Page 37

I don't pull myself out of bed until around eleven.

I clung to sleep as long as possible, but my need to check on Emmie won out.

When I peek my head through the cracked door to her room, she's still fast asleep, with Lezak curled up beside her.

He barely lifts his head to glare at me before settling back down.

His message is clear: don't wake her up.

He probably needs to go out soon, but I trust the puppy to let me know when it's necessary. Leaving the door propped open, I head down the hall toward the living room, yawning as I go. I'm in desperate need of coffee.

Just as I pass the front door, a quick knock sounds. The sound is so quiet I'm not sure I would have heard it in any other room. I look out the window to see Mia standing on my porch, reusable grocery bags in both her hands.

I quietly open the door and motion her in.

Neither of us say anything as I shut the door and take some bags from her. She follows me into the kitchen, settling her bags on the island beside the ones I carried. Too curious for my own good, I look inside, and see everything you could ever want for a delicious breakfast .

"What's all this?" I keep my voice low, hoping not to wake Emmie up.

I take a second to look at Mia. With her dark hair thrown in a messy bun, no makeup on her face, and dressed in leggings, and a sports bra with a jacket thrown over it, she looks like she just rolled out of bed herself. I pull her into my arms.

She leans into my chest, wrapping her arms around me, keeping us as close as possible. I take a second to bury my face in her hair. Well, as much as I can with the bun on the top of her head.

For the first time since I got the phone call, I allow myself to relax, melting into her arms. We stay like that for a couple of minutes before she takes a step back, heading right for the bags.

"You both need to eat," she explains, pulling things out. "I wasn't sure what she would be in the mood for, so I got a little bit of everything."

"You know I have stuff here, right?" I tease, kissing her temple before helping her start to unload. "You didn't have to buy all this."

"Your protein shakes and power meals aren't going to be enough to sustain a teenage girl after the night she had. She's going to want comfort food."

"Okay then." I grin, looking over the array of food. "Tell me what to do."

She points to one of the bags we haven't touched yet. "There's fruit in there. Think you can throw together a fruit salad?"

With a roll of my eyes, I reach for the bag. "I can't mess things up with that, can I?"

"There are strawberries, and the melons need to be cut smaller." She motions toward where she knows I keep my knives. Which would have been a pretty scary thought a month ago. "Do you think you can handle that without hurting yourself? "

I make a face at her and grab the strawberries to rinse them off in the sink.

The two of us work in silent tandem for a while; Mia taking on the more detailed responsibilities while I'm left to put out the fruit, get the drinks, and set the table.

She wouldn't even let me make a waffle, but that's honestly probably for the better.

Just as nearly everything is set on the table and Mia has finished cooking, I hear shuffling from upstairs.

We barely exchange a glance before Lezak comes bounding into the room, tail wagging as he slides toward Mia.

Since she's still in the middle of cooking, she laughs, and uses her foot to give him some gentle pets.

I call him over and open the backdoor so he can do his business and get some of his morning zoomies out while we eat.

Despite the teenager sleeping in my guest bedroom, I can't help but note how domestic all this feels. Which is a thought I shouldn't have because we're not even technically together—we went on one date and then all hell broke loose. I don't even know what we are.

Emmie comes shuffling in, looking exhausted, but I can tell she got some sleep.

"Good morning!"

Mia's chipper greeting is the right level of enthusiasm.

She's not trying to make it sound like everything was normal and this is the start of a brand-new day; she didn't talk to her like a scared animal; and she didn't overly do it in a way that makes you feel like you need to tiptoe around everyone, pretending like you didn't have what will probably be one of the worst nights of your life.

Emmie shyly waves at Mia before taking the seat I pulled out for her at the table. She brings her knees up to chest and takes us in. "Thank you, Coach," she mumbles. "I don't remember if I said that last night."

I take the seat opposite of her. "There's nothing to thank me for, Emmie. I've always told you guys that you can call me in an emergency, especially if it's about your safety. You did exactly what you were supposed to."

Mia brings over a plate of waffles before sitting beside me. "Ronan's right. You were in a situation you couldn't fix on your own, and you called someone you trusted to help."

Emmie's gnawing on her bottom lip again, eyes darting around the food laid out. She’s probably starving.

"Why don't we eat breakfast before we go to the club to meet up with your brother?"

Her eyes bug out of her head. "Wait, Liam's coming here? They got a hold of him?"

"You haven't told her?" Mia swats my shoulder. "Ronan!"

I hold my hands up in defense, suddenly feeling like I'm caught in a precarious situation.

"She was asleep when Penny called! I wasn't going to wake you up, Emmie.

We were all exhausted. If he talked to you, I think he would have made the drive here in the middle of the night, and that's not what any of us needed last night.

He's meeting us at the club with Penny in a couple of hours. "

"But…he's actually coming?" she asks. "Does it sound like he wants to help me? Take me in or whatever?"

My heart clenches for this child, because she is still just a child—a child who's been carrying a level of responsibility that shouldn’t have been hers for far too long. Now she's probably questioning her place in the lives of those she loves, maybe even within her own life.

"I refuse to make any promises." I learned early on that hearing about a sibling or family member in need pulls a reaction out of people, a reaction they sometimes can't follow through on when faced with the reality.

"But it did sound promising. He's anxious to see you, to make sure you're okay, and then we'll go from there. "

She's back to picking at her nail polish and avoiding eye contact. "I don't want to leave Columbia or Adair. And I don't want to go into foster care or group homes."

Mia and I exchange grim looks, neither one of us knowing what to say. The future is uncertain right now; how do you comfort a child when that's true?

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Mia advises. "Let's eat as much food as we want for breakfast and then see what the day brings us. Regardless of what happens, Emmie, you have a lot of people on your side. Try not to worry too much."

I don't know if it's Mia's words or her overall comforting presence, but Emmie finally starts to relax.

When she looks back at the food this time, her eyes light up, and her stomach lets out a loud growl that has us all laughing.

Mia starts handing dishes around the table, asking Emmie about school and swim team.

Emmie lights up as she talks about her favorite classes, teachers, and the friends she's made through both school and swimming.

I'm suddenly privy to way more information than I care to know about my team, including who's fighting, who's crushing on who, and what drama they all have at their respective schools.

It's information overload, and Mia listens with rapt attention, asking follow-up questions, and coaxing Emmie out of her shell.

By the time we make it to Adair, they've moved onto discussing the latest fan theories on Taylor Swift's next album, and I'm kind of grateful I'm an only child.

Bryce and Carter are waiting in the lobby when we arrive, awkwardly hovering. I'm sure they wished this wasn't something they'd have to deal with, but unfortunately, dealing with kids means you're forced to see an uglier side sometimes.

"You told them?" Emmie groans, hiding her face .

"Yeah, I did," I admit, not wanting to lie to her. "I had no choice. They own the club, and therefore, need to be informed when things like this happen."

Surprisingly, Bryce is the first one to speak up. "When we first met, I made it pretty clear that the entirety of Adair Swim Club should feel like a family; that means when someone is down, we're all there to help."

Carter nods in agreement. "We're here to answer any questions your brother or social worker might have about your scholarship or the club in general. This matter will stay private, though. If anyone else finds out, it'll be because you’ve decided you're comfortable enough to tell them."

She glances around at the adults nodding in confirmation before relaxing and mumbling out her gratitude.

We don't have to wait long before two people approach the building.

One of them is Penny, looking as professional and put together as she did at almost three o'clock this morning.

The other is a man who's probably in his late twenties, with cropped brown hair, and dressed like he rolled out of bed to get here as quickly as possible. It must be Liam.

Bryce lets them in, briefly introducing himself, but the man's eyes keep darting all over the place. When they finally land on Emmie, who just came back from getting a phone charger we have upstairs, the tension in his shoulders eases, a look of relief washing over him.

"Liam!" Emmie drops the charging cord and beelines for her big brother.

"Hey, Em," I hear him say back after pulling her into a tight hug.