The Good and the Bad

A Coffin That Small

Chapter Fourteen

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The sound of DJ singing along to We Are Young filled Scout's car. The sound of the boy singing along to the song brought a smile to Scout's lips as she drove through the streets of Antonio's neighborhood. Her fingers tapped against the steering wheel to the beat of the music, quietly humming along to it herself. She had already learned her son's opinion of her singing voice-- something that he was not a fan of.

Maclean didn't seem to mind his older brother's off-key singing as he rested in his own carseat. His dark eyes trained on the passing views through the window. It was just as DJ's favorite song ended that Scout pulled up outside the Dawson household. For a moment she just sat in her seat and stared up at the house. It was her first time being there since the morning after Thanksgiving, having hung out with Antonio either at her house or the bar ever since he'd been released from the hospital.

"Mommy!" DJ stretched his short legs as far as they would go to land a solid kick against the back of her seat.

"I'm going," Scout shook her head as she turned off the engine and climbed out of her seat. It only took her a couple of minutes to get DJ out of his seat with his bag before then getting Maclean out, tossing his diaper bag over her shoulder. DJ rushed ahead up the front steps of the house to reach the front door, eagerly pressing the doorbell.

"I've got it!" Scout could hear Laura call from inside just moments before the door opened to reveal the Dawson woman herself. She could see the surprise fill Laura's eyes at the sight of her standing on her front porch with the boys. "Scout, what are you doing here?"

"Antonio texted me yesterday," Scout readjusted Maclean in her arms as DJ hurried past Laura to get inside, in search of the Dawson children. "Said he had today off and wanted to have the boys over to hang out with Eva and Diego."

"I thought we talked about this." The corners of Laura's lips turned downwards as she crossed her arms over her chest, not bothering to hide her distaste at the other woman's presence. "We agreed that you were--"

"I thought I was missing one." Antonio unknowingly cut his wife off as he came down the hall. At his arrival Laura wasted no time in turning her frown upside down, taking a small step back to let Scout inside. "You got here just in time for breakfast. I just finished some pancakes, you want any?"

"That sounds great, but my shift starts soon." Scout shook her head as Antonio took Maclean from her arms, earning small gurgles of delight from the boy. "Thanks for looking after the boys today."

"It's not a problem," Antonio assured her. "Besides it's my day off and it keeps them away from Carly, right?"

"What's wrong with Carly?" Laura questioned, this being the first time she was hearing about any problems with Isaac's mother. Though Scout didn't notice the look in the other woman's eyes, clearly not happy that her husband had heard about it.

"Nothing new," Scout shrugged.

"She's been trying to make Scout out as a crappy mom because of her job," Antonio clued his wife in. "Keeps making comments whenever she picks up or drops off the boys. Said something the other week about thinking it'd be better for the boys to come live with her."

"Look I really don't wanna talk about it right now. Especially not with DJ around," Scout tried to cut the conversation short. "I've gotta get to work, but I'll pick up the boys as soon as my shift ends. Don't hesitate to call if something comes up."

"We've got it," Antonio assured her, taking Maclean's bag as Scout pressed a kiss to the boy's head. "Just be careful."

"Always am," Scout promised before she headed out the door.