Page 70

Is he still there?

Jared

We haven’t sung happy birthday yet. Zayn wanted to wait. You can curl up in a chair and watch here.

I burst into tears as I read the barrage of messages, and Arran holds me as I cry.

“You have a lot of stairs, Isla.”

“Mmhmm. Sometimes, I butt scoot down them like a toddler. I like my house.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a better answer in my life,” he laughs. “Are we butt scooting then?”

“Mmhmm. As soon as I get upright. Not yet though.”

“Take your time. I’m in no rush to get up.”

Me

Yes to cake. I may look like death.

Ignacio

Siempre eres bella. We just want to see you.

“Proof of life may need to be more than just words,” Arran murmurs.

“Yes,” I sigh. “My dads get squirrelly when I get knocked over by pain.”

“I don’t see how anyone could not get squirrelly. They handled it well in the moment.”

“I used to get them all of the time before I had Zayn. I finally found doctors who paid attention to me and stopped thinking it was all in my head.”

“How… Fuck. How could anyone think you were lying about this?” Arran mutters.

“Um. So, you probably saw the inside of the medicine cabinet. Did you have any questions about that?” I ask, chewing on the inside of my lip.

“Nope. If you get sad or have a bad day and I can help, I want to know about it, okay?”

“Okay,” I breathe.

“Your parents…”

“Mmhmm.”

“There are a lot of them,” he drawls as I giggle. It’s light and free, and god does it feel good. I’m not perfect yet, but I’m slowly improving.

“Isn’t it great,” I say, giving him a lopsided smile. “I have absolutely no idea how it all works, but they’re happy. I also think Liliana regularly tases my dads. It’s part of her love language.”

“I’ll take this as the warning I think it is,” he snorts. “Why do your family look like a combination of mobsters and preppy rich people?”

“I think you just answered your question,” I say with a yawn, pushing myself up to a sitting position slowly. “If I don’t get up, I’ll fall asleep. Try not to get cornered by my parents when we go over.”

“That’s not comforting, Isla,” Arran says, getting up. “Are you changing, or am I finding you shoes?”

“Shoes, please. I should have a pair of sneakers. I’m going to be a second before I can stand.”

“Not a problem. Shoes are in the closet…” Arran talks to himself as he walks over and finds them, while I think about the safe room that lays on the other side of it. He might worry about the practicality of all the stairs, but the day it really became an issue, Emil would find a way to fix it.