Page 68 of Left Behind

Chapter 11

Ava’s delight in wearing something new lasted all the way to opening the drawer. All of the brightly colored T-shirts were folded and stacked so neatly, and her little shorts in the same colors in another stack beside them were so perfect that she hesitated. She picked up a pair of new panties and rubbed the silky feel against her cheek before putting them on, and then took off her nightgown and laid it across the foot of her bed. As she did, she wondered what had happened to her old clothes that came from Conway. Everything she had now was so pretty and perfect, but she didn’t know how to be this little girl, because inside, she was still the child hiding in the corner, wearing clothes from “the army” and eating Corina’s leftovers.

Bubba was her brother. She needed to believe he meant what he said, but Corina was her mother, and she’d lied to her all the time. She was so scared of doing something wrong and winding up back in Conway that she started to shake, and by the time Wiley found her, she was in tears.

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Wiley’s heart skipped a beat when he saw her standing in the middle of the room in nothing but panties, crying as if her world had ended. She was so tiny and so thin he was almost afraid to pick her up for fear of hurting her, but he couldn’t bear the tears. He wrapped her up in the blanket from her bed and then sat down in the rocker beside her bed with her in his lap.

“Ava, sweetheart! What’s wrong?”

Tears were rolling. “Corina always lied.”

He didn’t know where this was going, or what had triggered it.

“Okay, but she’s gone, baby. She can’t hurt you or lie to you anymore.”

She looked up at him then, tears shimmering, her body shaking, but studying every aspect of his face for so long Wiley became uncomfortable. He didn’t know what to say and still didn’t know what was wrong until she asked him a question.

“Do brothers lie, too?”

He sighed, pulled her close, and started rocking.

“Some people lie. Some people don’t. Your brothers don’t lie. Not to each other, not to you, not to anyone. What made you scared?”

Her cheek was against his chest, and the rumble of his soft, deep voice vibrated in her ear.

“I don’t want to do the wrong thing and make you mad. I don’t want you to give me away,” she said.

Wiley wanted to cry with her. “Well, that’s never gonna happen. We’re family. We hold on tight to family and love them forever, and we don’t quit the people we love. Today, you and I are going to go to Aaron and Dani’s house here in town. You’ll never be alone in the world, baby girl. You’ll never be left behind again. But the most important thing you need to remember is that I chose you. I wanted you. You are not a mistake. You are a gift. I asked to be your official guardian, which is like being a parent, because I’m older, right?”

She nodded.

“Now, no more tears. Bubba’s got you! Want help getting dressed?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said and slid out of his lap, then watched as he took out a pair of shorts and a new T-shirt from the drawer.

“This feels like a pink day to me!” Wiley said, and took heart when she smiled.

Within a couple of minutes, she was decked out in pink shorts and shirt and wearing her sandals.

“I messed up your hair,” he said, and gave it a quick brush, then held out his hand.

“Bacon and eggs waiting,” he said.

“And toast?” she asked.

“And toast!”

When she walked out holding his hand, Wiley glanced down at the top of her curly head and smiled. The fact that she’d initiated the contact was a small victory, and he would take it gladly. He pointed at the table as they entered the kitchen.

“I’ll make our plates. Sit wherever you want,” he said.

“I sit here,” she said, claiming the same chair she’d sat at last night.

“Oh, right! You sure do. What was I thinking?” Wiley said, then grabbed a clean dishcloth and tied it around her neck. “Just to keep the crumbs off your clean shirt, okay?”

“Okay,” she said as she climbed up into the chair and plopped down on the stack of books that he’d put there for a booster seat. It was hard to sit still, knowing that the food going on the plate was hers to eat. This was a good place to be.

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