Chapter 8.

                                    

                                          
Carly's POV
                          
Night has come and I'm anxiously awaiting for Nikki to come with Gunner. I can't believe he's coming here to stay. I got one of the guest bedroom set up because I'm pretty sure he won't want to sleep in the same bed as me. I also can't believe I'm going to meet his son, Gunner. We were going to name our kid that if I didn't miscarriage and it was a boy. I still think about that every day. Vince is long gone, I told him about what's happening and he understands. Our relationship is strictly friendship and sex.
                          
I heard a knock on the door and I stood up from the couch and walked over to the door. I opened it and Nikki was there in a sleeveless black shirt, gray sweatpants, and Gunner on his arm. I smiled when I saw Gunner. God, he's absolutely adorable! "Hey." I smiled. He smiled. "Hey." He replied and I moved aside so he could walk in. "And, I'm guessing this is Gunner?" I asked, smiling at Gunner. He giggled and reached out for me. I smiled and held my arms out. "Wow, he must like you." Nikki chuckled. He handed him to me and I kissed his head. "Hi, I'm Carly," I said, smiling at him. "And you are just so cute!" I said and tickled him, he laughed and buried his head into my shoulder. I smiled. "He's so cute, Nikki," I said, rubbing Gunner's back. "Thanks, I know. He's so good, too." He replied. He got his playpen out and put some toys in and lifted him up and put him down.
                          
He sat down on the couch and I sat with him. "How did it go?" I asked. He breathed out. "Not good, she got really pissed. I already signed the papers, but the divorce isn't final until she does." He said. I frowned. "I'm sorry it didn't work out," I said. He shrugged. "It's okay, I gotta tell ya, it's a relief, though. No more arguing every single night. No more of Gunner crying all the time, it's going to be hard because we'll have split custody and I won't see him every day like I usually do." He said. I rubbed his arm. "Everything happens for a reason, at least that's what I believe. It'll all work out." I said. He smiled a little. "Thanks again, for letting me stay here." He said.
                          
"You don't need to thank me," I said. "No matter what happens, I'm always going to be here for you," I said. "I always will be, too. You're still my Starry Eyes." He said and smiled at me. I smiled and stood up. "Do you still drink?" I asked. "Yeah, not as much as I used to." He said, standing with me. "Want a beer?" I asked, walking towards the kitchen. "Please." He chuckled. I laughed a little and walked into the kitchen. I got a beer out of the fridge and handed it to him. I got out my own and opened it and took a sip. He did the same and leaned against the counter. "This is a really nice house." He said. "Thanks, it's not the same place I moved into in '83," I said.
                          
"So, I heard you're a model." He said and took a sip of his beer. I smiled. "Yeah, it's something I do on the side," I said. "Do you have any pictures?" He asked. I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I do." "Show me!" Nikki exclaimed, smiling. I laughed. "Okay, okay. Come on." I said. We walked back into the living room and saw Gunner asleep. "Aw, he fell asleep so early," I said. "He didn't have a nap today, he's probably out for the night." Nikki chuckled. We walked towards my room and I sat my beer down. I pulled out a box from under the bed with all my pictures and put them on the bed. I sat down and Nikki sat next to me.
                          
I opened the box and got out a picture. "This is the first one I did. 1988." I said and handed it to him. He put his beer on the table and looked at it. "Damn, you look amazing." He said. "That was right after I got clean, almost a year after," I said. "You're clean?" He asked. "Since 1987," I said, smiling. "That's amazing, Carls. I'm so proud of you." He smiled. "That's crazy, too. I got clean in 1987, too." He said. "Really?" I asked. He nodded. "I overdosed, died. I don't know if you heard about it." He said. My eyes went wide. "You died?!" I exclaimed. "Yeah, for 2 minutes. Then, they gave me 2 shots of adrenaline and kick-started my heart." He said. "Ah, hence the song," I said. He smiled and nodded. "Yeah." He replied.
                          
"I can't believe you died, and also nobody told me," I said. "It wasn't a big deal–" "Nikki, you died! That's a huge thing!" I exclaimed. He laughed. "I guess. But, I'm okay now." He said. "That's all that matters." He said. He pulled out a magazine. "What's this?" He asked. "The first magazine I was ever in," I said. He flipped through it. "You look amazing, deciding to get sober was the best thing you've ever done." He said. "It was the best thing you did, too. You look great, Nikki." I said. He smiled. "Thanks, Starry Eyes." He said and put the magazine down.
                          
After some time, Nikki ended up falling asleep in my bed. I put the modeling magazine's back and walked out to the living room, I saw Gunner begin to wake up, he stuck his lower lip out and began to whimper. I frowned. "Aw, what's the matter, bud?" I asked, walking over to the playpen. He began crying and I lifted him up. "Are you hungry?" I asked, bouncing him to calm him a bit. I walked over to the bag that Nikki brought over and saw the baby food. "Is that what it is? You're hungry?" I asked, putting on a baby voice. I sat him down so his back was on the couch and I put his bib on. I got out his little spoon and opened his food.
                          
"Open up, here comes the plane," I said and made some noises to simulate a plane. He giggled and opened his mouth. "Was that all? You were just hungry, huh, babe?" I asked, smiling at him. I continued feeding him and then cleaned him up. "Let's get you to sleep, hm?" I asked, lifting him up and laying him down on the couch. I changed his diaper and put his pajamas on him. I lifted him up and spun around, making him laugh. "Let's watch some TV and then get you to bed, sound good?" I asked. I sat down on the couch and put him on my lap. I skipped through the channels until I found a channel for kids. Gunner giggled and laid back on me. I smiled and watched with him, rubbing circles on his leg.
                          
Soon, we ended up in a laying position. Me laying on my back and Gunner laying on his stomach on top of me, he was getting a little antsy sitting up, so I'm laying him down and rubbing his back. I rested my arms around him and smiled when I saw him falling asleep. He should be asleep soon and then I can put him back in his playpen. I started to him to soothe him more.
                          
After a while, my eyelids started to get heavy after Gunner went to sleep. Well, he's already asleep. I can rest my eyes for a few minutes. I shut my eyes and soon I fell asleep, feeling Gunner's heartbeat against me.
                          
(A/N: Aw, a feel-good moment:'D Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Please vote, it's greatly appreciated! Feedback is always welcome & encouraged! Okay bye🦁)