I will. Thank you for giving me this time. I feel like I need to get a hold of where my life is going, and I think I need my sister’s help to do that.
Honesty. I needit as much as he does, and I don’t want to worry him more than I probably already am.
Ledger:
I understand. Take as much time as you need.
I sink down into my couch and pull up Larkin’s number.
“Hey, stranger!”
“I literally talked to you last night,” I deadpan.
“Whatever. Talking on the phone is not the same as seeing you face to face, so it still counts.”
“Speaking of seeing you face to face, you up for some company this weekend?” I suddenly realize it’s very presumptuous of me to just barge in on her family on my own schedule. I should have made sure it was okay before talking to Ledger.
The sound of her squealing makes me pull the phone from my ear.
“Jesus,” I mutter.
“Theo! We gotta make sure the guest room is cleaned when we get home. Ainsley’s coming down for the weekend!” I hear her muddled voice as she, I assume, barges into Theo’s office.
“I can sleep on the couch!” I interrupt her.
“Oh, shut up, you are not sleeping on the couch,” she mumbles as I hear her shuffling around. “So, what time will you be here?”
“Umm, I can leave here after lunch? So that would put me there about the time you get off, maybe a little earlier. I could go pick up the munchkins,” I offer.
“Gavin will lose his shit. Sold. Stop by the office, and I’ll give you Maddie’s car seat.”
“Done.” My heart feels ten pounds lighter with how easy our relationship is. She has the whole life—a husband, kids—yet they are all dropping everything because I want to come down and visit.
“See you in a bit, Ains. I’m so fucking excited to see you,” she whispers, probably because she’s still at work.
“Same. Love you.”
Hanging up the phone, I look around my house. I’ve been here a few months, and the house is nice, but outside of the garden, I haven’t really made ahomehere. I’ve never really noticed that until now. The conversation over our date has me thinking about not just existing but thriving. And it’s scary.
The drive down is uneventful and beyond boring, but now I’m waiting in the school pick-up line for Maddie and I couldn’t be happier. Weekly dinners with my mom and dad are great, but they aren’t Larkin. We’ve always been super close, and I’ve always been a little closed off with my parents, purely because I hated the gossip and attention on me.
It’s been wonderful forging a better relationship with my parents, but nothing beats our sisterly bond.
Picking up Maddie consists of screams that hit a decibel meant to break an eardrum and the biggest hug I’ve ever gotten from her. Next up is Gavin, and my heart is bursting with excitement. Listen, I love myniece. She’s amazing and funny as hell, but Gavin will always be my soft spot. I would literally drop anything for that boy.
We pull up in my usual spot I used to pick him up on occasion and see him looking around, confused. Before I get the chance to do something fun, Maddie rolls down the back window and screams his name.Jesus, it’s no wonder Lark has a headache at the end of the day with this one.
The sheer excitement on Gavin’s face when he realizes who’s picking him up makes me want to ugly-cry. I’ve missed him so damn much, and no amount of long-distance game nights will make up for actually seeing him.
He jumps in the car and bear-hugs me as best as he can with a center console between us.
“How long are you here for? Are you staying at the house? How’s Bluebell Falls?” His rapid-fire questions make me laugh.
“I’m staying at the house through the weekend, and Bluebell Falls is fine.” I smile at him.
He narrows his eyes, and I forget just how much he sees. His childhood wasn’t a good one until Larkin and Theo came along. He grew up faster than any kid should, and he’s far wiser than his years. It’s easy to forget all of that until he sees past a canned answer like the one I just gave.
I let out a sigh. “It’s good. There’s just a lot going on in my head right now, I promise.”
