Page 29 of Pope's Penance

Hell, I don’t think it’s gone away since the moment they dropped at the clubhouse gate yesterday.

“Damn skippy, she will.No way she can resist the three of us.We’re too cute.”

My kids giggle, and the sound lightens another sliver of my dark soul.They’re so damn innocent.Even with the darkness they’ve already had to experience because of Birdie’s husband, it never touched their pureness.It never got the opportunity to taint their souls.Birdie got them out in time, and I’m forever going to be grateful to her for that.

“What do you all think about us making some breakfast together?Your mom is sleeping, but she might like something to eat when she wakes up.”I squeeze them to me, savoring this moment with these tiny humans I had a part in creating, before setting them on their feet.“Just so you know, I’m a terrible cook, but pancakes shouldn’t be too hard.Surely, I can’t burn those, right?”

Okay, so, I definitelycanburn fucking pancakes.

The flat, blackened discs mock me from their place on the counter, along with uncontrollable laughter from the twins.

I tilt my head as I study the stack.Maybe I should stash them in a baggie, anyway.They’d probably make an excellent weapon to torture someone with.Break a couple teeth, choke them out when I force them down their throat, maybe even cut their throats.Granted, that’d be a lot of fucking work.And okay, so they’d more than likely crumble apart before I made it through the first layer of tissue.It’d be fun trying, though.

Legend pokes at one repeatedly before patting me on the back.“Don’t worry, Dad.There’s always cereal.”

“Sure, I’ll just feed you all the sugary shit and let your mama kick my ass when she finds out,” I mumble, holding my hair back while I search for a hair tie in the junk drawer.

There’s a tap to my side, and when I glance down, Lovelyn holds up a ponytail holder.“Mama said it’s good to always have one handy because you never know when someone might need it.”

“She did, huh?”I murmur, taking the black band and spinning it around my finger.

Even when we weren’t together, Birdie still thought about me enough to make sure our girl always wears one on her wrist, just like her mama used to.I noticed it before, but it didn’t register with me what it actually was.I just assumed it was for herself, but she hasn’t put her hair up once since they’ve been here.It’s only been a day, so maybe I’m getting ahead of my fucking self, but dammit, something weird happens to me believing my woman taught something significant to Lovelyn.

“Your mama is pretty smart, huh?”I clear away the clog in my throat as I twist my hair up on my head.“We’ve determined I can’t cook for shit, so how about we pour your mama a bowl too and go eat with her?”

“Like in the bedroom?We don’t have to eat at a table?”Lovelyn asks in awe.

Her copper-colored hair clings to my fingers when I scrub my hand over the top of her head.“It’s just stuff, kiddo.If it gets dirty, so what?”

Fuck.There’s so much shit that needs repaired with the three of them.Frankie fucked all their thinking up, and it’s going to be work to get them past that.

“So,” I start as I grab some bowls from the cabinet, “tell me about school.”

“Mr.Frankie didn’t want us going to the building school for some reason.Said it would only make people poison our minds,” Lovelyn says.

“What did you all do then?”

“Mama had us doing it at home on the computer.”

I glance at Legend.“You talking about virtual schooling?”

“Yeah.And Mama helped some, too.”

There’re a few different boxes of cereal in the pantry, so I pull them out and set them on the counter to give the kids the opportunity to choose which they’d prefer.Once they make their picks, Legend and I pour them into the bowls while Lovelyn grabs the milk from the fridge.

“Right.I’ll see what needs to be done to get you enrolled in the virtual school here.Once I’m sure it’s safe, we’ll see about getting you into the actual school building.That sound good to you all?”They nod, and I give them a smile.“Do you think you can carry your bowls up the stairs?”

“We got it,” Legend states.

“Yeah,” I sigh, “I know you do, little warrior.”

I grab mine and Birdie’s bowls and follow behind them as they head toward their mama.

When we walk into the room, Birdie is sitting up in bed, staring blankly out the window.She must be lost in her head again because she doesn’t acknowledge us until after I set the bowls on the nightstand and stand in her line of sight.Birdie blinks a couple times before she finally realizes where she is.Her eyes turn frantic as they flit around the room.When they land on the twins, love bursts through them.

“My loves,” she croaks.

“Mama!We brought you some food,” Lovelyn says excitedly, bouncing in place.

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