Chapter 2 #4
There were four people in the photo. It took me less than three seconds to realize I was looking at a picture of Drake and Jemmy as kids with their parents.
Drake didn’t look older than ten, and Jemmy was around eight.
Drake also bore a strong resemblance to his father.
It was like looking at Drake ten or so years ago.
He was slimmer than Drake, but aside from that, they could have been twins.
Everyone in the picture seemed happy, except for the woman standing slightly off to the side.
I blinked in shock when I realized it was Tracey.
She barely looked like the woman I had met.
Tracey of the past was about sixty pounds heavier.
Her hair was a mousy brown, styled in a short pixie cut.
She also wore glasses that were rather thick, and her lips were much thinner than the plump fullness she had now.
She wasn’t ugly, but she seemed to blend in and wasn’t particularly remarkable to look at.
It was clear that she had changed drastically physically.
“No!” Drake emphatically stated, cutting into my observations. “I guess I’m just feeling bad for Daisy. Rose’s selfishness reminds me of Tracey. I wonder if Daisy will be just as messed up as Jemmy was.
“At least Jemmy had our dad for a while. She was shown unconditional love. Now,” he blew out a breath, “her phone’s no longer in service, and she’s not active on her socials. I’m worried about her.”
I rubbed his back and leaned further into him.
I had to admit I was a bag of contradictions where Jemmy was concerned.
I despised her actions. She was erratic and self-absorbed.
On the other hand, I empathized with her, because I wasn’t sure how I would feel discovering the man I loved and adored had two other women in his life.
My heart hurt for Drake. He was fiercely protective of his younger sister, and I knew a part of her realized she was hurting him just as much as she was hurting Sierra and Gavin.
Admittedly, I felt slightly guilty for not attempting to reach out to her.
With my schoolwork, reintegrating into our life, and my pregnancy, I had pushed most thoughts of her out of my mind.
I had adopted the same attitude as Dawn, Rachel, and Anna when it came to her.
I believed she had to live her life the way she wanted, and either fail or succeed.
She had people protecting and spoiling her for so long, and she used her horrible childhood as a crutch far too often.
Secretly, I hoped she would have a come-to-Jesus’ moment and realize that she had an amazing life and couldn’t hold onto her past hurts.
Her desire to return to the woman who had caused that past trauma baffled me. Plus, I thought she would have returned by now. Suddenly, I wondered if something deeper was going on. Had Tracey intentionally cut her off from us, and was she safe?
I stood up. “Maybe we should have Pops send someone to check in on her.”
Drake leaned forward and pulled me into him. He rested his forehead against my belly, softly brushing a kiss over it before looking up at me. “Should we let her fail and learn her lesson?”
I shook my head. “Maybe yes and no. We can always send someone to check on her without intervening.”
Drake still looked concerned but nodded. “Yeah, that should work.”
“Hey, Blake,” Micah came rushing into the room, with Patrick a step behind him, before he stopped short. “Sorry. Am I interrupting something?”
Drake tried to smile. “Nah, what’s up, man?”
Micah looked hesitantly between us. “It’s not important. I can come back later.”
Drake laughed and shook his head before he stood up. “It’s all good. We were getting ready to pull out the snacks and games. Do you need or want something?”
When Drake stood, I realized his box had tipped over, scattering its contents on the floor. I noticed most of the box held photos and mementos of Drake’s. I braced my hand on the bed and began to lower myself to the floor when Micah and Patrick rushed forward.
“You’ll never get up if you do that,” Micah teased, gently pushing me to the side.
“Kade wanted me to ask Remy if it’s okay if he gets snacks for Nadia, Lexus, and Patrick too.
We were all hanging out at Grandma’s, and they overheard Kade telling us we were heading to the shoppette.
I can’t find Remy, so I thought I should ask you. ”
Having a convenience store in the facility was a blessing and a curse.
I knew our pantry was stocked full of snacks, but I also realized the kids felt special when they could go to the store with just the teens and get whatever their hearts desired.
Remy had already offered the splurge, so I couldn’t very well take it back now.
I huffed once his words sank in regarding my attempt to help Drake pick up his mementos. “Are you calling me fat?”
“No!” he quickly responded before an impish smirk curved his lips. “I just know how hard carrying my nephew and niece is when you need to bend down or stand up.”
Drake quietly chuckled. “It’s hard work growing tiny humans, beautiful.”
“Sure, gang up on me…” My voice trailed off as I noticed how still Patrick had gotten.
He was staring intently at the photo in his hands. His brows were knit in concentration, his head tilted to the side. Somehow, his interest in the picture didn’t seem at all casual. I wondered why he found such fascination in it.
“What’s up?” I asked him gently, nudging his shoulders with my outer thigh.
He shot me with a wide-eyed look. “Nothing”
I was unable to hear the rest of his response as Ella came shrieking down the hallway. “I’m telling on you, Jaxson James!”
All thoughts of finding out Patrick’s fixation on the picture flew out of my mind as a stampede of unicorns, no bigger than teacup poodles, charged after her. I ran to the doorway, equally amused and exasperated by Jaxson’s actions.
“Jaxson James!” I reprimanded.
He gave me a devilish grin. “What? Unicorns aren’t real!”
He threw a look over his shoulder, and I rolled my eyes when he and Lincoln fist bumped. I swear, Jaxson could be a bad influence on people sometimes.