Page 30 of Undeniable You

“Okay, here we are,” I told Juniper once we rode the elevator to the right floor.

I paused outside the door and peered in. There was Larison.

“Mama!” Juniper let go of my hand and ran into the room, flinging herself at Larison.

“Hey, love,” Larison said, holding onto Juniper. I hovered outside until Larison waved her hand for me to come in. Shaking my head, I stayed where I was.

Larison gave me a look, similar to the one that she gave Juniper when she was losing her patience.

That look would get me to do anything, and I stepped into the room as if she’d pulled all of my strings at once.

Juniper climbed into bed with Allison, who was awake and looking much better than I thought she would. Lara sat in a chair next to her, holding her hand. It was an intimate scene that made me feel like an intruder.

The last time I’d seen both Lara and Allison, it had been the day of my interview. The day I’d met all of them.

Juniper gave Allison the little bear and Allison said how much she loved it, along with the card.

Juniper wiggled on the bed and I was about to tell her to be careful, but Larison beat me to it. Right. She was the mother here. I was just Juniper’s ride. A glorified taxi service and emotional support system today.

“Thank you for taking care of our Juniper,” Lara said, looking at me.

“Oh, uh, of course. It’s my job.” The praise made my face red and I really thought it was time for me to leave, thankfully a nurse came in and I stepped into the hall then. There was a chair right near the door, and I sunk into it and let the family have their time. I was just catching up on my social media accounts when I felt someone standing next to me. Looking up, I found myself meeting Larison’s eyes.

“Thank you so much for everything. I know you said you’re doing your job, but…I’m just really glad you’re here.” Her voice broke and tears spilled down her cheeks.

Before I knew that I’d moved, I put my arms around her and held her as she cried softly on my shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” she kept saying as I rubbed her back.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” I just kept repeating myself as she cried. I had tissues, but they were in my bag on the floor and I didn’t want to let go of her to get them.

She could hold me as long as she wanted to. Closing my eyes, I tried not to think too much about how good she felt and how nice her hair smelled. I may or may not have let myself have a little sniff of the conditioner in her shower once. Just once.

Larison sniffled and then let me go, stepping back with red, puffy eyes.

“I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I’m so sorry,” she said.

“It’s fine. I promise it’s fine.” She was about to say something else when I heard someone call her name. We both turned to see Sophie walking down the hall with a vase of flowers.

“Hey, Soph,” Larison said, wiping her eyes and stepping further away from me.

“You didn’t get back to me, but I decided to show up anyway. How is she doing?”

I moved away to let them talk after saying hello to Sophie. She knew the family much better than I did. Digging through my bag, I found my pack of tissues and handed it to Larison.

“Oh, thanks,” she said, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose.

“Yeah.” I sat back down, but then Juniper ran out and looked around before coming over to me.

“Where did you go, Jo Jo?” she asked.

“I was just out here. Sometimes it’s nice to have just your family around you.” Her little face screwed up with confusion.

“But you’re family.”

Oh. Oh, my heart. This kid was too precious for this world.

I blinked a few times, trying not to cry.

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