Page 174 of For Wrath and Redemption
I lean into his hold for a few more breaths, then I step back and look toward Sav, Mabel, and Torren.
“Okay. Do your thing.” They whoop and clap as if they had any doubts, and I shake my head with a laugh. “You’re all incorrigible.”
Jonah presses a kiss to my head, and then I leave him and his bandmates to go back to whatever mischief they were making before I interrupted. I walk back to the living room where I left Teddy coloring with Brynn, Red, and Sav’s mom.
I bounce my eyes between the three of them.
“Did you all also know that this first birthday party was going to be a veritable three-ring circus?”
Red and Brynn both nod, but Sav’s mom Sharon throws up her hands.
“I knew, but I didn’t know until last night when my flight got in.”
Brynn grins. “But if Gram did know, she’d have supported it.”
I arch a brow at Sharon, and she smiles in a way that makes her look a lot like Sav. “You do only turn one once.”
I shake my head and take a seat on the couch. I watch as Brynn helps Teddy color in a book full of puppies, and then I look back at Sharon.
“Are you coming with to the Art Fusion show?”
“I’m not sure yet,” she says with a shrug. “I know it’s the ten-year anniversary, but I’m not the biggest fan of music festivals, to be honest. I might come for a few of the shows in Asia, though.”
Sav’s mom lives on the coast in North Carolina and visits once a month or so. From what I understand, she and Sav only reconnected a few years ago, but her relationship with Sav is a good one. It gives me hope for my own family.
My mom and stepfather have been out to visit a few times in the last year, but I haven’t had a chance to go home. I’ve been busy, yes. Having a baby and starting a new job is time-consuming. That’s not the only reason I haven’t returned to that small town on the East Coast I used to call home, though. It’s also because I haven’t wanted to. Not because of guilt or regret, but because of trauma. That town holds a lot of bad memories for me, and while I’m healing more every day, I’m not in a place to subject myself to a town full of triggers.
I watched my mom and brother be abused in that town. I was emotionally manipulated by their abuser in that town. I was so lost and confused as a kid in that town that I started purging. I was taken advantage of by a boy I thought loved me. I lost my best friend in a way that, at the time, felt like the worst kind of betrayal.
That town helped create the ugliest parts of me, and I’m not ready to face it.
For now, I’m more than happy in LA with Jonah and Teddy. I look forward to our weekly dinners with Sav, Mabel, Torren, and their families. I enjoy working for Rock Loveless Records. I even like helping wrangle the Caveat Lover boys, despite the headaches they cause me. I honestly don’t know how Callie puts up with them.
I love my life and the people in it, and it’s honestly the first time I’ve ever been able to say that. Maybe someday I’ll be able to go back home, but not yet, and I’m in no hurry.
I pull myself from my thoughts and smile at Sharon.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here now. Thank you for making the trip for Teddy’s birthday.”
Sharon smiles. “Honey, I wouldn’t miss it.”
After a few minutes, Mabel pops back inside and claps her hands.
“Everyone! The party is starting. If you’ll all follow me out to the yard, we can begin the festivities.”
I laugh and stand, then pick up Teddy.
“Alright, Teddy girl,” I say with a smile. “Let’s go see your very first circus.”
“First of many if Jonah has anything to say about it.”
I flick my eyes to Brynn and find her grinning. She’s not wrong, but I don’t really understand the extent of it until we step foot in the backyard.
It’s not just a pony.
It’s a magician, a DJ, a guy making balloon animals, a tower of cupcakes, and, yes, two princesses and two Caveat boys in drag.
“Good Lord,” I say on an exhale, scanning the yard for more surprises. I have to blink several times when I find another one. “Is that...is that a Wiggle?”
