Page 50 of When We Breathe
When I wake, I’m always sweating profusely, and I’ll be unsettled for the rest of the day.
I check my phone to see the time and find a text from Adam.
First of all, it’s almost noon. I slept for-freaking-ever. I’ve never slept this much in my life. I’m not doing any thinking over here. I’m putting myself into a coma.
And second of all, Ireallyneed a shower.
But first, I open the text from Adam.
Adam: Left you something outside your door, my love.
My love.
How can he say that to me after the way I just up andleft them the other day? Why aren’t they yelling at me? Telling me that I’m a waste of time? That they can find something better with someone who won’t run away.
When I stand from the bed, my joints ache from lying around too much, and I have the start of a headache. Also, I might be on the verge of being unemployed, since I haven’t checked in with the office in days.
I make my way to the door and open it, and then bite my lip.
I recognize the bag from The Sugar Studio.
And when I open it, the huckleberry muffins make my stomach growl.
I’ve just turned to put the bag on a table so I can go shower before I eat, when I hear feet on the steps leading up to my door.
Lots of feet.
I crack the door open again, only to find Dani, Billie, Skyla, Millie, and Charlie marching into my house.
“Wow.” Billie shakes her head, looking around, and then at me. “You look like shit, friend.”
“And you don’t smell much better,” Dani adds, pointing me toward the bathroom. “Go wash that stink off and change your clothes. Then we’re feeding you.”
“You went to get huck muffins?” Millie asks, peering into my bag. “Looking like that? And I mean that with all the love in my heart.”
“Adam left them on the doorstep.” I shrug but then rip them out of her hands. “And they’re mine.”
Millie’s smile is slow and smug. “Go get cleaned up so we can pamper you.”
“I don’t need to be?—”
“Yeah, you do,” Charlie says, shooing me away as Skyla sets the bags she was holding on my coffee table.
There’s nowhere else for her to set them.
“I can help?—”
“By going to shower,” Skyla finishes. “I love you, friend, but you’re mighty smelly. The time for wallowing is over. Now, we drink and problem solve.”
I bite my lip and stare at my sisters, my besties, and feel my eyes fill. “Thanks.”
“You bet.” Millie winks at me. “We’ll put Darby on video chat after your shower. She shouldn’t see you like this.”
I snort, already feeling a bit better, and turn toward the bathroom.
My girls are here.
Chapter Twenty
