“I know—”
“No, you don’t. This place,” he said, gesturing with his hands, “your friends, Noah…me—we are your home and your family, Liv. Nothing else matters. We love you—not for the person you could be, but for the person you are. Stop wishing for a family you don’t have, and look around, sweetheart. We’re right here.”
A single tear escaped as I gazed up at him in wonder. How could one person manage to know me better than myself?
“You want to be my family?” I asked, tears racing down my cheeks.
He stepped forward, kneeling in front of me, and I caught a glimpse of his toothy grin.
“Try to stop me.”
“I’m so sorry,” I cried.
“Hey,” he soothed. “Nothing else matters, okay? What happened the other day is behind us. I know they hurt you. I wish more than anything I could take back that afternoon and give you something better in its place, but I can’t. All we can do is move forward and make the best of what we have together.”
“Can we go get a milkshake?” I asked, my voice still hoarse from crying.
“Sure, sweetheart. But can I ask a favor?”
“Yeah.” I smiled.
“Go take a shower. You smell.”
I threw a pillow in his face for that one.
Jackson
The Reid house was quiet Tuesday morning as we prepared for the long day ahead. While I sat at the foot of my bed and stared at the wall, I listened to Noah as he stumbled around his room, his half-hearted, half asleep attempt at getting ready for another day of middle school.
Clunky footsteps grew louder until Noah was standing in my doorway. His mouth was full of toothpaste foam as he absently brushed back and forth, looking at me curiously.
“You going to work today?” he managed to say between the bubbles.
I nodded, rising from my spot on the bed. Taking a deep breath, I made my way to the closet and began the process of pulling out my clothes for the day. It was something I’d done for months, years actually, but today was different. Today, as I slipped my suit on, it felt liked a marked occasion for something big.
I heard Noah walking back to the hall bathroom as I pulled up my slacks and tucked in my shirt. The blue tie went around my neck like a noose, tight and snug, underneath the tailored black jacket.
Finishing up, I hurried down the stairs to prepare breakfast. Noah was already pulling out a bowl for cereal, and rummaging around in the pantry.
“Liv brought over that healthy crap you like,” I commented, pointing to the left.
He immediately went and grabbed the tan-and-brown box with the weird name and pictures of wheat fields on the back, “It’s good. You should try it,” he said, dumping a huge mound of the flaky stuff into a bowl.
“Not until she has a steak.” I grinned.
“You’re crazy.”
“Yep.”
Since no one else was enjoying them, I poured Froot Loops into a large bowl for myself and dug in. I felt like the worst kind of role model as I watched my son eat a bunch of fruit and grains while I stuffed children’s cereal into my mouth.
I shrugged.
I didn’t care. Froot Loops were the bomb.
Besides, I had a shitload of other things to worry about besides my breakfast choice at the moment.
I watched my son as I finished my cereal. For years, it had just been him and me against the world. Every action and every decision in my life had revolved around this little guy. When Liv had walked into our world, our circle had grown just a bit larger. Suddenly, those decisions that had seemed so easy to make before were ten times harder. Now, there were two people in my life who mattered.
How did I make the right choices when I had two lives to consider?
I stared at him, waiting for an answer that didn’t come, and I hoped that what I was about to do today would be the right decision—for all of us.
“You can’t do this to me, Jackson,” Mark begged, rising from his desk. His eyes were wide with shock and surprise.
I’d just dropped the mother of bombs.
“It’s already done,” I said, holding up my resignation letter.
“If you want more pay, consider it done.”
“It’s not about my salary, Mark. I just need to move on,” I tried to explain.
“You just fucking got here!” he yelled, his hands flying up in frustration. “You haven’t even given us three months. What am I supposed to tell the Senator? He’s going to think something is going on internally.”
“You won’t need to explain anything, Mark,” I assured him.
“I seriously doubt that.” He slumped back in his chair, every bit the defeated man he appeared to be.
Silence settled around us as I watched my boss from across the room.
“I’m in love with his daughter,” I finally confessed.
“Say what now?” he asked, his eyes flying up to mine.
“Olivia Prescott is my girlfriend. We’ve been dating for months.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
I just stared at him.