I stayed awake.
The twins breathed. Abagail breathed. Sofia’s small body rose and fell against my leg. A few strands of Laina’s hair lay across my jaw and her hand still covered mine. I lay in the dark, taking inventory because I wanted to remember.
I checked the twins twice during the night and found their breathing steady. Abagail rested while they nursed.
Laina slept, safe and warm in my arms.
Was it wrong of me to want this forever? Maybe, but I couldn’t hold the feelings back. They were too big. Too wonderful. They kept pressing against my insides, determined to break through.
I closed my eyes and listened to the world around me until I fell asleep.
The light at the tarp seam started graying, finding the twins first, pale shapes against Abagail’s darker fleece. Then Laina’s hair spread across my arm, her weight secure against my chest like she’d been sleeping there for years instead of hours. Her fingers wrapped around my forearm. Our legs tangled. Sofia lay somewhere by our feet, radiating satisfaction.
I counted Laina’s breaths. The small sounds she made when she shifted closer in her sleep. The exact moment her breathing changed, and I knew she was waking.
She went still first, then lifted her head.
Our faces were close. Her hair was messed from sleep, her cheek creased from my shirt.
“Morning,” I said.
Her mouth curved, and every part of my heart answered it.
I rolled her onto her back because I’d been thinking about kissing her since I’d opened my eyes. She made a soft surprised sound when I did it, but cupped my shoulders and pulled me closer.
Her mouth was sleep warm, and she tasted like the tea we’d shared. When I lifted my head, she made a disappointed noise that I wanted to collect and keep.
“That’s a nice way to wake up,” she said.
I could’ve stayed there and kissed her again before rolling aside, but we had to get going. The others would be arriving at the facility soon, and they’d be worried if we weren’t there.
I rolled off her and she sat up, the vet in her taking over. She crawled over to Abagail and the twins before I’d fully untangled myself from the blankets.
The larger twin had risen to wobbly feet and was sniffing the cave wall.
“Look at you,” Laina said, crouching beside her. “You’re standing already.”
The twin headbutted Laina’s palm. Sofia flew over to supervise from Laina’s shoulder. Abagail raised her head and made the low rumbling sound that meant I am content where I am. She peered at me with what I’d swear was approval.
I pulled out my notebook.
Abagail is well. The twins are well. Laina is…amazing. Sofia has claimed authority over us all.
I paused, then added,Laina woke in my arms this morning. I would like her to do so again.
Laina spoke in a low voice to the larger twin. It headbutted her again and Laina laughed, the sound filling the small cave.
I wrote the last line before closing the notebook.
Home isn’t where I’m from. It’s who I’m with.
After tucking the notebook into my back pocket, I went to help Laina pack our supplies for the journey back.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LAINA
Moving a new mother and her twins out of a cave in the Maine woods was not a fast operation.
