Page 28 of Hold You Close
Milk
Fruit
Vegetables
Juice
Cheese
Just buy the damn store since you have nothing.
How the hell does he function? Seriously, there’s nothing here that’s actually edible. I give up on the list and head upstairs to check on the kids. Morgan is in her room, her earbuds in, as she lies on the bed. I knock softly on the open door, and she sits up.
“Hey,” I say as I enter. “You doing okay?”
She shrugs. “I’m not sure.”
“I get that.” I move to her bed and sit beside her. “Want to talk about it?”
“Not much to say. My mom and dad are dead. I’m living in Uncle Ian’s funhouse, which is what Mom called it, and I just wish I could go back in time.”
That one sentence holds so much weight. “You know you’re not alone, right? I’m here, your uncle is here, and we love you.”
Looking at Morgan hurts a little. We used to joke that she was her mother’s clone. They have the same eyes, hair color, and the dimple on her chin. More than that, she sees the world the way her mother did.
She scoots over on the bed, and I lie down next to her.
“I just wish things were different.”
“I know, and I wish I could go back in time and change it for you.” There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to ease her pain.
“It sucks.”
It really does. “It’ll get better, honey. Day by day, hour by hour, we’ll all get through it.”
“Do you promise?” she asks.
I take her hand in mine, and I swear I’m sixteen again.
“Why doyou even like my brother?” Sabrina asks.
“Umm, because he’s cute.”
Seriously, everyone likes Ian. He’s funny, hot, and really smart. He’s the total package, but more than that, he looks at me like I’m special. I know I’m his little sister’s annoying best friend, but when she’s not around, I’m just London. Can’t he see that?
“He’s gross.”
“Maybe to you.” To my sixteen-year-old self, he’s perfect.
Sabrina flops down on the pillow and turns toward me. “Promise me,” she says, then stops.
“Promise you what?”
“Promise you’ll always be my best friend. Even if he’s a jerkface and is mean.”
I roll over and wait for her to laugh, but she doesn’t. “You’re serious?”
She nods. “Do you promise?”
