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“It’s okay. I’ll do it. Thanks for being so cool about this, Dad.”
He gave me a warm smile. “Kyler’s family now. And I’m excited to meet Cosette after hearing so much about her.”
I chuckled weakly. “She’s pretty adorable. But maybe give it a little bit so Ky can get her stuff set up first. She’s going to be scared enough in a new place as it is.” Then I turned to the dog. “Come on, Serge. Let’s go outside.”
I led Sergio to the backdoor and put him out, then went back out to Kyler’s car and grabbed Cosette’s cage and the bag with all of her supplies out of the backseat. Kyler shouldered her purse and one of her bags and grabbed the carrier, and we went inside.
“Hi, Kyler,” my dad said with a smile. “Been a long day, huh?”
“You could say that,” she chuckled weakly. “Thanks for letting me come over like this.”
“You’re family to Ian, so that makes you family to all of us. Just relax tonight, and we’ll talk when I get home from the office tomorrow. Okay?”
“Thanks,” she sighed.
“That your bunny?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she chuckled, smiling. “This is Cosette. She’s pretty freaked out. Bunnies don’t like change, and they hate car rides. Especially this one.”
“Come on, baby. Let’s get her into my room and I’ll go grab the rest of your stuff,” I told her. “Dad can meet her later once she’s calmed down a little.”
I led Kyler into my bedroom and quickly realized that I was going to have to make space for Cosette’s cage. It wasn’t huge, but it was long. I set it down on the floor and pushed my dresser off to the side so I could fit the cage between the dresser and TV stand.
“Think she’ll be okay there?” I asked.
“It’s perfect,” Kyler said with a smile. She left the carrier on my bed and walked over to give me a kiss. “I love you.”
“Te quiero, bebé,” I murmured, kissing her again. “Get Cosette’s cage set up so she doesn’t have to stay in that carrier all night. I’ll be right back.”
As I was getting all of Kyler’s stuff out of her car, I discovered that she’d packed light. Lighter than I would have if I’d been the one moving out of my house for an undetermined amount of time. Then again, her mom had given us thirty minutes to pack, and that included getting Cosette ready to go.
Well, now I knew what to tell my family to get her for Christmas: gift cards to get clothes. Or maybe Izzie and Hillary could just take her shopping to get some stuff. Everyone had been asking about it because they were generous like that and they knew she was important to me, and I’d been drawing a blank.
Kyler was kneeling on the floor and putting newspaper on the bottom of the rabbit cage when I got back to my bedroom. I put her bags on my bed and knelt behind her, putting my hands on her shoulders and kissing her head. Three months ago, she would have frozen if I’d done that, but now, she sighed and leaned back. I wrapped my arms around her, and she turned her head for a kiss, a request I was happy to oblige.
“Talk to me, baby,” I murmured. “You’re so quiet. I know you’ve had the day from Hell and you’re still processing, but I hate not knowing how to help you.”
She leaned further against me; I tightened my embrace.
“This helps,” she sighed. “I just…I don’t know how to handle any of this. What Drew told you, and the fact that there’s apparently a video of it out there. And my mom. I mean, I thought she wouldn’t believe me at first, but I never thought she’d say all those awful things to me or slap me in the face. Why would she do that, Ian? I mean, we’ve never had a great relationship, but I’m her daughter. Like, doesn’t shecarethat I was raped?”
Honestly? From what I’d seen, I didn’t think Brenda had the capacity to care aboutanyoneother than herself. Or if she did, she needed therapy to figure out how. But that was a whole other conversation, and this wasn’t the time to have it.
“I don’t know, Ky. I don’t know why she said or did any of the things she said and did. But I do know that the second she hit you, I knew you were coming home with me tonight. I wasn’t about to leave you in that house after that. How does that feel, by the way? Do you need ice or painkillers or anything?”
“No. Just kiss it better,” she chuckled weakly.
I smiled and turned her so I could reach the side of her face that her mom had hit. Then I trailed light kisses over her cheek, which was a little red and swollen, before giving her a real kiss.
“Oh, sorry,” I heard Maya say from the doorway. “Looks like I’m interrupting.”
I chuckled and turned to look at the woman who was my stepmother in all but title. She was smiling at us, but looked a little sad.
“Hey,” she said. “Your dad called and told me we have a houseguest for a little while. Asked me to bring some lettuce and treats home for the bunny. How are you holding up, Kyler?”
“Okay, I guess,” Kyler sighed. “I just want to get Cosette settled.”
“You know, I had bunnies when I was growing up. I always thought I’d like another one, but with Serge, I figured it probably wasn’t a great idea. I know she probably won’t eat much tonight, but there’s some fresh spring mix in the fridge for her if you think she can handle it. Maybe we can get her to eat some carrot or banana at least. Something fun.”
