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“Cha-Cha,” Vivi urges quietly, beckoning her with her hand. “Don’t cwy. Gamps safe in heaben. He wif Gamma.”
I peer through the window in the door. Vivi is right. Gavin’s eyes are closed, his hands at his side while his dog rests his chin on his chest, staring up at him. Claire and Casey are wrapped in each other’s arms, their cries piercing the air in the hallway.
Hauling Charlee into my chest, I wrap her and Vivi up in the tightest hug I can muster. It’s not just for them, but for me too. My heart is broken for this family. My family.
“I’m here! I’m here. Fuck.” Dex skids into the hallway, grabbing the edge of the wall while he wheezes. “There was no parking. I had to park…” He looks at us, at his sister, his best friend’s daughter, the three of us tangled together. And his face breaks. “There was no parking,” he whispers again, walking toward us while tears coat his face. “I was here, and there was no parking.”
The door to Gavin’s room creaks open, and Casey and Claire step out, faces soaked to the brim, eyes nearly swollen shut.
And I do the only thing I can think of. I open my arms, gesturing to Dex, and he steps forward, sweeping Casey and Claire in with Charlee, Vivi and I. The six of us stand there, one little family huddled together while we hold each other and cry.
***
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
Avery
I wake up Wednesday morning the way I hate to wake up—cold, and with my arms empty.
Rolling over, I swing my arm out, brushing it over Claire’s empty side. It’s warm, so she hasn’t been up long.
“Claire?” I call out.
The bedroom door is cracked open, and I shoot up in bed when I hear somebody retching in the bathroom down the hall. I hear the toilet flush, the tap running while I scramble out of bed, pulling on a pair of shorts.
Trying to pull on a pair of shorts. I trip over my feet and face-plant on the cold hardwood.
Groaning, I flop over onto my back. The door creaks and I see Claire’s bare feet, her cute sky-blue toes, as she pads into the room, closing the door behind her.
“Baby?” I moan, reaching for her. “You okay? I tried to come. I fell.”
Her soft giggle is music to my ears, because I haven’t heard it in a week. She spent the rest of Monday and most of Tuesday curled up in my lap, alternating between sleeping and crying. By last night, though, she managed a couple smiles. They were sad, but beautiful as hell, as they always are.
Claire steps over me, feet on either side of my waist, and offers me her hands. It’s a nice gesture, but that’s all it is, because there’s no way in hell she can pull me up.
When I make it to my feet, I yank her into me, burying my head in her silky hair, all messy bedhead. Her cheeks are warm and flushed with heat, her eyes red and swollen from all the emotions she’s been dealing with over the last few days.
“Avery,” Claire whispers, kissing my shoulder. “I need to talk to you.”
“Okay, baby.” I pull her over to the bed, patting the spot next to me, but she just stares down at me.
“Um, could you maybe…get dressed?” She scratches her head and clears her throat, gesturing at my dick. He’s slightly traitorous this morning, standing at full attention. “It’s hard to focus with that, that…thing.”
Chuckling, I peck her cheek as I walk by her. “He’s just saying hello.”
I manage to get dressed without issue this time, pulling on a full outfit. Scratching at my abdomen, I turn around to find Claire sitting at the edge of the bed, fumbling with something in her lap. A piece of paper, a picture, maybe. When I take a seat beside her, slipping my arm around her waist, she releases a heavy sigh, pressing whatever she’s holding into her stomach.
“I’ve been hiding something from you.” She’s quiet and timid, sage eyes searching mine from beneath those thick lashes of hers.
Sweeping my thumb under her chin, I tip her up for a kiss, the inherent hint of mint on her lips. “I know.”
Her mouth opens partway, eyes wide. “You-you…you know?”
“I don’t know, I just know there’s something you’re not telling me. You’re shit at hiding when there’s something on your mind. You’re not sneaky at all.”
She huffs a tiny laugh. “That’s what my dad said. I…I told him Monday.”
“Well, whatever it is, I’m glad you shared it with him. I didn’t want to push you.”
