Page 142 of Shattered Souls
“Grayson.”
“Mmmph.” I roll away from the voice. It’s too early to get up yet. Whatever the hell Logan wants can wait another couple of hours.
“Grayson,” the voice repeats, a small hand coming to rest on my shoulder and giving it a quick squeeze. A little more awake now, I realize the voice isn’t Logan’s. It’s too feminine. Too sweet.
My eyes snap open, and I blink up into Riley’s face.
“Sorry,” she whispers. “I thought you might want to catch a few hours’ sleep in your own bed.”
Her words struggle to compute through the fog in my head until I turn, noting the sleeping girl spread out over ninety percent of the bed, leaving me with a narrow strip to sleep on. Damn, I’m lucky I didn’t fall on the floor.
“What time is it?” I ask, voice rough and scratchy as I swipe a hand through my hair, likely mussing it up.
“Early, still.”
“Sorry. She didn’t want to sleep alone last night.”
“You don’t need to explain,” she murmurs. “Thank you for staying with her.”
Like I would have left her. I’d told Aurora I’d go get her mom, but she refused to let me leave the bed. I’d planned to only stay until she fell asleep, but honestly, I’m not sure which of us passed out first—her or me. The events of the past few days wiped me out.
“Mommy,” Aurora’s sleepy voice interrupts, her eyes still closed.
“Shh, baby, go back to sleep,” Riley soothes, reaching over me to stroke the back of Aurora’s head. I love watching these private moments between them. The way Riley cares for her daughter. The way Aurora looks at her mom. It’s clear that Riley is that girl’s entire world. She looks up to her in a way I never remember worshiping my dad. He was always this imposing figure. I felt like I had to impress him, and he always fell a little short.
That’s not how it is with Riley and Aurora. Riley praises every single one of her achievements, even if it’s as simple as drawing a stick figure or eating her peas. Even when Aurora gets a word wrong or mispronounces it, she isn’t chastised or ridiculed. Riley simply offers her a soft smile for her effort before correcting her.
Watching them together… puts everything into perspective. It makes me realize I never had my father’s love. I see now that he never truly loved me. I was a possession, an extension ofhim.I was never my own person, never just Grayson, never hisson.
Not the way that Aurora is Riley’s daughter or how she’s effortlessly becomingours.
Becomingmine, and I’m not talking in ahalf-sisterkinda way. I mean fuckingmine.Mine to care for. Mine to protect. Mine to love.
Looking at her, I don’t see a sister nearly twenty years younger than me. I see a little girl who I fell in love with the second I learned of her existence. A bright, bubbly child who lights up when I walk through the door after a long day atwork and classes. A kid who can make me crack a smile at the stupidest of things and has suckered me into watching a plethora of Disney movies.
I see a little girl who I want to watch grow up. Who I want to comfort when she has her heart broken for the first time. I want to help her with her homework when she’s stuck and scare off every adolescent male because none of them are fucking good enough for her. I want to worry about her when she breaks curfew, and sit up waiting until she gets home after prom.
I feel myself coming undone with every minute spent in Aurora’s presence.
She’s… everything.
“Sleep with me, Mommy.”
Aurora’s sweet voice brings me back to the here and now, and I move to get up so Riley can climb in beside her daughter. Except, as soon as I shift, Aurora’s hand snaps out to fist my top. “No,” she complains sleepily. “Bed cuddles.”
Smothering a silent laugh, Riley attempts to explain, “Baby, Grayson needs to go sleep in his own bed.”
Eyes still closed, Aurora shakes her head, lips pulled down in a frown as she rubs her face against the pillow. Her hand tightens on my top. It’s clear I’m not going anywhere. Remaining where I am, I arch an eyebrow at Riley.Well, what are you going to do now?
Rolling her eyes at me, she moves to the other side of the bed and slips beneath the cover. This bed is not made to fit the three of us, meaning we’re all squished onto it, and Riley and I end up looking at each other over Aurora’s head. Our faces are so close that I can see the light dusting of freckles along the bridge of her nose, Aurora’s restful breaths the only sound as we stare at one another.
Long seconds pass, but for once, when Riley and I are in the same room, it’s not strung tight with tension. It’s calm. Peaceful.Like how it is when I’m inside her and everything wrong in my life slots into place. For that blissful moment, all is right in the world.
This moment is the calm after the storm.
It’s a tranquility I can see myself enjoying for the rest of my life.
“She’s perfect,” I tell Riley, gaze dropping to the little girl snuggled between us. I’ve thought that plenty of times over the past couple of weeks that we’ve had Aurora, yet I don’t think I’ve ever said the words aloud. Not to Riley.
