Chapter 34
Junie was asleep before I even lifted her out of Daisy’s arms, her cheek pressed to my shoulder, fingers tangled in my shirt like she’d fused herself there. Piggie trotted behind us, snorting as if she knew to stay close, and by the time we crossed the porch, the storm had blown itself out.
I carried Junie back to the house, then down the hall, and tucked her into her bed. She didn’t stir. Not when I smoothed the hair from her forehead, not when I checked and double-checked that the window was locked, not when I stood there in the doorway long enough for my eyes to sting.
She was home. Safe. Breathing.
The moment Daisy stepped into the room behind me, everything inside me unraveled.
I backed into the hallway to give her space. She leaned over Junie, kissed her cheek, and whispered something soft only she and the sleeping girl would ever know. And when she stepped out and pulled the door closed to leave just a crack how Junie liked—
My legs gave out.
I slid down the wall before I even realized I was falling. My hands shook so hard I had to brace them on my knees, and my breathing came in sharp, uneven gasps.
I’d been strong all summer. Strong when Junie cried for her mom at the hospital. Strong when the judge said I might lose Junie in six weeks. Strong when the house fell apart and when Daisy did too.
But the sight of Junie’s empty bed—the open window, the rain, the fear—
It broke me clean in half.
My shoulders shook, silent and raw. Tears hit my knees before I even realized I was crying. I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes as if I could stop the shaking by force.
Then Daisy was there.
She said nothing at first. Didn’t ask. She just slid down the wall beside me, her hip brushing mine, her warmth seeping into my shoulder. Then she put an arm around my shoulder and pulled my head into her lap.
I didn’t fight it.
Couldn’t.
Her fingers threaded through my wet hair, slow and steady. I let my forehead rest against her thigh, letting myself be small for the first time in years.
“It’s okay,” she whispered, voice cracking with its own exhaustion. “Ty, it’s okay.”
It wasn’t—not in my head. Not in my chest. Not in whatever part of me was still trapped back in that bedroom, staring at an open window and an empty bed.
But she kept going, voice soft but sure.
“Junie’s okay.”
Her hand slid down to the back of my neck.
“We’re not leaving.”
She brushed the hair from my temple.
“I love you.”
Everything in me went still.
I lifted my head and turned to look at her. Her eyes were red. Her face was blotchy from crying. Her hair was damp from the storm. And she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
“What did you just say?” I asked, voice hardly more than a breath.
She cupped my cheek with her palm, thumb brushing the tears I didn’t realize were still falling.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “Junie’s okay. We’re not leaving. And I love you.”
“You’re not leaving.”
She nodded. “That’s right.”
“And you love me.”
“I really, really do.”
The world narrowed to her. Just her.
I leaned in and kissed her—soft at first, then not soft at all. A summer’s worth of fear and longing and almost breaking poured into it. She kissed me back with every piece of herself, every shattered part, every brave part.
When we pulled back, her forehead rested against mine. My hands slid around her waist, helping her up.
“Say it again,” I breathed, then lifted her off the ground until our faces were level, her legs wrapped around my waist.
She nodded, fingers curling at the base of my neck. “As many times as you need. I love you, Ty.”
“Good.” I carried her down the hall toward my room, her face buried in my shoulder, her breath warm against my skin. “That’s very good.”
The storm was gone.
Junie was safe.
And Daisy was staying.
She wiggled out of my hold once we were in my bedroom, then pulled me into the bathroom. “You’re freezing.”
The door clicked shut behind us, and she turned on the shower, steam curling into the air as the pipes groaned to life. I helped her peel off our damp clothes, the sound of fabric hitting tile mixing with the rush of water.
We stepped beneath the spray together, heat cascading over us, washing away the sharp edges of the night. The steam wrapped around us like a cocoon, quieting the last of the chaos in my head. For the first time since I saw Junie’s open window, my chest didn’t feel like it might cave in.
Daisy’s hands were gentle as they moved over me, like she was mapping every place the fear had carved into my skin.
She pulled back just enough to meet my eyes. “Turn around.”
I did.
The spray pounded against my back, but it was Daisy’s warm, soapy hands I felt. She started at my neck, thumbs pressing into the knot that lived there permanently, working slow circles until my head dropped forward with a rough breath. Her lips followed, kissing away the tension.
When I sagged into her touch, she moved to my shoulders, down my arms, lacing our fingers together for a heartbeat before continuing lower. When she stepped closer, her body brushed my back, warm and soft, grounding me in a way words never could.
“You carry so much,” she whispered against my skin. “But I’ve got you.”
I closed my eyes and let myself believe her.
She turned me back toward her, and our eyes locked. No words. Just the steady rhythm of water and the certainty in her gaze.
I see you. All of you. And I’m still here.
My hands found her waist. Hers slid over my chest, slow and reverent, like she could feel my heart trying to climb out and hand itself to her. The kiss that followed was deep and unhurried, full of relief and gratitude and promises we hadn’t said out loud yet.
She washed my chest next, palms gliding over my heart like she could feel it trying to climb out and hand itself to her. Lower, over my stomach, the line where muscle met hip. When her soapy fingers curled around my cock, I sucked in a breath so sharp it echoed off the tiles.
“Daisy—”
“Shhh.” She rose on her toes and kissed the corner of my mouth. “I’ve got you.”
She stroked me with the same unhurried rhythm she’d used everywhere else.
Long, slick pulls from base to tip, thumb circling the head on every upstroke until my hips rocked forward on instinct.
My hands found her waist, gripping hard enough that I was afraid I’d leave marks, but she only leaned into it, encouraging.
When it all felt too good, I slid my hand between her thighs and found her pussy already swollen, slick beyond what the shower could claim. Two fingers slid inside her easily; she gasped against my jaw, hips rocking forward to meet me, clit throbbing against my palm when I pressed it there.
We moved like that—hands and mouths and ragged breathing—until the tension coiled too tight.
She came first, quiet but fierce, inner walls fluttering around my fingers as she trembled against me, biting her lip to muffle the sound.
I groaned at the feel of her pulsing, at the way her hand tightened on my cock in rhythm with her orgasm.
But she didn’t let me finish like that.
She pulled my hand free, kissed me hard, then turned so her back was against my chest. With one palm on the tile, she arched just enough and reached back to guide me.
“Inside me,” she breathed. “Please, Ty. I want to feel you come inside me.”
And fuck, that sounded good.
I notched myself at her entrance, pushing in slow until I was buried to the hilt. She moaned, head dropping forward, water streaming down her back. Fuck, she was perfect.
I wrapped one arm around her waist, the other hand finding her clit again, rubbing firm circles while I moved with deep thrusts that had us both gasping.
The angle let me hit that spot inside her that made her whimper my name.
Her hips rolled back to meet every stroke, chasing it, taking what she needed while giving me everything.
“Say it again,” I rasped against her ear.
“I love you,” she panted, pushing back harder. “Forever, if you’ll have me.”
The words snapped something in me. I drove in deeper, faster, fingers working her clit in tight, relentless circles.
She came again—harder this time—her pussy clenching around my cock like a fist. I followed right after, burying myself as deep as I could and spilling inside her with a broken groan, pulse after pulse until I was shaking, empty, and hers.
For a long minute we just stood there under the spray, hearts hammering in tandem, my arms wrapped around her like I’d never let go.
She was the first to speak, voice wrecked and tender. “I meant it, you know.”
I kissed the wet curve of her shoulder.
“I’m not just staying for Junie.” Her eyes found mine when she turned in my arms. “I’m staying for you. For us. This—whatever messy, beautiful forever looks like—I want it. All of it.”
My throat closed so hard that it hurt. I kissed her instead of trying to answer with words, slow and deep and certain.
By the time the water cooled, we stepped out, warm and sated and calmer than before. I pulled on clean boxers and shorts, waiting for Daisy to finish wringing out her hair.
But with each passing minute, my heartbeat raced again, the panic returning as I imagined Junie’s bed empty once more.
I padded down the hall and pushed open her door, only to find her right where I’d left her. Sound asleep. Rowdy curled at her feet like a sentry.
My chest loosened and tightened all at once. I rubbed at it as if I could smooth the fear out by force.
Daisy’s lips touched my shoulder, warm and certain, then she brushed past me and slipped into Junie’s room wearing my oversized hoodie.
Without hesitation, she climbed into the bed beside her.
Junie stirred at the shift in the mattress, then turned into her aunt’s chest, tucking her face beneath Daisy’s chin with a sleepy sigh. Daisy pressed a kiss to her hair, brushing it back from her forehead before lifting her gaze to me.
“Get in the bed, Ty. Squeeze in here. Let’s hold our girl.”
The stars spun across the ceiling above me, soft bursts of color from her little nightlight. I stared at them for a second, grounding myself in the ordinary magic of it. Then I crossed the room and climbed in on Junie’s other side.
I slid an arm over Junie’s back, my hand finding Daisy’s at the same time she reached for me. She laced our fingers together across Junie’s small body, sealing us around her.
“Sleep, Ty,” she murmured, eyes already closing. “We’re all here.”
Junie’s breathing evened out between us.
Daisy’s thumb brushed once over my knuckles.
And for the first time in months, I believed it.
Finally, I slept.