The last words were spoken quietly, like Avery wasn’t sure if she was supposed to admit them out loud.
Sadie pulled her straight into her chest while scrunching her eyes to fight off tears. “I’m so sorry, baby girl.”
Avery sniffed. “It’s not your fault. And things are different now.”
Sadie waited until she knew she had her emotions under control and wouldn’t cry before releasing her. “Yes, things are different now.” And she would do everything in her power to ensure she stayed in Avery’s life…for good.
Getting through the four chapters was hard, so much harder than it should have been. Avery’s words kept rolling through her head. Her mother had been drinking to excess. Barely taking care of her. And Sadie hadn’t known. Not only had she not known, she’d left town when Avery had needed her most.
She wanted to cry for the child beside her. For what she’d had to deal with alone. But she held herself together…just.
She was finishing the fourth chapter when Avery’s eyes closed. She snuggled into Sadie’s side, her warm little body like a heat pack. She remained perfectly still, arm around Avery’s shoulders, stroking her skin.
It was a couple minutes later, when Sadie was about to creep out of the bed, that Avery whispered, “Sadie, will you promise me something?”
“Anything.” If the kid asked for a kidney, Sadie would give it to her. Everything that was hers was Avery’s.
“Don’t leave me again.”
That’s when the first tear fell down Sadie’s cheek. A tear she couldn’t have stopped if she tried. It was accompanied by the cracking of her heart.
She lowered her mouth to Avery’s head and pressed a kiss there before whispering, “Never again, baby girl.”
Eastern steppedinto his dark house. The shift was quiet at the station, which made it seem long, and damn was he glad to be home.
The smell of pasta sauce and cookie dough tinged the air, causing a smile to tug at his lips. His daughter’s two favorite foods. After tonight, he wondered if Sadie was a big part of the reason for that.
He dropped his jacket by the door before moving through the living room and into the kitchen. Both were empty. Strange. It was nine, an hour past Avery’s bedtime.
He was about to search the house when the soft click of a door opening sounded, then footsteps.
When Sadie stepped into the living room, Eastern frowned. Her eyes were red rimmed and her skin pale. Had she been crying?
She lifted two empty mugs from the coffee table and started toward the kitchen.
“Hey.”
She jumped, her eyes shooting up at Eastern’s voice. Then she sagged, the air visibly leaving her lungs in a long exhale. “Oh my God, Eastern. You scared me. I didn’t know you were home.”
She headed into the kitchen and put the mugs into the dishwasher. When she turned, she didn’t quite meet his gaze, instead looking everywhere but at him.
He inched closer. “Are you okay?”
“Of course.” The words came far too quickly and did nothing to reassure him.
She went to move past him, but he stepped in front of her, gently touching her arm. “Hey. Talk to me. Is it Avery?”
The small flicker of emotion gave her away. ItwasAvery.
“I let her down,” Sadie whispered.
Eastern frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“When Jamie told me that I wasn’t needed to look after Avery anymore, I fought to stay on. I love Avery like she’s my own, and hearing I wasn’t going to be part of her life anymore…I felt like I was losing a part ofmyself.” Tears gathered in her eyes. Eyes that were so sad he could drown in them. “I didn’t think Jamie was a bad mother. Absent, perhaps. A bit cold. But never truly neglectful. I really thought I’d fought as hard as I could. But now, after what Avery told me…I should have fought harder.”
Every word punched a new hole into his chest, so deep and painful he wanted to keel over. Because every word was the whisper in his head that had been repeating over and over again since he’d gotten home. Since Avery had told him the extent of her mother’s drinking problem.
“If anyone should have known what was going on and fought for her, it’s me. And I feel that guilt like a weight on my chest every second of every day.”
