He presses my hand to his heart, “Ich verspreche es dir.”
Chapter 22
Number
Lenzin
She fell asleep while I readThe Snowy Day. Never even made it past the middle where I still did the voices for Hildy who closed her eyes and smiled softly. She then fell asleep too.
Her hand loosened in mine, her little face tipped against Axel, I still waited a full minute after the book ended to see if Hildy woke, she did not.
I adjust their blankets as I kiss each goodnight, and then lightly kiss the other two in her belly over her shirt and turn off the lamp. Stepping out, I close the door behind me and see the kitchen light is on.
Anna is at the island, legs crossed at the ankle, eating her takeout straight from the container, which is very unlike her.
She glances up when I enter. “So good.”
“Glad to see you feeling better.”
“Is that code for, when are you leaving?” She jokes.
I open the fridge and grab a water. “Have I ever talked in code to you?”
She shakes her head and watches me for a moment. “How’d the appointment go?”
“Who told you?”
“Hildy and I are getting close,” she says casually. “I ask questions, and she answers. She is no bullshit,” she points her fork at me, “Just like you.”
That surprises me more than the question.
“You’re not pressing her right? Because she shouldn’t be under any more stress than she is already under,” I reply evenly.
“Of course not,” Anna states, and then she smiles. “I can see why.”
“Why what?”
“Why you fell in love with her.”
I shake my head lightly. “I did not think that was possible to ever feel this.”
She studies me. “But you are.”
No hesitation, no defense, just fact. “Yes, without a doubt.”
I reach into the inside pocket of my jacket and pull out the folded printout, and slide it across the island toward her.
She frowns slightly before unfolding it, and once she has, her expression softens immediately. “Twins.”
“Yes.”
She inhales, then doesn’t exhale immediately. I look at her hands. They are steady, but only because she forces them to be. She blinks once, then again.
I know this has to hurt a bit.
We were sixteen, and already knew what was expected of us, but also agreed that we’d fight it as long as we could. There was not a single romantic spark between us. We never once crossed that line or tried to force a relationship.
I was there when she found out she was pregnant, and I was there when she lost it. It was early, and she hadn’t even gone to the doctor yet. But I was fucking there when she cried in pain and asked forhim.
