I’m also starting to feel worse, so I decide to argue with him about this later and get a few more pictures.
“Enough. Go inside before I–”
“Okay, stop threatening them.”
He puts them in the back seat again before shutting the door.
“Thank you again.” I smile up at him before planting a kiss on his lips.
“Go.” He pushes me away, and I walk off before he actually drags me inside. “Call me when you get out.”
I tell him I will, and when the sliding doors close behind me, I turn and expect him to be gone, but he’s still standing there, watching me.
He nods for me to keep walking, so I turn back around. When the front desk lady sees me, she immediately gets up from herseat and opens the back door for me. I’m unsure why, but I steal a glance behind me, and Liam still watches me.
I give him a small wave, and he shakes his head, but I swear I see him smile before he turns for his car.
Chapter Eighteen
Liam
Iglance down at myarms, and when one of them hiss at me, I almost drop all three of them. “She’s not here to protect your ass anymore. I’m not above taking you back there.”
All three of them seem to cower at my words, and I look back up as I walk into the house. One of the nurses smiles when he sees me, but then he sees the three ugly cats in my hands, and his smile drops.
“I’m sorry–”
I cut him off before he tells me what I already know. “I know, okay. I just–”
“Liam!”
I turn at the sound of Capri’s voice, and her face lights up when my eyes meet hers. She glances down at the cats and then at the balloons in my hands, and her smile doesn’t falter.
“I think we can make an exception since it’s a holiday.” She rests her hand on my arm and guides me in as she tells the other nurse not to worry. He doesn’t question her and we walk into the house.
“How is she today?”
“She’s been really good.”
I let out a breath, and when I look over at Capri, her smile seems sadder.
“I wish you’d stayed last night. She was much better after a while and was asking for you.”
I don’t reply to her because I don’t have anything to say. I know it’s not Mom's fault that she’s angry at me for what happened to my baby sister, and it’s not her fault that she sometimes forgets me or confuses me with my asshole dad. I know it’s not her fault, and maybe I’m selfish for not sucking it up and taking every blow she throws at me, but I just can’t sometimes.
“How are you?”
I only nod, and Capri doesn’t push it, but I feel her eyes on me as she walks me to my mom.
She’s in the backyard on a blanket near the pond. I take in her favorite yellow sundress she’s in and she looks at peace. I hesitate before walking over because I don’t want to ruin her day. I watch her from a distance for a while, but after a few minutes, I walk over before I change my mind and leave.
“Hey.”
She looks up at the sound of my voice, and when she takes in everything in my arms, her smile widens.
“Oh! Is it someone's birthday?”
I settle next to her on the blanket but keep the cats close in case she flips out.
