Page 83 of When a Soul Cries

I loved that Halo reached for me like I belonged to her too.

But I didn’t want to be Sol’s entire world.

And Halo couldn’t be either.

One day that little girl was going to grow up.

She’d have school and friends. Sleepovers. Boyfriends, if Sol didn’t kill them first. Eventually, she’d build a life of her own.

Then what?

Sol deserved something that belonged to her too.

Love, if she wanted it.

A career she didn’t hate.

Friends besides my crazy ass.

A reason to put on a cute outfit and leave the house without a diaper bag.

Somebody asking about her day.

Somebody making her laugh.

Somebody reminding her she was still a woman underneath all the responsibility she’d been carrying.

“You know why I told you to go, right?” I asked.

Her expression softened. “Because you’re nosy?”

“That too.”

She smiled.

I bumped her shoulder.

“But seriously.”

She looked at me.

“Because you don’t do shit.”

“Wow.”

“I’m serious. Your whole life is Halo, work and me.”

“I have other things.”

“Name three.”

She opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

“Exactly.”

“That’s because I’m busy.”