38. Bailey #2
“Are you okay?” he asks, less calm this time.
“I-I think I’m fine. What if I hurt the twins when I fell?
” Mirabelle’s breathing hitches, and she spirals fast. “I should have listened to you, and I’ll never forgive myself if anything—” A sob wracks her body, and I feel my insides twist. I know she needs to focus on this conversation, but I can’t just sit here and not offer more comfort than holding her hand.
Pulling my hand away from her only to replace it with my other, I wrap my arm around her shoulders to pull her into me as she cries.
“Hey, no, baby. I know it’s hard, but you need to stay calm.
I wish I were there so you could punch me in the dick for saying it, but I need you to take a few deep breaths with me.
It’s okay to be scared, but you did nothing wrong.
It was an accident, and accidents happen all the time.
” Henry pauses, no doubt trying to find the right words to say instead of telling her to calm down, which in my experience, doesn’t work all too well.
“I love you. There is nothing you could do that would ever change the fact that my heart belongs to you, Mirabelle Walker. Fuck, you could take all of my money, and I’d still think you hung the moon.
I’m proud to wear your last name on my jersey, and I am so irrevocably in love with you, mon c?ur .
I’m so sorry I’m not there, but no matter what happens, none of that will ever change. ”
I don’t think I’ve ever heard Henry say so many words at one time. I’m a little awestruck, but it has the desired effect on Mirabelle, who is at least trying to take a deep breath. “But?—”
“But nothing . God forbid something does go wrong, I’ll do anything to get to you so I can tell you again in person.
I already love our babies, but we can try again.
That’s the fun part, right? Please, don’t hate me for saying it, but I can live with knowing we’ve loved them for every second we got— if and only if something happens .
What I can’t live without is you, Mira. Now, please .
. . please, tell me the truth. Are you okay?
” His voice cracks on the second please, and I press my tongue to the roof of my mouth to keep myself from crying.
“I’m okay,” she says, more confident than before. “ Je t’aime. ”? 1
“I’m going to tell Andrew I’m catching the first flight back. I never should’ve left.”
“No, I want you to stay there. There won’t be any flights for a couple days, and I’ll feel better knowing you’re safe.”
Henry’s silence implies how much he wants to disagree with her, but Mira’s not wrong. It’s going to be impossible to get back here until the storm passes and the city is able to clean some things up. “Okay,” he relents, opting to take the easier road. “Is Bailey there?”
“Yeah, you’re on speaker,” I say, and Mirabelle exhales a long breath.
“Can you take me off?” he asks, and I take the phone from her, standing up to move a few feet away because it’s pretty clear to both of us he doesn’t want her to hear what he’s about to say.
“You’re good,” I say after holding the phone up to my ear, preparing myself for the worst.
“Is she lying to me about being okay?”
I can feel her staring at me. “I don’t think so.”
He breathes out a sigh of relief. “Did she say anything hurt? Is she having cramps, or does anything feel weird?”
“No. How do you know what to look out for?” I ask, making a mental note in case Mira says anything later.
“Dude, I’m just fucking googling shit at this point trying not to go crazy because I’m not there. I’m going to call her doctor when I get off the phone with you, but I don’t know if I’ll get another call through,” Henry says, and that makes more sense.
“We lost power already, but the generator kicked on, so I’m surprised this one did.”
“I’m going to try to get back as soon as I can, but if anything changes, call 911,” he says, and I can’t imagine what this is like for him. If it was Kaitlyn, I’d be going out of my mind.
“I will, but she’ll be okay.”
Henry’s quiet for a moment, and I wish there was something I could say to make him feel better, but this is all very bad timing. “She’s my whole world, Bailey.”
“I know,” I say, and there’s a knock on the bedroom door. “I gotta go, but I’ll try to keep you updated.”
Javi pokes his head in just as Henry thanks me again before hanging up. “Mira, are you okay?” he asks, hugging her. “You scared me.”
“Hey, I’m okay. I just fell,” she says, hugging him back.
“Javi, be gentle,” I say, and Mira shakes her head.
“He’s okay,” Mirabelle says, smiling at me. “Thanks for staying. Does Henry believe I’m okay now?”
I smile back at her, trying not to seem too worried. “I think so, but you’ll tell me if you’re not okay, right?”
“I promise,” she says, and I offer her my hand to help her up.
We make our way back to the living room, and we tear down part of the fort to get her set up comfortably on the couch. Javi curls up next to her, trying to read the story to her by explaining the pictures. I can hear Kaitlyn opening drawers in the kitchen.
“Yell if you need me?” I say, and Mirabelle nods without looking up from the story Javi’s telling her.
Kaitlyn’s back is to me as she makes dinner, and the rain hitting the glass doors is a steady reminder of what’s going on outside, but all my brain can think about is how much time I’ve wasted .
She kissed me earlier and I froze. She had to tell me to kiss her back. Kait never should have had to tell me to kiss her back.
Earlier, I thought my lungs were going to collapse at the idea of telling Mira the truth about Carter and Kiera and every other terrible thing I’ve done.
Then I froze and almost pulled away when she traced the scar on my forehead that serves as a reminder of how worthless I believed I was.
Someone unworthy of a family that loved them when all along, my family never stopped looking for me.
“Bailey?” Kaitlyn asks, drawing me back to the real world. In the midst of all the darkness inside me, she’s still the light I’ve held onto.
My steps are purposeful as I walk toward her, and she smiles. “What’s the look on your face for?” she asks, and I can only smile at her when I cup her face in my hands.
“This is me shutting up and kissing you. Is that okay with you, sunshine?” I ask, feeling her breathing hitch as I lean in.
“Sounds perfect.”
It feels perfect too when I press my mouth against hers, slipping an arm around her lower back to pull her flush against me.
Absolutely perfect.
1 ? I love you.