Page 122 of Sweet Heart

“Yeah, we do. Not everyone has the luxury of sleeping in tomorrow.”

Carmen doesn’t fight it, the energy in her sputtering out. She is drained. For the past few days, she has worked only double shifts so that she could have a long moving weekend with Isa. They spent the whole day cleaning and painting yesterday, meaning they had to miss my reading, and then started moving their stuff at six this morning. Now she just looks like she is about to cry or crash, and neither is a good option.

I kiss Isa and Carmen on the cheek and slide into the coat Cat is holding open for me. Her fingers brush my shoulder before they find my hand. I glance at Carmen one more time and wish I could cradle her until she falls asleep. The rest will make her feel better. I know it will.

Isa catches my eye, smiles softly at me, and nods. She’ll be okay. It will all be okay. She has Isa to look after her now, who does so with the care and patience that Carmen deserves. I smile back at her, feeling her warmth was over me. She might be quiet, but she holds us all in a way that no one else can, in a way that is both tender and caring. Her love for is palpable, shown in actions rather than words. And I am grateful that she is part of my family now.

***

06:04 a.m. – The Sixers - Carmen

OH EM GEE!!! I’m sorry to wake you this early… but have y’all seen this?

06:05 a.m. – The Sixers - Carmen

Sent a video

06:05 a.m. – The Sixers - Riley

Is that Bobby Blackwood?

06:06 a.m. – The Sixers - Carmen

YESSSSS!!!!

06:09 a.m. – The Sixers - Riley

HOLY SHIT!! HOLY SHIT!! HOLY SHIT!!

06:09 a.m. – The Sixers - Riley

We just watched it. This is amazing! @Mary have you seen it?

06:15 a.m. – The Sixers – Cat

Mary’s still asleep.

06:15 a.m. – The Sixers – Isa

You might want to wake her up for this.

06:15 a.m. – The Sixers – Carmen

Wake her! Trust me!

06:15 a.m. – The Sixers – Riley

I think she’d want to see this.

I groan groggily when Cat shows me the messages, and I rub the sleep from my eyes. It isn’t even six thirty, and she kept me up well into the night, but somehow the Sixers convinced her that my rest is less important than this video. I frown and look up at her, but she just shrugs.

“I haven’t seen it yet.”

“Ugh, so you don’t even know if it is wo—”

I freeze as she turns the phone toward me again, the video pulled up.

“Isn’t that the kid from the bookstore?” she asks before she bites down on her lip.