The Voice that changed their Life (Good Charlotte Fan Fiction)

Chapter 8

"Good night, sweetheart.", he murmured into the phone while he put his guitar aside and walked out of his home studio back into the hallway.
Not agreeing with the response he got, he sighed quietly but couldn't stop his lips from forming a small smile. She never wanted to end their phone calls and he liked the way she was trying to hold onto him as long as possible. It showed him that, even if they didn't see each other these past two weeks, she still wanted to be a part of his family and hadn't forgotten about them.
"Meggy, you really need to go to sleep now. Otherwise you will be tired tomorrow morning.", he tried to reason with her.
"But Benji...", her pout could be heard through the phone. "I want to know when I will see you again. I miss you!"
Of course she would use the missing-each-other part against him, she did it every time.
"Soon", he said and leaned back against the nearest wall. "I promise. And I'm not one to break my promises, you know that, right?"
Accidently he hit a picture with his shoulder and turned around to rearrange its position on the wall again. The picture showed Joel, Nicole and their kids as well as him and Cameron. Lionel Richie, Joel's famous father-in-law had taken the picture at their latest barbeque. He smiled as memories of that evening flashed through his mind, but the little girl's voice got him back into focusing on their conversation.
"Can I say good night to Cameron first?", Megan asked and Benji leaned back against the wall, now being next to the picture and shook his head lightly, forgetting that she couldn't see him.
"No, darling. She's not home yet."
"Where is she?", the little girl asked curiously.
"She's having a girls' night with Nicole."
"Nicole is Joel's wife, right?", Megan asked again and Benji chuckled lightly.
"You know who Nicole is, honey. Now it's time for you to hang up the phone, or I will do it."
By now he knew how she always tried to entangle him into another conversation so he would forget that they were about to end the phone call. He'd also learned how to use his voice to sound just a little bit strict so she would understand that her time was up now. Joel had said that this is one of the first things he had to learn as a dad of a five-year-old, because he had had no time to practice with her when she was younger. Although he was a great uncle, saying 'no' to your own child was even harder than using it against your nieces and nephews.
"No, please don't.", she said defeated and he heard her sigh. "Good night, Benji. I love you."
"I love you, too, sweetheart. Sleep tight and sweet dreams. I'm gonna call you tomorrow.", he said and after her last reply the line went dead.
Putting the phone down he ran one hand over his head and closed his eyes for a second. How he craved for driving to the orphanage now and tuck her in. But he couldn't and he wouldn't. During the next days someone would be coming to inspect their home if everything was child prove and ready for a little girl to move in. He didn't want to put himself into a bad light by showing up at the orphanage at night time. Besides, he just got home two days ago from his coaching job at 'The Voice' and now was his turn to make sure everything was in its right place. Cameron had done a great job during these past days in organizing everything they needed to get to make the children's room perfect for Megan. Most things were already set up and Billy even colored her walls and drew a black GC sign on one wall, just the way she requested. Now it was his time to make sure the furniture was all done and ready for Megan. The bed was his favorite actually. The little girl hadn't said how her bed should look like, she only wanted it to be big enough for them all to fit in. So he had bought a queen sized bed and placed it right in the middle of her room, with the headboard against the wall opposite of the windows. It was somehow tight when they would lay all in it together, but he didn't want to take too much space out of her room just for the bed and they still could go into their bedroom if they needed a bigger bed for a sleepover or something. Megan's new bed was made of white painted wood, like most of her furniture was. They wanted her to have a bright and friendly room, not a dark intimidating one. She had told them that she didn't like darkness too much, although she wouldn't give them a reason. Benji and Cameron hadn't pushed her, she would tell them eventually.
They had bought her a desk which was placed right in front of one window. Next summer she was supposed to start elementary school and would need one anyway. The big wardrobe occupied almost half of the wall on the bed's right side and they hoped it would have enough place to fit in all the clothes she would have during the next years. Cameron already bought a lot and he knew that Nicole also already collected clothes she would give to Megan as soon as she was officially her niece. Benji just hoped they wouldn't spoil her too much, well, he hoped he himself wouldn't spoil her too much. They wanted her to grew up as a person who respected others and was proud of the things she gained, not someone who just accepted all expensive things and won't be thankful for the life they led. He wasn't really too scared about it but it was still something to keep in mind.
There was a big fluffy turquoise rug on the floor, just as Megan had showed them in a store window. They had ordered that one immediately after they had dropped her off at the orphanage and had it sent to their house. Various stuffed animals were already sitting on her bed, waiting for her to play with them. Even Harlow and Sparrow had decided on some of them and even though they had never met Megan, they were excited to finally meet her. Sparrow, being the same age as Megan, didn't really get what this was all about but Harlow, with her seven years now, did understand most of the things happening and even decided on some of her children's jewelry to give to Megan.
"Because she won't have such things in an orphanage.", his niece had said and Joel and him were equally proud of her for understanding this on her own.
Benji opened his eyes. He didn't even notice that he had closed them in the first place. Slowly he pushed himself off the wall and walked into the kitchen. Warming up yesterday's leftovers he thought about what to do next. Soon his thoughts were about Megan again and the phone call they just had. He had played the guitar and sang to her, hoping she would feel better before going to sleep. She had told him about her day and how she had gotten into a fight with another girl because she didn't want to share Dog. He had assured her that she didn't have to share her stuffed animal if she didn't want to and Megan had sounded more relieved after their conversation.
The beeping sound of the microwave brought him back into reality and he got out the food and sat down at the dining table, a fork already in his hand. The youth welfare department would call them soon and he just hoped that everything would be alright with their home. With these thoughts and many more in his head he started eating.