Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
“You alright?” I curl my arm around her shoulders, and she meets my gaze with a tired smile.
“Yeah,” she whispers, then continues. “My parents said sorry for just taking off. Mom was…”
“Don’t worry about it.” I cut her off, and she relaxes into me.
“Oh my god, Zur, you suck!” Coop shouts, grabbing our attention. We both look at the TV and watch the two of them attempt to get their dog to go around a pole.
“No, you suck,” Zuri yells back, and Nalia laughs.
Kissing the side of her head, I relax, then smile at Billie when she wanders into the room.
“What are you guys playing?” she asks, sitting on the couch between the kids.
“Phogs,” Zuri tells her, not taking her eyes off the TV.
“Cool.” She looks over at Nalia and me, her gaze pinging between the two of us for a second before she smiles and focuses on the TV. Settling back in the beanbag with Nalia relaxed into my side with her head on my shoulder, we watch the kids play and listen to the three of them laugh, and I have never felt more content. And as crazy as it sounds, since this is so new, I know that I will fight whoever I need to in order to feel like this for the rest of my life.
Twenty
NALIA
Lying in Zuri’s bed with her face close to mine I rest my hand on her cheek as I listen to her explain to me about why she didn’t want to respond to Sharon’s e-mails. That she was scared that if I did give Sharon the money for a lawyer that she might have to go back to Colorado and she doesn’t want to go back there or to her mom.
Her fears are a reflection of my own, and hearing her talk about them kills me.
“I don’t want to make you promises that I don’t know that I’ll be able to keep, but I promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure that you stay right here with me, okay,” I tell her quietly, and she swallows while nodding. “And if something happened and Sharon did happen to get out and you had to go back to Colorado, I’d go back with you, alright?”
“But I like it here.” Tears that cut me open fill her eyes.
“Me too, kid.” I press my forehead against hers.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the e-mails.”
“It’s okay.” I smooth my fingers down her soft cheek. “But I want you to know that you can always talk to me about anything and everything.”
“Alright.” She agrees, sounding tired.
“Try to sleep, honey.” I press my lips to her forehead, then tuck her head under my chin and close my eyes. I don’t know how long we lay like that, but when I hear her breathing even out, I lean back to look at her and study the fall of the lashes on her cheeks, and the pout of her lips as I listen to her barely audible snore.
I wonder if this is how my mom felt when my siblings and I were little, and she’d watch us rest peacefully after a long day where everything seemed heavier than usual, but somehow okay because the most important things in her life were alright. I imagine that if I asked her about it she’d tell me the answer was yes, and I’m sure that she’d also tell me that having all of us made everything better even when it was hard.
Drawing in a breath, I kiss the top of Zuri’s head, then carefully scoot away from her and get off the bed, managing not to wake her in the process, which goes to show how tired she is. After dragging her blanket up over her shoulders, I quietly walk to the door, close it behind me, and head down the hall to my room. Once I’m in the shower, a few minutes later, I let the water wash away the tears I refused to cry earlier while listening to Zuri.
Getting out of the shower, I go through my whole nightly routine, then put on my robe and walk back into my room, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. Picking up my cell, I find a message from Logan asking me to let him know when Zuri has gone to sleep so that he can come over.
I wasn’t planning on seeing him again today but after what happened with my parents in his kitchen, I should have assumed he wouldn’t let me go to bed or go to bed himself without making sure that I was okay. Especially since he and I couldn’t exactly talk without the kids overhearing. I send him a message to let him know she's asleep and as I’m getting dressed, he sends me a text letting me know that he’s on his way over.