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13
Nico
“Please tell me you locked away the peanut butter.” I grin at my mother when she opens the door.
“Don’t worry. I have a full body HAZMAT suit for you inside. You’ll be just fine.” She opens her arms and pulls me in for a long hug even though it has only been a few days since I last saw her. But deep down we both know that each time may be the last. It’s just the way things are in this life.
“Nico!” Lily runs at me once I’m inside the foyer. I reach down to catch her as she launches herself into my arms and I hold her high in the air. She squeals and laughs, like a normal little kid. Except she’s not normal. But she doesn’t know that yet, and it’s my job to protect her from it all.
You have a lot of responsibilities now, Nico…
Grandpa’s words. Christ, if I’d only known then the kind of responsibilities I’d end up having later, I may have considered running away to a remote island and living off the grid.
“I missed you!” Lily shrieks.
“I just saw you! You didn’t even have time to miss me!”
“Okay, fine. I didn’t miss you!”
“What? How could you not miss me?” I put my little sister down on the floor and tickle her until tears run down her cheeks. That belly laugh. God, it gets me every time. I laugh right along with her, and damn, it feels good. Therapeutic. I can’t remember the last time I laughed like that.
I’d like to be able to do it again. I have to find a way to close this chapter, to move the fuck on. I’m on the path, but it’s a slow move.
I lean back and let her catch her breath. She rolls to her feet and bounces around me. “That peanut-addicted mutt of yours better be in the garage, Lil. If he drools all over me, you’ll be hauling me to the Emergency Room.”
“Don’t worry. He’s upstairs in my room.”
I cock an eyebrow at my mother. “Really? Like, on her bed?”
“Oh, yes. He sleeps with me!” Lily beams.
I furrow my brow. “Mellowing out in your old age, Mom? What happened to him only sleeping downstairs in his crate?”
“He’d whine and cry all night when he was by himself, and I didn’t want a re-do of the baby years. So I caved. Sue me.”
Lily grabs my hand and pulls me into the kitchen. “I’ll make you breakfast! Cap’n Crunch or Cocoa Puffs?”
“Cocoa Puffs, please.” I look at my mother, who is making a cup of coffee for me. “Where’s Dad?”
She points to the hallway. “I think I just heard him come down.”
Dad appears in the doorway to the kitchen a second later. “Morning, son.”
Lily places a bowl of cereal in front of me, and I shovel in a few spoonfuls. “Mmohning.”
He lets out a chuckle. “Maybe we can talk for a few minutes in the office once you finish chewing.”
I swallow the oversized bites and give Lily the thumbs-up. “You’re a master chef. Thanks for the best breakfast I’ve ever had.”
She smiles and curtseys for me. “Anything for you!”
I ruffle her hair, grab my coffee mug, and follow Dad into his office. He shuts the door behind me and sits on a leather cordovan chair behind his large mahogany desk. I sit across from him, sinking into a buttery leather cushion. This room always calms me, despite the business conducted between these walls. Dark wood paneling, rich hues, antique brass accents. It makes the place feel comfortable somehow. Safe. Secure.
Ironic.
“I have to meet Tony at the construction site so I don’t have much time, but there are a few things we need to discuss.” Dad gathers some papers together and places them into his briefcase. “How’d the meeting with Viktor go?”
“It was good. Kat was there.”