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“Mom, I’m not going to sit here and listen to you trash my boyfriend.”
At her predictable gasp, I continue. “He’s a great man, a kind man, an understanding man, and he believes in me more than any of you ever have.”
“But, Adi, what are you thinking? Putting yourself in a position where you have to care for a child? With autism at that.”
“Mom, heisautistic, he doesn’thaveautism.” You’d think she’d know how to speak about autism having an autistic grandchild. She just doesn’t want to learn sensitivity. Not even for her granddaughter.
“Thor and—”
“Thor? Like the cartoon character?”
Pressing my finger and thumb to the bridge of my nose, I squeeze, silently count to ten. This woman will be the absolute death of me. Do my family have any redeeming qualities at all?
“Mom, I’m not having this conversation with you. I’m a grown woman, and I can make—”
“Your own mistakes, yes, I know. I just wish you’d think before you jump in with both feet.”
I hang up the call, silence my phone and roll over onto my stomach with a groan. A long, loud, screech into my pillow.
“Today’s getting off to a good start then, eh?” Kenzie’s voice starts far away, but by the time she finishes her sentence, she’s standing next to the bed. Or pretty close.
“Go away.” When I breathe in, a mouthful of pillow makes me cough. “I’m staying here forever.” If only that were possible. Sleeping away my life sounds pretty good about now.
“Oh, please.” Paige’s eye roll is clear from just two words. Might be a record. “Get your ass up. There’s French toast downstairs.”
My head snaps up at that, and my stomach growls. Mackenzie is crossing the room toward the window. She reaches for the curtains before I can object and tugs them open, blinding sunlight streams into the room.
Rude.
Smushing my head back into the soft pillow, a low groan is half muffled by the fabric smothering my face.
Paige claps her hands together. “Up, up, up.”
There’s no way Kenzie is that obnoxious.
Flipping her off, I push myself up onto my elbows. “Just ‘cause you’re a domme sometimes, doesn’t mean you get to boss me around. You’re not the boss of me.”
She smirks. “You wish.”
Actually, I can only imagine how much of a bitch she can be in the bedroom, so I’m pretty glad she’s not my domme. But I’d never tell her that out loud.
“I can hear your thoughts from here, Adi. I’m not that bad.”
Apparently my facial expression betrayed my thoughts. “Come on. Food’ll be cold when we get there.” I drag my ass out of bed.
“Or Austin will have eaten all the bacon.”
Kenzie stops dead at the bottom of the stairs, Paige crashes into her back, and I stop myself at the last second before I smack right into her. “What the fuck?”
Everyone’s staring at Kenzie’s open front door. The air in the house shifts as they both step aside.
In my periphery, Austin and Matthew hover in the doorway to the living room. My heart twitches. Pushing past the girls, I walk toward the little boy. I’ve been in his new home almost every single morning since he moved in with Thor. Except today.
“Good morning, Matthew.” I offer him a small smile, a guilty smile. I hope he’ll forgive me for changing his routine.
He gives me a shy wave. “I missed you this morning, Addison.” There’s sadness to his voice that deepens the crack in my chest. “Are you coming home today?”
Holding my arms open to him, I nod as he comes at me for a hug. “Of course I am.” Trying to be light while wanting to fall to pieces on this kid is so fucking hard. “Assuming you and your dad didn’t get too used to me being gone last night.” I wink at him as he pulls back. “Just a girl’s night last night. My friends needed me.”
