Page 126 of Just Like That

Slowly, I nodded. “Yeah. JP makes me happy.”

“Do you love him?” His big blue eyes stared at me.

I swallowed hard. “I do.”

He grinned. “Me too, and that’s all that matters.” He shrugged like it was the simplest thing in the world. “If Dad makes you happy, and I make you happy, then everything will be okay.”

I swallowed hard again, tears pricking the back of my eyes. “You really think so?”

Teddy nodded, his sleepy smile returning. “Yup. The universe will figure out the rest.”

I watched him curl up against me, his breathing slowing as he drifted back to sleep.

How was it that this seven-year-old could see things so clearly when I couldn’t?

He was right, in a way. I was overcomplicating everything, letting fear take over. JP made me happy. Teddy made me happy. The love we shared wasn’t meaningless, no matter how much the world tried to tell me otherwise.

Maybe it wasn’t about planning or having everything figured out. Maybe it was about trusting—trusting the universe, trusting myself, and trusting that somehow, some way, we’d find a way through this.

Together.

I looked out the window, the stars twinkling in the vast night sky over Lake Michigan, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I let out a deep breath.

I squeezed my eyes shut and sent up a prayer to my sister and anyone else who would listen.

Please let Teddy be right.

FORTY-TWO

JP

My phone rang before5:00 a.m.

I groaned and cursed whoever was on the line. My eyes ached from lack of sleep, and the muscles in my neck were screaming at me.

When Abel’s name flashed across the screen, I sat up, wiping the sleep from my eyes.

“Hey.” I grunted to clear the fatigue from my throat.

“It’s Dad.” His voice was stone.

“He’s already out?” My blood was cold and my brain was running through dozens of scenarios.

“Not exactly. I’ll explain on the way.” Abel hung up before I could ask any follow-up questions.

Annoyed by my brother’s cryptic statement, I took a quick cold shower and got dressed. I scribbled a note for Hazel and tucked it under the windshield wiper of the skoolie just as Abel’s truck turned down my driveway.

He lowered his window. “Let’s go.”

I climbed in as he passed me a to-go cup of hot black coffee. “Thanks.”

“You’re gonna need it.” Abel reversed down the driveway and started on the highway out of town.

“Where to? To be honest, I am not in the mood to see Dad, so if that’s what you’re planning?—”

“Fuck no,” Abel scoffed. There was no love lost between Abel and Dad, that much was clear. “But we are headed to the correctional facility. Something happened last night.” He glanced at me. “I got a call early this morning. It was big.”

On the quiet drive, my fingers drummed an erratic rhythm on my thigh. It was before visiting hours and the guard eyed us warily.

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