Page 30 of Somewhere We Belong

“You want a snack?” I asked, pushing myself up fighting through the extreme exhaustion I felt.

“Mommy, we are about to have dinner,” she said, standing in front of me.

Fuck, I passed out for much longer than I had expected. That's when I noticed there wasn't much light coming from behind the curtain.

“Ok, then, let’s eat,” I said, my chest contracting when I realized I would have to have dinner with Colt.

Looks like we would be leaving tomorrow.

“Maybe you should eat here?” Sol suggested, and it almost made me cry.

Sol always thought she had to take care of me, and I hated that. I was the parent; she should be a kid with no worries. I tried so hard not to let her see my stress, but this little girl was so damn empathetic.

A knock at the door made me flinch and I prayed it was Colt.

“Rough day?” Atlas walked into the room.

I nodded, not looking at him. A little bit of guilt hit me that I was going to run away, but I needed to think of Sol and me.

He came over to the bed looking handsome in his slacks and button-down. It was his first week at the doctor's office.

“How was work?” I couldn’t help myself.

He smiled. “It was good, a lot slower-paced than I was used to in Denver. but coming home at a decent hour is great.”

“Will you be my doctor?” Sol asked.

“Maybe later, Dr. Gordon isn’t retiring just yet, so I’m just helping relieve his workload,” he said, smiling at Sol.

“That's cool, I can’t wait, can I make a suggestion?” she asked sweetly.

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Yes?”

“No more shots, those suck,” she said seriously.

“I’ll take it into consideration, but I have to say you being healthy outweighs the cons.” Atlas grabbed her hand.

“She looks great, Nova,” Atlas said, holding onto Sol who giggled at him.

“Thanks, I'm worried that she’s not walking yet,” I said.

“She will walk when she is ready,” he said, tickling her. “Huh, tell your mom you will walk when you're ready.”

“They say she should be walking already,” I said, feeling like I was worried about everything.

Atlas stood her up, holding her hands up as she took a tentative step and then another. “If she wasn’t walking with assistance, I would be worried. Everyone thinks they know better. Has Doctor Gordon said anything?”

I shook my head “But he keeps mentioning her not walking yet.”

“Unless he says something, I wouldn’t be worried. She’s only fourteen months,” Atlas said, still walking around with Sol. “You’re doing great, Nova.”

“Yeah right, well I’m hungry,” Sol said, pulling me from a memory.

I watched her leave the room as I glanced at Atlas remembering how sweet he was whenever I was worried about Sol’s health.

“Kids always know better, right?” He smiled as he studied me.

I panicked, wondering if Colt had told him I had driven today.

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