Page 116 of Victorious: Part 3

Phoenix’s grip on my hand tightens.

South steps forward, Louis balanced on his hip. The baby is wearing a tiny fleur-de-lis onesie that Ingrid bought him last week, completely oblivious to the weight of whatever moment this is about to become.

“We got a call this morning,” South begins, his voice steady but tinged with something that might be grief. “From New Orleans.”

Ingrid steps up beside him, her face pale but determined. “Hurricane’s funeral is next week,” she says quietly. “And we need to be there.Ineed to be there.”

The silence that follows is heavy, loaded with understanding.

This isn’t just about a funeral.

This is about family.

About the impossible choice between the people you love and…

… the people you love.

South and Ingrid are torn between two cities.

They always have been.

But deep down, all of us here in Los Angeles know that Ingrid’s heart, her true heart, belongs back in New Orleans. And right now,thatis the city they need to be in.

“Kaia needs help with the babies,” Ingrid continues, her voice growing stronger. “The twins are due any day now, and she’s trying to plan Hurricane’s service, and she’s falling apart.” Her voice cracks slightly on the last words. “She needs family. She needs us.”

Tears prick at the corner of my eyes because I understand. Of course, I understand. Family isn’t just the people you choose to love. It’s the people who need you to show up, even when showing up means leaving.

“For how long?” I ask, though I think we all already know the answer.

South and Ingrid exchange a look, one of those wordless conversations that couples have when they’ve already made a decision together.

“We don’t know,” South admits. “Kaia’s going to be a single mom with newborn twins, and she already has Immy. The club is in chaos with Hurricane gone. Kaia needs Ingrid, and the club needs brothers to help…” he trails off, shifting Louis to his other hip. “We might need to stay for a while, maybe permanently.”

The words hang in the air like smoke, impossible to ignore but too painful to fully process. Phoenix’s arm tightens around me, and I realize I’m trembling.

“We’re leaving tonight,” Ingrid says softly. “Driving straight through. I need to get home to my family. It’s killing me not being there right now.”

They’re leaving.

Two people who’ve become essential parts of my world are packing up their lives and driving away, and I don’t know when, or if, I’ll see them again.

My bottom lip trembles, and I excuse myself, walking quickly toward the bathroom, needing a moment to collect myself before I completely fall apart in front of everyone. But I don’t make it that far before the tears start, hot and immediate and completely beyond my control.

Phoenix finds me in the hallway, of course. He always seems to know when I need him before I even realize it myself.

“Hey,” he says softly, pulling me against his chest. “It’s okay.”

“It’snotokay,” I mumble into his shirt. “Nothing about this is okay. We just got everyone back, we just won, and now they’re leaving. What if something happens to them on the road, or what if they decide they want to stay in New Orleans permanently, or—”

“Breathe, baby,” Phoenix interrupts gently, his hand stroking down my hair. “Just breathe.”

I try to follow his instructions, but my chest feels tight, like there’s a band wrapped around my ribs that keeps getting tighter. “I don’t want them to go,” I whisper.

“I know,” he says, and there’s understanding in his voice that tells me he gets it, really gets it. “But they have to. You know they have to.”

I nod against his chest because I do know. Because Maverick and I were in New Orleans with Ingrid and her family, and I sawwhat it was like being around them, being a part of that family. I felt the closeness, the craziness, and when Maverick told me that we were moving to LA the same time as Ingrid and South, the only person, besides Maverick, that I knew here was Ingrid.

She was my safe place for a while.