Chapter 7
Josie
Mia was the most annoying sister in the world. Stuffing the pillow over my head, I prayed she’d shut up her early morning chatter and laughter and just shut the fuck up so I could sleep. Grabbing my phone, I checked the time. It was barely seven on a Saturday morning and she was already bouncing around making a racket. God, I needed my own place.
“Come on, Jos! Time to get up. We’re making pancakes out here!” Her voice was so sickeningly sweet that it grated on every single one of my nerves.
“Too early,” I mumbled back from beneath the pillow.
Silence settled, and stupidly I thought for a second I’d actually won. I hadn’t expected to. I never did. I should have known better. It was my own fault, really. Without warning, the blankets were ripped away from me, exposing my legs to the cool morning air.
“What the—” I sat up, spluttering.
Standing in the doorway, grinning like Cheshire cats, was Mia, her arms full of Matilda, and Zoe, holding my sheet. Throwing my pillow at them, I cursed low enough that they didn’t catch it. The last thing I needed was Matilda learning bad habits. Well, any more bad habits.
Sitting up, I attempted to finger comb my hair into some sort of order. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mia set Matilda down on the floor. “Why don’t you go give Mummy a cuddle?”
I had barely a breath before Matilda flung herself into my arms. I really needed to talk to her about doing that. One day she’d run and jump, just assuming someone would catch her, and they wouldn’t be ready. And as much as I hoped it wouldn’t happen, I knew it would. With my luck the way it was, it would probably be me who let her fall.
“Good morning, Munchkin!” I kissed her hair and she smiled up at me with wide eyes. I’d made a lot of mistakes over the years, and I hadn’t always been a perfect mother, but when I looked down into Matilda’s innocent, brown eyes, it was hard to see her as anything other than a miracle. My miracle. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to give her the world. I knew it. Mia knew it. And although she was too young to understand, I hoped Matilda knew it as well. I shifted her so she was sitting on my lap. “Were you a good girl for Aunty Mia last night?” Although I asked Matilda, I stole a glance over her head and looked at Mia.
“She was a perfect angel. We had dinner and watchedThe Lion King, didn’t we, Matilda? And silly Uncle Derek kept trying to make all the animal noises.”
I snorted. I could just picture it, really. Derek would have been crawling around the room on all fours pretending to be a lion or an elephant, doing whatever he could to make Matilda smile. I couldn’t have chosen better Godparents for my baby girl. They loved her just as much as I did.
“She’s adorable, Josie,” Zoe gushed from the door frame.
“She has her days. Trust me. When did you arrive, anyway? Derek didn’t say you were here last night…”
“He doesn’t know.”
I raised a curious eyebrow. Derek was Zoe’s best friend. I didn’t have the details, but I knew they’d been through some pretty heavy shit together. “How?”
“I got here about twenty minutes ago. Mia invited me for the weekend. We thought it would be more fun not to tell Derek and well…just see how he reacted.”
“He’s still in bed,” Mia explained. She must have been reading my mind again. “Matilda, why don’t you come help Aunty Zoe and Aunty Mia make pancakes for breakfast before you go spend the day with Jenna?”
Matilda’s face lit up like a Christmas tree as she squirmed from my lap and wobbled her way across to where they waited for her.
“Yep!” Zoe scooped her up and set her on her shoulders. Matilda squealed with delight as they vanished from view.
There’s no way I could do this on my own. They mightn’t understand it, and I’d never say it aloud, but coming to live with Mia and Derek was the best thing that ever happened to me. And one day, I don’t know when, and I don’t know how, I’d figure out a way to repay them for everything they’d done for me. For us.
“Why don’t you get cleaned up and come join us for breakfast? You’re not going to want to miss seeing Derek when he figures out Zoe’s here.” Mia suggested.
“Sounds good.” I stumbled from the bed. “Mia!” I called out before she to disappeared.
“Yeah?”
“How do you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Be friends with Zoe like that? I mean, knowing Derek loves her the way he does…”
“I know what you’re asking, Josie, I really do. But what Derek and Zoe have, I could never come between that. I wouldn’t want to. They may not be blood related, but they are as close to brother and sister as you can imagine. Closer than even us.”
“That’s pretty close.”
