiving. I can last a week.” She tucked some hair behind her ear. “You are eating with us still, right? I’ve told Dean you are. He said he’d behave.”
    “So it will be you, me, Dean and his brothers, and Roxi along with Eric?”
    She shook her head. “No.”
    He grew puzzled. “Roxi isn’t here for the holiday?”
    “Oh, she is, but she and Eric don’t do a big thing for Thanksgiving. They go to a shelter and help out there, and usually eat there as well.” A shrug. “She’s done it for as long as I have known her. When she started keeping Eric for Ritchie, she naturally took him along.”
    He nodded. “Okay. I’ll be there. You know I will.” He touched her arm. “Laila, you need to apologise to her.”
    She began to pout and he shook his head.
    “No, you know what you said was wrong and maybe you should think about why her words bothered you so much.”
    “Why are you taking her side?”
    “I’m not taking sides, Laila.” He pushed up from the couch. “Now, go home and get some sleep.”
    He could see her reluctance but he refused to cave. It was late and he knew she’d be working in the morning. She needed to rest.
    She stood then threw her arms around him. “I love you, Sam.”
    “Love you, too, Laila.”
    He walked her to the door then to her porch, dashing through the rain. Under the awning he waited until she opened the door before he sprinted back across the short distance to Roxi’s house and let himself back inside. He slipped off his shoes by the door and walked in socked feet to double-check the sliding door in the kitchen before shutting off the lights and heading for his room.
    At his door, he paused, glancing down the hall to where a sliver of warm light came from the opening of Roxi’s room. He knew she slept with her door like that, habit from when she’d first started taking care of Eric, so she could hear him if he had a nightmare.
    Like she’d done for him. When you attacked her . He shoved that unwanted memory away even as a spear of fear hit him. What if he did something like that to Eric? The mere thought soured his gut.
    In his room, he swiftly changed into something dry then made his way to Roxi’s door. He knocked softly but didn’t receive any response. Sam pushed the door open and stepped in. She lay on her belly in the middle of her queen-sized bed, feet towards him and her head facing the wall. Repositioning the door to its original spot, he leaned against the wall beside it and stared at her.
    She wore another camisole and pair of lounge pants, which looked cottony soft. The pants were a pale pink and the shirt white, which beautifully offset her darker skin tone.
    “You just gonna stand there, Marine?” she asked in a soft voice, still flipping through the magazine which lay in front of her. “Or were you planning on coming over here?”
    He couldn’t stay away, so he joined her on the bed. The magazine was on boots. Different styles and types. Some of the pages had been dog-eared and he wondered if she were actually shopping or just browsing. She rested her head on his shoulder and his