Page 46 of When We Breathe
Dani: On my way. Be there in ten. I’ll have Birdie with me. You okay?
Thank God for my twin sister.
Me: I’m okay. Just need that ride.
I tuck the phone in my pocket and pull out some clothes, not even really paying attention to what I’m grabbing. I don’t have much left back at the apartment, so I can’t go there and then be naked.
When I think I have enough to wear, I rush into the bathroom and snatch my toothbrush and a few other essentials.
I drop the bag by the front door and refuse to look anyone in the eyes as I rush to grab my laptop and the cord, along with notebooks and all of my work stuff and shove it into my backpack.
“Shorty, I’ll give you a ride if you insist on going, but I’d rather you stay and talk this out with us. I think it’s just a big misunderstanding.”
“I want to talk,” I reply and hear the shake in myvoice, hating it so much. “But I just need to hit pause. I don’t need a ride.”
“You don’t have your car,” Adam says just as Dani comes down the driveway.
“My sister’s here.” I pick up both bags, and without a glance back at them, because if I look at them, I’ll fall apart and cling to them, I walk out. Dani pops the latch on the back of her SUV, and I set my bags inside and climb into the passenger seat. “Thanks.”
“Hi, Aunt Alex,” Birdie says from the back seat. God, she’s adorable. I love her so much.
“Hi, pretty girl. How are you today?” Maybe if I chat with a six-year-old, I won’t fall apart. She can distract me.
“I’m good. After we give you a ride, we’re going to the park for a while. Do you want to go to the park?”
“Aw, thanks for the invitation, but I have to work. Another time, okay?”
Birdie nods, and I glance over to find Dani giving me the twin sister side-eye.
“What happened?” she asks softly so the little ears in the back seat can’t hear her.
“A lot.” I swallow hard, willing the tears to stay at bay until I’m at the apartment. “They want to build me an office.”
“Those jerks.”
I press my lips together.
“And they want me to give up my place.”
She’s quiet for a moment as she turns in front of the bookstore, where my car is, and then she nods. “I see.”
Of course she does. She’s my twin sister. My best friend. She knows me better than anyone else.
“I just need to think without them close to me. Because when they’re near, all I want isthem. So I need to clear my head.”
“Wanting them isn’t a bad thing,” she reminds me as she puts the SUV in park. “Letting the apartment go and moving forward with your life isn’t bad, either.”
“But what if?—”
“You’re the queen of what-if.” She shakes her head. “What if I’m hit by a bus later today?”
“Don’t say that.”
“My point is, I’d know that I was with a man who loves me more than anything. My daughter is the best there is. I live in a loving home, where I don’t have to be afraid of anything anymore. All of that is worth more than the independence of an address that’s in my name.”
“But I worked so hard for it.”
“I know. Which is why you need to think about it.” She leans over and kisses my cheek. “Love you.”
