Until Talon (Until Him 4)

“Go cuddle with Mimi and watch your movie, and I’ll see you in the morning.” She kisses Ruby’s forehead before she places her on the ground.

When her eyes meet mine once more, I give her a smile along with a look that says “We’ll talk tomorrow before the girls get up” and I hear her sigh. Her girls aren’t the only ones she likes to keep things from. She is forever attempting to keep things from me, my mom, and anyone else who cares about her. The only difference is I don’t let her off the hook when she tries to avoid my questions, and I sure as hell don’t buy it when she says everything is okay.

I let my sister’s gaze go when Ruby crawls back up onto my lap, and then I rest my chin on the top of her head while I close my eyes, just wanting to rest for a moment.

“Mimi, can we make popcorn?” Lola asks, and I blink my eyes open then twist my head to the side and look down at my niece, noticing then that her eyes are the exact shade of brown as mine. The bronzy color almost exactly matches our hair.

“Sure, honey.” I move Ruby off my lap and get up. I walk into the kitchen and dig through the cupboards until I find a box of popcorn. I pull one out then shake my head and grab another, because salty, buttery popcorn sounds good right about now. Once I have a bowlful of goodness, I go back to the couch and sit with my nieces. Not long after, Cece comes down and says goodnight before leaving for work.

After she’s gone, I spend the next hour laughing and reminiscing through a movie that was one of the small parts of my childhood that didn’t have anything to do with outside drama, just pure and simple happiness. When the movie comes to an end, I order us a pizza for dinner, and after we eat, I lead the girls upstairs, where I usher one after the other into the shower while each of them takes a turn talking to their dad on the phone, something they do every night before they go to sleep.

Seeing the content smiles on their sweet little faces when I finally tuck them in, I know my sister is doing everything right. Yes, her life is upside down. Yes, she is working more than she was before, and she doesn’t get as much time at home as she used to. But her girls are happy, healthy, and most importantly, they know their dad loves them, even if he’s not under the same roof.

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When the alarm I set on my cell phone starts to ding, I fight to get my arm out from under the covers and Mercury’s heavy weight. Once I grab it, I quickly turn it off, resenting that it pulled me from the dream I was having, a dream involving a man I can’t seem to forget.

I keep my eyes closed and try to pull up from memory some of the details about him, but no matter how hard I try, none of them seem to do him justice. I’m not sure if it’s gratitude or something else, but an hour hasn’t gone by in which I haven’t thought about him. Even in my sleep, he finds me.

A cold nose against my cheek pulls me from my thoughts, and I open my eyes, finding Lola’s glitter-star-covered ceiling above me before I focus on a set of warm brown eyes.

“Are you ready for breakfast?” I hold onto Retro’s round face, and she leans forward, licking my cheek and making me smile. Then I laugh when Mercury joins her sister in giving me some morning love. “All right, girls. Let’s get up.” Once they both jump off the bed, I toss back the unicorn-printed sheet and blanket covering me and sit up, placing my feet on the rainbow carpet on the floor.

I look around Lola’s room and wonder how much longer I’ll be able to stay here. I know my sister and the girls like having me around, but there’s going to come a point when everyone will need to find some normalcy, and that includes me getting a place of my own so Lola can get her room back. I force myself to stand then shuffle to the door and open it for my pups. The house is quiet, with the girls still asleep across the hall, but the smell of coffee lets me know my sister is already up and downstairs after getting home late, making breakfast and lunches—something she does every morning.

I listen to my girls’ paws as they go down the stairs, and when I hear Cece greet Mercury and Retro, I go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, and put on a bra, leggings, and an oversized shirt so I can drop the girls off at school. I slip on a pair of flip-flops then quietly leave my room, desperately needing a cup of coffee.