Page 56

Vivienne

The silence of my office after hours is broken by the sound of my phone vibrating on the corner of my desk. I almost ignore it because I'm fucking exhausted. Xavier came home from New York yesterday after the Bandits won their division. I waited up for him because he's only home for forty-eight hours before they leave again to face the Comets, and today I'm paying the price. I glance down at the screen before I send it to voicemail and see Tenley's name lighting up the screen.

The last time Tenley called me was when she got food poisoning and needed help with Holland. A pang of longing hits me at the memory of how that call changed my life. I pick up without another second of hesitation.

"Hey, Tenley. What's up?"

She pauses before she speaks, her voice hesitant. "Hey . . . um, I know this might be weird, but could you meet me at the house?"

My niece isn't timid, and hearing her sound so unsure sends a wave of concern through me.

"You know I will, but is everything okay?"

"I'm not really sure."

Panic spikes in my chest, and I'm moving before I can stop myself. "Holland?" I blurt, already grabbing my keys to go to them.

Her words calm me a fraction, but something's still off. "She's okay, but . . . I just . . . I don't know, Vivi. I feel like I'm being watched. Like someone's been following us, but I can't be sure."

A shiver runs down my spine and I grip the phone tighter.

"I don't know what it is. I just . . . I need someone with me tonight."

My heart is racing--her fear becoming my own. "I'll be there in twenty minutes, okay? Just hang tight. And if anything seems off--a car behind you, someone at the house--you call nine-one-one."

"Okay. Yeah," she agrees.

"And send me a pin so I can track you," I add.

I'm shaking when I hang up, running out the door, barely remembering to stop and lock up after myself. My fingers fumble with the deadbolt, my mind already running through all the worst-case scenarios. Fuck, I should've had her call the police. What if she's actually being followed?

Does Xavier know? He's in the middle of a game. Getting a hold of him is going to be difficult. We haven't exactly had time to go over emergency contact protocol during the postseason. Fuck, that seems like it should have been a priority given everything that's happened.

First, I need to get to Tenley and Holland to see what's going on. I can get there faster than him and I don't want to waste precious time trying to get in touch with him when I could be making sure the girls are okay.

Once I've checked on them, I'll figure out if I need to bring Xavier into it during his game, or if it can wait until after.

I jump into my car, dumping my phone in the cup holder with Tenley's location pulled up on the screen while I drive. My eyes dart down to it every few seconds until I see she's pulled into the driveway. I give her a minute and then I call her.

The dial tone rings through the speakers, each unanswered ring making my foot press harder on the gas. I'm only a few minutes away now.

Finally, she picks up.

"Jesus. Tell me you're inside," I say, my voice tight with nerves.

"Yeah. And I locked up behind me."

"Okay, I'll be there in three minutes. Keep the door locked until I'm there. I'll stay on with you."

Tense silence fills the car and three minutes seems to stretch into hours before I pull into the driveway, scanning the area quickly before stepping out.

"I'm here, let me in," I say, breathless, my heels clicking sharply on the pavement as I rush up the driveway.

As soon as I'm inside, I lock the door and glance out the window. "Let's go sit down and you can tell me what happened."

Tenley nods and follows me, clutching Holland to her chest.

"Want me to take her?" I ask

"Yeah, actually, that'd be great," Tenley says, handing her over. "I can't explain it. I didn't see anyone, but we were at the park earlier and I had this creepy feeling that someone was watching us. Every time I looked, there was no one that seemed out of place, but I couldn't shake it. And then when we were coming back from the store, I swear I saw a car from the park earlier, but it was empty. I don't know, it creeped me out. It was probably nothing, but I didn't want to be here alone until Xavier got home."

"You did the right thing. Did anyone approach you at the park?"

"No. No one. Like I said, it was just a feeling. God, this is silly," she says.

"It's not silly. I'm proud of you for trusting your gut."

I grab my phone from my pocket, googling the non-emergency number for the Denver police and hit the button to call. When the dispatcher answers, I explain the situation, give them Xavier's address and request additional patrols overnight.

I run a hand over her hair like I used to when she was little. "Why don't you relax and try to calm down a little? I'll get her ready for bed and put her down."

"Yeah, okay. Maybe some trash TV will help," she says, grabbing the remote from the coffee table.

I head to Holland's room and lay her down on the changing table and pull open the drawer to grab a fresh diaper and wipes.

With a clean diaper on Holland, I put away the wipes and blindly reach for her pajamas. I stop when my hand finds glossy paper instead of the soft fabric I expect. Looking down, I see a pile of pictures that cause me to gasp into the dimly lit room.

Scooping Holland up, I pull them out, along with a pair of pajamas that I pay no attention to and carry her to the rocker. Flipping through the handful of pictures, my heart swells and emotion clogs my throat. I've been in this drawer so many times and I've noticed this same stack of pictures tucked away for weeks, but I've never snooped because I didn't want to invade Xavier's privacy.

There's one from the first night I came over, with Holland sleeping in my arms. The three of us at the park. Me chatting with Holland early in the morning after our first sleepover. Holland clutching my dress at the wedding. And so many other random moments, some of which he wasn't present for, others which I didn't even know he was paying attention to.

This man has always seen me, from the very start.

I want him to know I see him too.

I pull out my phone, snapping a picture of Holland on my chest, and send it off to Xavier.

Vivi: I'm here helping Tenley. She's a little spooked today--felt like she was being watched. Everyone is okay, but she didn't want to be alone.

It goes unanswered, which I expected.

Rubbing Holland's back, I soak in the feeling of knowing that good things are coming, despite a scary night.

She goes down easy, like usual, and I slip the pictures back into the drawer, leaving them undisturbed before I go back downstairs to check on my other baby.

Tenley's curled into the corner of the couch, an episode of Bluey on TV.

"Interesting choice."

"Don't judge. I needed the dopamine hit."

"No judgement," I say, holding my hands up. When I sink into the couch next to her, I hold my arm out and she cuddles in.

"I was so scared, Aunt Vi, but now I feel silly."

"No. You're not silly. You did everything right. Always trust your gut."

"My gut told me to eat the gas station sushi that gave me food poisoning this summer."

"That's always the exception."

She doesn't laugh like I expect her to. Maybe she's still a little too shaken for a joke.

I switch topics. "Did you know about the pictures in the nursery?"

Her head bobs against my shoulder. "Yeah, why? You didn't."

"Nope," I say.

"Hmmm. They've been there for a while," she says it so casually that I almost let it slide.

"Did you pull them to the top so I would find them?"

"It's a possibility." She shifts, putting her head in my lap. "Now that you mention it, I vaguely remember doing that this morning."

"Vaguely remember . . ." I repeat slowly.

"Don't seem so surprised. I'm the reason you and Xavier are together," she says with a smile.

"Are you now?"

"Yes. We talked about this last week when I was telling you about Spain--the cake, bringing you to a game, getting sick."

"Wait, but you were really sick."

"A happy accident that worked perfectly into my plans to get you cuffed up before Spain."

I have no idea what she's talking about, but honestly, I can't bring myself to care. If she wants to take credit for getting us together, she can have it. All I care about is that I get to keep Xavier and Holland.