It had been a long day, and Addison had told you to just ‘come by whenever’, so you didn’t think twice about it, you just let yourself in like you had a hundred times before.

“Addison?” you called out, dropping your bag by the door gently.

There was a slight pause.

Then smaller footsteps.

Not hers.

You froze.

A tiny figure appeared in the hallway, peeking around the corner like he was sizing you up. Big eyes. Messy brown curly hair. Suspiciously calm for a toddler.

Oh.

Oh, this was Henry.

You’d heard about him, obviously. You just.. had never actually been in the same room as him. Every time you’d been over, it was conveniently his week with Jake.

Right.

Great.

You straightened slightly, already feeling out of your depth.

“Hi,” you mumbled awkwardly.

He didn’t reply right away. Just stared at you.

Then,

“Who are you?” he asked, his voice small.

Blunt. Direct. No hesitation.

You opened your mouth.

Closed it again.

“I’m- uh..” you mumbled, glancing toward the kitchen like Addison might magically appear and save you, “I’m your mom’s friend.” you murmured eventually.

Henry considered that. Very seriously.

Then he took a few slow steps closer.

“You’re mommy’s friend?” he asked.

Before you could answer, Addison appeared in the hallway behind him, a dish towel over her shoulder, her eyes flickering between you and the three year old.

“I’m so sorry- I should’ve told you he was here i know you dont like kids-” she mumbled, scooping Henry onto her hip quickly as she looked at you.