“I don’t care. I’ve waited so long… too long, to get back here.” Lily’s voice cracked. Abby thought about arguing with her sister, persuading her to go somewhere else tonight, but she relented. Stay away, she silently urged Wes. Don’t screw this up.
“Mom, just park. We’ll protect her from the cameras,” Abby said.
Mom shut off the car and climbed out, pushing her way to the passenger side. Abby slipped out of her down coat and climbed out of the car. The crowd roared their welcome, reporters shouting questions as they surged forward. There were so many cameras flashing, Abby was blinking back stars. Dozens of people surrounded them, cell phones raised high, filming the homecoming. Abby realized that everything they did from this moment on would be documented. Chronicled and then dissected for the world to see.
Lily lifted Sky out of the car seat and Abby carefully draped her coat over Sky’s face, wanting to block her niece from the media’s prying eyes. They headed up the driveway, flanked by Sheriff Rogers and several other officers, who were trying to clear the path. The reporters were relentless, pushing, prodding, and trying to get a reaction.
“How did you get away?”
“What’s it like being home?”
“Is Rick Hanson the father of your child?”
Abby wanted to scream at them, spit on them, but she stayed focused, moving at a fast clip, holding on to Lily and Sky, Mom trailing behind. They were on the porch now. Only a few more steps and they could shut out these people, escape their prying eyes and hateful questions. But at the top of the steps, Lily gasped. Abby wasn’t sure what had happened until she saw Sky running down the steps of the porch into the crowd.
Lily froze, no doubt caught off guard by Sky’s impulsive action. All the reporters and the cameras turned to follow Sky, who kept running. Abby tried to chase after the child, but she was so heavy, her movements slow and clumsy. She found herself swallowed up by the crowd. She struggled to break free when people began to move aside. Abby saw Wes carrying Sky up the driveway. The little girl was wailing, kicking, and screaming. “I wanna go home. I want my daddy!” She pummeled Wes with her tiny fists.
Abby could see Wes’s lips moving, no doubt trying to soothe the child. But Sky continued to wail like an animal caught in a trap. The danger resolved, the camera flashes resumed, the screams and shouts grew to an ear-shattering volume, and the mob surged forward, grateful for a new moment to capture.
Abby barely followed what happened next. In a daze, she saw Lily’s grateful expression as Wes placed Sky in her arms. Lily didn’t seem to notice or recognize him. She just raced into the house, protecting Sky, cradling the child. A moment later, Abby felt Wes’s arm around her waist, ushering her inside, Eve whispering for Abby to stay calm.
Abby stood in the foyer, the frenzied crowd outside still audible. Her grandparents nervously hovered in the kitchen. Lily was still trying to console Sky, who was screaming, “I wanna go home. I want Daddy Rick.” Each scream pierced Abby’s heart: tiny, little pricks over and over again. Mom sank down beside Lily.
“This was too much for her. We should get Sky back to the hospital. I’ll call Dr. Amari.”
Lily adamantly shook her head. “No! No doctors. She’ll be fine. I just need a few minutes to calm her down. I know I can calm her down.”
The wails continued, and no one else moved or spoke. Mom stood, clutching her neck as if it might fall right off her shoulders. Wes hovered near the door, and Abby willed him to turn around and walk out. But he didn’t. He was staring at Lily as if she were an endangered bird and he was the savior tasked with rescuing her. Lily still hadn’t noticed him. She was too busy rubbing Sky’s back and soothing her with calm words, her voice soft and melodic.
“You’re going to love it here, Chicken. We’re going to be so happy. You trust Mommy, don’t you? This is where I grew up and where you’ll live now. We’re going to be so happy. I promise you that.”
Lily kept whispering the same thing over and over until it took on a chant-like quality. Abby wanted to believe Lily’s words more than anything.
Before long, just like Lily had promised, Sky grew calmer, her body relaxing. Her eyes began to flutter closed, and she drifted off. Lily’s gaze traveled the room. Abby held her breath, wondering what Lily would say when she saw Wes, but Lily was focused on her grandparents, nervously huddled in the kitchen. Lily gently settled Sky onto the sofa, then rushed over to them and they enveloped her.