Page 136 of Nocere

"Yeah. On that tiny bed in the group home surrounded by chaos."

"We had each other. Still do."

I hugged her arms and let myself relax into the comfort of her familiarity. "Sisters."

"Sister orphans." She snickered in my ear and it made me smile.

"Rebecca loves us both. We have her and her family," I said, and she nodded.

"She's my hero."

"Mine, too."

We grew quiet for a moment before she said, "You're falling asleep."

I nodded and she gave me a squeeze.

"Want me to stay?"

Again, I nodded and she settled in the bed behind me before pulling the throw blanket over us.

"Okay."

"Thank you," I whispered and she scooted into her usual position. Whenever we shared a bed, we always slept back to back. Ready, waiting, yet protective, too. Sometimes it was like we never left the group home at all.

***

"Honey," Sam called to me. "Rosie."

I shifted my weight in the passenger seat and the image of her smiling in the morning sunlight brought a rush of delight to my center. "I passed out."

"Sure did. We're almost to your doctor's office," she said, then pointed to the console between us. "While you were out, I snagged us some coffee and donuts."

"Babe." I perked up and helped myself to a frosted one. "You're the best."

She chuckled and reached over to stroke my cheek. "Figured you'd appreciate the sugar."

"Yum." I grinned around the confection and wagged my brows at her. "I do. Thank you."

"Feeling better?"

"A little. Being with you helps…" I glanced from my sugary fingers back to her. "It's new."

"Alex was a good support last night," she said, her hand falling to my knee when I turned sideways in the seat.

"She usually is. To be honest, I've liked her living with me. I didn't realize how lonely I was sometimes." I scrunched up my nose after sipping my coffee. "Is that pathetic?"

"No, baby." Sam offered me a sad smile. "I get it."

"I need to ask you something…" I set the second half of my donut down and dabbed the sticky off my fingers with a napkin.

"Anything…" She bit her bottom lip for a second while we rolled to a stop sign.

I drew in a deep breath. "Can we do a scene tonight?"

Sam's brow furrowed as if the question surprised her. "You want to?"

"Yes. I just...I just want to be with you. I want you to…" I couldn't find the words to describe what I wanted, but Sam held her hand to me. I lay mine in hers and she gave me a squeeze.

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