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I've failed.
"You haven't failed," Ava whispers as I try to stop the embarrassing noises coming out of my mouth. "You tried. You tried for a long time. Life is weird. You haven't failed."
"B-bri," I manage to choke out.
"She deserves to grow up in a home filled with love, Iz," my sister soothes my innermost fears. "We all deserve that."
I nod, the tears obscuring my vision as hoards of people move through the airport.
"I'm going to let you go now," she tells me.
The moment her arms leave me, Dad bear-hugs me again. Brianna sandwiches against my side and starts giggling, clearly overjoyed to be with her extended family again.
Dad really must have missed me. Two hugs in less than two minutes.
"You crush me, Grampa!" Briana giggles.
"Let's go get some pie," Dad says before kissing the top of my head.
It's a Thompson family tradition. When one of us returns home, we stop at a little diner off the highway and eat a slice of pie. Uncle Kyle will make all of us drink coffee, and we'll stay up late catching up. Eventually, we'll crash on couches and the floor. In the morning, Mom will make a big pancake breakfast,we'll drink more coffee, and we'll bicker and tease each other some more.
And Brianna will be surrounded by family.
That's why I came home. Because she needs these people just as much as I do.
By the time we reach the party bus that Dad rented so theentirefamily could pick me up from the airport, the tears are dry and Brianna is twirling because Uncle Jack, Ava's husband, wants to see what she's learned in ballet class.
"You did the right thing," Aunt Jenny winks at me as she cups Brianna's cheek in her hand. "We heal best at home."
My heart squeezes in my chest. These people aren't my blood, but they took me in when I needed them. They gave me a home and a family. And they haven't let me go since.
I know not everyone gets to grow up with the Thompsons. Not everyone feels safe and loved at home. But I did.
I do.
My heart stings when I think about what would have happened if they hadn't saved me. If they hadn't stepped in when I needed them.
I've failed.
But I'm home.
And it feels like stepping out of the unrelenting rain and into a cozy café. I didn't plan on a detour, but I'm still glad I'm here.
The little pie shop right off the highway looks like it's weathered a few storms since I was last home, but it still smells the same. Like cinnamon and brown sugar.
A middle-aged waitress seats us in the back, and they have to push three tables together so we all fit.
Mom and Dad sit beside Brianna while Ava, Jack, and their twins take up one side of the table. On the other side, Liam, my professional snowboarding cousin, slides into the seatnext to Elle, Taylor's (Liam's older brother) fiancée. They have some weird brother competition thing going on. I blame Dad and Uncle Kyle, the original competitors. It was Aunt Jenny they once fought over. In the end, Aunt Jenny chose Uncle Kyle, and then Dad fell in love with Mom.
The same thing kind of happened with Taylor, Liam, and Elle. Except there was no competition. Elle's only ever had eyes for Taylor.
Taylor slaps Liam in the back of the head before sticking his tongue out at him. Elle ignores both of them and moves into the empty chair beside her. Taylor gives Liam a triumphant smile as he plops into Elle's vacated seat.
"Looks like I won, dickhead," Taylor flashes his dark eyebrows at his younger brother.
"Fuck you," Liam responds.
"Boys," Mia rolls her dark eyes. She's Aunt Jenny and Uncle Kyle's oldest daughter, and she's married to Ace, Ava's half-brother on her mom's side. It's really complicated and strange. Our family tree is the stuff soap operas are made of.
