Page 82 of Embers in the Dark

“Oh, please,” she laughs, “I live in LA, Baylee. That’s nothing. Josie is twenty-five.”

“I’m twenty-six!” Josie declares.

“Fuck, I’m an asshole,” Marissa whispers.

“You’re the worst,” Abby tells her.

“She loves me,” Marissa tells us, “just like you do, Abby.”

“Surprisingly, I do,” Abby says sarcastically.

“Honestly though, I do appreciate having you all to hang out with. My friend group is small after everything with Myles,” I admit.

“You mean that asshole in Connecticut? May he rot in Hell,” Marissa says.

Everyone here knows what happened. I know Tucker needed his friends to lean on and I’m glad he had so many important people around him to help navigate his feelings as he struggled. I know he had a hard time seeing me hurt, even if I thought he wasn’t suffering.

“Yeah, well, I appreciate all of you here with me. I’m readjusting to living in Boston, and I like being back.” I smile at those sitting at the table with me, even though Marissa can’t see me through the phone.

“Sometimes it’s in the time of darkness that we find our clarity. I’m sorry yours was full of pain as well. But it led you to us and we’re grateful you’re here now.” Abby grabs my hands and the rest of them put their hands on hers.

I try hard and fail to hold back the tears that form in my eyes. When I look up, I see them looking at me with the same tears in their eyes. I’m lucky for the crew I’m slowly building in my time here. I have my girls back in Connecticut, but here in Boston, I’m building a new group and it’s beginning to stitch my heart back together.

CHAPTER 25

Baylee

“I leftinstructions on how to thaw the breastmilk here.” Abby shows Tucker and I the written-up instructions on the counter. “I also have a list of phone numbers on the fridge if you have an emergency, aside from our own numbers, of course. Clay and River’s mom is out of town visiting her friend in New York this weekend.”

We move around the apartment while Abby shows us some of Ella’s favorite things. We’re watching the baby and Lola while she, Clay, River and Kennedy go out on a double date tonight. We’re excited we could step in and give them a night out.

“Abby, you’re hogging their attention. I need to give them explicit Lola instructions,” River whines.

“Riv, you can’t be serious.” Clay looks over at his twin while bouncing Ella on his knee.

“Dude, Lola has a very specific bedtime routine when she’s with new people,” River explains, while Kennedy rolls her eyes from the couch. Meanwhile, Lola is glued to Tucker’s side.

“Why the hell is my dog obsessed with you right now, Malloy?” River looks disgusted by this.

“Beats me.” He scratches behind the golden retriever’s ear, and she leans into his leg even more. “But I don’t mind the love.”

“Well, I fucking do.” River comes over and puts his face right in front of his dog. “Lola baby, Daddy will be back so soon and bring you back home, okay?” Then he proceeds to kiss her and hug her.

I don’t know River very well, but he’s definitely obsessed with his dog.

“Malloy, Baylee, she should be good after her next bottle in about an hour or so. Once she has that, just read a book. I left one out. It has the animals with the textures on the page. She loves touching those as you read. She had her bath already and the white-noise machine is on. Just make sure you put on a fresh diaper before bed and the jammies that I laid out. You know how to turn on the baby monitor?” She looks at us.

“Yes, Abs, I can turn on a baby monitor,” Tucker answers her.

“Great.” She nods at us, then turns to River. “Okay, the floor is yours.”

“Finally!” He rolls his eyes as he stands and turns his attention to us. I assume he’s going to explain something, but I should’ve known it would be over-the-top for River.

He reaches behind him and pulls out a typed-up paper. I should amend that statement. It’s frontand back, typed.

“Alright, my Lola—” he starts when he’s interrupted by Kennedy clearing her throat. “So sorry,ourLola is precious and has needs that must be met.”

“You’re kidding me with this, right Riv?” Tucker says as he grabs the paper and starts scanning it.

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