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I bark a laugh at her ability to center me when the world is spinning on its head. “You are my sun, my only light. That’s what I said, Sunshine.”
My brows furrow as I fill my words with every long-buried emotion my tiny dancer has swirled to life within me. “That’s what youare. The light that has chased away the demons ingrained within me by the misdeeds and downright neglect of my parents.”
She swallows heavily as I continue. “Today is a day I will never forget, but not for the reasons you’re thinking, baby.”
I draw the pads of my thumbs across her cheekbones, committing to memory the way she looks right now, at this exact moment, as I share my truth.
“The thought of losing you—of losing the possibility of what we can have—shook me to my very foundations. It was in that instant that I knew beyond any doubt that I don’t ever want to know what my life is like without you in it. I can’t go back to my gray world when you’ve shown me what it’s like to live in technicolor.”
A frown mars her forehead as her eyes glisten with unshed tears.
“So let’s get today over with. I’m ready to find out what life has in store for us, Sunshine.”
* * *
REYNA
The surveillance team let us out at the usual bus stop that Iris would use when traveling to Manhattan from her rental house in New Jersey.
Having checked my wire one last time, Ford gets back inside the van with a small nod before they drive farther up along the street to park closer to the house.
Iris and I fall into step beside one another as she slings the bag supposedly containing the payment over her shoulder. The tension between us is palpable, and I search my mind, quickly finding a subject to alleviate the strain.
“What’s your little boy’s name?”
Iris’s bottom lip trembles as she whispers, “Dean.”
She looks down at the sidewalk beneath our feet, clenching and unclenching her fists, and it hits me again that I truly can’t imagine how hard she’s had it.
“When did he tell you about me?”
She looks up at my question, her eyes lightening at the change of topic. “I found a magazine at my last OB appointment that had a true Cinderella story inside.”
She smiles softly as she remembers. “I brought it home to show Aidan…I wanted to show him that fairytalesdoexist.”
Her eyes darken then, and she shifts her gaze away. “Victor saw your picture, and that was the start of it. He’s in the hole to some loan shark—”
I cut her off with an eye roll. “What else is new!”
Her head bobs with a nod. “Yeah, well, he saw you as his ticket out, so…” She shrugs. “Here we are.”
She stops, pointing to our left at a small, well-kept house, not unlike the one I rented in Staten.
Except this one is colored with love.
There’s a huge mural of a rainbow on one of the windows that I’m assuming is Dean’s room, and the flower beds that line the porch are teeming with an array of brightly colored flowers.
I shift my gaze to my sister with admiration in my eyes. “Do you tend the garden?”
She blushes furiously as she nods. “It’s kept me sane sincehemoved in.”
My stomach lurches at that, even as I straighten my spine and follow her up along the path to the deep green front door.
She cracks it open and sticks her head inside, calling out quietly, “Victor? I’m back.”
My breathing picks up when I follow her over the threshold and into the dark open-plan living space. All the curtains have been pulled despite the beautiful sunshine outside, and I’m instantly transported back to my childhood when his mood would blanket the entire house.
I canfeelit now, just like I did then.
