My lungs constrict at her words and the way her face flushes as she watches us. It’s unreserved and completely real, and I have no idea how I’m going to survive being around her, knowing I can’t have her in the way I want.
“How are you, Maya?” JJ asks genuinely.
Maya hums. “Getting by,” she voices. “But better now I have Finn.”
Okay, she’s definitely trying to kill me today.
“Finn hasn’t stopped talking about you guys for weeks,” JJ says.
“All good things, I hope.” She laughs before brushing a hand through her hair.
JJ’s face softens. “Only good things. Skye really looks like you.”
“Me?” Maya presses a palm to her chest. “Oh, no. I think she looks like Finn.”
“I see it,” JJ agrees. “I see Ivy in her, too.”
“I thought that.” I grin before turning to Maya. “Maybe next time Ivy is down, she can meet you and Skye.”
Maya blinks at me. “Yeah, I’d like to meet her. I can’t believe I haven’t yet.”
JJ’s phone buzzes, and he glances at it quickly. “Guys, sorry to cut this short, but I’ve got to run. It was good to see you, Maya, and meet Skye. But maybe we’ll do something soon?”
“Yeah.” Maya’s eyes light up. “I’d like that. Some normality.”
“Good.” JJ presses a hand to my shoulder and stares down at Skye. “Bye, little one.”
“I’ll see you back at the house,” I say.
JJ waves us off before shutting the front door.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask Maya as I clutch the back of Skye’s head.
“Yeah, I didn't have a lot of sleep,” she huffs hesitantly. “Didn’t have time to shower before you came over, and I feel like a mess.”
I frown. “Go shower. I’ve got this.”
“You don’t need to leave?”
“No. You’ve got me for the rest of the day.”
Maya’s chest trembles as she inhales a long breath. “Okay. Thanks.”
I watch as Maya slips into the bathroom, and I sit down on the sofa and turn on the TV to something quiet. My eyes flick down to my daughter as I watch her peacefully drift off in my arms.
My heart slows at the sight of her. “You are everything I didn’t know I needed,” I whisper. “I’m going to do everything to make you proud, to make sure you have the best life, to never let you down.”
Skye’s cheeks are puffed out, and her little lips are the cutest things I’ve ever seen.
“I love you,” I murmur before pressing a delicate kiss to her forehead. “I love you so much, sweetheart. You have no idea.”
When the programme I put on finishes, I glance over at the bathroom door. Maya can take all the time she wants, but when it creeps up to an hour, I start to get concerned. I can no longer hear the shower running, and the silence alarms me.
I place Skye down in her cot as she sleeps without being disturbed. I head back to the bathroom and raise my knuckles gently to knock.
“Maya?” But I’m met with silence, and something churns in my gut. Something doesn’t feel right. “Maya, everything okay?”
My hand wraps around the door handle when I don’t get a reply. I press down and peek inside to find Maya standing at the basin of the sink, her body completely naked as she faces the mirror.
