“Wakey wakey, sleepyheads,” I said softly as I entered the room.
“Mom?” I opened my arms and they jumped up to come over to me. Their arms wrapped around my waist in a hug. I looked down and smiled at my babies.
“You girls want breakfast? I heard Grandma’s making waffles.”
“Ooh, waffles!” Ava yelled before taking off in a sprint to the kitchen.
“Don’t run down the stairs,” I called after her with a roll of my eyes.
Hallie still hadn’t released me from her hug and I looked down to see if she was okay. For twins, it surprised me how different they were. Ava was a total extrovert - not afraid of anything, very expressive and there was never a dull moment in her world. Hallie on the other hand, was my baby girl.
I was not looking forward to their teen years, I had a feeling that they were both going to be a handful.
“You okay, Hallie?” I pulled away and knelt down to her level.
“I had a bad dream.” She shrugged and squeezed her arms around her raggedy old teddy.
“You want some breakfast?”
She finally smiled, showing me her missing front tooth. I took her hand and we made our way down to the dining room where everyone was already seated. Mom passed out the waffles while Ava bounced in excitement on Naomi’s knee.
When I’d ran out of Callum’s apartment I had dreaded coming here, having to put on a fake smile and pretending everything was okay. I hadn’t realized until now that I’d been wrong, this was exactly what I needed. This morning was a reminder that I was fine the last time, and I would be fine again.
Everyone that I loved and needed in my life was in this very room. As long as I had my family, everything would be fine.
Icouldn’t find her.
It had been three days and I’d heard nothing. And that wasn’t for lack of trying. I must have called her cell a hundred times, maybe more. It was clear on day three that she wasn’t going to answer, so I came by the club. I didn’t actually go in though, I simply approached the bouncer.
“Callum.” He surprised me by knowing my name.
Oh god, had Melody put me on some sort of ban list.
“I’m looking for Melody.”
“She’s not here.”
I groaned. “Look, I appreciate that you’re trying to protect her but I really need to talk to her. It’s urgent.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help. She’s not here, hasn’t been in for a few days.”
“Shit. Well, do you know why? Or where she is?”
“She called and said that she was going to be taking some personal time.”
Fuck!
We were finally getting back on track. After that message from Cheryl, I understood why she was upset and ran off. I just wished she’d let me explain. From the clueless look on this guy's face, I didn’t bother asking when she’d be back.
I took off back home, I needed a shower and a good nights sleep. First thing in the morning I had a stop to make on the way to training.
If I couldn’t get hold of Melody, I knew the next best thing. Her mother. I just hoped she hadn’t moved since the last time I’d been to her house.
Mel had been super close with her family, her mom and sister, they were all the family she’d known. Despite the fact that I hadn’t known that she was dancing as a stripper three or four times a week, I knew the person she was deep down.
Kathy O’Connor had always been nice to me, let’s hope that hadn’t changed. With all the things Mel and I had been through, I’d thought we’d been rebuilding our relationship. Or at least on the same page about what we wanted.
A pang of slight guilt hit me. We’d done this all wrong. Hell, we hadn’t even talked about what was happening. Maybe that was where we messed up. We should have sat down like adults and talked it out, instead, we had mauled each other like lust struck teenagers.
