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Waverly didn’t say anything, her face devoid of expression.
“You hate the idea,” I said quietly. “I just thought it would be better for you, for us in the long run. So if there’s a problem with the school, I can deal with it head on. Among other reasons, but yeah…crap, I—”
“Stop talking,” she said.
I immediately closed my mouth.
“You’ve been the only person in my entire life who’s been there for me. You’ve put me first. Always. Now you want to become my legal guardian?”
My throat tightened. “Yeah. I do. Because I don’t want anyone to be able to take you away from me.”
She lifted her head. Her blue eyes were shiny with tears. “I want that more than anything, Willa. More than anything.”
Waverly was sprawled out on the couch in a sugar coma, her legs thrown across my lap. Her black toenail polish was chipped.
“Do you resent me?” she asked quietly, not opening her eyes.
“Not even a little bit,” I assured her.
“You could’ve left a long time ago. Why didn’t you bail? Things have been bad for a long time, but you’re still here.”
“You know I love you, but you weren’t the only reason I stuck around,” I admitted.
“Duke and Savage?”
“Yeah.”
“I still have a hard time calling them by those names.”
I smiled. “Yeah. Sometimes I forget they weren’t always bikers.”
She opened her eyes and slowly sat up. “My teeth feel fuzzy. I’m gonna brush the sugar off them.” Waverly lowered her feet to the floor.
“I was nine when you were born,” I said.
“Yeah. So you tell me all the time.”
“Hush, Little Punk.”
She grinned.
“What I’m trying to say is this; I was nine and it was already hard with Angel. Then you came along—”
“And made it harder?”
“Shut up, will you?” I laughed. “Yeah, it was hard with you being a newborn and all, but you gave me something to look forward to. You made the really sad and difficult moments better. You didn’t know how hard life was yet. Smiling came so easy to you. So did laughter. You were this bright spot in a really dark childhood. And it wasn’t just me, you know? It was the three of us. It was hard for us. But you gave us something to protect. You gave us a reason for wanting to get out of that shit hole of a life. You’re the reason we all wanted better. We wanted it foryou.”
Waverly swallowed, but she didn’t say anything. After a moment, she nodded, and then went toward the bathroom.
My phone rang.
I hoisted myself up from the couch to peer at my ringing cell.
“Hello,” I greeted.
“How many drinks have you had?” Duke asked.
“I stopped at two—they were strong. I’m already home with Waverly.”
