Page 6 of The Road Back to Us

“Not before I turn eighteen,” Ben remarked, giving her the smug look that only a brother could give his sister.

“It’s not a competition,” she replied with a roll of her eyes.

Then she surprised me by returning her focus to me.

“So, what happens now?” she asked, twirling the charm on her necklace.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what happens now that you’ve moved back to town. I know this was the house my dad wanted us to live in, and I heard that he set it up for you to raise us. I guess I just want to know how all of that is going to work.”

I inhaled sharply, completely caught off guard by her question. But it was stupid to think that they wouldn’t have these questions. They weren’t little kids anymore, so it made sense they would want to know what their future might look like.

“Things, for the most part, are going to stay the same,” Cole replied as he walked back into the living room. “Yes, you will be living here, and yes, Lyric will be your guardian. But everything else will stay the same. You won’t be transferring to a new school or having to make new friends.”

“Will you be living here with us?” Kara asked, her voice softening as she spoke to Cole.

Cole shook his head but didn’t speak.

“But you guys are married? How does that even work? Like, I get that Lyric has been off living in New York, but you guys are still legally married. Why can’t you live together?”

“I don’t—” I started, but stopped as Cole lifted his hand.

“None of that is any of your business, Kara,” he replied firmly but with a gentleness that was reserved for her. “What Lyric and I do is our business, and neither of us is obligated to discuss it with you. Also, you will treat her with respect and address her as Aunt Lyric. We’ve had this conversation already. I will not keep repeating myself.”

What I really wanted to say was that there were plenty of things I didn’t get right the first time, and love was one of them. But now wasn’t the right time or place to get into all of that.

“Fine,” she said with a bitter tone as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I just don’t get why we have to make all of these changes, but you guys don’t.”

“I agree. It’s very unfair,” I said, feeling Cole’s gaze upon me as I spoke. “I can’t even begin to understand what you guys are going through with losing both of your parents in such a short time. I’m not here to make your lives harder, Kara. I’m not here to change things. All of this is a change for me, too. I packed up my life as I knew it and moved back here to help out because that’s what your father needed me to do. But if we’re going to make this work, we have to figure out how to do that as a team.”

“So, what? You wouldn’t have moved back to help take care of us if my dad didn’t list you as our legal guardian?” Kara pushed.

I thought about my response before I said it, knowing I would never be able to take it back. But I also knew that I wasn’t doing Kara and Ben any favors by lying to them. Trust would never come if we weren’t honest with each other.

“No, I don’t think I would have,” I answered, feeling the blood drain from my face as Ben’s head whipped up with a shocked expression covering his face. Kara shook her head in disgust, but I continued with what I needed to say. “For the longest time, the universe decided I wasn’t meant to be a mother. So, yeah, it’s hard for me to accept that I’m suddenly qualified for a position I never asked for.”

I got up and walked away, needing a moment to myself as I shattered their hearts even more.

Eight

Cole

The night had taken a turn I hadn’t expected—though I wasn’t sure it was fair to expect much at this point. It wasn’t like any of us had any idea how to navigate this new life we were all being forced to live. Things were hard on everyone, and grief was a nasty bitch that made it that much harder.

I got Ben and Kara situated in their rooms, set my expectations for them again, and wished them sweet dreams before locking the front door. It was a small town, and the house was on a ranch out in the middle of nowhere. Even if they decided to sneak out in the middle of the night, they would have acres of cornfields to get through before they reached town.

Lyric came into the living room as I was going through my suitcase, pulling out a fresh pair of pajama pants, as I looked up and spotted her. I smiled softly, but her red, puffy eyes made my heart ache. She returned it as she wrapped her arms around herself protectively.

“You don’t have to sleep on the couch,” she said softly. “It’s not very comfortable.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

I knew all of the guest rooms were already occupied, and unless I slept on Chloe’s floor, there weren’t any rooms for me to sleep in, unless I shared a room with Lyric. While I wouldn’t mind that, I wasn’t so sure she would be comfortable with it.

“I’ll look at bringing over an air mattress tomorrow,” I said, continuing the conversation when silence fell around us. “I’m sure Chloe would love a roommate.”

I laughed to show I was teasing, but she didn’t make a noise.