"Yep, I'm used to being alone," she said casually.
Another fucking red flag. I could kill my sister.
Old guilt was starting to surface. I could have prevented this, but I knew deep down I couldn’t blame myself. Phoenix wasn’t my responsibility back then.
If she was now, then I could more than make up for lost time.
"I won't be long," I promised as she opened the door and took a seat in the farthest corner of the room.
A tear threatened to drip but I wiped it before she could see. I turned away quickly, almost running to see Taryn and Dani.
I sent an SOS text to them both and told them to meet me in Taryn's office, veering in there and closing the door behind me. They would take a few minutes to come back here, and I took those precious minutes to collect myself.
"What's going on?" Dani asked breathlessly as she burst in.
"You okay?" Taryn asked as she took a seat behind her desk.
Dani moved towards me, and pulled into a hug as if she knew I needed it. The moment her arms wrapped around me, I broke.
Taryn hopped up and joined the hug. It was exactly what I needed at the moment.
"Okay, now that Dani's shoulder is snotty, I can talk," I laughed out through my tears. They wouldn’t seem to stop.
"Girl, it's no worse than baby spit up," she joked as they let me go.
The three of us took a seat and I dove right in, giving them every detail of the mindfuck that was my life now.
"Dee was here," I said. Taryn and Dani both gasped, knowing just what that meant for me. "She told me that she needed someone to watch her daughter for a job interview. I pushed back then she jumped up, said she forgot her purse, then bolted. She's not coming back, she just dumped her daughter on me."
"What do you need from us?" Taryn asked, not sounding surprised in the least.
"Well, I need a bigger place for one and everything a fourteen-year-old girl could want or need. She only has a small backpack of stuff," I explained.
"There’s a cabin right next to mine that’s open for rent," Dani said excitedly. "I’ve been meaning to tell you anyway. I'll call and get it for you. My guys can help with the heavy lifting to move you."
"That would be amazing. I need guardianship papers made up, too, but first I need to get her lunch. She looks malnourished. Once I have the papers signed by my sister I can get her into the doctor and get her checked over," I said, all the things going through my mind. “And enrolled in school.”
"Breathe," Taryn said gently. "I'll go to the diner and grab you both food."
There was a knock on Taryn's door before Ash walked in with both Liam and Gem in his arms.
He smiled at his mate but when he noticed the state I was in, it fell. “Who’s ass do I need to kick?"
I chuckled a little. "Do you fight girls?"
"Maybe, depends on what they did to you," he answered frankly. I wouldn’t put it past him, either. It was nice to have them in my corner, too. A reminder that I had a village now, I wasn’t on my own.
"My sister dumped her teenage daughter on me," I explained quickly. “Without telling either of us goodbye or even asking. She abandoned her.”
"That bitch," he said, looking at his babies. “I could never leave these two.”
This time the twins laughed at his silly face, or maybe his curse.
"Ash, language," Taryn scolded him but was fighting her own smile.
He gave her a smirk before turning back to me. "What do you need? I have a client, but when that’s done, I’ll do what I can to help."
"Dani's got a line on a cabin and Taryn is getting lunch. She has nothing. So, I need… everything?" I answered with a shrug.
