Page 81 of Cloudless
A bee sting on my arm pulls me from my dream as the voice grows closer. “And you’re sure that’s all we need to do?”
I want to call out to the owner of that voice and beg them to stay forever. But I don’t get the chance. I’m yanked back into the darkness to dream about a house full of laughter and revving engines.
“I think she’s waking up.”
Warmth connects with my hand as fingers intertwine with mine. “Come on, Sunshine. Open your eyes.”
My eyes refuse to follow his command as more voices grow closer. “Is she going to wake up?”
Fingers tighten against mine. “Yeah, Tank. She’s going to be okay. Her body just needs to rest.”
Little warm fingers find my other hand. “You can wake up now, Lulu. I even cleaned my room, so you would be extra happy when you woke up.”
“Alright, Tank. Dax and Wyatt are here to help with your homework. Why don’t you go help them get set up in the dining room?”
“Will you let me know when she wakes up?”
“Of course I will.”
Footsteps fade as I fight against my stubborn eyelids.
Warmth runs over my forehead. “Wake up.”
My throat is scratchy and the sudden need to pee hits me so hard I nearly levitate off the bed.
I win the battle and open my blurry eyes to a familiar ceiling. Chocolate eyes come into view as I groan, “What happened?”
Relief floods Kam’s face as his fingers tighten in mine. “You haven't been taking very good care of yourself, Sunshine.”
My brows furrow as I try and fail to sit up. “What do you mean?”
“He means you’ve been so focused on taking care of everyone else that you forgot to drink water, you silly fucker.” Ellie’s tighteyes connect with mine from the doorway as she folds her arms over her chest. “You scared us half to death, L. What were you thinking?”
“I, uh, I guess I wasn’t.”
Kam tugs on my hand to get my attention. “All that matters now is that you’re doing better, and this willnothappen again. Isn’t that right?”
Tears fill my eyes as the gravity of the situation falls on my chest at full force. “I didn’t mean to, guys. I swear. I’ve just been so preoccupied lately.”
Tears rim Ellie’s eyes as she steps into my room. “Well, that changestoday.Kam already ordered three different water bottles for you to pick from. No more excuses.”
A tired smile pulls at my lips before panic slides down my spine like ice. “What time is it?”
Kam glances down at his phone. “It’s almost seven.”
My eyes nearly bug out of my skull. “PM?”
His nod has me struggling to swing my legs out of bed. Firm hands push me back into the mattress as a no-nonsense look takes over his face. “And where do you think you’re going?”
I huff out an annoyed breath as I stop fighting against him. “I need to get ready. The social worker will be here any minute. We have a meeting scheduled for tonight at seven. I’ve already missed taking the twins to school today. I don’t think missing a meeting would look good on my record.”
Kam crosses his arms as he settles back in the seat next to my bed that was not there when I went to sleep last night. “First, the twins made it to school. They were about an hour late, but they made it.” My eyebrows fly up in disbelief. “Second, I’ve already called the social worker. Posey told me about the meeting tonight. We rescheduled it for next week. Mrs. Jones said for me to tell you she hopes you feel better. She thinks you have the flu, by the way.”
I try to keep the skepticism from my eyes. “Just like that?” I lick my dry lips.” But—But what about dinner?”
The bed dips as Ellie sits on the edge across from her brother. “Mace just dropped off chicken parmesan.” Her eyes light up with excitement. “And get this! Posey ate an entire plate full of it!”
My mouth drops to the floor. “What? How did you manage that?”
