Page 8 of Mark

I scratch the back of my neck. “Um, yeah, I stayed out late with the lads from work. I’ll apologise to Faith. Where is she?”

“They are all waiting near the terminal. We should hurry. We need to go and get you checked in,” Mum declares as she begins to make her way over to the now empty line.

When she looks away, I know she’s not telling me something. “What’s wrong?”

Dad glances at me then Mum. “Lily isn’t doing well.”

“Is she sick?” I ask, feeling awful. Lily feels the safest when she’s with our parents, Landon or Jaxon.

“She’s anxious about the baby being on the plane,” Mum explains. “Plus, you know how she is with confined spaces. She’s worried about having a blackout and being unable to care for Rose.”

“I’ll be quick,” I assure her and head over to the baggage claim, where I hand over all my documents.

Once I’m done, I move over to where my parents are waiting. It doesn’t take us long to join up with the others, and I have to admit, that’s the quickest we’ve ever gone through security.

“Look who has gifted us with his presence,” Maddox declares, holding Asher in his arms.

“Yeah, I’m sorry I’m late.”

“We’re about to board,” Faith greets, beaming. “You had me worried.”

I pull her in for a hug. “I wouldn’t miss this. I really am sorry I’m late.”

She pulls back, but not far. “I’m worried about Lily. I don’t like how anxious she is, and I’m worried if I tell her it’s okay that she goes home, I’ll upset her.”

“Let me go talk to her,” I tell her. “The queue to get on will take a while anyway.”

“Thank you,” she breathes, and steps back into Beau’s arms.

I walk over to where Jaxon and Lily are sitting with Mum and Dad. Lily has Rose in her arms and is rocking her softly. “Hey, Lily, you doing okay?”

She startles at the sound of my voice. “Mark, you’re here,” she greets, and I know her smile is forced.

I glance at the others. “Can I talk to Lily alone for a moment?”

“No,” Jaxon bluntly remarks as Mum and Dad get up.

“We’ll wait over there,” Mum tells me.

“Jaxon, just a minute,please.” The please sounds bitter on my tongue, but I know if I tell him to fuck off, it will upset Lily.

“It’s okay,” Lily promises, kissing his cheek.

He reluctantly gets up. “A minute,” he warns, then leans in close. “If you fucking scare her, I will end you.”

I roll my eyes and take a seat next to Lily, peeking down at Rose. “You doing okay?”

“I’m okay,” she swears.

“Don’t lie to me. I’m your brother.”

“I’m scared about going on the plane,” she admits shakily. “What if I have an episode whilst I’m on there, and I’m holding Rose? I don’t want to hurt her.”

I run my hand over Rose’s head, chuckling when her lips pout. “Lily, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but you haven’t had an episode in a long time.”

“Yes, I have,” she states, meeting my gaze.

“No, sister, you haven’t. Even when Jaxon was missing at Christmas, your emotions were all over the place but you never had an episode. You’re nervous and it’s understandable. But you aren’t the same girl you were a few years ago.”

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