She curls into my side, head on my chest, hand over my heart.
"Are you okay?"she asks."With what he said?"
"Terrified.But, yeah, I'm okay.More than okay."
"Good.We're a family now.The three of us."
Family.
The word settles in my chest, heavy and warm and permanent.
"Yeah," I say quietly."We are."
She kisses my chest.”I'm glad you're here,” she says on a whisper.
"Me too."
We lie there in the dark, and I think about everything.The club.The violence.The fear.
But also this.The fort building.The superhero talk.The small voice calling me Daddy.
Balance.Like Pyro said.
I can be Tank when needed.And Devin when needed.
Both versions.All of it.
For them.
For this family that's somehow become mine.
I close my eyes, let sleep pull at me.
And for the first time in my life, I'm not just existing.
I'm living.
Really, truly living.
With people who matter.Who need me.Who I'd die for without hesitation.
My family.
Mine.
And that's everything.
23
ENYA
Something's wrong.Devin's been sitting on the couch for the last twenty minutes staring at nothing.
Warren's in bed, the flat’s quiet.It’s just the two of us and whatever's going on in his head.
I set down the mug of tea I was making and move to the couch and sit beside him.I’m close to him but not touching.I’m just waiting for him to finish internally thinking.
"You alright?"I ask finally, unable to stand the silence any longer.
