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Rebel snuggled into Miranda, and she took a deep breath of sandy hair and dirty skin. She had been unimpressed with it the first time she had collected Rebel from the daycare, but now it held more than her nose could ever detect. It told her about Rebel’s day, about what she did during the hours that she was there.
“Come on.” Miranda made an effort to soften her tone. It would be a long night, but snapping at Rebel would do nothing to help the headache that pulsed at her temples.
They were halfway across the parking lot, the drizzle more of an annoyance than anything else, when Rebel bucked against Miranda’s hip.
“What? What’s wrong?” She stopped walking, oblivious to the danger of where they stood, her mind entirely caught on what had happened to make Rebel all but convulse in her arms.
“’Arley, down.” Rebel met Miranda’s eyes, face scrunching up before she screamed again. “’Arley, down now!”
Miranda’s heart thudded rapidly. Harley? Cold raced over her skin, a cold that had precisely nothing to do with the misted drops that fell from her hair and slid beneath the collar of her shirt. Tori couldn’t be there. Not today. She couldn’t handle it.
“Where’s Harley, Rebel?” Miranda asked, hoping her voice didn’t carry to wherever Tori might be. As she waited for Rebel’s reply, she scanned the area. Three cars lined up facing the door, waiting for the two of them to move from where she had stopped in her tracks.
She couldn’t just stand there any longer. She never should have stopped in the middle of the road anyway, especially not with Rebel with her. She should have known better, protected Rebel better from potential oncoming traffic.
“Okay, we’ll find Harley in a second.” Miranda’s usual click of heels on the asphalt was drowned out by the puddles of water she traipsed through, unsure if she wanted to keep this promise to Rebel or escape without another encounter that would undoubtedly scar them both with the mood she was in.
“Rebel.” Harley’s small voice piped up from the car parked next to Miranda’s.
“’Arley, ’Arley, ’Arley,” Rebel sing-songed, swaying a little too far back and forth in Miranda’s arms, requiring her to support the small but surprisingly strong child with her other hand. Visions of them both toppling to the ground plagued her. She couldn’t lose their entire center of gravity if Tori was in the vicinity. That would be more embarrassment than she could manage right now. She was already embarrassed with the encounter with Aili and the disappointment running through her voice. Yep, this would be the last thing she needed.
“Oh hey.” The voice that came from the car was not the one she expected.
Siena.
Miranda died a little inside.
This could potentially be worse.
Tori and Siena were best friends it seemed. So just what had Tori told her about what had happened?
Miranda had been so wrong, falling over was the second to last thing she needed. Miranda dared a look up and saw Siena’s head poking up over the roof of her car. She had a bright smile on her face, her dark eyes excited about something. Miranda wished she knew what went on behind that mask of happiness, but it sickened her to think about it.
“Mom, it’s Rebel and ’Randa,” Harley screeched from the back seat of the car, her face pressed up against the small crack of the window.
“I see that, Harley.” Siena smirked and gave a small nod to Miranda. “Now buckle yourself in your seat, so we can get going.”
“But Mom, I wanna play with Rebel,” Harley whined.
“Maybe another time. We’ve got to get going.” Siena tapped the top of the car, as if to get Harley’s attention.
“Hi, ’Randa.”
Miranda chuckled as Harley pursed her lips trying to smoosh the words through the crack in the window. She couldn’t fault the girl for trying her best.
“Hi, Harley.” Miranda smiled, and it hurt her to realize it was the first genuine smile she could remember giving all day. All week maybe. What was she doing? Because it wasn’t life. She wasn’t doing it well, anyway.
“Wanna come over and play?” Harley bounced in her car seat, still not buckled in.
“What your mom said. Maybe another day. I’ve got lots to work out for Rebel this afternoon.”
“Everything okay?” Siena asked, genuine concern in her voice.
Miranda blinked and stared at the head that continued to float over the roof of the car. Why would Siena care? Was she hinting at something? Had Tori told her everything?
Miranda’s cheeks heated up and burned. Of course Tori would have. Tori’s secrets would be the shortest book in the entire world. She couldn’t keep anything to herself, could she? Not one damn thing.
“Just some trouble with Rebel’s enrollment.” Miranda couldn’t believe she had said that. She wasn’t following too far behind Tori in that regard, was she? Meeting Tori had turned her into someone who would tell virtual strangers about her problems. “It’s fine. I’ll handle it.”
