August

Since I had already prepared seven baloney sandwiches for Robin, I decide to stop by the coffee shop to grab a coffee for her.

I park my car next to the street. It ends up farther than I'd like because some idiot decided to park directly in front of the shop. After locking my car doors, I jog up to the coffee shop.

I glance at the car parked in front of it. I do a double-take when I find Kelly leaning on the side of the car. I frown and call her name. She looks up from her phone and as soon as she spots me, her eyes widen and a fearful expression appears on her face.

I point to the car. "So, you're the idiot who decided to park directly in front of the coffee shop?"

She fidgets with her hands as she nods. "Um... yep! That was me!" She looks down and searches for something in her purse. When she finally finds it, Kelly holds up a pair of car keys. "Let me just move it, okay?"

I nod and turn back around. As she opens her door, I remember something. My frown grows. I turn around slowly.

"Wait," I say.

Kelly pauses and stares at me, sweat dripping down her forehead. Her face is flushed, and she immediately starts biting her fingernails when I step forward.

"You're supposed to be at the hospital with Robin."

Kelly throws her hands up and shakes her head. "I'm sorry, okay? She needed me to take her to the coffee shop! It's not like I could say no!" she shouts, running a hand through her blonde hair.

My jaw tightens and I glance at the coffee shop door. "Are you telling me she's in there?"

She nods, fear still remaining in her eyes. "She told me she would only take ten minutes."

A tear falls down her cheek and soon more falls behind. My frustration turns into confusion. "Kelly, why the fuck are you crying?"

She throws her hands up again. "I don't know! I get emotional when I'm scared, okay? Robin is going to kill me!"

I scratch the back of my head. "You need a tissue or something?"

She sniffles and wipes her eyes. "Yeah, that would be nice." I begin walking back to my car to find a tissue, but Kelly yells my name when I reach it. I turn around. "Just go get Robin before she hurts herself or does something she's going to regret."

My frustration returns. I nod and stride to the coffee shop. When I step inside, I see the same cashier from the last two recent times I was here. She doesn't stop me from going to the back room.

I find Robin standing over asshat—-I mean—Henry. Her heel presses against his stomach as he cries hysterically. I chuckle and shake my head as Robin meets my gaze. "You little shit."

I hadn't hoped to see Henry again after the last beating I gave him a couple of hours ago. Well, it was more than just a beating. I also made Henry cut off the fingers he used to shoot Robin with. My adrenaline and rage were high. I had just found about the miscarriage and Robin was still in pain because of him.

Robin laughs. A high-pitched laugh that sounded nothing like her real one. She usually did that when she was nervous. She holds her hands out and she slowly backs away from Henry. "I-"

"I thought I told you to stay in the hospital."

I don't know how, but she manages to slide past me and out of the door as her hands remain up. "This was my coping mechanism. I promise I was going to go back as soon as I was done."

"Robin." I deadpan and begin following behind her.

"August, I'm sorry!" She yells, running out of the shop, her heels clacking against the ground.

How the hell does she run that fast in heels?

I manage to catch up to her quickly. As Robin is about to get into Kelly's car, I shout her name. She turns around slowly. Robin walks to me with a smile.

"It wasn't like I was going to kill him. I'm not stupid. Just a little revenge, you know?"

When she put it that way, I understand why she left. I just wish she would have done it when she was fully healed.

I lift her up. Robin giggles as she wraps her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. I walk to my car and set her on the hood of it. "You giggle like that every time I pick you up." I say, standing between her legs.

"Because you make me nervous." She admits. I smile at that. It was rare for Robin to admit something like that.

I push a strand of hair behind her ear and kiss her cheek. "I like that."

She rolls her eyes. "I know you do. You're an egomaniac, August."

My smile widens. I place my hands on her waist as she combs her fingers through my hair gently. "I like that too."

"What?"

"When you say my name."

Robin grins. "You like when I say your name, August?"

"Mm-hmm."

When I move closer, she trails her hands down my chest. They slowly reach my pants. Robin places her hand over my semi-boner. She looks up at me with a smile. "That gets you going, August?" She whispers.

"Fuck." I grunt, shutting my eyes.

I hear Robin laugh and seconds later, she hops off the car. I open my eyes and find her opening the passenger's seat door to my car. "Come on. Let's go back to the hospital before I pass out." She says.

I exhale a deep breath and adjust myself as Robin sits down and shuts the car door.

This woman is going to be the death of me.

Once we are both inside and buckled up, I begin driving. Kelly follows closely behind. When we arrive at the hospital, the doctor immediately grabs a wheelchair for Robin, despite her protests of not needing one. As soon as Robin reaches the room, she passes out. The doctor explains how dehydrated and exhausted she is. She tells us that because of Robin leaving the hospital early, she'll have to stay another two days.

In those two days, I'm with Robin most of the time. When I'm not with her, I fix up my place. I hire Kelly to redesign it to Robin's liking. The thought of moving her stuff in as a surprise crossed my mind, but I wasn't sure what her answer would be when I asked her to move in with me again.

Her release day arrives quickly. The doctor gives her medication to help with the sudden wave of pain she gets in her stomach every day. As soon as we make it to Robin's place, I decide to go for it.

"Gorgeous." I call out to her as I step out of the kitchen.

"Hmm?"

I walk in the direction I hear her voice. I find her in the living room, playing with Toto. She had begged me to bring him and Spence over. Unfortunately, only one of them could fit.

I take a seat next to them. Robin's eyes are still a little droopy from the medication and she wears a large bandage around her stomach. Her hair is placed in a neat bun and she wears her favorite dark green jumpsuit. God, she's fucking beautiful.

I grab her hand. "Do you remember what I said the other day?"

She pets Toto's hair with her other hand. "You say a lot of things, Foreman."

"About you moving in with me. What do you think about it?"

"August-"

"Hear me out; My place is closer to Davis and Co. And Kelly and I have decorated it just the way you like it, baby."

A small smile makes its way to Robin's face. She removes her hand from mine and picks up Toto. She sets him between us and kisses his nose. Whenever Robin is around Richy or Toto, that's about the only time she is purely kind. It's fuckin' adorable if you ask me.

"What do you think, Mr. Toto? Should I move in with my boyfriend or live alone for the rest of my life?"

She leans her ear close to his. After a few seconds, she turns to me with a look of disappointment. I frown. "What'd he say?"

"He said no."

I face Toto. "Seriously, bro? Is it because of the skeleton joke? I thought you liked that one!"

Robin laughs and leans closer to his ear. "What about Spence? Would you say yes for Spence's sake?"

When Toto barks, Robin takes that as a response. She turns to me with a smile. "He said fine."

"And what do you say?"

"Can we make triangle-shaped pancakes for breakfast every Tuesdays? I've always wanted to do that."

"We can do whatever the hell you want, Robin."

She lets go of Toto and sets him back on the carpet. Robin leans closer to me and presses a soft kiss to my cheek. "Then my answer is yes." She whispers.

I bite back my smile and stand up. "Thanks. That's good, I guess." I reply, trying like hell to play this one cool.

Robin laughs and stands up as well. I start to walk away, shoving my hands in my pockets as my heart fills with joy.

"Come here, August!" Robin shouts.

I don't waste any time. When I turn around, her arms open for a hug. I smile widely and rush to her. Lifting her in the air and twirling her around, I shower her with kisses. Robin giggles as I do so.

"Robin, you make me so goddamn happy." I mumble against her. She laughs and kisses me.

I place her back down on the floor. Shortly after, Robin and I cook dinner together. We argue over who makes the best rice. After she wins a wrestling match with me, I end up admitting that she makes it the best.

Two hours later, I am searching for a movie for us to watch as Robin relaxes in the bath. She decided that she wanted to stay one more night here before she moved in with me.

Turning the lamp off, I hear something coming from the bathroom. I toss the remote onto the bed and follow the sound. I step into the bathroom cautiously. My eyebrows furrow when I see Robin rocking slowly, her knees pressing against her chest and her head buried in her arms.

I take a seat on the side of the bathtub and push her knees away from her chest. "Baby, you can't sit like that. You're not healed yet."

She brings her knees down all the way and looks up at me. I swallow. Tears sit on the brim of her eyes. "What's wrong?" I whisper, careful not to overwhelm her.

She covers herself with the bubbles and wipes her aggressively. "I'm sorry. God, I hate crying. But now, that seems to be all I do."

"Robin-"

She shakes her head. "I'm too much, August. I don't like to be touched. I'm bossy, I have anger issues, I'm a control freak pushy-"

I try to touch her shoulder, but she moves away. "Robin I-"

"You're the exact opposite. You need someone better. " Robin pushes the bubbles covering her bandage to the side and stares down at it. "Do you really want to be in a relationship with someone like me-?"

"Robin, I need you to listen to me."

She shakes her and glances at the bathroom door. "I think you should go."

I only stare at her. She's afraid that I'll leave her like the previous ass-hats in her life. She wants to hurt me before I hurt her. But what she doesn't understand is that she's all I want and need.

Robin frowns. "I said, I think you should go."

"I heard you." I reply, not breaking my gaze on her as she avoids eye contact with me.

"August, get out."

"No."

Her eyes finally meet mine. Her facial expression softens. "What?" She whispers. Robin looks down at her stomach for a moment before bringing her gaze back to me. "You're not going to leave?"

"No. I'm not leaving you, Robin. Not now, not ever."

"Why?" she asks, her head tilted a little.

"Because I love you. You are perfect to me. Your flaws, your qualities, your beauty, all of that shit, makes you perfect to me. I am so grateful to call you mine every day."

"But-"

"You're my girl and I'm your man. We're enemies one minute and we're cooking together the next. That's love, baby. That's our love." I lift her chin, making sure she is staring directly at me. "And I need you to know something, okay?"

"Okay."

"This..." I cup her face in my hands and kiss her softly. "This is forever. You hear me?"