Page 139 of Eleanor & Grey

“What?” Karla asked.

“I let you down, and for that, I owe you an apology.”

“Dad…I’m the one who snuck out without telling you.” Karla rubbed her shoulder, nervously swaying. “If anyone’s sorry, it should be me.”

Greyson shook his head. “No, I haven’t been here for you this past year. I checked out, and fell into work, just to keep from facing the fact of what I took away from you. What I took away from us all. And I am sorry, Karla. If I would’ve been around, maybe tonight wouldn’t have happened. Maybe you wouldn’t have felt abandoned or lonely… I, um, I know you won’t forgive me right away. Truth is, I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But, I want you to know that I’m here now. Okay? I screwed up, and I abandoned you, I abandoned this family, and I am sorry, but I’m here. So, even when you feel lonely, I just want you to know that you aren’t alone. I’m here, Karla. I’m back, and I won’t leave you again.”

Karla appeared as if she didn’t know how to react. She bit her bottom lip and wrapped her arms around her body. “I hated you, you know. For leaving.” She sniffled and wiped the back of her hand against her eyes. “I needed you and you weren’t here.”

He walked toward her, nodding. “I know. I can’t change the mistakes I made, but I promise you from this point on I will spend each day trying to make it up to you.”

She still seemed unsure as she looked down at the ground, her figure slightly shaking. “You promise, promise?” she asked, glancing back toward her father. “You won’t keep working all the time?”

He held his pinky finger out toward her. “Pinky promise,” he whispered.

My heart about exploded when Karla walked over to her father and linked her pinky with his.

Greyson nodded over to Lorelai and held his other pinky out toward her. “You, too, Lorelai.”

She hurried over to him and locked pinkies with her father and with her sister, making a small circle. “What about Eleanor, Daddy?” she asked, glancing my way.

Everyone turned to me, and I stepped back, feeling fully out of place. That was their family moment, and in a way, I was intruding just by being there. “Oh, no, Lorelai. I think it’s just a family pinky promise.”

Karla gave me a halfway grin and slightly shrugged as she dropped her hand from Lorelai’s and held her pinky out toward me. My emotions began building up from the small gesture, and Karla sighed. “I swear to God, Eleanor, if you start crying, I’m taking my pinky back,” she warned.

“Sorry,” I laughed, wiping at my eyes and hurrying over to the circle. I linked my pinkies with Lorelai and Karla, and we all held on as Greyson spoke.

“From this point on, we work as a unit, okay? We’re a team, and we are there for each other all the time. Through thick and thin. If we fall, we fall together. If we break, we shatter as one. That’s who we are. That’s our promise. Promise?” he asked.

“Promise,” Lorelai replied.

“Promise,” Karla echoed.

Greyson looked toward me with those eyes that healed me, and I released a quiet sigh. “Promise.”

That night after I put Lorelai back to bed, I stopped by Karla’s room, just to check in on her. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, scrubbing her hair dry with such a somber look on her face.

“Hey, you okay?” I asked, knocking lightly on her door and making her look up.

“You’d be surprised at how hard it is to get the smell of fish out of your hair,” she grumbled.

“Karla, what those kids did to you was beyond disturbing. I know your father is going to speak to the principal come morning, but is there anything I can do right now? Anything I can do for you?”

She hesitated a minute before shaking her head. “No. I’m fine.”

“Okay, well, if you need anything just let me know. You have my number, and you can wake me up at any time. I’m here for you.”

Her bottom lip twitched a little. “Thanks, Eleanor.”

“Always.”

“You’re not just faking it because it’s your job, are you? You actually really care about us, huh?”

I laughed. “More than you know. Try to get some sleep.”

“Will do. And Eleanor?”

“Yes?”

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