Page 35 of Sacrifice
I chuckle.
“I like princess stories,” she says softly, her eyes now closed.
I summon my storytelling abilities in a child-approved form. “There was once a beautiful princess. She was nice and friendly and had the most beautiful face in the whole world. She met a prince that was roaming the world, looking for his kingdom.”
I pause, thinking she’s asleep. “Was he lost?” she whispers.
“Yeah. He was lost, monkey.” I sigh. “He found the beautiful princess and she loved him, and he loved her. But he thought his kingdom was somewhere far away. And he went to find it.”
“Did he find it?” she asks.
“He did for a little while. And then he realized that it wasn’t his kingdom at all. It was dressed up like his kingdom, but it was a trick. He rushed back to the princess, but she’s wasn’t there anymore.”
“She left?”
“Well, she was there. But she’d been invited to a kingdom with another prince.”
“Do they fight?”
I smile. “No, they don’t. The first prince realizes that if he were a true prince, he wouldn’t have left her for the shiny kingdom. He would’ve taken her with him. So he leaves her with her new prince because he really loves her. Not more than the new prince does, but in a different way.”
I glance out the window and feel the sunshine coming in. “The other prince loves her in a way that’s better for the princess.”
“I think that means they both love her a lot,” Ever says, her breathing evening out. “Do they live happily ever after?”
I lie to her. “Yeah, monkey. They do.”
THIRTEEN
JULIA
Ever’s asleep in my arms. I hoist her on my shoulder and fiddle with the key in the lock. I see a note stuck to the door, flapping in the wind. It’s from the water department and I know it’s a disconnect notice because I didn’t get them paid last week. Once you’ve been late a number of times, they just go straight to threatening to disconnect you.
I heave a breath and push the door open.
One thing at a time.
I kick the door shut and carry a sleeping Everleigh into her room. I lay her on her bed and remove her coat and shoes. I kiss her cheek and tuck her in. She’s out of it, completely exhausted from the ungodly number of tests today. Her arm is getting a bruise where the IV went in and it makes me sick.
Her hand reaches out instinctively for her monkey. She pulls it close to her chest as I watch it rise and fall, her breathing even. I just wish I could pause time and stay right here, my sweet baby girl sleeping peacefully and me watching her. I can look at her and pretend everything’s okay. I can close my eyes and try to pretend I didn’t have such horrifying conversations today. I’ve always said I wanted to stop time to keep her from growing up, but now it’s even more than that.
What if she doesn’t get the chance to grow up anyway . . .
I stifle a moan, placing my hand over my mouth.
This can’t be happening.
The front door rattles and I don’t want it to wake her. She needs to rest. With a final glance, I leave her room and head to the door. I pop it open to see Crew standing there, shoving something in his pocket. The notice is missing from the door, but I don’t bring it up. Maybe it’s flown off.
Keep telling yourself that.
He has a fast-food bag in his hand and I realize I haven’t eaten all day.
The smell makes me nauseous.
I step to the side and let him in. He heads straight for the kitchen but doesn’t sit.
“Where is she?” He places the bag on the table.
