“Hey, come into the dining room for a minute?”
I shake my head and try to move around him with a “No thanks.” But he puts a hand on my arm to stop me.
“Sweetheart, we need you to come to the dining room. It’s important.”
I press my lips tightly together to keep the ugliness inside me from spilling out all over him and offer a huff of agreement instead. He turns and I follow his broad back, trying to shake off the nasty mood I’m in. When we step into the dining room, he maneuvers me into the chair at the end and places a hand on my shoulder like he’s going to hold me in place. I look up at him with an eye roll, but stay sitting. Torrin and Jules come in from the kitchen with bags of take-out from my favorite Mexican restaurant and I try not to take a deep sniff of the mouthwatering scents coming off of them. I can feel the stupid pout forming on my lips at not getting any taco goodness because of my own stubbornness. I look away from Julian’s smirk as he tosses the bags on the table.
It's when Reid comes in that I can’t stop from pushing Gage’s hand from my shoulder and shoot to my feet. The tears I’ve been fighting all day flow free and spill over to roll down my face uncontrollably. Reid walks toward me holding a sheet cake with chocolate frosting. Written on it in script is, Happy Birthday Atlas.
My voice is thick with emotion as I choke out, “You remembered?”
Gage wraps one of his arms around my shoulders and gives me a squeeze.
“We will never forget him, Luna. We will celebrate all of their special days with you. You’re not alone, sweetheart.”
Reid sets the cake on the side of the table and takes the seat beside me. His amber eyes are soft and understanding when he reaches over to tug me back down into my seat. I give him a trembling smile full of gratitude while Gage sits down. Jules slides the take-out bags down the table to the others and I try not to look at the food as they pull out their meals from the bags. I only wonder briefly if anyone might have ordered extra that I can beg for before looking back at the frosted cake with twenty-two candles on it.
The sound of crinkling paper bags and wrappers goes quiet until I lift my eyes up to look down the table and see them all looking back at me. Jules snorts, reaches down, and pulls up an unopened bag, then sends it sliding down the table to me.
“Here you go, pouty girl.”
I try to bite back the smile wanting to form as I open the bag and practically push my whole face into it to breathe in the glorious smell of tacos and mexi-fries. When I look back up, they’re all still looking my way but each one of them is smiling.
“Did anyone happen to get extra sour…”
I don’t even get to finish the sentence before four little take-out cups of sour cream come sliding down the table at me from each one of them. Those sneaky tears prick at my eyes again as I start nodding at them.
“Thank you. Thank you for everything. I couldn’t do this without you all. I love you guys.”
I swallow the tears down, duck my head, and dig into the first taco.
Chapter 25 - Jules
Reid and I walk into the kitchen and come to a quick stop as we watch Luna battle with… a drawer handle? Her cardigan sweater is snagged on the handle and as she turned away from the counter it yanked her back. I try not to burst out laughing as she fights with it to try and unhook it, all while calling it an asshole. She finally gets it free with a screech of annoyance, turns, and spots us watching her.
I love winding her up, so I tell her, “Take it down a notch, it’s just a handle.”
Her eyes narrow dangerously at me. “Did you just try and de-notch me? You should take a step back because I’m about to notch so freaking hard on your ass!”
Reid laughs and steps between us, stealing my fun, always the peacemaker. I turn and open the fridge to grab a block of cheese from it and start slicing a few pieces. I snag a box of crackers from the pantry and stack the cheese on top.
“What’s for dinner?” Reid asks while watching me work, trying to distract her, but it backfires when she scowls at him.
“How should I know? We just had dinner last night. Why do we have to make this decision every…single…day?”
Gage comes over and grabs her by the waist, lifting her to sit on the counter, and then hands her a glass of wine.
“Ok, settle down, tadpoles. I’ll do dinner tonight.”
Penny comes scrambling into the room at hearing one of her favorite words and skids on the hardwood floor as she can’t make the stop. We all laugh when she overcorrects and plows into Gage’s legs. She’s still growing into her long legs and big paws. Her furry butt hits the floor as she looks up at him with adoring eyes, ready for any scraps he’ll toss her way during dinner preparation.
Luna beams a sweet smile at her and sips her wine with a hum of pleasure. When she opens her mouth to say something else, I slide a cheese cracker combo right into it causing her to glare at me as she chews. I’ve got a second one primed and ready for as soon as she swallows it down. She’s slowly starting to gain some of the weight she lost back, but it’s not happening fast enough for me. She still gets lost in her head some days and forgets to eat. I want all her curves back. I want her healthy again. By the time she’s finished the third cheese cracker combo, I can almost see her mood improving. It fills something inside of me to take care of her in this small way.
When she looks up at me with a small smile, her head cocks to the side with confusion.
“What happened to your face, Jules? Is that a bruise?”
I roll my eyes, but Reid starts laughing and hops up on the counter beside her and steals a sip of her wine before telling her, “A girl clocked him at the bar last night. It was hilarious.”
