Her eyes widen and her hand grips me in excitement. ‘Presents?’
‘Of course!’ Mav exclaims.
‘But the new Dark Lounge, the bunker.’ She looks at the ceiling. ‘My painting…’
‘Shh,’ I say, putting my finger to her lips.
She bites it playfully and then laughs, and I give her a tight hug.
‘First one.’
Mav hands her a small, wrapped box, complete with bow. She tears the ribbon and paper off, opening the box and gasping at the earrings inside.
‘They’re so sparkly!’ she says, taking the silver and diamond pear drops out and putting them in quickly.
She stands up and goes to the mirror in the bathroom. ‘I love them,’ she says, coming out with a wide smile.
‘They’re from all of us,’ Blake says. ‘But I picked them out.’
Mav produces another box, this one longer.
She tears into this one with just as much excitement, exclaiming over the matching necklace inside.
‘I found that,’ Mav murmurs.
‘But it’s from all of us,’ Blake says, giving him a look.
Mav’s eyes narrow. ‘She already knows that.’
Daisy’s smile is infectious. ‘Thanks, guys.’
She gives Mav and then Blake a hug, saying thank you to them both again before coming back to me and sitting on my lap.
‘Thanks,’ she says, hugging me hard.
‘There’s something else,’ I say.
‘Where is it?’ she asks, looking around.
I laugh. ‘It’s not an unwrap, beautiful. It’s different.’
She cants her head at me. ‘What is it?’
‘I was able to get a meeting with Fussell & Meyer next week.’
Her eyes widen. ‘But they were adamant that I had to be with my guardian, or they wouldn’t speak with me. How did you do it?’
‘They were corresponding with Richard Burrows. He was an old friend of my mom’s before he was the Novelle’s lawyer and he always said that between Andy and me, I was more like her. Anyway, he has a soft spot for me. I told him about what the lawyers said. He’d also been told you were in an institution, and you couldn’t care for yourself. Then, he met you at the police station, and he realized that was bullshit. He agreed to talk to the other lawyers on your behalf and they’re willing to speak to us. You just need to verify who you are to them.’
‘I’ll need my passport,’ she frowns. ‘That’s in the Novelle house somewhere. Somehow, I don’t think Andy is going to cough it up.’
‘Actually, it’s not.’ I hold it up. ‘I had Samantha, themaid who helped you get out of there, grab it for me. It was in Pop’s old room… Andy’s now, I guess. There’s your proof. At least we can get information from them.’
She grips me hard, her eyes glassy. ‘Thank you. This is…amazing. You’re perfect.’ She looks around at the others. ‘You all are. A year ago, I would never have thought that this would be my life. I love you guys.’
‘We love you,’ I say, kissing her cheek. ‘Happy Birthday.’
Her phone on the nightstand vibrates.
