Page 400 of Wicked Brutal

Ally smiles. “Of course.”

Bella sits, and I put Piper into her arms, and her face changes immediately. “Hi, gorgeous.” Piper squirms, and Bella smiles down at her. “Oh, you’re perfect.”

Iz crouches beside her, one arm along the back of her chair, and she leans into him without thinking.

Tobias squeezes in beside them. “She’s your friend too.”

Iz looks at him. “She is?”

“Yes.”

“Good to know.”

Bella touches Piper’s tiny hand. “She has a lot of friends.”

Tobias shakes his head. “Family.”

Bella goes still. Iz looks at him, but Tobias doesn’t notice what he just did — he’s too busy watching Piper.

“She has everybody.”

Iz’s arm moves from the chair to Bella’s shoulders, and Bella leans into him. “Yeah,” she says softly. “She does.”

Danny and Becca arrive the next morning, straight from the airport — I know because Danny still has both suitcases when they come through the door. Becca has one thing: a gift bag. She sees Piper and stops. Danny nearly runs into her. Neither of them speaks. I know why. Ally knows why. Everybody who knows them knows why.

Their baby should be here. Not in this room. Not on this exact morning. But in the world. They should know what sleepless nights feel like by now. Danny should know exactly how to hold a newborn without thinking about it. Becca should know what seven pounds feels like against her chest. They should have pictures. A name. A car seat. A thousand tiny things scattered through their apartment. They should have their baby. They don’t. And now they’re standing in front of ours.

Becca looks at Ally first. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” The gift bag drops beside their luggage. Becca crosses the room and hugs Ally carefully, and for a second neither of them says anything. Then Becca whispers, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

When Becca pulls back, she’s crying. She wipes her face. “I’m so happy for you.”

Ally takes her hand. “I know.”

“And I knew I would be. I just—“ She looks toward Piper. Danny comes up behind her, his hand settling at her waist, and she leans back against him and closes her eyes for a second. Danny kisses her temple. Then she opens them. “Can I meet her?”

Ally’s eyes fill. “Yeah.”

I lift Piper from the bassinet, and Becca sits, and I lower my daughter into her arms. Her breath catches. “Oh my God.”

Danny stands behind her, hands on her shoulders. Becca looks down. “Hi.” Piper’s eyes blink open, and Becca starts crying harder. “There you are.”

Danny bends closer, and Piper stares in absolutely no direction at all, and his mouth trembles. “Hey, kid.”

Becca’s butterfly bracelet rests beside Piper’s blanket. I see Danny notice it. His thumb moves over Becca’s shoulder, and she looks up at him, and there’s a whole conversation there — one I’m not part of, one I don’t need to be.

Then Danny looks at me. “Can I?”

I smile. “Yeah.”

Becca turns toward him. “You want her?”