Page 30 of One Last Time

"She's not mom, she's not you."

I sigh. "Do you want to live with me?" I ask, wondering how I never saw this before.

He shrugs. "I don't know her. She's nice, but she's not family."

"She is family, Ty, she really is. She wasn't around a lot when we were growing up, but when she was, she gave us everything she had. Then, when mom and dad died, she dropped everything for us. She never had to do that. She wanted us to have a home and a family."

His jaw tightens. "Why did we have to leave?"

"What's really going on, Ty? You were happy when we got here, so what's changed?"

"Everything!" he screams. "Everything has changed. You're gone, Mary and Sebastian love it here, it's as though everyone has forgotten mom and dad. No one talks about them anymore."

"Oh, Ty," I whisper. "You can talk about them with me. I love remembering them. I love laughing at memories. While I'm here for Christmas, we'll talk, okay?"

Relief washes through him, and he finally smiles. "Yes."

I pull him in for a hug again and squish him when I do. "Never be afraid to ask for anything. If I can, I'll do whatever it takes to do it for you."

When I get downstairs, I'm given more hugs and showered in love. Dahlia gives me a grateful look and I need to talk to her later about her not telling me about how bad Ty had gotten.

"We're having pizza for dinner," Dahlia announces, and Bianca and I grin; pasta and bread are our downfall. We try to be healthy, but put bread or pasta in front of us, and we'll binge until we're sick.

"Tell me," Dahlia demands when the kids are watching TV. "How did you two get back together?"

I smile, "We bumped into each other while Bee and I were in Seattle. We went to a nightclub to unwind, and he was there. When we touched, it was as though the past three years hadn't happened. All the feelings came rushing back."

She gives me a worried look, "Pay, I know that you love him. But, I want you to be careful, you've been hurt so many times before by him."

I sigh, "I know, he tells me that it was all a misunderstanding."

She raises her brow, "Do you believe him?"

"I want to, I really do."

She reaches for my hand. "Take things slow, don't rush into this. You've had your heart broken, and it's not fully healed. The last thing I want is for you to have it broken again."

"I know, we're taking things slow. The next three months we're not actually going to see each other. We've been calling and texting. It's hard."

She squeezes my hand, "I'm happy if you are."

I finally smile. "I am. I love Silas, I really do and being with him makes me happy."

"Promise me, Pay, promise that you won't give up your life again."

"That I can promise. I love my job, and I love what I do. Silas and I are going to have to find a way for us to be together while doing what we both love."

Her shoulders release some of the tightness it had. "That's my girl." She grins, "You seem to know what you want this time around. I'm proud of you, Pay. You've made a good life."

I return her smile, "I wouldn't have done this, if it weren't for you."

"Bullshit," she replies. "Love you, Pay."

"Love you too. What time are you getting up tomorrow?" I ask, wondering if I'm going to be able to sleep in?

"Whenever your brothers and sister wake me."

I laugh and hope to God, that this Christmas is going to be better than the last few.

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