Page 101 of Caged Bird

There’d been a few of those since Zane had left. But even though some days had felt hard, and I missed him more than I ever thought possible, my heart felt stronger. So did my body. But most importantly, so did my mind.

I was healing. Day by day, hour by hour. I was working on myself. Exercising. Eating well. Working. Playing with my child. Reading him books. Watching movies. Going out with friends. I’d spent months doing all these things, until the wobbly days grew fewer and farther between.

But it was Liam who seemed wobbly today. His tie was half undone and hanging loosely around his neck. His hair was ruffled.

I raised an eyebrow as he caught my arm, his chest heaving up and down like he’d run a marathon, and not just from the building next door.

“Eve…phone…answer…” He shook his head, sucking in great gulping breaths and eventually doubling over to rest one hand on his leg.

I squinted at him. “Eve, phone, answer…what?”

He raised his head. “Baby.”

I widened my eyes. “Eve, phone, answer,baby? Are they okay?” I rifled through my purse, yanking out my phone and switching it back on while Liam tried to catch his breath enough to speak.

The phone powered up, and sure enough, there were five missed calls and a text from hours ago, in shouty caps that read:BABY TIME! WE’RE ON OUR WAY TO THE HOSPITAL!

I widened my eyes at Liam. “Eve’s having the baby? Now? She’s not due for another three weeks!”

“Now,” he confirmed. “Boston just called me when they couldn’t get a hold of you. Eve’s in the thick of it, and she’s asking for you.”

“Me?”

He nodded. “You’re the closest thing she has to a sister, and she needs you. Come on, I’ve got my car. I’ll drive you to the hospital.”

Excitement filled me, and I chased after Liam, down a set of stairs into the basement car park of his building.

Liam’s car was sleek and shiny and expensive, very fitting for a lawyer, but I couldn’t help but smile as I slid into the passenger seat. The floor was littered with an assortment of toy trucks and Lego, plus a few stray McDonald’s French fries. The back seat had a booster seat and one of his kids’ sweaters with a blue dog on the front.

“Please ignore the mess,” he said, climbing in behind the wheel. “It’s impossible to keep anything clean with three boys.”

“I only have one, but I get it.”

I liked Otis making a mess though. I didn’t have a car for him to leave things in, but as the weeks and months had passed, and he’d relaxed, finally, truly believing Eddie wasn’t coming back, he’d come out of his shell. He made more noise than I’d known he was capable of, and the little house I’d rented from Eve years ago was once again mine. We’d filled it with donated furniture from our friends and family, and there’d been more toys gifted to Otis than he’d ever seen in his life. Even now, months later, he was still finding new things to play with, and it made my heart happy, watching him zoom planes around my living room and playing Clue with him at night.

A thought occurred to me suddenly, and I gasped, taking out my phone. “Oh my God, I need to find someone to get Otis. The after school program finishes soon.”

But Liam shook his head. “Sorry, with all the commotion I forgot to tell you. Boston already organized it. Lyric is picking him up and taking him back to her place for a sleepover and she’s going to take him to school tomorrow too. So you have the whole night, just in case it all drags out.”

I sat back in my seat, clutching my purse, trying to keep my leg from bouncing in nervous excitement. Boston was a good guy. He was going to be an amazing dad.

And I had an amazing village helping me raise my son. Otis was going to be thrilled about having a sleepover at Lyric’s place. He’d become fast friends with her son. who was roughly the same age.

Liam rushed us through the more upscale streets of Providence, back into Saint View, and then eventually, into the parking lot of the hospital. He pulled up right outside the door, and I glanced over at him.

“You aren’t coming in?”

He shook his head. “We’ll come visit when it’s all said and done. But she doesn’t need me in there right now.”

I nodded, realizing what an honor it was that she did want me.

I thanked Liam for the ride and got out, slamming the door.

I lifted my hand in a wave as Liam negotiated his way around a shiny blue pickup truck.

And froze, just like I did every time I saw a truck the same as the one Zane drove.

But just like all the other times, when I peered into the window, it wasn’t him behind the wheel. A stranger stared back at me with a questioning expression, and I gave them a small, quick smile as an apology and hurried inside the automatic hospital doors.

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