#codg

Y/n L/n thought she would only get married once

she was wrong

Her first husband had been the love of her life, an absolute dream of man. She couldn’t have asked for a better husband or father to their son, McKade.

that was, until he started drinking. they got divorced when McKade was just six years old.

he went back and forth from house to house on the weekends

until her ex husband went off the grid right after their son turned eleven. completely disappeared off the face of the earth

she knew it was hard for McKade, not seeing his father anymore. but she didn’t know it was going to go as far as getting in trouble at school

she wasn’t super surprised when she got a call from the middle school that her son had gotten into a fight with another kid in his class. he’d definitely inherited his fathers unbeatable loud mouth and sour attitude and it was bound to get him into some kind of trouble

she didn’t know what she’d expected when showing up to a meeting with the other boy’s parent, but she definitely hadn’t expected him. he was younger than she thought, and fitter, too. He looked like he could’ve been the kid’s brother instead of father

the principal of the school recommended a sort of backwards approach to the kids’ relationship, insisting that forcing them to spend time together would eventually make them friends

Y/n wasn’t completely on board at first, figuring it might be torturous to make McKade hang out with the kid who’d beat him up, who’s name she learned was Elliot Walker

so, the first order of business was simple: their teacher assigned McKade and Elliot partners on a project. It wouldn’t be too much to handle, right?

she got his father’s phone number (who’s name turned out to be Logan) and they met at the local park to let the boys work on the project at the picnic tables

Y/n was extremely awkward at first, just keeping her eyes trained on the children and listening intently to the sarcastic quips and rude comments they threw back and forth. She hadn’t spoken to Logan a single time until he piped up:

”I think this is working,”

She glanced over at him on the park bench, knitting her eyebrows together

”they’re verbally abusing one another,”

”but not beating each other up,” he shrugged. She shrugged, too.

”guess not,”

after only a little blood was spilt — which happened to be once from Elliot’s nose after McKade punched him — the project seemed to be going smoothly, apart from occasional bickering. They weren’t exactly friends, because they were basically silent unless they were being rude, but it was a start

Logan and y/n stayed silent most of the time, just watching the boys to make sure they didn’t go full out mma on each other. But y/n couldn’t help but be curious about Logan

he seemed young, but obviously old enough to have a kid. And where was his wife? Most men would definitely make their wife take on the child responsibilities. Especially if it involved another mother. She refrained from speaking, though. Mostly because she didn’t want to pry or come off as pushy

the boys finished the project, and naturally, the teacher gave them another one. If they had homework, the teacher insisted they do it together. And surprisingly, by the end of the week, the boys were starting to not hate each other

when it got cold out, Logan and Elliot started coming to Y/n’s house instead of the park. he took note of all the pictures on the walls being devoid of a father

they were both trash at small talk, so they hadn’t really spoken apart from the occasional “yeah that was great thanks bye” and “hi how are you, good how are you”

she was surprised he was so quiet and content with not speaking, but she didn’t really mind

on Friday, while the boys were doing homework in the dining room and she and Logan sat on her sofa, he piped up again:

”so, what do you do?”

she peeled her gaze away from the boys doing homework and met his icy eyes

”I’m a financial advisor,”

he nodded to himself: “you must have a lot of friends.”

y/n laughed: “friends? My clients wish they were dead every time I show up to lecture them on their spending. McKade is my best friend,” she gestured to her son through the doorway. “My only friend, really. My world.”

”mine, too.” He stated, and she gave him a weird look. He quickly corrected: “Elliot, I mean.”

so Logan and Elliot left that night, and the week of socialization was over. And she was grateful

… for about a day, because on Saturday, McKade was asking if he Elliot could come over again

“I thought you didn’t like him,” she teased

“Yeah, but, you know, he’s kinda cool when he isn’t punching me in the gut. Plus, you need some friends too, mom,”

y/n was flabbergasted. “What are you taking about?”

”Elliot’s dad. He’s cool. You never hang out with your friends like us kids do, you should,”

she snickered. “That’s because you’re my best friend, Kade.”

he rolled his eyes. “I’m eleven, and not to be rude, but that’s kinda pathetic. Elliot said his dad needs friends, too.”

y/n was genuinely confused, but also kind of glad he was in good graces with the Walker boy again. She called Logan that evening and they went to the park

”so, my son tells me you need some friends,” he stated from their seat on the park bench. Y/n snickered

”funny, I heard the same about you. Except McKade called me pathetic in the middle of it.”

Logan laughed, a nice, genuine laugh with a bright smile. And that’s when y/n thought, you know, maybe having a friend wouldn’t be so bad. For the sake of their sons, of course ;)

over the next few weeks, Elliot and McKade became inseparable to the point where Y/n saw Logan almost every day. Their pitiful small talk slowly grew into more lengthy conversations and got more personal

Logan let it slip that he was retired military, and after a little bit of excited badgering, told y/n a few stories. In turn she told him some about her past. It wasn’t anything cool, mostly like riding horses on her father’s ranch and getting lost in the woods of Louisiana at night

they we’re getting closer just like their boys were. They took turns hosting sleepovers nearly every weekend, sending pictures of the boys and selfies of them and the kids back and forth until the wee hours of the morning

y/n once got locked out of the house during said sleepover and had to have Logan jimmy the lock — which she totally didn’t think was so cool

he stayed for dinner that night, the four of them at her tiny dining table, chatting it up over a few boxes of pizza like long lost friends

and frankly, she was beginning to consider Logan her best friend. She didn’t know about him, but he was basically the only friend she had at that point, so that made him the best. Right?

y/n found herself getting a bit more excited for the play dates than the actual children. McKade had a stable best friend and everything was going great. He barely asked about his dad anymore, and honestly, Logan had become some sort of bonus father to him the same way Y/n’s best friend’s parents were growing up. It was a dream

that is, until it wasn’t

until y/n got an unnamed phone call from Chicago while the kids were at school, only to hear that her ex-husband was dead

it didn’t hurt like she thought it would. Her heart ached more for McKade than it did for herself. How was she gonna tell him? How was she supposed to do that?

In that moment, she became painfully aware of how alone she really was

that night, she quietly invited Logan and Elliot over for dinner, and after they ate, the boys went to his room to play

character limit 💀

As they were cleaning up, y/n blurted: “McKade’s dad is dead. How am I supposed to tell him that?”

Logan whirled around from her kitchen sink, eyes wide, with a plate still in his hand. “What?”

She felt kind of dumb in the moment, because she’d never brought up her ex with him before. Neither had he. It simply wasn’t a topic up for discussion

”I don’t know, I didn’t get the details. I just know it happened this morning. How am I supposed to tell him?”

Logan’s eyes drifted to the side, focusing on something in the other room. His features went pitifully soft. “I think you just did.”

she turned around just in time to see her son barrel back up the stairs, tailed by Elliot, who was saying something she couldn’t decipher

she immediately ditched dinner cleanup, darting up the stairs after them, to McKade’s room. The door was halfway open and she could already hear the hysterical sobs emanating from inside of it, and the small, comforting voice of Elliot, trying his absolute best. She could tell he was crying, too

she went into the room and was met with McKade, laying on his bed facing the wall, trembling almost violently as his small body was wracked with sobs too big for such a young child. Elliot was sitting beside him, one hand resting on his best friend’s back as the other wiped tears off of his own face

God, she was such an idiot

she heard Logan’s footsteps enter the room behind her, but she didn’t pay any attention to them. Instead she sat on the bed and held her son for what seemed like hours as he coughed and spluttered, trying a few times to speak to no avail. Elliot stayed right by his side the entire time

it was half past two in the morning when McKade finally fell asleep in her arms. Elliot had already fallen asleep about an hour earlier, arms clinging tightly around his best friend’s waist

y/n, trailed by Logan’s soft irises, covered them both up and left the bedroom silently

She didn’t say a word as they padded back downstairs, both in utter shock. And they stayed silent until Logan muttered: “you want us to stay the night?”

and that was when her heart shattered. For her, for her son, for her ex, for everything and anything she’d been keeping inside of her all at once. She sank onto the kitchen floor without warning, silent but hysterical sobs forcing their way out of her small frame with absolutely no mercy

she only felt the least bit of comfort when she heard his knees land on the floor behind her, and felt his arms snake around her from behind, holding her together like some makeshift bubble wrap. His head was resting against her shoulder, the warmth he radiated spreading across her back as he pulled her against his chest

he never said anything. He only held her

and that moment was it. The moment she realized she felt safest in his arms, she felt protected and seen and wanted in his embrace. It felt different than anything she’d ever felt with her ex husband. Like he really was going to be there, always and forever.

And no matter how torn up and distraught she was in that moment, it was the very one that she realized… she was going to marry Logan Walker

and a year and a half later, she did

and they lived happily ever after with their cute sons