AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“When I turned twenty-one, I had been working for a small construction company and had enough saved to buy a small home for me and Layla. She had been working double, sometimes triple shifts between the furniture store and diner she worked at.” He pauses to finish his beer.
“Our goal was to save enough money to give you a better life than we had. We went back to the adoption agency to find you. But you were in a foster home, and they wanted to evaluate us to see if we were able to provide a good, stable environment. We passed almost all the tests, but then your mother was fired from the diner after your grandfather came and trashed the place looking for Layla. Without that income, we couldn’t afford the mortgage payments and the wellbeing of a child.”
“So, you left me,” I finished for him, rage boiling inside me. Where the hell was Harley?
“We left you in the care of a good foster family. They let us come see you whenever we wanted. I’m surprised you don’t remember us.”
“I was four. What the hell did you want me to remember?”
“Your mother used to sing you this song about pigs. Do you remember that?” he pushed, and I tried to think back to that foster family. They were kind people until the father died in a car accident, and we were all sent to other foster families.
“The mother used to sing a song to put me to sleep. She used to play with my toes.”
“That was me,” Layla said from the hallway, a tear rolling down her cheek. Harley was at her side, watching the scene unfold. “This little piggie went to the market…”
Her voice triggered a memory, and I staggered back. “East?” Harley was at my side, her hands latched onto my forearm, grounding me.
“It was you, but then why didn’t you come back?!” I shouted, slamming my fist down on the marble counter.
“We did, but by then, the adoption agency had been burned down, and you had been adopted,” Andy finished the story, but I shook my head.
“You never answered my first question. Why didn’t you have any more?”
“I didn’t want another child if I couldn’t have you.” Layla wiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks, and I hated the anger flowing through my veins.
“I need some air.” Leaving the suffocating kitchen, I stepped outside to the pool area and sucked in a much-needed breath of fresh air.
“What would you do?” I asked Harley, already knowing her fucking answer but needing to hear it, nonetheless.
“Forgive them,” she whispered, her fingers lacing with mine, her lips at my shoulder, her strength wrapping around me.
“They left me.” The words were broken as they left my lips.
“They came back. Mine haven’t come back, East.” I nodded, mulling over her words. “They love you and only want the best for you.”
“What did she say to you?” I squeezed her hand, acknowledging her words.
“Nothing. She hugged me and consoled me the way I wish my mother would.”
“I’d like to think, if they had come back into my life, you wouldn’t be here today. Everything happens for a reason, right? We wouldn’t have met.” Harley laughed.
“You are crazy, certifiably crazy.” I pulled her into my chest, burying my head in her shoulder, hiding my face in her hair.
“As long as you love me, I don’t care.”
“We were meant to find each other, East, just like they were meant to find you. Forgive them, love them, let them in.” She kissed my ear, her lips soft and gentle.
“Okay,” I agreed, and she pulled back, looking at me with bright, excited eyes.
“How does it feel to fly, East?” She bit her lip to hide her grin, and I threw my head back and laughed.
“Like I’m finally alive, little bird.”
Epilogue
HARLEY
Days trickled into weeks, and then weeks trickled into months. The summer humidity evaporated as hurricane season threatened to ruin our tropical paradise, and then that too was gone with harsh winds that made any true Floridan’s knees shake from the early morning freezing temperatures. Luckily for us, the sunshine state was never cold for long, with temperatures picking up in the afternoon.
