11. Chapter Eleven
Chapter eleven
Hummingbird
I woke feeling more refreshed than I had in weeks.
Why?
Shaking my head, I grabbed my phone and saw it was well after ten in the morning.
I never sleep in this late.
After getting up, taking care of what I needed to in the bathroom, and having breakfast, I settled on the couch again and let my thoughts wander back to the information Lynette had given me the night before. As if she sensed my thoughts, a message came through from her.
Momma A:
Momma A:
The next message was a picture of a man standing between Lynette and Edith.
Momma A looked a lot more tired and older in this photo, but still the gorgeous woman I loved like a mother and trusted implicitly.
Edith told me she had gone out to Chicago for George’s funeral, and the photo must have been taken then.
But how does he work for both women?
Looking at the image again, I could tell it had been cropped, and part of me wanted to see the rest of it.
I wanted to know who else had been in Lynette’s kitchen.
As many terrible memories as I had from that house, I had a lot of good ones…
and I missed several of the people who had lived and worked there.
Not wanting to fall down the slippery slope of that memory lane, I looked at the man standing in between my bonus moms. He had short, light hair, a short but well-maintained beard, and the most captivating storm-grey eyes I’d ever seen.
He’s cute.
I shook my head, disgusted with myself at the thought. It was the last thing I should have noticed, but the disappointed panic that immediately accompanied the thought brought Derek’s voice to my mind.
Promise me if something takes me away from you that you don’t waste away your amazing life mourning. Promise me you’ll move on and grab onto every adventure thrown your way. Promise me you’ll do more than just live. Promise me you’ll thrive.
Tears sprang to my eyes as my breathing became faster and more erratic.
No!
I didn’t want to move on. I wanted Derek. Here. With me.
I threw my phone at the couch as I stormed into the kitchen, furiously opening cabinets in search of the alcohol Edith brought when she came to visit. When my hand landed on the bottle, my attention went to the green dagger shoved in the corner.
Why is that there? It should be in my locker in the security room.
Liquor temporarily forgotten, I reached for the sheathed blade and took it out of the cabinet, hugging it to my chest. It was how Derek had proved his identity all those years ago when he found me. Pulling out the dagger, I unwrapped the paper around the blade.
I sank to the ground and traced the handwriting with my fingertips, letting the tears flow down my cheeks.
“Derek… Why did you have to leave me? I don’t want to have to do this alone…
again.” I tipped my head back and leaned it against the wall.
My focus shifted to the hummingbird painting across from me, and I let out a sigh.
“Fine. You’re right. I’m not alone, but I sure as shit feel like it right now. ”
I’m not sure how long I sat there letting my emotions run through and out of me, but eventually I forced myself to get up and get water and something to eat. Derek had also made me promise to take care of myself no matter what happened, regardless if I felt like it or not.
While nibbling on my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, my thoughts kept swirling around the fact there was a new guy on the team, and that it didn’t completely freak me out.
Why isn’t it freaking me out? With everything that went down with William at my previous safe house, I should have wanted nothing to do with another guy ‘protecting’ me and my home.
It helped that Lynette and Edith trusted him, but I still wanted more details about the man.
Determination filled me as I finished my sandwich, and after cleaning up my mess and washing my hands, I retrieved my phone and sent off a message to the woman who could provide more details.
Hummingbird:
Momma E:
Hummingbird:
Hummingbird:
Momma E:
My fingers hovered over the screen as I searched for the words. I was scared, but I couldn’t find the main culprit.
Hummingbird:
Momma E:
I let out a relieved breath. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Lynette, but having both her and Edith’s stamp of approval made me feel more at ease about the newest member of the team. Also, being her favorite was high praise.
Hummingbird:
Momma E:
I was both relieved and saddened by the thought.
Momma E:
Momma E:
Momma E:
I chuckled.
Hummingbird:
Hummingbird:
Momma E:
Later on that day, my phone went off again.
Momma A:
Momma A:
Something felt off about the piece of information.
Hummingbird:
Momma A:
Implying he currently isn't?
I narrowed my eyes at the phone as I typed out my reply.
Hummingbird:
Momma A:
A hopeful smile appeared on my face. I wanted good news. I needed good news.
Hummingbird:
Momma A:
Hummingbird:
Momma A:
Momma A:
Who else was I going to trust? I hated that two-thirds of the people keeping me alive were temporarily down and I was relying on someone new for my supply delivery.
Please don’t let this be how I die.
I shook my head at the dramatic thought and reminded myself that if push came to shove, I could get things myself. I was in hiding, not an invalid. Though, even the thought of leaving the safety of my bunker sent my heart racing. It wasn’t something I had to worry about today.
Knowing I probably wasn’t going to get a response, I still sent a message to Tech. I needed to at least reach out to give myself any peace of mind.
Hummingbird:
Tech:
At first I was stunned he responded, but then I rolled my eyes. If this guy was anything like Derek, he could be missing a leg and downplay it.
Tech:
Hummingbird:
There was a delay, and about the time I thought he wasn’t going to respond, a message popped up.
Tech:
Having heard from everyone who knew I was alive and knowing they were okay, I decided to take a hot shower to relax my muscles. Between the cryfest and tension with all the changes, I was wound up and exhausted.
It was time for another nap.