The pillow was thinner than I liked, so I gingerly folded it in half and stuffed it under my head, careful not to jostle the bed. Then I just lay there, staring at my baby sister’s face. The lines between her brows were furrowed, and the dark half-moons under her eyes were still there, but for the first time since I’d walked into her dorm room she looked almost peaceful. It eased the tightness in my chest, just a little, but I knew it wouldn’t last. Eventually, I fell into a deep sleep.
* * *
“Sis, you better wake up,” Miranda said, shaking my shoulder sometime later that night.
When I opened my eyes, what little sun we’d had was gone and it was almost completely dark outside the window. I wasn’t sure how long I’d slept, but it wasn’t nearly long enough. I still felt like crap.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, searching her face. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she replied. “You snore.”
“No I don’t.”
“You really do.”
“Is that why you woke me up?” I asked in irritation, scrubbing a hand down my face.
“No, I woke you up because someone’s here. A woman.”
“What?” I sat straight up in bed and turned my head toward the door.
“She got here a few minutes ago,” Miranda said, unwrapping herself from the blanket. “Trevor sounded annoyed that she was here, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.”
“Shit.” Considering the fact that Trevor lived on his parents’ property, I shouldn’t have been surprised that someone had stopped by. I just hadn’t thought about it because I was too worried about other things. I swung my legs off the bed and paused to let the dizziness pass. Ugh, I hated when I got up too quickly and felt like I was going to topple over. “Stay here,” I ordered as soon as I had my land legs again.
“Bullshit,” Miranda countered, following me to the doorway. “You’re not leaving me in here.”
As soon as I opened the door, I could hear Trevor’s voice. He clearly wasn’t annoyed any longer as he chuckled at something the woman said. My stomach twisted. I knew I shouldn’t have taken a nap.
As soon as we reached the end of the hallway, Etta came into view. She was sitting in the middle of the living room with a bunch of coloring books spread out around her, calmly coloring something with a marker.
“I really hope that’s not permanent,” I said stupidly. It was the first thing that had popped into my head.
“It’s not,” Trevor said, standing up from the couch. “They’re washable.”
I turned to look at him, but didn’t say anything else as our eyes met. I registered that there was a woman and a man sitting around the room, but I didn’t acknowledge them while I waited for Trevor to explain what the heck they were doing in his house.
“I forgot to call and let them know they didn’t have to take care of Koda tonight,” he said sheepishly. “Sorry. I know you guys weren’t up for visitors.” He looked at Miranda, who was standing slightly behind me, and gave her an apologetic smile. “But once they knew you were here, they wouldn’t franking leave.”
“Jesus, you have him saying it now?” Miranda mumbled.
I didn’t bother to reply, just continued to stare at Trevor, my blood boiling. I’d trusted him to take care of Etta while I was in the next room. I’d let my guard down, and this was how he’d repaid me?
“She’s probably wondering who the hell we are,” the woman said to Trevor, like she thought he was an idiot.
Huh. Maybe I liked her. It was too soon to tell, but the odds were good.
Trevor made an annoyed sound, then swept his hand toward the couple in the room. “This is Anita and Abraham, and their baby, Arielle.”
My eyebrows rose as I glanced over and finally noticed the car seat with the sleeping baby on the floor.
“We’re his cousins,” Anita said, getting to her feet. “And you can call me Ani.”
I shot one more look at Trevor, then stepped forward. “I’m Morgan,” I said, reaching out to shake Ani’s hand. “This is my sister, Miranda.”
“Nice to meet you,” Ani said. She shook my hand, but only gave Miranda a head nod. Abraham waved from the couch.
“Mama,” Etta said, diverting my attention. “Baby!” She pointed to the car seat, then lifted a finger to her lips. “Her sleepin’.”
“I see that,” I said quietly, moving around the adults so I could kneel down in front of Etta. “What are you doing?”
“Me colorin’.”
“Only on the paper, right?”
“Wight.” She held up the book and proudly displayed the scribbled-on page.
“Nice work,” I said, nodding. “I think that should go on the fridge.”
“I’m sorry we just barged in,” Ani said as soon as Etta was consumed with her task again. “We’re kind of used to bugging Trev whenever we want.”