The silence that followed our kiss was broken by the sound of a door opening. We looked at the person who had walked in and I saw that it was Charlie.

“Hey, Morg, I was coming to see if you were okay,” he said, running a hand through his hair.

“Yep. I’m fine. Also, don’t call me ‘Morg’, we’re not close enough for nicknames,” I said coldly.

“Jeez, okay,” Charlie said, lifting his hands in mock surrender. I only glared at him, and I assumed Asa was doing the same thing. “I was wondering if, when this is over, you would like to go on a date with me?” he asked. I was sure he was only looking for more trouble.

“I already told you, I’m not interested in you. At all,” I said.

“Okay. But, can you sing your song for me?” Charlie asked. “I just need closure.”

“Fine,” I said, sitting up and sending a look at Asa telling him to join me after a few lines. I started singing the beautiful melody with the not-as-beautiful lyrics, and Asa joined in at the third line. Charlie watched us as we sang together, our voices mixing and creating a sound that I would never be able to get enough of. When we finished, Charlie said,

“Okay. I believe you. I’ll leave you alone now.”

“Thank you. Now, please leave,” I said, my voice dripping with fake sweetness. Charlie backed out of the door quickly and I turned to Asa.

“Where were we?” I asked, before he kissed me again.

I was let out of the hospital the next day, and the following months were filled with school, Asa, recovery, and the girls. Every other day I would sit near Asa as he cleaned, talking with him about anything and everything and occasionally stealing a kiss. On the days when he worked at the mall I usually took the girls out, either to a park or something else similar, seeing as it was the spring and the days were beginning to get increasingly warmer in our small town in Pennsylvania. On the weekends I would tutor Asa and the girls. Asa was incredibly smart, his academic level was almost the same as mine, which was impressive because he hadn’t had any schooling for the past three years. Occasionally I would tutor the girls while Asa was working, and I found that they were very smart too. Asa must have been teaching them over the years. But I could tell that, as happy as Asa and the girls were living with me and my step-parents, Asa was itching to get out of our house and depend on himself. He had been working for a few months now, and he had earned enough money to buy a house and live on his paychecks. I knew it was only a matter of time until he moved out, so I did my best to make the most of the time I had.