“Oh, you keep it,” she says, holding up a hand. “It’s good to see you drink something.”I nod and look around for a minute, continuing to sip from the cup. “Where is Mittens?” I whisper, intuiting that he’s a secret.“He’s been hiding,” Daphne says, unable to keep the little smile from her lips as s
Mom’s confidence boosts me, even though it is hard to even think about what happened.“I’m not sure I’m okay,” I say, dropping my head to look down at my glass of wine. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be…who I was. Or I’ll never not…want things to be different.” My hand drifts higher now, my palm cupping th
As if he knows we’re talking about him – and, considering his attention-loving source of existence, that’s probably true – Mittens climbs up over the back of the couch, meowing and parading back and forth with his tail high.Mom and Cora’s mouths drop open as they stare first at the shadow cat, and
I laugh. “You picked the wrong Sinclair boy if you didn’t want to be teased,” I say, grinning at her as I settle back into the cushions. “Mom and dad would have been far more polite.”Daphne sighs dramatically and gives a big shrug like it can’t be helped. “I shall simply have to endure, then.” She
“Oh, Ari,” Daphne murmurs, leaning close to me and plopping Mittens into my lap before putting her arms around my shoulders, pulling me in for a hug. “Why on earth could you possibly be worried about Jackson now? He’s fine!”“He’s not fine,” I sigh, leaning against her for a pleasant moment before s
“I was under the assumption, Ella,” Dominic says, leaning forward towards her, “that you would see Ariel and realize that she needed to be taken to a major medical facility for rehabilitation. Not a spa. It’s – god, Ella, but it should be impossible for her to be sitting on a couch drinking a glass
“Just five minutes, then you can talk to your dad!” Ella calls cheerfully to Ariel as she slips back into the bedroom, pulling the door carefully shut behind her. But the moment she turns back to Cora, all kindness slips away from her face.“I’m going to murder that stupid boxer.”“Oh no,” Cora sigh
“For what it’s worth, I think she should know now,” Roger says with a steady nod. “But you have my support if you think delay is better.”“Yes, delay is better,” Dominic says, steady. Cora nods too, murmuring about it making sense from a medical perspective. “Let her mourn her loss, heal from this g