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I huff out a laugh, because no one has been able to hide the fact that I don’t feel well. My son has his ways of finding out shit.

“Yes, he has. I took my medicine and napped. I’m much better,” I promise, taking his hand and walking toward the couch. I hide another yawn, knowing I’m going to fall asleep soon, I’m glancing at Rachelle with wide eyes that say, “Mom, help!”

“Time for cake,” she says quietly with a grin. “Everyone ready?”

I curl up in a corner with my son, glad my family can read the room. No matter what, we always show up for each other.

ARRAN

I can’t keep my eyes off the way Zayn keeps a running conversation with Isla, even as she begins to nod off. I don’t think it matters how much you sleep after being in as much pain as she was, it doesn’t change how much stress your body is under. She whimpered in her sleep, jerked, and gasped as she twitched.

Peaceful, she was not.

“Come outside for a second?” I glance over to find Theo speaking to me and I nod.

I caught all of their names out on the boat today, and figured it was just a matter of time before they wanted to speak to me. I’m not sure how they’re old enough to have a twenty-four year old daughter, but that’s none of my business.

I know there’s adoption, and that’s where I’m beginning to lean.

I sit down in one of the chairs, unsurprised to find all of her dads surrounding me, along with her grandfather.

“So you’re not running?” Emil asks, folding his arms. “Because sometimes it’s a hell of a lot worse than it was today.”

“Not running,” I grunt, my legs splaying wide as I shrug. “Are the migraines why she was cutting? I don’t know how she’s still here with how bad today was.”

“Her migraines scare the fuck out of me,” Theo mutters. “I can’t kill, stab, or crush it. It’s not something I can fix, she just…endures. The cutting happened before we met her.”

“The cutting is from doctors ignoring a kid who was screaming to be taken seriously, and no one did,” Jared says, his eyes unfocused as if he’s lost in his memories. “She’s not going to fucking abuse those. A lot of things made them worse, and she finally stopped trying. Isla…checked out of life. She was just going to endure until she graduated from high school.”

“Jared,” Emil growls.

“I’m not spilling secrets,” he says, blinking.

“It’s hard to hide the scars when you’re getting naked with another person,” Emil says.

“You’re obviously trying to get me killed,” I say, wincing as Isla’s father’s scowl. Fuck, I wonder if any of them are carrying a gun. It’s a child’s birthday party. They wouldn’t, right?

“My daughter has a child, I know she’s had sex before,” Ignacio drawls.

“It’s not something I enjoy thinking about,” Theo adds. “Isla is a grown woman who doesn’t need to be babied.”

“Just some assistance,” Emil says.

“She butt scooted down the stairs,” I say, sighing.

“I know, I watched her do it from the cameras,” Theo shrugs.

He watches me as if expecting a reaction, but I give him nothing. I figured if he set up the system, there may be cameras. It’s what I’d do. What if she fell or something? How would she get help while caring for her son?

“You’re taking this very well,” Emil murmurs.

“I fell head over heels for her the second she walked into my tattoo shop,” I tell them. “Now that we’re dating, I’m not going anywhere. I do, however, want to know how to help her. I don’t like hearing her cry in her sleep either.”

“Outside of getting her medication, you can’t help,” Theo says. “Her meds usually help faster than this though. I’m going to mention that she may need to talk to her neurologist about this. It’s possible that the migraines are changing.”

“They can do that?” I ask, almost aghast.

“Ugh, I think I like this one,” Emil says.