Rock Bottom (Dawson Family 6)

My heart lurches in my chest when I see Rory with my youngest nephew in her arms, baby-talking and pulling faces to make the kid smile. A strange feeling comes over me, unsetting and welcoming at the same time.

Rory fits in, but she doesn’t know us. She has no idea that Owen and Charlie dated throughout high school only to break up in college and finally get back together years later. She doesn’t know about Daisy and the shit she put our family through. She has no idea we painfully watched Logan try to get out of the friendzone with Danielle, and is clueless to the month-long feud between Quinn, Archer, and I.

She doesn’t know the controversy over being Team Cat instead of Team Dog. She doesn’t know why Archer became so close with all of us, and why it felt like a betrayal when he and Quinn started dating in secret.

She wasn’t the one assuring me I wasn’t being irrational—though now I know I was—and she’ll never get how hurt it felt to find out the one person I trusted more than anyone kept a secret from me.

She doesn’t know my past…but she can learn. It’ll take time, I know, just like it will take time for me to fully get to know her. But if fucking scares me how easy this has been so far, and it’s almost like I’m doing something wrong because life isn’t supposed to pass by this smoothly.

Life hurts.

Love is complicated.

Nothing is ever what it seems, and right when you think you got your shit figured out, things fall to pieces at your feet.Chapter 32Rory“It was so nice meeting you.” Mrs. Dawson pulls me into a tight hug, and her perfume is overwhelming and nauseating…just like my mother’s. It’s oddly comforting.

“It was nice meeting you too.” I pat her back and try to pull away but am trapped for another few seconds.

“Mom,” Dean says, and his mother finally releases me. “It’s late and Rory has to be at the hospital in the morning.”

“Oh goodness,” Mrs. Dawson says and lets me go. “Go home and get some rest.”

“I plan to,” I say and flick my eyes to Dean. We won’t be spending the night together, well, unless he decides to come and stay with me. I have to leave the house at six-thirty AM, and he doesn’t get into the office until eight. I’m fine leaving him in my apartment, trusting him enough to lock up.

But it makes more sense to go our separate ways and meet up later. My Jeep is at his house, and the current plan is to drive to Dean’s house, say a quick goodbye, and then for me to go home, sleep, and get up in a few short hours.

“I’m sure I’ll see you again,” I tell Mrs. Dawson, taking the Tupperware full of leftovers she insisted I bring home with me. Dean and Owen got one as well. I say bye to Weston and Scarlet, who are the last ones besides us here.

Quinn and Archer left soon after dinner. Quinn got sick, and I spent a good half an hour sitting in the bathroom with her, holding her hair back as she puked up everything she had for dinner. She said she got this sick with nearly every pregnancy, making me question my desire to have a baby.

Logan, Danielle, and their kids left after that, followed by Owen and his family. Weston and Scarlet hung around for a while after that, since Violet had fallen asleep on the couch. It was pure chaos when she woke up, but now that they’re gone, it’s just Dean any myself.

I love the energy of the family. The nonstop chatter. How disorganized and chaotic everything it while at the same time it feels like it’s exactly how it’s supposed to be. It reminds me of my own family—minus all the babies, of course—and I feel comfortable around all the Dawsons.

“Oh, I better. Take care.”

“I will.” I smile and take my coat from Dean, slipping my arms into the sleeves. Dean goes to the kitchen window, looking out at the driveway, and remote starts his truck. “Thank you for dinner and everything tonight,” I say as I put my shoes on. “My parents do dinner on Fridays and I miss it.”

“You are welcome anytime, my dear,” Mrs. Dawson says.

“She’ll be back,” Dean presses, eager to get out of the house. “I’ll see you next week, okay?”

“Okay,” Mrs. Dawson hugs Dean goodbye and tries to send him off with all the leftovers from tonight’s meal, along with what she’s already packed him. He takes two Tupperwares full of leftovers, just to quiet his mother, and we set out, driving back to his house, where my Jeep is.

“Do you want to come in?” Dean asks, pulling into his garage.