I'm not asking you to. I'm asking you to stay until you're ready to leave. That's all. Why? Because you fit.
He said it simply like it was obvious. You fit here with them with He stopped himself. Just think about it. Then he headed upstairs, leaving Lena alone with her thoughts and a kitchen that was too clean and a life that was too comfortable. She should leave.
Should thank him for everything and find somewhere else to go. Stop pretending this was anything other than temporary charity. But when she went upstairs later, Sophieie's light was still on. Lena knocked softly. "Come in."
Sophieie was in bed, hugging a stuffed rabbit that had seen better days. "Can't sleep?" Lena asked. "Not really." Sophieie scooted over, making room.
"Will you stay for a minute?" Lena sat on the edge of the bed. "What's wrong?" "Nothing. I just Sophieie hugged the rabbit tighter.
I like having you here. It feels different. different. How? Like we're a real family, not just dad trying to do everything by himself. The words cut deeper than they should have.
You are a real family. I know, but it's better with you. Sophieie looked up at her. You're not going to leave like the others, right? You promised.
Lena thought about the lawyer's calls, about Marcus and the divorce papers and the life she was supposed to be building. About the fact that she was 30 years old and living in someone else's guest room and falling in love with someone else's kids. I'm not leaving, she heard herself say. Not yet. Sophieie smiled and closed her eyes.
Good. Lena sat there until Sophieie's breathing evened out, then quietly left the room. Adrien was in the hallway, leaning against the wall like he'd been waiting. Is she okay?" he asked quietly. "She's worried I'm going to leave."
"Are you?" Lena looked at him. This man who'd stopped for a stranger in a snowstorm, who made pancakes for breakfast, and remembered to buy the specific crackers Sophieie liked, who was raising three kids alone because he'd chosen to. "I don't know," she said honestly. "That's fair."
He pushed off the wall. "For what it's worth, I hope you don't. They need He paused. We need someone like you here, he said. We instead of they, and the distinction mattered.
Lena went back to her room and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her phone. The lawyer had left three voicemails. Marcus had sent two emails. His mother had texted something about how disappointed she was. She deleted all of it without reading.
Then she opened her notebook and looked at the schedule she'd written for tomorrow. Thomas had soccer practice. Sophieie had dance. Marcus needed help with his science project. She added a note at the bottom, call lawyer back.