As if Miracle understood, she let out the sweetest giggle while smiling up at Cara. That made all of us laugh as Tabitha's face turned crimson with embarrassment.
Tabitha gritted her teeth, facing Cara. “If you don’t mind, this is afamilydiscussion. So, can you back up and give us some privacy?”
Cara grinned, shaking her head. “Free Willy, we have been over this. You can’t be bitchy while smelling fishy. Get it together and pick a struggle.”
At this point, we were roaring with laughter. Tabitha was speechless. I thought Oscar was the only one with the ability to shut Tabitha up, but I guess Cara had the cheat code as well.
“I don’t need this.” Tabitha huffed and turned around, making her way down the aisle.
“You’re right about that. What youneedis to get to the doctor and let him inject your ass with some penicillin!” Cara shouted.
Ethan and Wyatt were leaning over their carts, laughing hard. A few people eyed Tabitha when Cara said that. She picked up her pace, trying to get away from us.
I turned to Cara. “Why are you like this?” I giggled.
She shrugged her shoulders and pointed at Crystal. “Because of her.” Cara stepped forward and plucked Miracle from my arms. “Come on, sweet baby. Let's go see if we can find some yogurt samples or something.” Cara walked off with Miracle cooing in her arms.
Crystal shook her head. “Let's hurry up and get out of here before my child embarrasses somebody else.”
As we finished shopping, I thought about my mom. I hadn’t spoken to her in a month, but I knew the second Tabitha went crying to her, she really would be calling me. I wasn’t going to answer, though.
With each day, I was starting to see how much better off I was without them. For the first time in my life, there wasn’t any lingering resentment, anger, or hurt. I was just done at this point. Being around the Warriors showed me every day what having a family was about.
My mother drew a line in the sand a long time ago. She needed to stick to her choice and forget I existed.
Chapter Sixteen
TECH
“Idon’t understand, Doc. How can her health decline so quickly?” I asked.
We were in the infirmary visiting Jenny. Will and I made sure to bring Miracle to see her anytime she was up. Jenny slept most of the day due to the drugs they had her on to keep her as comfortable as possible.
Angela was also here every other day. She hadn’t said too much to Will and me. It almost felt like she had a problem with us, but wouldn’t speak up about it. She was never rude, but she would often give one-word answers when either of us spoke to her. After a while, we both stopped trying. I wasn’t about to kiss her ass. I had one thing on my mind—making sure Miracle and Jenny got as much time together before Jenny passed.
“Like I told you before, Tech, sometimes cancer can go undetected because it can grow silently, causing vague symptoms that can be easily missed or overlooked. Some cancers are just more aggressive. Jenny wasn’t diagnosed until the cancer had spread from her lungs to her liver and bones. There’s nothing more that can be done other than make her comfortable until…” He stopped, reluctant to say she would die.
This shit was hard. Although I knew I would be the best dad I could be, I also knew Miracle would eventually have questions. Questions I didn’t know how I would answer. Especially when it came to girl problems. Just thinking about having a period talk with Miracle made me cringe. As a woman, there were things Jenny could do for Miracle that I couldn’t.
“I get what you’re saying, but there has to be something we could do,” I said hastily.
Doc opened his mouth to respond, but Jenny raised her hand, cutting him off. “Tech…no.” She spoke weakly. “I’ve made my peace with this. I ju-just wanted Miracle safe…and now she will be.” As soon as she finished, her body rocked violently with coughs. Like always, the napkin in her hand was filled with blood.
Jenny kept opening and closing her eyes. I knew she was ready to go back to sleep. I stood to my feet, holding Miracle in my arms. “Get some rest, Jenny. We’ll be back when you wake up.” I needed to get out of here. Between this and Sire, I was beyond stressed out.
Jenny nodded, reaching out for Miracle. I leaned down, hovering Miracle over her face so she could kiss her forehead like she always did. Once I saw her eyes closing, Will and I made our way out of the room. Right as I closed the door, it opened again, and Angela stepped out.
“Hey, uhh, Tech, I was wondering if it would be okay if I took Miracle for the night?”
I shook my head immediately. “Absolutely not. Jenny’s mother is still out there, and I’m not putting my daughter in harm's way.” Not to mention Sire. After he popped up at Michael's office, it was clear he had been watching me. I didn’t know whether he knew about Miracle.
Angela rolled her eyes. “I know how to keep her safe, Tech. I was doing it long before you were.”
My brows dipped. She said that as if I knew Miracle existed. Had I known from the beginning, she wouldn’t have needed to do a damn thing. I didn’t know what her problem was, but I was beyond fed up.
“What the hell is your problem?” Will hissed. Leave it to my little firecracker to nip this in the bud.
“I don’t have a problem.” Angela stared at Will blankly.
