AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She shrugged her shoulders and went back to eating. Much to my surprise, she ate the whole thing. I just knew I would be dealing with her being hyper the rest of the day. I planned to tire her out so she’d fall asleep by the time she had to go home. After throwing away our trash, I grabbed her hand, and we headed back to my car. She was already hopping and skipping along beside me.
“How about we go to the park?” I said. “I’ll see if Uncle Chris can bring Armani to play with you.”
Her eyes lit up. Chris was my best friend and one of the codevelopers of my Elite Rides app. Armani was his four-year-old daughter, who was like another niece to me. Quickly, I shot him a text. He responded immediately, saying they would meet us. As Precious and I headed to the car, I spotted a familiar face coming out of a stationary shop. As we got closer, I realized that it was Avyn. She walked toward us, stopping when she recognized who I was.
She offered a smile. “Mr. Ellis? How are you?”
“I’m good. How are you?”
“I can’t complain.” She looked down at Precious. “Who is this little beauty?”
“This is Precious, my niece. Say ‘Hey,’ Precious.”
“Hi!”
Avyn waved at her. “You must have aggravated her mother her entire pregnancy. She looks just like you.”
“I get that all the time. We just have strong genes.”
“I see.”
“Um... Can you wait right here? I want to ask you something. I just need to put her in the car.” I pointed out my car, just a few feet away.
“Sure. Go ahead.”
I ushered Precious to the car and locked her in her booster seat. After turning on the air and giving her tablet to her, I stepped back to the sidewalk where Avyn patiently waited, tapping on her phone. She tucked it away as I approached her.
“You want to know about Pasha, right?” she asked.
“If it’s not too much trouble.”
She sighed. “I checked her out of the hotel. You should be getting a partial refund in a few days. She’s staying with me now.”
“How is she doing?”
“She’s... She’s emotional, but she’s trying to pull herself out of it. I just bought her a journal to write in. If she won’t talk about it, I, at least, want her to get it out somehow. She was in therapy, but now that Raymond isn’t paying for it, we have to figure things out until she can start back.”
“Damn... I hate that for her.”
“Yeah, me too. After you told me what happened, I went over there prepared to rock an orange jumpsuit.”
I chuckled. “I don’t think orange is your color.”
She waved me off. “I look good in everything. For her, I’d do hard time.”
“They don’t make friends like that. I’m glad she’s allowing you to help her.”
“I didn’t give her a choice. That’s my sister. No way was I allowing her to stay in a hotel when I had a whole guest room collecting dust. She can stay as long as she needs to.”
I smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“I guess we don’t need your number now, huh?”
“I guess not.” That actually disappointed me a little.
“Well... She could always use a friend, Mr. Ellis. You’re already good at that.” She flashed me a smile and patted my shoulder. “You know how to find me if you ever want to contact her. I have to get going. You and your beautiful niece have a good day.”
“You too.”
