The drive to the office is short and I soon find myself running through an office when I spot Cooper in the arms of another kind looking lady.
“Coop,” I squeal, pulling him into my arms and hugging him like I haven’t seen him in years.
He coos at me and I’m unable to fight the tears any longer. With him still in my arms, I drop on the couch the other woman was sitting on and sob like I’ve wanted to do since those ominous words fell from Hartmann’s lips earlier today.
I glance up at the wall, hoping to find a clock. It takes a few seconds for my watery eyes to read it but when I do, I discover that it’s only been just over an hour since my life changed forever. It already feels like a lifetime ago.
Austin and Sofia come over and cuddle into my side as the two women watch us with sympathetic expressions on their faces.
“Are you guys hungry? Thirsty?”
“Yeah,” Austin says, no surprise there, he’s always hungry.
“Sandwiches okay?”
“That’s perfect, thank you so much.”
We’re all silent as they both walk away chatting to themselves, probably about us and what’s going to happen next.
They bring us a huge platter of food along with cans of soda and bottles of water, but as Austin and Sofia dig in, I can’t bring myself to eat any of it. My stomach is in knots, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to keep it down even if I did try.
The clock ticks by slowly as we wait for Auntie Trish to arrive but as the minutes pass, I begin to wonder if she was lying and isn’t coming at all. That is until a panic-stricken voice fills the air around me.
“Where are they? I need to see them now.”
I look up as Bea points over to us and Auntie Trish comes barreling through the door.
I stand with a sleeping Cooper against my chest as she wraps us both in her arms.
I break once more as her floral scent surrounds me.
“Oh Poppy, everything is going to be okay. You’re all coming home with me and we’ll sort everything out. I promise.”
I pull from her embrace and look into her kind green eyes. “T-thank you.”
“Oh, sweetie. I’d do anything for you all, you know that.”
“I know but this is…” I trail off not really knowing what to say about it. “An extreme circumstance.”
“Maybe so, but you’re my family.” She kisses my temple before dropping down and pulling both Austin and Sofia into her arms. “I can’t believe how much you’ve all grown. I’ve got your favorite candy in the car,” she whispers, and their little eyes light up for the first time since getting escorted into their principal’s office earlier.
It takes a couple of hours, but eventually we are able to make our way to Auntie Trish’s car and I discover that the reason she was late is because she stopped to get a car seat for Cooper. We finally manage to figure out how to get him in it securely before climbing into the front seats.
She turns to me, a somber expression on her face. “I’m so sorry, Poppy. I can’t even imagine how you’re feeling right now.”
“I wish I could explain it. It’s a weird mix of terror and relief.” She reaches over and squeezes my hand in support.
“I know this is unbelievably hard. But Evan and I will do everything we can to make it as easy as possible.”
“Is he okay with this?”
“Of course he is, sweetie. He loves you all as much as I do. Now, let’s go and pack you all some stuff and head home.”
I nod to her, rest my head back and close my eyes.
It’s dark by the time we pull up to her home, but lights illuminate the front of the building. It’s an impressive Victorian home painted in a soft mint green. The huge front porch is covered in bright flowers and is the kind of house that every kid draws as their dream home and almost every adult wants for their two-point-five kids.
I look back over my shoulder to find all three of them fast asleep.
“Poor things. I bet their heads are spinning.”
Just as we open our doors to step out, Uncle Evan jogs down the steps and pulls Auntie Trish into his arms before turning to me.
“Poppy, I’m so sorry it got to this, but I’m so happy we can help.” He wraps his arms around me in a giant bear hug and I’m hit with the scent of paint that always follows him around.
“Thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you both doing this.”
“Don’t be silly. You’re family. We always look after our own.”
I think of all their visits, their arguments with my parents as they tried to support them to turn things around and I let out a sigh. I really need some sleep.
The three of us take a passed-out child each and carry them into the house.
We’ve only stayed here a couple of times in the past, but it’s enough for us to already have allocated rooms.
“Cooper can stay with me,” I say as Auntie Trish and Uncle Evan lower both Austin and Sofia onto the twin beds in the room they’ve shared in the past.
“Are you sure? I don’t mind taking him to give you a break.”
“If he wakes, he’s going to want someone familiar.”
“You’re right. I’ll get the travel crib from the closet.”
I sit on the edge of the bed and she’s back in a flash and setting up Cooper’s temporary bed.
“Come and have a drink with us before you hit the hay,” Auntie Trish suggests after we stand staring at a sleeping Cooper for a few minutes. Uncle Evan has already unloaded the car and the suitcase of clothes I packed for myself sits on the bed.
“Uh... sure.”
After pulling the door too, I follow Auntie Trish down to their kitchen.
“What do you want? We’ve got most things.”
“A soda would be great.”
She nods and pulls one from the refrigerator.
She pours herself a small glass of wine and together we go and join Uncle Evan in the living room.
I curl myself into the corner of the sectional and sip at my soda as the tension begins to weigh me down.
“I’m sorry, Poppy. I don’t know what to say to make any of this better,” Auntie Trish says with a wince.
“You can’t. Let’s just call a spade a spade. This is all shit.”
After her initial shock has passed, both her and Uncle Evan bark out a laugh.
“That, my dear, is the truest thing I’ve ever heard,” Auntie Trish says. “Everything is going to be okay, though. After a good night’s sleep, we’ll get our heads together and make a plan.”
“Sounds good,” I lie. Nothing about this sounds good but it’s the hand I’ve been dealt so I just need to deal.
After finishing my soda, I excuse myself to bed. I strip out of my clothes and pull on a tank and some sleep shorts and crawl into the bed.
Hugging my knees to my chest, I allow myself to break once more in private.
24
Zayn
I sit outside school where I agreed to meet Poppy after school for almost an hour before I finally accept that she’s not coming.
I call her, message her, but I get nothing back and none of my messages even get read.