Re: Louis' apartment: Iris, Sam, Cris
[Even feeling awkward, Sam had to smile at how good Cris was with TJ, yeah? Maybe it came from having one of his own, a kid, or maybe some people were just good with children. Whatever the reason, he was good with TJ, easy, like it wasn't fucking work, and like he wasn't worried about what to say. And, yeah, it made her smile.
It helped that she was feeling strange enough in the space not to notice that he was pissed; she was getting pretty good at noticing that shit now, his anger, and that was just one of those things that came with time, yeah? She knew he hated it whenever she said that love took time, that getting to know someone took time. Knowing they were pissed, that was the same kind of thing, but she wasn't exactly at the top of her game or whatever, and she took the levity with TJ at face value.
Naively, she assumed her stupid awkwardness had gone unnoticed or whatever.
She watched Cris and her nephew make their way up the stairs, and she leaned forward at the waist, craning to watch the progress as far as she could. She looked back at Iris then, just as Iris said her name.] Yeah?
[She knew her sister was about to say something, but she had no fucking clue what, and she gave her a second or two before filling in the silence with more babble.] You can stay as long as you need, yeah? I saw Lou just a few days ago, and he's not coming home any time soon. He's better, yeah? It's good that he's where he is, but it means this place is empty or whatever, and you two could be safe here.
[Then, curiously, and in a fucking whisper so it didn't carry up to TJ.] Did you hear from his dad again?
[Which was hella easier to talk about than whatever weirdness was going on with her and Cris.]