I'm so busy thinking about this morning that I don't realize he is done talking to the lady at the reception desk. He hands me a map and smiles. "They do have turtles here," he says proudly. "And we have a two o'clock appointment for you to help feed them."
"I get to feed them?" I ask excitedly. "Oh, Da- Uh, Garrett. Thank you."
"You're welcome," he says. He squeezes my hand and we start walking down one of the hallways. "Now, let's see all these animals."
We spend hours at the aquarium. I make sure we go through every single area, seeing all the different animals. There are even penguins here and we get to watch them eat. Daddy finds us a place to sit at the cafeteria for lunch and then we're off to the turtle feeding.
I make sure that there are plenty of pictures taken, which Daddy obliges easily. The sea turtles are so cute and grumpy looking. I make sure to listen to the trainer carefully, not wanting to do anything to hurt myself or the turtle. The trainer told me that turtles are mostly non-aggressive, but if they feel threatened they might bite. I get to help them with checking the shells of two of them. I’m legally not allowed to touch the turtles, but I can look at them and just being close is enough for me. One, named Finnigan, was rescued a year ago. He was found with a net wrapped tightly around his front flipper. I can see the scars still, but the trainer, Marianne, assures me he's doing great.
By the time our hour is up, I can't stop smiling. I shake Marianne's hand and so does Daddy. I wait until we're alone in the hallway before I have an epic freakout moment. "I just got to feed and examine and help with the turtles! I need to see the pictures. Please, please, Daddy?"
"Calm down, baby." Daddy places his hands on either of my shoulders and stills me. "I'm glad you had fun. How about we head to the car and we'll go back to the hotel for a bit? I have reservations for us at the restaurant tonight so we'll need to clean up. You can look at the pictures when we get back."
Chapter Twenty-One
Theweekendawaywasabsolutely the best thing ever. Daddy planned so many fun things and I got to have a lot of Little time at the hotel. We used the jacuzzi tub Saturday night after our fancy dinner. Daddy turned the jets on and we had so many bubbles, a special soap that the hotel provided that was safe for the jets.
Coming back from that trip was sad, but Daddy had me sleep over at his place one more night. We stopped by my apartment just to make sure everything was okay, but then went straight to his place. I played some more until it was time for a shower and bed. Waking up Monday morning and getting ready for work was not fun. I wanted to stay home, but Daddy had to work too so we brushed our teeth, had a quick breakfast together, and then he dropped me off at my apartment before heading to work.
I was already ready and didn't have anything else to do, so I went to the bus stop again. I didn't try to hide this time and my siblings saw me with no problem. Jayden, again, crossed the street.
"Where have you been?" he asks, skipping formalities. "You weren't here last week."
"I didn't know you wanted me here," I say honestly. "I figured you wanted me to stay away."
There's a silence between us and again, I don't know what to say. I kind of wish Garrett was here with me. He always knows what to say to people.
"I can keep coming," I say. "I like to know that you three are okay."
"Mom is gone." I whip my head up to look at Jayden when he says that. I open my mouth to say something, but he keeps talking. "She left the day after I saw you. We didn't say anything about seeing you. Her and Dad had a fight or something and she just left."
"Is everything okay at home?"
"Honestly?" Jayden reaches up and scratches the back of his head. "They're getting better without Mom. I really think Dad is trying to turn things around. We watched him throw out all the alcohol in the house."
"He even helped me with my homework," a timid voice says behind me. I turn around to see Katy and Quinn standing there. They both look well dressed. Clean. Better than they were two weeks ago. Quinn was the one that said it. She has her dark hair in two braids and is wearing a blue-green dress with a cardigan. It's cute.
I look at Katy. She's wearing a long sleeve shirt with a pair of jeans. She has a hoodie over her arm, so I can't be mad that she isn't dressed appropriately. I can feel tears welling in my eyes and all at once, I'm surrounded by my siblings as we embrace. I can hear sniffles and I'm not sure if it's just me or if they're crying too.
"I've missed you," Katy says when we all part again. "You should come home."
"I have a home," I say. I don't mention Garrett, but I point in the general direction of my apartment. The one that I'm paying for but I haven't actually used in over a week. "Maybe I'll stop by the house, though. One day this week? I work over at the coffee shop downtown so I don't get off until later."
"We have to get back to the bus stop," Jayden says. "But yeah, I'll tell Dad and let you know what he says. He has a new job, which I think is part of this whole change. It's a corporate job so drug testing and all that." He says that last part softly enough it's just me that hears him. I give the girls each a hug and watch them go back across the street.
"I'm really glad things seem to be turning around for you three," I say honestly. "I'm still sorry that I left when I did."
"I get it," Jayden says. "I'm sorry for how I acted last time, but I get it. I'm still not sure if this new behavior with Dad is going to stick, but we'll see. I also understand if you can't ever forgive him. I was expected to help raise Katy and Quinn, but he never hit me. I didn't know that about him when you were living there."
As much as it pains me to think about my past, I'm also glad that my siblings never had to go through that. I'm sure there was abuse of the emotional and manipulative kind, but the fact none of them had to experience the physical abuse gives me some sort of relief. I give him a hug before watching him go across the street and get on the bus with the girls. They all wave at me from the window.
This time, I do pull out my phone and text Garrett.
Orion
Saw my siblings again this morning. I think they're going to be OK.
Garrett texts back almost immediately.
