《Sacrifice (Give and Take Part 3)》 chapter 1 ¡°Aber.¡± ¡°Abigala.¡± ¡°Oh, hell no.¡± Ava steps in front of me, and Abigala blinks. ¡°You¡¯re-¡± ¡°We¡¯re not doing this here,¡± says Ava, shaking her head. And then she takes my hand, and Abigala says incredulously, ¡°Let go of him.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not fucking happening,¡± says Ava with a snort. ¡°Go inside, go go go.¡± Abigala¡¯s mouth is open and she¡¯s just staring at Ava, but my wife is fixing her with one of her infamous Ava glares. After a moment she turns on her heel and goes into the house, and I hear Nua take a deep breath next to me, and then we follow. ¡°Where¡¯s my mother?¡± asks Ava once we¡¯re inside. ¡°She¡¯s the one we came to talk to, not you.¡± ¡°Aber,¡± says Abigala, looking at my hand in Ava¡¯s, ignoring the other set of twins. ¡°Aber, I¡¯ve missed you-¡± She reaches out for me, but I pull my hands away, from both her and from Ava. I¡¯m overwhelmed, suddenly, I knew that Abigala was living here, but now that I see her, for the first time in months, god, it must be almost a year by now, but she¡¯s standing in my mother-in-law¡¯s living room, and I take a step away from both of them. ¡°Abigala, what¡­the hell?¡± Her face falls, and she glances at Ava for a split second. But my wife doesn¡¯t miss it. She sweeps her hair out of her eyes. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, let me leave you two alone for a moment to talk, if you don¡¯t want me here?¡± ¡°Ava,¡± I say again, and then another voice says, ¡°That would actually be ideal, yes.¡± ¡°What is with this family and dramatic entrances?¡± mutters Nua under his breath as Miss Lilly steps into the room. She smiles at her daughter, who automatically steps in front of her son. ¡°Mother.¡± ¡°You¡¯re alive,¡± she says quietly, running her eyes up and down Ava. The tension in the room hangs heavy in the air as she turns her gaze to the other twin. ¡°And so are you. Welcome home, Penrin.¡± ¡°No thanks to you,¡± says Ava for him, and he takes her hand again. Ava glances at him, then at me and Abigala, then says quietly, ¡°Was this your big plan?¡± Her mother tilts her head. ¡°Let me explain.¡± ¡°Okay. Go.¡± ¡°Come with me,¡± says Ava¡¯s mother gently. ¡°I have to show you some things.¡± Chloe barks. I take a deep breath, and Ava looks at me, and then once again reaches out for my hand. ¡°Touching,¡± says Miss Lilly dryly. ¡°Ava, dear, please. Come with me, Penrin, you too. I must explain.¡± ¡°I want to talk to Aber,¡± says Abigala in a small voice. Ava¡¯s mother nods curtly, not looking at her. Ava exhales hard through her nose. ¡°Five minutes.¡± Lilly laughs slightly. ¡°That¡¯s not enough time-¡± ¡°Five,¡± says Ava, louder, ¡°minutes.¡± Her mother runs her eyes up and down her, examining her again, then says, ¡°Oh, Ava, you were always too stubborn for your own good.¡± No one speaks for a moment, and then Lilly says, ¡°Bayan, I was wondering where you went.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± says Ava quietly. Miss Lilly looks at her, a grin pulling on her lips, then says softly, ¡°Five minutes.¡± ¡°Aber?¡± asks Ava, looking at me, and I look at her, then at Abigala. She smiles slightly at me from the other side of the room. I take a deep breath and nod. ¡°Well, then,¡± says Lilly. ¡°Now that you¡¯ve got his permission-¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Let¡¯s not keep anyone waiting any longer,¡± says Ava, dropping my hand and storming from the room. Penny is dragged along behind her, but he follows, and he glances back at us, at Bayan, before his mother slams the door behind her, leaving the rest of us in the room. Abigala is staring at me. Nua nudges me, and I swallow. Abigala smiles at me again. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s find another room. The rest of you stay here.¡± ¡°Abigala,¡± I say quietly, and she wrinkles her nose at me, then jerks her head towards the hallway that Ava and Penny and their evil mother disappeared down. I glance over my shoulder at Nua, who¡¯s sunk down to sit on the couch. Sloan¡¯s next to him, scratching Chloe under the chin, and she shrugs at me. Nua shakes his head. Bayan nods to me. I turn back to Abigala, feeling heat rush through me as Abigala smiles at me. I follow her. Ava and Penny and Miss Lilly are already gone from the hallway when we go out. Abigala goes up the stairs and down the hallways as if she¡¯s walked them a million times before, and leads me into a very familiar room. Once we¡¯re inside she closes the door, then turns to me. ¡°Aber-¡± ¡°What are we doing in here?¡± I ask, and she smiles slightly. ¡°This is my bedroom.¡± ¡°No,¡± I say softly, and she blinks. I furrow my eyebrows. ¡°You¡¯ve been living here?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°This is Ava¡¯s bedroom,¡± I say. Abigala sighs, then moves over to the couch and sits. I watch as she reaches for a bottle on the table. She pours a liquid into a glass, then turns to me and holds it out. ¡°Come here. Sit down.¡± I do. She gives me the glass and pours herself one, then takes a sip. I don¡¯t. The room is the same, except for the fact that Abigala is sitting on the couch. ¡°Let me explain.¡± ¡°Explain what? The four husbands? Or the fact that you¡¯re working with my wife¡¯s mother to¡­to do what, exactly?¡± Abigala touches my hand. She¡¯s familiar, she¡¯s warm, she¡¯s Abigala. ¡°Aber.¡± ¡°Abi,¡± I say, placing the glass down. ¡°Start from the beginning. How did this happen? How did all of this happen in, what, the past few months?¡± Abigala smiles again, although it looks slightly pitying, as if I am a child. ¡°Aber, this has been going on for much longer than the past few months.¡± The air is hard to breathe, suddenly, but it¡¯s not from smoke, there is no smoke in here, because Ava has not smoked in months and she has not lived here for even longer and Abigala has been living here, apparently, Abigala has been living with Miss Lilly and sleeping in Ava¡¯s bed. ¡°Do you know what our parents did?¡± she asks suddenly, standing up. She goes around the table, then walks back and forth in front of it. ¡°They harbored boys, Aber.¡± ¡°Boys that ran away, boys that had to run away,¡± I say quietly. ¡°Underaged boys, who were stolen or sent away and forced into-¡± ¡°Aberworth, please,¡± interrupts Abigala. ¡°They harbored boys, boys who ran from their wives, their legal spouses-¡± ¡°Legality has nothing to do with this,¡± I say, anger flaring up, and Abigala shoots back, ¡°Neither does love.¡± I wince. The words are too familiar in this room. Abigala runs her hands through her hair, then exhales. ¡°Aber, there¡¯s a reason why all of this is happening. Why so many young boys have wives.¡± ¡°Population,¡± I say, ¡°we¡¯re all dying out, there are less and less girl babies and all males can¡¯t have children after they¡¯re twenty-five, that¡¯s why twins is such a big deal. I know, Abigala, I remember.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± She paces a few more steps, then looks at me, her eyes wide. ¡°There has to be a better way.¡± ¡°Than forcing marriages?¡± I ask incredulously. ¡°I¡¯d say so.¡± ¡°Than the way things are going now. So many boys, deserting their wives like that, we¡¯ve seen it first-hand. There has to be a better way.¡± ¡°Abi, did you ever think about why they had to leave? Or were you and Lilly just worried about getting them back? Even if they were getting hurt?¡± ¡°Aber,¡± she says softly, she stops, she looks at me. ¡°I didn¡¯t want you to get hurt.¡± I scoff. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± she insists, looking at me. She downs the rest of her drink and slams the glass on the table. ¡°I begged her to make sure you were safe.¡± ¡°How could I be safe living in the same house as her?¡± I ask quietly. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d be in the same house,¡± says Abigala. ¡°I didn¡¯t know she¡¯d make you marry her daughter. All she told me was that she¡¯d keep you safe.¡± ¡°And why?¡± I ask, standing up as well. ¡°Why did she promise you that?¡± Abigala blinks. ¡°I-¡± ¡°Why were you talking to her in the first place?¡± I ask quietly. ¡°When did you meet her? How¡­when did this all happen?¡± ¡°I¡¯d met her before,¡± answers Abigala. ¡°She had-¡± ¡°She works in the government,¡± I say over her. ¡°She works to get back boys who had to escape their wives.¡± ¡°Because they ran away, Aber,¡± Abigala says exasperatedly. ¡°You¡¯ve seen the boys at the shelter, Abigala,¡± I say softly. ¡°We grew up with them, they were our friends. You know why they ran away. How did Ava¡¯s mother get her hands on them? What did you do?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± says Abigala desperately, tears starting to stream down her face. ¡°Aber, they were married. They had-¡± ¡°They had shit wives who didn¡¯t care about them, and we gave them a home, a place where they could be safe, be protected for at least a little while, and you helped give all of that up. For what, Abigala? What did you do?¡± She doesn¡¯t answer before the door slams open, and Ava strides in, her mother on her heels. ¡°So she stole my bedroom, too?¡± ¡°Ava,¡± I say exasperatedly, and she puts her hands on her hips. ¡°You happy now, Aber? Was it all worth the little trek into town?¡± I grit my teeth, and she wheels back around on her mother. Penny appears in the doorway, Bayan behind him. ¡°So now that we¡¯re all all caught up, can you explain to me what exactly you¡¯re planning to do?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± I say, taking a step away from my sister. ¡°Wait, I still don¡¯t get it.¡± Ava sighs, turning back to us. ¡°What didn¡¯t you get from what she¡­¡± She trails off, staring at Abigala, then licks her lips before finishing. ¡°What she didn¡¯t tell you.¡± ¡°Will someone?¡± I say frustratedly, and Abigala says quietly, ¡°Please.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me,¡± says Ava, not looking at her. She¡¯s staring at me, and I¡¯m staring back. No one speaks for a moment, and then Ava exhales slowly. ¡°She traded you. So she could take my place.¡± No one protests as she stalks out of the room. Abigala buries her face in her hands, falling onto the couch, and I look at her for a moment, and then follow Ava and her brother out. chapter 2 We reconvene in the dining room. Miss Ava sits at the head of the table, Miss Lilly at the foot; I¡¯m reminded of our family dinners, except instead of Keol at her right hand it¡¯s Penny and Abigala is at her mother¡¯s. I sit between my sister and Nua. Bayan and Sloan stand against the wall despite the fact that there are two empty seats on Penny¡¯s side. Ava rests her elbow on the armrest and rubs her thumb and forefinger together. It¡¯s deathly quiet for a minute, and then Ava presses the tips of her fingers together. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go first.¡± All eyes turn to her as she stands, and she gestures to the empty chairs. ¡°Bayan, Sloan, join us.¡± They glance at each other, and then Sloan slowly takes the seat further away from Penny. Bayan follows, sitting between them. He does not look at Miss Lilly. ¡°Okay,¡± says Ava, pacing behind her chair. ¡°First of all, mother, who¡¯s the boy in the kitchen?¡± I blink. Nua looks just as surprised, and Penny looks over to the kitchen door. But Miss Lilly just raises her eyebrows, and then says, ¡°His name is Taymer. I needed someone to take care of the house, after you left me, Bayan.¡± Bayan does not look at her, even though she looks at him. Ava looks at him too, and after a moment she says, ¡°Second of all, where¡¯s my cat?¡± Lilly blinks. At this Bayan rises from the table and slips out of the room. Ava watches him go, and then moves on. ¡°Alright, then, let¡¯s backtrack. Four years ago, where were we?¡± No one answers. ¡°Aber, how old were you?¡± I blink, glancing at Abigala, who says quietly, ¡°Fifteen.¡± ¡°Nua?¡± ¡°Seventeen,¡± he answers. ¡°Wonderful,¡± says Ava, stopping her pacing only for a split second. ¡°Keol was twenty, and four years ago, Penny, we were sixteen.¡± Penny swallows. ¡°That was when they told me I was sick,¡± continues Ava. ¡°When we were sixteen. My lungs - not these ones, but my lungs - had those little black spots on them. They didn¡¯t know what they were. So we decided - you decided - to pack us all up and move us far away. To here.¡± She raises her eyebrows at her mother and brother, but neither argue. ¡°So for a while,¡± she says, ¡°this table was me¡± -she points to her empty chair- ¡°her¡± -she points to her mother- ¡°and him.¡± She points to Penny. ¡°But wait,¡± she says, as if any of us were protesting. ¡°I should add that when we were, what, six or seven, you bought Bayan. It was that action that catapulted you to the top of your department, to get you right where you wanted to to run the agencies, right? Because you had exposed the corruption of the system, by participating in it. He was only, what, ten years old?¡± ¡°Eleven, Miss Ava,¡± says Bayan softly. I startle slightly, not having noticed him come in again. He¡¯s cradling Shiv the cat in his arms, and then kneels down to let her jump softly to the floor. She slips under the table and then emerges a few seconds later, hopping lightly onto Ava¡¯s chair, and curls up as Bayan sits next to Sloan again. ¡°Right,¡± she agrees. ¡°So anyway, Mother moves us here, to the beach, and you were afraid, weren¡¯t you, that Penrin was going to get sick. Not because you cared about his well-being or anything, but because you were planning on selling him away when he turned eighteen.¡± Ava¡¯s mother doesn¡¯t react to any of this. So Ava keeps going. ¡°So before you started coughing, like I did,¡± she says, looking at Penny, ¡°she traded you away. She gave you to that woman. We were only seventeen. And the table,¡± she adds, looking back to her mother, ¡°was just you and I. ¡°But when we moved, you brought your assistant from work, right, Mother? And she had a lovely young son, only a year and a half older than Penny and me, and we had been friends for years, because they lived with us. But Owen¡¯s mother started to get a little antsy by then, didn¡¯t she? Her son was almost twenty. Wouldn¡¯t now be a good time to give him away? And to whom? So I, having gotten it through my little brain what was going on, volunteered. ¡°Which made you mad, didn¡¯t it?¡± Ava asks, bracing her hands on the table and glaring down the length of it at her mother. ¡°You didn¡¯t want him at our table. You didn¡¯t approve of him, thought he wasn¡¯t good enough for your grandchildren, but I wanted him. I wanted him safe, and you wanted me to listen to you. So you compromised. We agreed, eventually, on one condition. Keol. ¡°Me,¡± she says again, pointing to her chair, ¡°you. Owen,¡± she says, pointing to the seat that Penny¡¯s sitting in, ¡°and Keol.¡± She points to Nua¡¯s chair. ¡°You picked him for me, which I suppose could have ended up a lot worse. But Owen wasn¡¯t happy, because you scared him. First you fired his mother, and then you start to threaten him. So after a while, he kills himself. And we¡¯re left with the three of us.¡± Everyone is quiet for a moment. I see Penny squeeze his eyes shut, and then open them again. ¡°So a couple months after that, you come along,¡± says Ava, turning her attention on Nua. ¡°But you didn¡¯t like me because, well, obvious reasons, and I didn¡¯t like you, either, because you weren¡¯t Owen. So we ignored each other, but Mother was satisfied enough, because by that point, I was with Keol. ¡°But then, years passed. I never got pregnant. My fault, or his? Who knows. Probably you, Mother, but you decided anyway that it was high time for another chair to join the table. And that, Aberworth, is where you and Abigala come in. ¡°But it isn¡¯t really, is it?¡± Ava says, staring now at Abigala. ¡°That¡¯s not it at all. None of this is a coincidence. In fact, Aber, you¡¯ve been a bargaining chip in this game longer than any of us even knew it was being played. Because for years, as part of Mother¡¯s work, she¡¯s been going to shelters. Different houses around the city where people harbor runaways. And on one of these occasions, she chances to meet¡± -she clasps her hands together and points her index fingers down the table- ¡°Abigala.¡± Ava raises her eyebrows in question at her mother, who doesn¡¯t react. ¡°She was perfect, wasn¡¯t she? Young and pretty and so desperate to escape her sorry excuse of a life that she became my mother¡¯s project. Her second daughter, in a way, especially since the first one was so disappointing. And Abigala spilled. Everything. She leapt at everything my mother dangled over her head and gave all kinds of information that someone as diabolical as you, mother, should never have access too. And when was this? How old were you?¡± I glance at Abigala, who¡¯s staring at her fingers. Tears are filling her eyes, and she shakes her head, then whispers, ¡°I dunno. Sixteen.¡± ¡°So I was eighteen. After I married Owen. And unlike me, this girl was so devoted to you, this naive teenager who knew nothing about the real world, which of course made her that much easier to exploit. Mother found out the reason she was so interested in these shelters that they both found themselves at. It was because her parents ran their own. So Mother raided her home. Kidnapped the boys. Every. Last. One of them.¡± She¡¯s staring at me now. I¡¯m staring at Abigala, who refuses to look at me or anyone. Her fingers are twisting on her lap, and I tilt my head back, looking at the ceiling. Ava just keeps going. ¡°But for Abigala, it was perfect. It was the opportunity she had been waiting for. Because now she could get a real job, doing real things, in the government, and she had the perfect mentor for it. You saw her resume, Aber, don¡¯t you remember? She applied to be the ¡®Assistant to the National Agencies Director,¡¯ and she got it, of course.¡± I look at her, and then at Abigala, who doesn¡¯t say anything. Ava leans her hands on her chair. ¡°But that meant more to me when I found it out than it did to you when you first did, Aber,¡± she says quietly, ¡°because you didn¡¯t know who the National Agencies Director was.¡± She gestures to her mother. ¡°Now you do.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. I grit my teeth. Abigala stares pointedly ahead, tears brimming in her eyes, and I can feel anger in my stomach. What right does she have to cry right now? But Ava just leans her elbows on the back of her chair, looking down the table at her mother. ¡°So that¡¯s how it all came together, Aber, and neither of us knew it until we were already married for, like, a month. But there are still a few things. I have two questions for you, mother: What did you do to Keol, and why did I pick Aber?¡± At this point, Lilly laughs. ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°You let me choose,¡± says Ava. ¡°For the first time, you let me choose who I would marry, and somehow anyway I ended up with the man you wanted for me all along. I know you¡¯re manipulative, but I didn¡¯t know you actually had the power to control people¡¯s minds.¡± ¡°Oh, always over-dramatic, aren¡¯t you,¡± sighs her mother. ¡°Ava, dear, sit down. You¡¯re making me nervous, all that pacing.¡± ¡°Just answer me,¡± says Ava, continuing to stand. Lilly sighs again, standing up as well. ¡°Alright, then, if you really want it. But first, answer me. When did you start smoking?¡± Ava blinks, and she laughs. ¡°Please, dear, don¡¯t assume I didn¡¯t notice. In fact, it made everything a lot easier.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°When, Ava, dear?¡± asks Lilly again, and Ava¡¯s nostrils flare. ¡°After Owen died. I was eighteen. He should¡¯ve been twenty.¡± ¡°For two years you just couldn¡¯t kick the habit, could you?¡± says Lilly. ¡°Despite your bad lungs. So I figured I could use it to my advantage.¡± Ava clenches her jaw. ¡°Mother.¡± Her mother grins slightly. ¡°You started taking medicine, didn¡¯t you?¡± she asks. ¡°When you were seventeen, for your lungs. But then you started smoking, and your dear mother started to get worried. So I upped your dosage. Or rather, I added another pill for you to swallow each day. ¡°But then you noticed Keol started coughing, so you decided that the best thing to do was to give him half of your medication. Now, Ava, you needed this new medication, once you were on it. You couldn¡¯t just quit like that. And you just happened to give the new pill to Keol. It all would have been fine, wouldn¡¯t it, if you chanced to choose the keep the new pill every day and give your original meds to him. But no, you took the new little red pills to give to him, and your body started to protest.¡± ¡°You cut me off,¡± Ava whispers. ¡°You stopped getting the new meds when you¡­¡± ¡°Found out Keol was taking them,¡± her mother finishes with a slight grin. ¡°No one had ever quit that medication so abruptly, and it was so new, I didn¡¯t know what would happen. ¡°Turns out, he died. And then you refused to take any of your medication too, after that. You got worse in the lungs, my dear, but that¡¯s not how he died, not why. Your beloved second prominent, he died from withdrawal.¡± Ava lets out a shuddering exhale. ¡°He was twenty-four. He was getting close, and you¡­¡± ¡°He had problems long before he should¡¯ve,¡± says Lilly. ¡°I admit I made a mistake in choosing him, he was unhealthy, he wasn¡¯t fit to be a husband. You could¡¯ve been a mother by now if not for him, and the fact that you never took Nua. I¡¯m surprised you never took Bayan, to be quite honest, he was healthy enough, but now he¡¯s past his time. You could¡¯ve told Keol that Bayan¡¯s children were his.¡± Bayan stares at the table, his jaw clenching, and Ava¡¯s mouth drops open. She glances at him, and then back to her mother, and says, ¡°How could you think that I would-¡± ¡°You knew what you needed to do, Ava,¡± says Lilly, her eyes flashing. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how you got there, as long as you did. But you didn¡¯t even try.¡± Ava looks at her, her breaths starting to come heavy. Her eyes dart around to me, to Bayan, to her brother, and then back to Lilly. She exhales, and then says again quietly, ¡°Why did I pick Aber?¡± Lilly laughs a little. ¡°Ava, you were ditzy. The medication made you stupid. You blamed everything on me, and your only drive in life was to get revenge on me, in any possible way. You tried to save your husband¡¯s life, you care too much about these boys. All I had to do was put an eighteen-year-old among a bunch of fourteen-, fifteen-, sixteen-year-olds, and I knew you¡¯d take him to save the younger ones. Even if he was clean.¡± I swallow. I see Abigala glance at me out of the corner of my eye. ¡°Although,¡± continues her mother, ¡°he¡¯s not exactly as clean now as he was, is he?¡± Abigala looks at me again. I don¡¯t look at her. Ava¡¯s nostrils flare. ¡°So what happened to those other boys?¡± she asks. ¡°Do they all have twin sisters too, out there somewhere, with your ideas of magical fantasy swirling around in their heads, waiting for you to come back with the promise that their brothers are safe?¡± She chuckles. ¡°No, dear. Those were boys from shelters, or orphans, normal ones you¡¯d think of when you think husband. Aber was the only special one there, thanks to his sister and all she promised me.¡± Penny has his eyes squeezed shut again, and he presses his fists pressed against his head. Nua is staring at the other wall across from us. I¡¯m trying not to look at Ava or Abigala or her mother but I can see my sister out of the corner of my eye, biting her thumbnail as she slowly pieces together all the swirling elements of our lives. ¡°You killed Keol,¡± Ava finally whispers quietly. ¡°You killed Owen, you could¡¯ve killed Penny. You wanted everyone I had dead, so all I¡¯d have left was you.¡± The twins¡¯ mother smiles. ¡°No, my dear. I loved you and I wanted you happy. But you killed them. It was your illness that could¡¯ve gotten Penny sick. It was your insistence on marrying Owen that kept him here and your medication that hooked Keol. He didn¡¯t love you for you, you know. He loved you for all that you gave when you let him into your bed in the night and for the pills you slipped him in the morning, and when they stopped coming, he died with the thought of your betrayal on his mind.¡± Ava¡¯s broken. There are tears streaming down her cheeks with her mother¡¯s words, and after a moment of staring at each other, her mother falls back into her chair with a sigh. ¡°Leave, Ava, I¡¯m sick of you for the day.¡± She doesn¡¯t answer. She just presses her lips together, and then turns and runs from the room. Penny, Nua, Sloan, Bayan, Aber, Shiv the cat. All jump up to follow her, leaving Abigala and the twins¡¯ mother sitting alone at the table. We hear her feet on the stairs and Penny follows, and once again I¡¯m being led to Ava¡¯s old bedroom. She almost closes the door in her brother¡¯s face, but he manages to catch it, and pushes inside. ¡°Ava.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my fault, it¡¯s my fault, it¡¯s all my fault,¡± she says breathlessly, tears streaming down her face. She¡¯s running her fingers through her hair, making it more rumpled and messy than it was before, and Penny grabs her arm. ¡°Ava, it¡¯s not-¡± ¡°It¡¯s all my fault, it¡¯s all my fault,¡± she says again, her voice rising. ¡°Penny, I did this, I let her do this, I was the one who gave him the pills, I can¡¯t¡­I could¡¯ve¡­¡± ¡°Ava,¡± says Penny firmly, holding her by the shoulders so she¡¯s looking straight at him. ¡°Stop. It¡¯s not your fault. It¡¯s hers. You know that.¡± Ava takes a shuddering breath, and then slips out of Penny¡¯s grasp to sit right down on the floor, right in the middle of her bedroom. Shiv curls up on her lap and Penny kneels next to her. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Bayan, I wouldn¡¯t¡¯ve hurt you,¡± she murmurs, burying her face in her hands, and he exhales shakily, and nods. ¡°I know, Miss Ava.¡± ¡°Abigala stole my room,¡± she says into her fingers, and Penny looks up at me. I nod. He laughs in slight disbelief. ¡°Alright. All right, fine, you know what, Ava, it¡¯s your room. So here¡¯s what¡¯s going to happen. Bayan and Nua are going to help me change the sheets on your bed while you go take a shower, because I know you love showers and haven¡¯t had a shower in a while, have you?¡± Ava shakes her head slightly. ¡°Come on,¡± says Penny, grasping her wrist and standing up. Ava¡¯s pulled up too, and she wipes her eyes, stares at her brother for a moment, and then goes into the bathroom and closes the door behind her. ¡°Bayan,¡± says Penny tiredly, ¡°can you grab the sheets?¡± He nods, slipping out of the room, and I tilt my head, watching the cat lick her paws. ¡°What am I supposed to do?¡± ¡°You need to go talk to Abigala,¡± he says, glancing at me. I raise my eyebrows. ¡°I literally just did that.¡± ¡°You need a better explanation than all of that,¡± he says. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this¡­this is¡­just go talk to her. I know she wants to talk to you.¡± I exhale, then nod. ¡°Where is she?¡± ¡°Your old room, Master Aber,¡± says Bayan, slipping back into the room with an armful of fabric. Nua takes some from him. ¡°Again, Bayan, not masters.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Lilly,¡± says Penny, throwing back the heavy red comforter of Ava¡¯s bed. ¡°She¡¯s a bitch, but worse, she¡¯s scary.¡± ¡°Hey, were you ever gonna tell us that your full name is Penrin?¡± asks Nua, but when Penny glares at him he looks away to hide his grin. Bayan smiles slightly. ¡°Penrin LeGatte,¡± I repeat. ¡°Ava and Penrin. I kinda like it, to be honest.¡± Nua stifles a laugh and Penny rolls his eyes. ¡°If you want to be Aber, I get to be Penny.¡± I raise my hands in surrender, but Nua can¡¯t keep a straight face, and I hear him laugh as I go into the hallway. I leave the door open, and the door at the other end of the hallway, the door to Nua and my¡¯s old room, is open too. The hallway still smells faintly of smoke, and I run my hands over the windowsills as I pass. The beds are perfectly made, just as Bayan left them, and I turn the lamp on in between them. This is the first time in a long time I¡¯ve been perfectly and truly alone; I think about Haywood, and Alis. I take a deep breath, looking over to where Keol¡¯s room is; the door is shut. The shower starts up in the bathroom, that door is shut too. I wait. chapter 3 It takes a little bit for Abigala to come find me. The shower is still running in the bathroom when she does; I¡¯m sitting on my old bed when she knocks on the door, and I look up. She smiles a bit. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°I slept here,¡± I say softly, putting my hands on the blanket. ¡°Nua slept there, and Keol slept in that little room.¡± She doesn¡¯t answer; just comes to me and sits next to me. ¡°Except for the times that he would go and sleep in her room with her,¡± I say after a moment. ¡°And I slept here, except for the night that I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Did she hurt you, Aber?¡± asks Abigala quietly, and I shake my head. ¡°No. You did. Why did you give me away?¡± I look at her; she doesn¡¯t know what to say, she just shakes her head. Finally she just murmurs, ¡°Aber.¡± ¡°Before I knew her,¡± I say quietly, ¡°before I knew that she was trying to help me¡­I thought about you every day. I thought you were coming to save me. From her. But it was the other way around.¡± ¡°Aber, she didn¡¯t save you.¡± ¡°Yes, she did,¡± I say. I stand up and move to Nua¡¯s bed so we¡¯re looking at each other. ¡°You turned us in. Mom and Dad, all of the boys, just so you could get a fucking job with Miss Lilly?¡± ¡°Aber.¡± ¡°And you had no idea what Ava was like, for all you knew she was just like her mother, and you gave me away to be married to her.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know she would make you marry her daughter,¡± says Abigala desperately, and I shake my head. ¡°You said that before too. What did you think was going to happen?¡± ¡°She¡¯s the director of agencies,¡± says Abigala, leaning forward. ¡°Across the entire country. Mom and Dad never let you know what agencies were, what they were like, but I knew. I visited them, I met people from them, and she came to me. She wanted my help on what she could do to make them better.¡± ¡°You believed her?¡± I say. ¡°You believed her when she said she wanted to fix everything, make it better?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± says Abigala. I can see tears in her eyes, but she blinks them away furiously and takes a deep breath, and then says, ¡°Yes, I did, and I wanted to help. She said that the first way we could make them better was to make sure that all the boys were accounted for. She needed my help.¡± ¡°Lilly LeGatte does not need anyone¡¯s help,¡± I say softly. ¡°Just their information. So she knows what she can take advantage of.¡± ¡°I thought she was going to help you,¡± says Abigala quietly. ¡°I, listen, I knew that the boys were going to go to a shelter, a real one, an agency, like they were supposed to. So they could be counted, and funded, and taken care of. They¡¯re safe, I promise. But I thought, she told me, she was supposed to put you aside, so I could come back to you-¡± ¡°Oh, she put me aside, all right. She had her own special plans for me.¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Abigala does not say anything to that. She just takes a deep breath, and closes her eyes, and I ask softly, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you come see me?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were here,¡± she says softly. ¡°I didn¡¯t know where you were at all, she wouldn¡¯t tell me, about you. I asked. She just said you were safe.¡± ¡°Ava was keeping me safe.¡± ¡°You love your wife, Aber,¡± she says, looking at me again, and I shake my head. ¡°No. You don¡¯t get to say that it all worked out for me, because you had no idea of knowing. I could be dead right now for all you knew. You don¡¯t get to take credit for Ava being good.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± she says, leaning forward. ¡°Aber, I was trying to find Mom and Dad, I was looking for you, I asked about you every day-¡± ¡°So you knew you messed up,¡± I say. ¡°When those women in the black suits took us away, you knew that she had lied to you, that, that she was dangerous.¡± ¡°I, when she took Mom, I, I¡­¡± ¡°So why did you get married?¡± Abigala blinks, and then tears well in her eyes. She reaches out for my hands, but I pull away and stand up. She stands too. ¡°Aber.¡± ¡°No, you know what,¡± I say, pressing my fingers into my eyes. Then I take a deep breath, and wipe my mouth, and turn back to her. ¡°She manipulated you. And you fell for it.¡± She bites her lip. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, really,¡± I say after a moment, ¡°but you fell for it.¡± She doesn¡¯t say anything, and I just take a deep breath in, and then breathe out slowly. Sometime in the past few minutes the water has turned off, and I stand there for a second, in my old bedroom, mine and Nua¡¯s, and finally I just say, ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡± I leave, and she does not stop me. Ava¡¯s already in bed when I get back, new sheets and all. Nua¡¯s sitting next to her, and I sit on his other side, looking over to see Penny and Sloan and Bayan on the couch with the dogs. Ava yawns, and Penny comes over to sit with us. ¡°So?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I say exhaustedly. ¡°Your mother¡­said things.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± says Ava softly. ¡°We need to¡­¡± ¡°We need to fix this,¡± agrees Penny, ¡°but that can wait. She¡¯s not going to hurt us in her own home.¡± ¡°Why not, she has before,¡± murmurs Ava. ¡°I don¡¯t want her to call your wife. Or Sloan¡¯s.¡± Bayan glances over his shoulder at us. Sloan¡¯s fallen asleep, her head in his lap, and Penny shakes his head, smiling slightly. ¡°She would¡¯ve, by now. We¡¯re part of her evil plan now.¡± Ava manages a slight laugh, and Penny brushes her hair back out of her face. ¡°Get some rest, duckling.¡± ¡°Yeah, good night, asshole,¡± she says sleepily, and Nua grins. Penny smiles back, and then stands. He goes to the bathroom, and I watch him go in. He shuts the door behind him, so that the room is dark, and I take a deep breath. Abigala and Ava have never met, until now, and now they are at odds with each other, against each other. For as long as I¡¯ve known her Ava has been at odds with her mother, and now Abigala is on her mother¡¯s side. I still don¡¯t entirely understand how it has all happened, despite Ava¡¯s very long explanation this afternoon. I just can¡¯t wrap my head around Abigala¡¯s explanation. I wonder if she will talk to me again, to me and Ava. I wonder if she will try to explain it all to Ava. Nua shifts a little, his hand nudging mine by accident as his arm lies across Ava¡¯s waist, and I smile a little. Ava looks like she¡¯s asleep already, and Sloan is too, over there, and I suddenly feel exhausted. We climbed up a ladder and walked through a forest and made it all the way back home today, well, not home, but back to the beach house. I found my sister again today, and my mother-in-law. Penny saw his mother for the first time in three years today, and Bayan saw her again for the first time since he stole her daughter and ran away. No one wanted to come back here, but we all had to, for me. For Abigala. We have a lot more to discuss. But that¡¯s for tomorrow. chapter 4 I sleep under Ava¡¯s arm, curled up next to her. Penny and Bayan and Sloan sleep on the couch with the dogs, and Nua and Shiv are both in the bed with me and Ava when I wake up. The sun comes in in shafts through gaps in the curtains, the heavy red curtains that face the beach, the front of the house where the sun is rising. I close my eyes and concentrate, and I can hear Ava breathing slow next to me and some birds chirping, and the waves in the distance, crashing into the shore. I didn¡¯t know until now that I missed it. Sloan is the first awake, and I know because Chloe picks up her head and whines when she shifts on the couch. I can hear her whisper to her, ¡°Shh,¡± and I pull the blanket over my head a little bit. I don¡¯t know what time it is, but it¡¯s only a little while later that Nua rolls over, which wakes up Ava. He takes some of the blanket with him, and Ava groans, pulling it back, which wakes him up for real. Then she peeks under to see me, and says softly, ¡°Good morning.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± I murmur, and she smiles a bit, sitting up. ¡°Are we all awake?¡± ¡°No,¡± grumbles Penny from the couch, and Ava laughs. He groans. ¡°Seriously, though, Bayan¡¯s still asleep.¡± I sit up too, stretching, and look over at them. Penny¡¯s sitting with his head on a pillow by the curve in the couch, Nano sprawled out on top of him, and Bayan¡¯s laying perpendicular to him around the bend, his head on his shoulder, still fast asleep. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen him sleep before. Ava groans, then rolls forward so she falls off the foot of the bed, and catches herself. ¡°I gotta pee.¡± ¡°Congrats,¡± says Penny. Nano is fully on top of him, and he¡¯s using his other hand that Bayan¡¯s head is not on to pet her, slow over her head. For all his efforts to be gentle Bayan opens his eyes as Ava closes the bathroom door, and then sits up with a slight gasp. Nua raises his eyebrows, sitting up too, but Penny just puts his hand on his arm. ¡°It¡¯s fine, you don¡¯t need to make breakfast.¡± Bayan looks down at him, and he grins, squeezing his arm, and goes back to petting Nano. ¡°Since when does your door lock?¡± asks Ava as she comes back in the room, and Nua rolls over, rubbing his eyes. ¡°What?¡± ¡°The door,¡± repeats Ava. ¡°From the bathroom to your room.¡± ¡°It¡¯s never been able to lock,¡± I answer. ¡°It was locked from the bedroom side when I went in.¡± Nua knits his eyebrows together. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Well, yeah,¡± says Ava, crossing her arms, and Bayan stands up, then goes into the bathroom after her. ¡°Since when?¡± I lean back on my elbows. ¡°It¡¯s never been able to lock before, from either side.¡± ¡°At least when you lived there,¡± mutters Ava as Bayan comes out of the bathroom. He doesn¡¯t say anything, which for him is a confirmation. Ava goes to her door, to the hallway, and grasps the handle. It doesn¡¯t move. ¡°The bitch locked us in,¡± says Ava under her breath, and Bayan says quietly, ¡°Miss Ava.¡± She glances at him, takes a deep breath, rattles the handle again, then slams her fist against the door. ¡°Goddammit.¡± ¡°Miss Ava,¡± says Bayan again softly, and she exhales. ¡°Penny.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± says Penny, sitting up. ¡°She locked us in.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he answers. ¡°Remember fourteen?¡± She leans her head back, then closes her eyes and nods. Penny smiles slightly, glancing at Bayan, and he nods. ¡°Come sit down.¡± She sighs, but listens. Penny moves over slightly and Sloan opens her eyes slightly, then closes them again. ¡°That¡¯s annoying.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± says Ava quietly. Nua says, ¡°What¡¯s fourteen?¡± Penny laughs slightly. ¡°When we were fourteen. It was before we lived here. She threw a party and didn¡¯t want us downstairs in the middle of it so she locked us and Bayan upstairs.¡± ¡°That¡¯s gross,¡± says Nua, closing his eyes as well, and Penny asks, ¡°She ever put sleeping pills in your food?¡± ¡°Yup,¡± say me and Nua and Ava at the same time that Bayan nods again. Penny laughs slightly, and his sister picks up a pillow and presses her face into it. ¡°I hate everything.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Nua and I look at each other, but neither of us say anything. Ava groans. ¡°This is not what I had planned.¡± ¡°Well, at least it doesn¡¯t seem as if she¡¯s gonna turn us in,¡± says Penny lazily as Bayan stretches, and then puts his head back on his shoulder. Ava looks at them with a slight smile, but she doesn¡¯t look happy. ¡°Think she¡¯s told your wife?¡± Penny doesn¡¯t answer because Nano whines, putting her head in his lap, and Penny rubs her ears. ¡°I know, girl.¡± ¡°Locking us in here, fine,¡± says Sloan. ¡°At least let the dogs out.¡± Penny smiles a bit, and looks over at where me and Nua are still sitting in the bed. ¡°Still got your cat?¡± ¡°You never liked my cat,¡± says Ava, leaning her head back, and then she stands and comes over. She picks up Shiv, who squirms, and holds her like a baby. ¡°Hey. I have some treats somewhere in here for her,¡± she says, sitting down on the bed. ¡°Aber, go into that drawer next to you.¡± ¡°Do it yourself,¡± mutters Penny from the couch, and Ava scoffs. ¡°There¡¯s cigs in there, too, I¡¯m assuming you don¡¯t want me to be tempted.¡± Penny presses his lips together but doesn¡¯t answer, and I pull out a branded bag of cat treats. Shiv perks her head up, and Ava holds out a snack for her. The cat licks it out of her fingers, then purrs and curls up in Ava¡¯s lap. Nano whines. ¡°I know, girl,¡± says Penny again softly, scratching her head, and Chloe bumps her head into Sloan¡¯s head, then hops up onto the couch next to her. Ava smiles slightly, lying down, and Shiv adjusts herself on her, closing her eyes. Ava runs her hand over her, and I pick a piece of orange fur off my clothes. ¡°So.¡± ¡°Any human food in there?¡± asks Penny, closing his eyes, and Ava snorts, adjusting the cat on her belly. ¡°Nope. What do you all wanna do?¡± ¡°You got your phone?¡± asks Penny, and she shakes her head. ¡°Never got it back after I woke up. She probably has my laptop, too, going through everything on it to see what I was up to. But,¡± she says suddenly, sitting up, and Shiv complains. Ava picks her up and moves her off her belly. ¡°I have a radio.¡± ¡°Who has a radio anymore?¡± mutters Penny, but Ava ignores him, reaching over to the clock on her nightstand. She hits a button, and static comes through. Penny makes a noise, holding his head, but Ava hits another button, and music starts to play. I don¡¯t recognize the song, but it¡¯s slow and sad, and Ava sits back. ¡°Perfect, setting the mood.¡± ¡°This is kind of depressing,¡± says Nua, and Ava laughs. ¡°Not if you dance.¡± And before I can think she grabs my hand and pulls me out of bed, and I¡¯m reminded of the time she and Keol danced on the train as she wraps her arm around me and puts her head on my shoulder. I look over her hair to Nua, who grins, I think he¡¯s remembering the same thing, only that time on the train Ava had a cigarette in her mouth. When that song ends another similar one starts, but not so sad this time, and Penny pulls up Bayan and wraps his arms around his neck too. Bayan leans his head against Penny¡¯s, and closes his eyes, and Nano whines, jealous. So we dance to the radio. Ava eggs Nua into joining her, and so I take Sloan as a partner for a little bit, and then I end up with Nua as Ava takes Bayan¡¯s hand. He¡¯s shorter than her, about the same height as Penny, who sits on the back of the couch with Sloan as Nua grasps my hand. When the song ends Ava goes over and turns the volume down, and then sits on the floor in the middle of the room. ¡°Anyone else hungry?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think about it,¡± answers Penny, going to sit with her, and Ava pulls on his ponytail. ¡°How do you deal with all this hair on your head? Doesn¡¯t it get in the way?¡± I look at her, and remember her sitting by the fire with the scissors in her hair, and I wonder where she usually gets her hair cut, when she¡¯s not doing it herself. Penny pushes her hand away and unwinds the rubber band, shaking his blond hair out around his shoulders. ¡°I like it long.¡± ¡°Mhm,¡± says Ava, rolling her eyes, and Penny grins. ¡°So does Bayan.¡± Nua snorts and Ava scoffs, looking up at him. He does not say anything, but a slight smile curls on his lips. Penny smirks. ¡°See?¡± Bayan just sits down too, and Nua and I join them. Sloan comes with the dogs and Shiv jumps into the middle of the circle too, and once we¡¯re all comfortabely sitting down Ava ruins it by standing up. Penny makes a noise, leaning back until he¡¯s lying down, and says, ¡°Where you going?¡± ¡°I have something,¡± she says, going not to her own bedside table but to the other, the one on the other side of the bed, Keol¡¯s side of the bed. She opens a drawer, shifts through it, closes it, opens another, and then says, ¡°Yes, here.¡± And when she comes back she tosses something at Nua, and he catches it in surprise, and I look at it. It¡¯s a deck of playing cards, and Nua laughs a little, shaking them out of the pack. ¡°What do you want to play?¡± ¡°Oh, we should play hearts,¡± says Penny, sitting up again, ¡°we used to always play hearts, the four of us.¡± ¡°I taught the boys, but they were bad at it,¡± says Ava, and Nua scoffs, tapping the cards into neat piles to start shuffling. ¡°You¡¯re a bad teacher.¡± The four of them, Ava and Penny, Bayan maybe, and Owen, I think. Bayan must have been the one to teach them, when he was older, a teenager, and they were still kids, and he needed to keep them occupied, he taught them how to play hearts. ¡°Can we even play with six people?¡± asks Ava, interrupting my thoughts, she¡¯s been counting around the circle, and Bayan smiles a little. ¡°Take out all the twos.¡± ¡°What do we start with, then?¡± asks Penny, and Ava says, ¡°The three of clubs.¡± Penny shrugs. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Aces are high,¡± Ava reminds Nua as he starts to deal, and he laughs a little. ¡°Alright, yeah, I remember.¡± She smiles a little, making eye contact with me, and I can¡¯t help but smile too. Shiv comes over to me when I pick up my cards, and tries to bite the corner of one, and Ava puts her cards down and reaches over to pick her up. ¡°Alright, you, enough.¡± The cat makes an angry noise, but then she settles down in Ava¡¯s lap, and Ava holds her cards out for her. ¡°What should I play?¡± Shiv closes her eyes and rests her head on her paws, and Ava shrugs. ¡°Alright.¡± She throws the three of clubs in the circle, and then looks to Sloan, who¡¯s sitting on her right. Sloan has the cards in her hand, but she looks up at us, perplexed. ¡°I don¡¯t know this game.¡± And Penny laughs. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go over the rules again. Nua, aces are high.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± says Nua again, he sounds annoyed but he smiles, and I laugh. He knocks me with his elbow. The door is locked and we are hungry and the animals whine, but we sit on the floor, and we play hearts. chapter 5 We watch the sun go down outside the windows from the bed and the couch and the floor where we end up lying for most of the day. The first thing Penny does the next day is go into the bathroom and check the door, and he comes out looking annoyed, so when he goes to the door to the hallway and it doesn¡¯t budge I¡¯m not surprised. He hits it with his fist, waking Ava up, but Nua just rolls over. I pull a pillow over my head and murmur, ¡°I¡¯ve never gone this long without food before.¡± ¡°I have,¡± mutters Ava, and I look out from under the pillow at her. ¡°What, why?¡± ¡°Not on purpose,¡± she says through a yawn, her eyes still closed. ¡°But when I was getting sick, I could hardly breathe before the medicine, and then when I first got on it it was so, I don¡¯t know, aggressive, it made me sick to my stomach every time I looked at a plate.¡± She rubs her eyes, and looks over at me. ¡°Good morning.¡± ¡°Morning,¡± I say softly. My stomach groans. Shiv the cat stands up at the foot of the bed and comes up between us, putting her tail in my face, and I rub my nose. ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t give the first ones to him,¡± she continues after a moment, softly, as she pulls the cat to her chest. She buries her face in the blankets, and I look at her. She closes her eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t want him to get sick like that too, and since I wasn¡¯t on the red ones very long I figured it wouldn¡¯t be so bad to stop them. But then he had to stop them, because she stopped them, and I guess I had my other meds so it wasn¡¯t as bad for me, but for him, they, they just stopped.¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t know, it¡¯s not your fault,¡± I murmur, and she opens her eyes to look at me. Shiv purrs, and Ava smiles slightly as she says, ¡°You¡¯re never supposed to give anyone else your medicine.¡± I smile a bit too, and reach out for Shiv too. She sniffs my fingers, and then allows me to touch her head. ¡°You were trying to help him. He knew that, he knew it wasn¡¯t your fault.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ever gonna stop thinking about it,¡± she says quietly, and I smile slightly, stroking Shiv¡¯s orange head. ¡°About him? You shouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°What are you two murmuring about over there?¡± asks Penny loudly from the couch, and Ava sits up with a sigh, throwing the blankets off her, and off me and Nua by extent. He groans, grabbing for them, and then rolls onto his back. ¡°Ugh.¡± ¡°Well,¡± says Ava. ¡°This sucks.¡± ¡°Is it worse than before?¡± asks Penny, and Ava shrugs. ¡°All I know is that everything was just fine when I could smoke a pack a day.¡± ¡°You literally died,¡± says Nua through a yawn, and she scoffs. ¡°I had it under control.¡± Bayan gets up and goes to the bathroom, and Nano hops up onto the couch in his spot. She puts her head on Penny¡¯s chest, and he grins a bit, stroking her head. ¡°How long is she gonna keep us in here?¡± ¡°How long was it when you were fourteen?¡± asks Nua through another yawn, and Penny shrugs. ¡°Just overnight.¡± Sloan scratches Chloe on the head and doesn¡¯t say anything. Nua makes a noise, rolling over a bit, and his hand falls on Ava¡¯s stomach. It hits the cat, and she startles, jumping up to her feet, and hisses at him. He just pulls the blankets over his head and goes back to sleep. There is really not much else to do. I rest my head on Ava¡¯s chest, and I can see when Bayan comes back out that Penny crawls over to lie his head on his shoulder. I smile a little, reaching up to pet the cat, listening to Ava¡¯s heart beat, Keol¡¯s heart, I can feel a line of stitches under my cheek and Ava runs her fingers over some of the other ones. Her nails are bitten down to the beds and she just stares at the ceiling, at the canopy over her bed, and then she looks down at me. She smiles, and runs her other hand over my head, and I sigh, and close my eyes. We do not have to wait so long today, though. Only a little while after we all wake up there is a rattling at the door, and Ava sits up. Nua groans again, but she slides off the foot of the bed and picks a sweater up off the chair as the door unlocks. Penny sits up too, off of Bayan, and then their mother opens the door, balancing two plates of food along her arm. The room is quiet, and Ava lifts her chin, looking at the food. ¡°Is that for us, or the dogs?¡± Lilly doesn¡¯t say anything, just leans down and places onto the ground the two plates she¡¯s holding in her hand. She smiles slightly as Chloe and Nano lift their heads, then come bounding over to feast. Ava¡¯s cat is winding itself around her legs, and she stares at her mother, her jaw clenching. The twins¡¯ mother just jerks her head over her shoulder and then leaves the doorway. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Penny follows. The rest of us do too, after a moment, and we go down to the dining room, where a full lunch is lain. Abigala is sitting already, next to where I sit, at Lilly¡¯s right hand. The smell makes my stomach clench in hunger. It would be just like her to invite us down and then forbid us from even a bite, but Lilly silently takes her place at the end of the table and gestures for us to sit, too. Ava takes the head of the table again, Penny on her right and Nua on her left. I sit once again between him and my sister and after another moment of hesitation Bayan and Sloan sit down. Lilly doesn¡¯t say anything. She starts to eat. Penny does too, and soon everyone except Ava is shoveling the food down our throats. But Ava just stares at her mother across the table. Lilly looks at her. ¡°Ava, dear, eat something.¡± She snorts, pushing her chair back a little, and then props her feet up on the table next to her plate, crossing her ankles. Nua moves his plate away from her and Penny makes a face but he does not show any sign of slowing down with his food. Lilly sighs. ¡°Ava-¡± ¡°I¡¯m twenty years old, I¡¯m still allowed to rebel,¡± she says flippantly. I look at her, remembering from just a few months but a lifetime ago the same phrase coming out of her mouth but cloaked in a ribbon of smoke. She winks at me, picking up her fork and twiddling with it. ¡°I still have some questions, mother.¡± Her mother swallows, then gestures to her. ¡°All right, then.¡± ¡°Why are we here?¡± she asks, point-blank. ¡°What do you want from us?¡± ¡°Actions have consequences, my dear,¡± says her mother bluntly. ¡°You ran away from me, I took you back. That¡¯s how it works, right, Aberworth?¡± I almost choke on my chewing. Ava¡¯s eyes flash. ¡°What about you, then?¡± ¡°What about me?¡± Lilly asks, and Ava laughs. ¡°What, are we stuck here now? Confined to the dining room and bedroom? What do you have to get out of all of this, or is this just another move in your chess game of a government?¡± ¡°I¡¯m doing my job,¡± says her mother. ¡°And ruining lives while doing it,¡± says Ava, poking the prongs of her fork into the palm of her hand. ¡°You hurt people, Mother. Penny got no cookies for a week after you caught him stealing out of the jar when we were seven. What do you get? Actions,¡± she says, tapping her fork against the table, ¡°have consequences.¡± ¡°I taught you from the time you were young to behave,¡± says Lilly quietly. It¡¯s as if the rest of us aren¡¯t there, not even Abigala, not even Penny. ¡°I didn¡¯t raise a rebel.¡± ¡°And yet, you got one,¡± answers Ava. ¡°Two, actually.¡± Penny grins at their mother, but doesn¡¯t contribute. His sister continues. ¡°And what about my job? How have you explained my absence to them? Especially since, you know, even though I died I didn¡¯t die, they surely must have heard about that. Or are you grooming Abigala to take over that position of my life as well?¡± When neither Abigala nor Lilly answers, Ava snorts, throwing her fork down on the table. ¡°I¡¯m wounded, Mother, I always thought you needed me.¡± ¡°I never needed you,¡± her mother says quietly. ¡°You were a blessing, Ava, that I didn¡¯t ask for.¡± They stare at each other for a moment. The room is deathly quiet, save for Penny¡¯s fork scratching against his plate, and then Lilly says again, ¡°Ava, eat something.¡± She laughs, shakes her head, and takes her feet off the table. Then she stands up. Her mother hits the table in exasperation. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°The pool,¡± says Ava over her shoulder. And no one makes a move to stop her. The rest of the meal is awkward. Ava is what we have in common in this house, and when Penny decides he¡¯s done he stands and leaves the room without a word. Nua follows, and I glance at Abigala, then follow as well. Penny goes into the living room, then onto the porch. I feel the salt of the air hit my face as I step out into the backyard. The ocean waves crash in the distance, but Penny¡¯s moving towards his sister, who¡¯s standing at the edge of the pool, as if about to jump in. ¡°Ava,¡± he says quietly as he reaches her, slipping an arm around her. She leans his head on his shoulder, but doesn¡¯t say anything until I¡¯m close behind her. She looks into the depths of the water, then says quietly, ¡°You should¡¯ve seen the first time he tried a flip.¡± ¡°His back was bright red for days,¡± I agree softly, and she manages a smile. Penny looks over at Nua, who mouths, Keol, at him, and he nods slightly. ¡°Ava-¡± ¡°This is where he did it,¡± she whispers, sliding down to the ground. She lets her feet fall into the water, and Nua sits next to her like he was the first time I was with them all out at the pool. Penny sits next to her too. ¡°Owen?¡± She nods, leaning back on her hands. After a moment she says, ¡°Oh.¡± She stands again and takes Penny¡¯s hand, leading us around the fountain towards the flower garden. ¡°I made this for you.¡± Penny grins, looking out over the garden. ¡°Did you.¡± I look back at the fountain, and Nua follows my eyes. Keol used to lay on the stones with his arm over his eyes, just listening to the water flow. I look up at it, squinting a bit in the light, and Nua slips his hand into mine. And then Ava takes my other hand, and I look at her. Her fingers are trembling and she looks pale, like she used to. ¡°You should eat something.¡± ¡°Way ahead of you,¡± murmurs Penny, looking back towards the house. Bayan is here suddenly, and he puts a tray down on the stone wall of the fountain, with coffee and with Ava¡¯s yogurt and blueberries. She looks at him, raising her eyebrows, and he doesn¡¯t say anything. After a moment she sits, and eats. chapter 6 After lunch Nua and I go up to the library. It¡¯s unlocked again. Last time we were here, when Ava was dead, Miss Lilly had locked the doors before she left and did not open them again the whole few weeks we were alone with her. I wonder if she ever went in herself, to look through Ava¡¯s office, since Ava said she was looking through her laptop too. When Nua and I go up now, it¡¯s open, and he breathes a sigh of relief, and then takes a deep breath when we go inside. He looks up at the bookshelves, and then we go around to our chairs. ¡°There should be a fireplace here,¡± he murmurs, sitting down, and I smile a bit, curling up in the other one. ¡°It seems small, after the one in the city.¡± Nua smiles too. ¡°I spent all my time in here when I first got here. I didn¡¯t even go to the room to sleep at night because I thought she¡¯d come in.¡± ¡°Bayan still found you for breakfast, though,¡± I say, and he laughs. ¡°Yeah. It got obvious, after a while, that she didn¡¯t want any of it. She just, she was with Keol all the time, and she hardly ever talked to me. So I started, you know, sleeping in a bed for the first time in my life.¡± ¡°The first time?¡± I ask in slight surprise, but he doesn¡¯t answer before a noise reaches us from the back of the library. I remember again that Ava¡¯s office is in here, but after a few moments Abigala appears through the bookshelves. She¡¯s talking on the phone, and she doesn¡¯t even notice us, just slips out into the hallway and closes the door behind her. I stare at it, twisting my mouth, and Nua says, ¡°Hey.¡± I look at him. ¡°You okay?¡± ¡°I spent all this time trying to get back to her,¡± I say softly. ¡°And now I don¡¯t even.¡± Nua doesn¡¯t say anything even after I trail off, and I sigh, pressing the heels of my hands into my eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know. She said she was looking for our mom and dad, but she hasn¡¯t told me anything, I don¡¯t know if she even is. I don¡¯t know where they are.¡± ¡°Ava will help,¡± says Nua softly. ¡°Help us, not them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just, everything¡¯s crazy,¡± I murmur, and he half-laughs, half-sighs. ¡°I ran back to my wife¡¯s house. I know.¡± I look at him for a moment, and then he stands, going to the bookshelf near us. I untwist myself a bit to look. ¡°Did you ever read any of those fancy stuffs, the economics books and law ones?¡± ¡°Oh, nah,¡± he says with a laugh. ¡°I tried, at first, thought I might as well learn something, but they almost put me to sleep.¡± ¡°How many books have you read since coming here?¡± I ask, and he shrugs, looking up at the shelves. ¡°A few.¡± ¡°Yeah, a few,¡± I say with a snort. He had a different book almost every week back when we were all here, me and him and Bayan and Ava and Keol. I suppose not all of us, though, Penny wasn¡¯t here. ¡°I never knew Keol couldn¡¯t read,¡± he says, interrupting my thoughts, but it seems he was thinking the same thing as me. I look over at him again. ¡°Did you two get along?¡± ¡°No,¡± says Nua, turning back to me. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that?¡± And I smile a little bit, and he does too, and comes back and sits down again with a sigh. ¡°This house was ice cold, before you came.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything,¡± I murmur, and he shrugs. ¡°Nah, but you were here. You were new and exciting.¡± He grins when he says it, looking at me, and then he laughs, leaning his head back. ¡°God, it was good, though. You made her talk to you, and Keol talk to you, and you had a problem you didn¡¯t want Miss Lilly to know, you made Ava have to show us that she¡¯s not the same as her mother.¡± ¡°Wish we could go back to then, then?¡± I ask, and he smiles again, but it¡¯s not so happy. He thinks a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I wish Keol was still here, to make her smile like that.¡± ¡°The whole time for her,¡± I say softly. ¡°It was either Keol or Penny. She could never have both.¡± ¡°I never had siblings,¡± says Nua quietly. ¡°I never really. This sounds like a bad book, but I never really saw¡­love. But I¡¯ve seen the way she looks at you.¡± I smile a bit. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± he murmurs. ¡°Like how she looked at Keol.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t look at anyone like that anymore.¡± ¡°She looks at you.¡± And I look at him, and suddenly there¡¯s something in the air between us, and finally I say softly, ¡°Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± says Nua with a slight laugh, and there¡¯s a bit less pressure in the air and a bit more, at the same time. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s okay, I just. I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s different. She slept with you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°No,¡± he agrees, looking at the ceiling. ¡°So I guess the fact that she didn¡¯t sleep with me is more telling than if she did.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to sleep with someone to love them,¡± I say softly, and Nua looks at me again. ¡°No. You don¡¯t.¡± And he stands up, cutting through the air between us, and puts his hands on the arms of my chair. He leans forward, and I look up at him, his hair falling in front of his face. It almost reaches me from his head, and his eyes bright blue stare into mine. I nod. He kisses me. Heat rushes into my mouth where he touches me with his and flushes through my cheeks, my face, my neck, my whole body, his hand is on my shoulder and my fingers are tangled in the ends of his hair, and suddenly I can feel him, he¡¯s there, he¡¯s always been there, how did I ever live without him, how have I shared a bed with him for months and never thought to do this before ¡ª but of course I¡¯ve thought to do this before, it¡¯s just taken this long to happen. And then he pulls away, and I open my eyes, and he smiles a bit, leaning back slightly. ¡°Okay?¡± I don¡¯t say anything, I can¡¯t, I just open my mouth, and he smiles a bit again. He lifts his hand to touch my face, and then lets it fall. ¡°We¡¯ve been sharing a bed for eight months, Aber, you can¡¯t hide anything from me.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I smile, and he does too, and then he takes my hand. We go back up to Ava¡¯s bedroom, but she¡¯s not inside. It¡¯s just Penny and Sloan and their dogs, sprawled happily asleep on the lush red carpet, and he looks over at us when we go in. ¡°Where¡¯s Ava?¡± Nua shrugs. ¡°We left her with you.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± he says. ¡°I left her with Bayan.¡± ¡°Then she¡¯s probably with Bayan,¡± I say, and Sloan laughs a bit. I think of when we danced to the radio, she and I took a few turns before Nua and I ended up together again, and I look at him now. He glances at me, his fingers still in mine, and I remember that Ava ended up with Bayan before she turned off the radio. Nua lets go of my hand now, though, and goes to join Penny and Sloan on the couch. Our arrival woke Chloe up, she stands and stretches and then goes over to him to lick at his fingers. Nua grins, petting her, and then Ava appears in the doorway. She comes into the room, and Bayan shuts it behind her. We all look at her, and she looks at Bayan, and he nods. She sighs. ¡°I¡¯m going to work tomorrow.¡± We look at her a bit more, and then I say slowly, ¡°What does going to work mean?¡± ¡°Well,¡± she says with a slight grin, ¡°Your sister kind of took over everything that my mother wanted me to do. Especially once I left. But now I¡¯m back, so. I guess we have to work something out.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re going into your job with her,¡± says Penny, no emotion to his voice, and Ava tilts her head. ¡°Don¡¯t know yet. But I will be going into the city tomorrow.¡± Bayan looks at her with his Bayan look, and she notices. ¡°What?¡± He doesn¡¯t say anything, and she sighs, going over to sit down on the couch as well. Nano puts her head in her lap, and she pets her. ¡°You should all figure out what to do with Sloan once you¡¯re alone in the house.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± says Sloan after a moment. ¡°I¡¯ve gotta get back to Shan sometime, with an update.¡± We stay in Ava¡¯s room until dinnertime, where Taymer brings dishes out to us in the dining room. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen him; he¡¯s young, younger than Bayan, who sits between Penny and Sloan and hardly eats. Miss Lilly thanks Taymer before he goes back into the kitchen, and I wonder if she stole him from an agency too. Afterwards we go back up to Ava¡¯s room, where she¡¯s suddenly got the idea in her head that we should switch beds, or rather that Nua and I should take the couch with her while Sloan and Bayan and Penny take the bed. They haven¡¯t had a real bed to sleep in in years, and Penny tries to argue, saying that it¡¯s her bed, and she answers that it¡¯s her couch, too. They can¡¯t hold out for much longer, and so we switch places. Nua takes a pillow and curls up on one side of the couch, and Ava and I around the curve on the other. Bayan curls up with his head on the pillow too, and Penny takes the middle of the bed, like his sister. Sloan rolls away from them like Nua does as Ava stretches out her legs, her toes touching the armrest at our feet. ¡°You¡¯re so tall,¡± I murmur, my eyes closing. She laughs slightly, rolling to her side so I have more room. I¡¯m lying against the squishy back of the couch on my right side and Ava does the same, her head against my shoulder and her back against my chest. She wraps my arm around her so she won¡¯t fall off and yawns. ¡°Night.¡± Penny makes a noise, but no one else responds. Bayan and Nua and Sloan are all asleep already, and it doesn¡¯t take long for me to drop off too. But in the middle of the night I wake up suddenly. Penny¡¯s snoring on the bed and there¡¯s a light in the room, one that keeps flicking on and off. I slowly open my eyes and see Ava sitting up in the chair next to the couch, opening and flicking and closing and opening her lighter, over and over again. She doesn¡¯t seem to notice that I¡¯m awake, and is just looking around the room at all of us. After a moment she stands up and moves over to the bed. A minute later I see her out of the corner of my eye again. She leans over Nua, brushing her lips gently to his forehead, and then she comes over to me. I close my eyes, but as she brushes my hair back and leans forward I hear her breathe against my temple, ¡°Follow me.¡± I don¡¯t move, but she just backs away, and I hear the door open and then shut quietly. When nothing moves for a few seconds I sit up. She¡¯s gone. I go out of the room myself. The light in the hallway is lit, and I see her turning the corner at the far end. She doesn¡¯t acknowledge me as I follow her down the stairs, but soon I realize she¡¯s approaching her mother¡¯s office, and I stop around the corner. She closes the door behind her, and after a moment I move towards it slightly. ¡°Mother,¡± I hear her say, her voice muffled through the wood. ¡°It¡¯s late, why are you still up?¡± ¡°I was wondering the same thing about you, dear,¡± says Lilly. I hear a chair scraping against the ground and footsteps, and then Ava says softly, ¡°I just have one more question for you.¡± Lilly doesn¡¯t say anything. Ava asks. ¡°How many times did you rape Keol?¡± I feel a shiver run down my spine, and it¡¯s deathly quiet in the room for a few moments before her mother laughs slightly, a lilting sound that chills me to my bones. ¡°Ava, did you ever even tell him that you loved him?¡± Ava doesn¡¯t answer. ¡°Or did you just keep reaffirming your hatred for each other over and over?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t have to say it,¡± says Ava, so softly that I can almost not hear her, and her mother laughs again. ¡°No, you just didn¡¯t want to say it, because you didn¡¯t want to admit it to yourselves. Or to me. Did you really hate me that much, to deny yourselves that?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± answers Ava. ¡°You gave away my brother, your son. You killed our father. You enslaved a child, you took away our best friend, and you hurt the men that I love. Especially him. You hurt him before you killed him too.¡± ¡°I gave Keol to you, Ava,¡± says her mother softly. ¡°But he was never really yours.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t belong to you,¡± says Ava. She sounds like her teeth are clenched. ¡°None of them belong to you. And they don¡¯t belong to me, either. You don¡¯t have the right.¡± ¡°I have every right,¡± says Lilly, her voice low. ¡°You were the one going against me, not the other way around.¡± Silence again, and then I hear another slow and lilting laugh from my mother-in-law. ¡°You loved him so much,¡± she says quietly, ¡°and yet you still wouldn¡¯t listen.¡± Ava doesn¡¯t answer. I take a step away from the door, but after a moment I hear voices again. A paper wrinkles as Lilly says, ¡°You need to go back.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to do anything.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t want your precious boys locked away to starve again, you do,¡± says Lilly, and I hear Ava let out an angry exhale. But then she takes a deep breath in again, and steadies herself, and says softly, her voice breaking,, ¡°Can I please have it?¡± I do not know what she is asking for, but Lilly seems to, because I hear a drawer open. But then she says, ¡°You¡¯ll go?¡± She must nod, because Lilly says, ¡°Good.¡± She kisses her daughter on the forehead, and then goes back to sit behind her desk. ¡°Good night, darling.¡± A moment later, Ava slips out of the room and closes the door softly behind her, then leans her forehead against it. ¡°You¡¯re particularly good at eavesdropping, aren¡¯t you, Aberworth.¡± I smile slightly as she turns to me. ¡°One of my many talents.¡± She grins at the ground, her hand in a pocket, and she takes a step towards me. ¡°Aber.¡± ¡°Ava,¡± I say quietly, reaching my hand out for her. I slip my fingers over her cheek and then slide my hand around her neck and pull her close to me. Our lips meet. After a moment, though, she pulls away. She takes a deep breath, then swallows and pulls her hand out of her pocket. She¡¯s clenching her fist, but when she opens her fingers, there¡¯s a ring sitting in the center of her palm, the same as the one that circles her thumb, and my and Nua¡¯s ring fingers. ¡°Is that¡­¡± ¡°Owen¡¯s,¡± Ava finishes with a slight smile when I trail off, curling her fingers around it again. She looks at me, her eyes sad. ¡°Go back to bed, Aber.¡± ¡°Are you coming?¡± I ask quietly, and she opens her mouth, then touches my hand. ¡°I will.¡± I turn and move back towards her bedroom, but she stays standing in front of the door. She doesn¡¯t follow. I go back alone. The room is still asleep when I slip in, but as I lie down on the couch again Nua shifts and says sleepily, ¡°Where¡¯d you go?¡± ¡°Bathroom,¡± I murmur. He doesn¡¯t answer. I watch the door for the rest of the night until my eyelids droop heavy and I give in to sleep. She doesn¡¯t come back. chapter 7 I¡¯ve slept on a couch in this house before, but I still find it strange to wake up in Ava¡¯s room but not on her bed. I also find it strange that I wake up to a hand shaking my shoulder; it¡¯s Penny, and when I groan and roll over and almost fall off the couch he takes the pillow my head was on and whacks me with it. ¡°Where¡¯d she go?¡± ¡°What?¡± I say, my brain still sleepy, and then I remember what happened last night, and sit up. Nua¡¯s looking at me from the other side of the couch, and Bayan and Sloan are gone, and so is Ava. Penny hits me with the pillow again. ¡°Where¡¯d she go.¡± ¡°Stop it,¡± I say, rubbing my eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡± says Penny, his voice sounding strained, and I look up at him, finally awake. ¡°She, I, she said she was going to work, she told us that.¡± ¡°She wouldn¡¯t leave without waking me up,¡± says Penny. ¡°Unless she was going somewhere bad.¡± I stare at him for a moment, and Nua stares at us, and then he says, ¡°She fell asleep against you last night.¡± ¡°She woke up in the middle of the night,¡± I say softly, and then I stand. ¡°She said she would come back.¡± Nua looks at me. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Aber,¡± says Penny forcefully, and I swallow. He grabs my shoulders. ¡°Did you talk to her before she left?¡± ¡°She said goodbye to all of us,¡± I whisper, tears suddenly starting to fill my eyes. ¡°But she told me to follow her.¡± ¡°Where did you go?¡± asks Penny, loosening his grip slightly, and I shrug. ¡°She talked to her mother. Got Owen¡¯s ring, I think. And then she told me to go back to bed, and she said she¡¯d be back.¡± ¡°Well, she¡¯s not,¡± says Nua quietly, and Penny lets go of me to bury his face in his hands. ¡°She¡¯ll come back,¡± I say, still slightly in shock, and Penny goes back and sits up on her bed with a groan. ¡°When? What can we do without her?¡± There¡¯s a knock at the door, Bayan¡¯s knock, and then he comes back in with Sloan and breakfast. They both lay their trays down on the coffee table, and then Sloan says, ¡°Taymer said she left with Lilly early this morning. They took the car, and it hasn¡¯t come back yet.¡± ¡°How¡¯d they take the car without you?¡± asks Nua to Bayan, and Penny laughs bitterly. ¡°Oh, she can drive, she just likes making him chauffeur her around.¡± ¡°Well, at least your mother¡¯s gone, too,¡± mutters Nua, reaching over for a bowl of blueberries, and I sit back down on the couch, replaying last night¡¯s events in my head. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve kissed her; last night she showed me Owen¡¯s ring and kissed me and then left. And I just let her. She knew I couldn¡¯t stop her, I wouldn¡¯t want to, I wouldn¡¯t think to, because I trust her now. I do trust her now, and I know she¡¯s going to come back. I do trust her. But I don¡¯t trust Miss Lilly. ¡°Where is Taymer?¡± Penny asks after a moment, coming down for some breakfast, and Sloan shrugs. ¡°He was in the kitchen cleaning something up. He used to have your guys¡¯s old room, until we kicked Abigala out of here and she moved there, so now he¡¯s been sleeping in a guest bedroom. He said he was going back to bed.¡± ¡°He deserves that, at least,¡± I say softly, and Bayan smiles a bit, taking a bowl for himself. I wonder how he feels, having a replacement. Sloan flops down on the couch with a sigh, petting Chloe when she comes up to her, and says, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about me.¡± Penny looks at her, and then swallows his bite. ¡°Actually, yeah, let¡¯s talk about you.¡± ¡°Are you going back to Shan?¡± asks Nua, and she exhales, taking a piece of toast off of Bayan¡¯s dish. ¡°I should go, soon, but I don¡¯t know what I should tell them.¡± ¡°Ava¡¯s going to look into places where people can go,¡± says Penny. ¡°Or so she says. I suppose after she comes back from wherever she is. We need to find a place where anyone who¡¯s under eighteen can go, and the people who have needed medical help for years now.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°And the baby,¡± says Bayan softly. Sloan looks at him, and I see something pass between them, through their eyes, that I can¡¯t make out. They¡¯ve been communicating in secret for so long that they can talk without talking, and I don¡¯t know what they¡¯re saying. ¡°The most important thing is that we need places where they can be safe,¡± says Penny softly. ¡°And not just be safe but feel safe. They might not even trust Ava, or me, or you, Sloan, now that we¡¯re here.¡± ¡°But they¡¯ll trust Shan,¡± says Sloan. ¡°And it¡¯ll be slow at first. They have a list of the most important people they think should go back up to the surface, like you said, Penny, the young and the old and the sick. Alicia and the other girls will be able to check up on them and go in between like I can.¡± ¡°The other issue, then,¡± says Nua, ¡°is Miss Lilly.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± says Penny slowly. ¡°We need to get you in and out of the house without her knowing.¡± ¡°Well, she¡¯s not home now,¡± I point out, and Sloan smiles slightly, popping a blueberry in her mouth. ¡°True,¡± she says as she chews, ¡°but how will I get back? How will I know when to come back?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you have cell phones down there,¡± Nua says under his breath, and she laughs and shakes her head. Penny smiles slightly too, but still looks worried. ¡°I suppose we¡¯ll think about it a little more,¡± he says after a moment. ¡°We have time.¡± ¡°How much time?¡± asks Nua. Penny shrugs. ¡°You should go back,¡± says Bayan softly. ¡°As soon as you can.¡± Sloan looks at him, but she does not disagree. Bayan takes a breath, and then says, ¡°It¡¯s¡­they need to know what¡¯s going on. And then once we have more information we can start taking people up, but you should at least let them know where we are.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know where Ava is,¡± mutters Penny. Sloan ignores him. ¡°I can go today.¡± ¡°What about the fence?¡± asks Nua. ¡°It¡¯s off,¡± answers Bayan. ¡°I don¡¯t think Lilly has been checking, but if she does turn it on before you come back up you can just go back to Shan and then try again on Thursday night like before.¡± Sloan nods. ¡°Works for me.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± says Penny, leaning his head back. ¡°Have you guys talked about places to go to?¡± Sloan nods. ¡°Alicia does some scouting for us, her and her sister.¡± ¡°The one with the trains?¡± I ask, and Sloan smiles slightly. ¡°Yes. She has a husband or two, and they work on the tracks. They help Alicia and us find out about places like your parents¡¯ house, Aber, that will take in runaways. But we¡¯re trying to get farther out of the city, too, send them farther away, and that¡¯s what we¡¯ve been looking for lately.¡± Nua exhales, leaning back. ¡°I never knew all of this stuff existed.¡± Sloan smiles again. ¡°People have been trying to find a way out of this since the day it started.¡± ¡°When did it start?¡± I ask suddenly, and Penny looks at me. ¡°A couple generations ago.¡± ¡°Lilly¡¯s mother¡¯s generation,¡± says Bayan softly. ¡°And those a little older than her. They were the first ones to start taking multiple husbands.¡± ¡°Did she?¡± ¡°My grandmother didn¡¯t,¡± answers Penny. ¡°It wasn¡¯t so common yet.¡± ¡°There weren¡¯t so few girls then,¡± says Bayan. ¡°Their birth rate was only starting to fall and the need for multiple husbands wasn¡¯t so great.¡± ¡°And they were still figuring out how to keep the babies in the hospitals as they grew,¡± says Penny. ¡°But by the time my mother was old enough they were pretty good at it.¡± ¡°But she only had your father,¡± says Nua, and he nods. ¡°She got what she needed from him, so.¡± ¡°Twins are getting more common, you know,¡± says Sloan, gesturing to me with her chin. ¡°Especially fraternal twins like you. A lot of women take medicine to¡­be more fertile. Leads to twins and triplets and more.¡± ¡°Did Ava take medicine?¡± Nua asks me, and I shrug. ¡°I only know about her lungs.¡± ¡°Some medicines you can¡¯t take together,¡± says Bayan softly. ¡°For her it was either the lungs or the eggs.¡± And it was the lungs, I know. Briefly I consider that once I would have supposed that Miss Lilly would rather have had grandchildren than a living daughter, but then I shake my head. Lilly does love Ava, in her own way, in her own way, one that destroys everything in its path. There is a lot for us to think about, and a lot for Bayan and Sloan to figure out if she is going to go back to Shan. We do not tell Miss Lilly about it, obviously. She is not even here. We all go down to the kitchen later that evening, and find Taymer, and bustle around to make a late lunch early dinner, and that evening, Bayan goes to check the button for the fence. It is still off, so Sloan leaves us. We do not know when we will see her again. chapter 8 A day passes, and then another. Bayan goes to make us breakfast and dinner with Taymer. Miss Lilly comes home, without Ava, and does not leave her office. Sloan comes back after three days away with Shan; Bayan makes a full meal, finally, for the first time in a while, he and Taymer make it together. The rest of us have dinner around the table without anyone at the head or the foot, and Taymer sits with us, and then he and Bayan clean up afterwards. They talk in the kitchen, about each other, about Miss Lilly, about Ava. But for three and a half days she does not come home. Shiv the cat has decided that I am her new favorite person, and she follows me around. I lie in Ava¡¯s bed on the fourth day that she¡¯s been gone, staring at the canopy, and Shiv sits on my chest. Her tail curls around her and she¡¯s sleeping, her ears twitching occasionally, and suddenly Penny says, ¡°I¡¯m mad at you, Aberworth.¡± I look over at him in surprise. It¡¯s just him and me and Nua in the room; Sloan and Bayan have gone wandering or maybe talking to Taymer again. Apparently he had been sleeping in Nua and my¡¯s old room, until we put Abigala in there, so he¡¯s been slowly moving into a guest bedroom. ¡°Why?¡± I answer after a moment, and Penny just sighs. He¡¯s sitting on the couch with Nua, who¡¯s curled up. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s asleep or not, but he doesn¡¯t say anything. Penny looks at him too, and finally says, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m just pissed.¡± ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s at me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s at somebody,¡± he says, and then Sloan and Bayan come in the room again. They¡¯ve been in the library, evidently, because they bring an armful of books. Nua rolls over and sits up when Bayan places them down on the coffee table, and then grins. No one says anything for a moment, and then Penny stands, stretching. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s definitely at you. I don¡¯t know why, though.¡± Sloan just looks up at us. She had gone back down to Shan and then come back up, and is in the process of working with some of Haywood¡¯s people to find a safe place that Marissa and Nerev can go with baby Julian. She came back late last night, but luckily Bayan has been able to keep the electric fence turned off without Miss Lilly knowing or caring so she could come back through the closest entrance. ¡°Me either,¡± I say after a moment. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault.¡± ¡°What isn¡¯t?¡± asks Penny, as if he doesn¡¯t know, and I sit up with a sigh, picking Shiv off my chest and moving her next to me. ¡°She¡¯s the one who up and left.¡± Shiv complains with a loud mrow, but settles in on the pillow quickly and is quiet. Penny just looks at me, and then looks away. He wanders away a little while later with Bayan, and Nua comes to sit next to me on the bed with a book. I look over at it, and he shows me the cover, and then he puts it down and says, ¡°Where is she?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He looks at me. ¡°Her mother said, ¡®you need to go back.¡¯¡± ¡°Back where?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Should we have stayed in Shan?¡± he asks quietly, and I smile a little, but I don¡¯t feel it, and shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He smiles a little too, and touches my knee. I sigh, leaning my head on my hand. ¡°I miss my dad.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll find them,¡± says Nua softly. I just sigh. I want to go to talk to Abigala again, but she is in the office with Miss Lilly and I am not about to go bother them. There is not much for us to do. Penny and Bayan come back with Sloan and sandwiches and the sun comes in through the back windows. I go over to them, there¡¯s a little ledge that I can sit on and I look down at the fountain. The doors are not locked anymore, I could go down to the fountain for real outside, but I just lean my head back against the wall. Nano and Chloe are playing with a ball on the carpet and Bayan and Penny and Sloan are on the couch, all talking softly, well mostly Penny and Sloan, they¡¯re probably talking about Shan. And Nua is reading, like he always is. And then as I am looking around at them the door opens, and with a sigh as she tosses her purse onto a chair Ava announces, ¡°I am so tired.¡± ¡°Ava,¡± say Penny and Nua at the same time; her husband, though, manages to get to her first. Nua wraps her in a hug, and I see her wince, deal with it for a moment, and then wriggle out of his arms. ¡°Oh, Nua, I love you, but I need a moment.¡± ¡°A moment?¡± asks Penny incredulously as she leans against the bed, braced on her hands. ¡°You¡¯ve had four days.¡± ¡°Not to myself,¡± she murmurs, crawling to the middle of her bed. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°What happened to your arm?¡± I ask, and she glances down to the crook of her left elbow, covered in bruises. ¡°Blood. They had to draw it.¡± ¡°Who?¡± asks Sloan, and Ava groans. ¡°I went back to the hospital.¡± ¡°Why?¡± asks Bayan, and Ava smiles at the ceiling. ¡°Oh, Bayan, I know, you worked so hard to get me out, I love you too.¡± ¡°Are you drunk?¡± asks Sloan, and Ava laughs, rubbing her eyes. ¡°Nah, just super medicated.¡± ¡°Ava,¡± says Penny, sitting next to her on the bed. ¡°Why did you go back?¡± ¡°They needed tests,¡± she answers simply. ¡°I¡¯m a medical miracle.¡± We all start talking at once, barraging her with questions, until she holds her hands up above her head and says loudly, ¡°Boys! ¡°And Sloan,¡± she adds after a moment when we all fall silent. Nano hops onto the bed and curls up next to her, and Penny scratches under her chin. Ava takes a deep breath, burying her face in her hands, and then runs her fingers through her hair. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± No one says anything. ¡°I will explain,¡± she continues, rolling onto her side, ¡°after I get some rest.¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t sleep there?¡± asks Nua under his breath as Nano follows Penny over to the couch, and then he sits next to her where the dog was. She snorts, shaking her head. ¡°With all the needles they had in me, hardly. I¡¯ll explain more in the morning.¡± ¡°It is the morning,¡± says Penny, pointing to the window where the sun streams in. His sister pulls the blankets up and over her head. ¡°Next morning, Penrin. Tomorrow morning. God, let me sleep this off, I¡¯m gonna have a wicked headache tomorrow.¡± She looks up at me, and she smiles, and then, just like she says, she sleeps. Once she¡¯s out she¡¯s out. Sloan and Bayan start a card game on the carpet and Penny takes a shower, singing the birdie lullaby so loudly that we can hear him through the door. Chloe and Nano take turns jumping up onto the bed and curling up next to her and then jumping off, and Shiv takes a nice long nap on her stomach. For a while Nua sits by the side of the bed and just stares at her as she sleeps. But through the afternoon and into the night, nothing wakes her. The doors aren¡¯t locked anymore, but still the only time we leave is for dinner. Ava¡¯s mother says nothing about her daughter, but we keep stealing glances at the empty chair at the head of the table, expecting Ava to come in every few minutes, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. But when we go back up to her bedroom she¡¯s still sprawled across the mattress, her arm around Nano, who sleeps next to her. Penny laughs in exasperation, shaking his head at her, and Nua sits next to her, running his hand over the dog. I sit next to her on the other side like usual, and pick up her left hand, the one that¡¯s not on Nano. She¡¯s still wearing her wedding ring, as am I and Nua, and Keol¡¯s is wrapped around her thumb still, but she hasn¡¯t figured out what to do with Owen¡¯s yet. It falls onto the blanket from her loose grasp as I pick up her hand. Nua looks over and raises his eyebrows. I nod. ¡°Owen¡¯s.¡± Penny and Bayan both look over as I gently place the ring on the table next to me, and sigh. ¡°She misses them. Both.¡± Nua inhales deeply, brushing some hair away from her face. She sighs a little in her sleep too, and Nua smiles a bit. ¡°They were the only people who really knew her.¡± Penny clears his throat. Nua laughs slightly. ¡°Well, Keol was the only person still around, then.¡± ¡°I never knew Keol,¡± says Penny thoughtfully. ¡°I never knew Owen,¡± says Nua. ¡°When it was just me and Keol, well, she was angry, and sad, and desperate, and since Keol had been there longer than I had I guess she just attached herself to him.¡± ¡°She said she hated him,¡± I whisper. ¡°She said love had nothing to do with it.¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t,¡± murmured Ava. I jump, and Penny snorts. ¡°Welcome back.¡± She keeps her eyes closed, adjusting herself slightly, and then says softly, ¡°I loved Penny but he went away and I loved Owen but I had to have Keol and I loved Keol but I had to have you and I loved both of you but I had to leave you, to find Penny again. I¡¯ve never had all of you at once and admitting it would make it real.¡± Her voice goes almost completely quiet at the end, and no one says anything for a moment. I feel her hand squeezing mine, and then she says, her voice breaking, ¡°It¡¯s just too much.¡± ¡°It¡¯s never been enough,¡± I murmur. Her fingers rub against mine. ¡°I should be grateful.¡± ¡°For what?¡± says Penny with a snort, and she smiles, but a tear trickles down her cheek. ¡°That I got almost all of you, at least.¡± Nua looks at me, and Penny shakes his head and stands. He does not seem angry, just frustrated, and not at his sister. I watch him for a moment, and then look back down at her. ¡°You¡¯re just missing Keol.¡± And she sighs again, and smiles again, and puts her hand over her heart, and shakes her head. She stays in bed still, but I know she¡¯s awake because her hands stroke over Nano¡¯s head, over and over. I just lie with her, until finally I reach over and touch the bruises in the crook of her elbow. She smiles a little, and whispers, ¡°Seventeen vials of blood.¡± ¡°How many?¡± says Nua in surprise, he¡¯s on the other side of her like usual and Penny and Bayan and Sloan are on the couch, I don¡¯t know if they can hear. Ava laughs a bit. ¡°Seventeen. Total. Over the whole time I was there, though, not at once.¡± ¡°That would kill you, all at once,¡± murmurs Penny over on the couch, I suppose he can hear us. Ava laughs a bit again, and sighs, and shrugs. She rolls over onto her back and stretches her hands up in in the air in front of her. ¡°They just needed to take out the stitches, and make sure it was all healed, and then they wanted to run some tests. Apparently it¡¯s never actually worked before.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± says Penny softly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I left,¡± she says softly. ¡°I won¡¯t, again, not without telling you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± murmurs Penny. I think Bayan is asleep, so he has to be quiet. ¡°You had to go to the hospital.¡± ¡°Are you still mad at me?¡± I ask, looking over at him, and he shrugs. ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± I roll my eyes, and Ava smiles at me. We sleep. chapter 9 She¡¯s still asleep by the time the rest of us are up the next morning, and after a few minutes of lying around Bayan stands, and stretches. Penny stands too, and comes up to the bed and sits down on the end of it. Ava shifts a little, and groans. ¡°Morning,¡± says Penny. ¡°Mm,¡± says Nua. ¡°Ugh,¡± says Ava. ¡°Hey,¡± I say. ¡°You¡¯re up.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± she says, making a noise again, and rolls onto her back. She winces, and Penny stands up, stretching. ¡°Alright. Ready to talk?¡± ¡°No,¡± she grumbles, squeezing her eyes shut. Shiv jumps up next to her and curls in the curve of her waist. ¡°I¡¯m starving.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get breakfast,¡± says Bayan softly, but suddenly I say, ¡°No, I¡¯ll do it.¡± Ava opens one eye, and then closes it. ¡°¡¯Kay.¡± Bayan furrows his eyebrows, though, looking at me, and I say, ¡°I¡¯ll go, I¡¯ll get you something.¡± Bayan does not say anything else. I let the bedroom door close softly behind me, and once I¡¯m alone, finally, for the first time in over a week, I take a deep breath. The hallway still smells like smoke. I stare out the window for a moment, watching the waves crash onto the sand, and then run my fingers along the wall as I go across the hall to my old bedroom. The sheets are rumpled and the lamp is on. Abigala¡¯s been using Nua¡¯s old bed. She¡¯s not in the room, but didn¡¯t bother to pick up after herself, and various books and articles of clothing and papers are strewn around the room, some piled on my bed, some on the nightstand between them. I smile a little; she was like this at home, too. I close the door behind me gently and then go down to the kitchen. She¡¯s there. Ava¡¯s mother isn¡¯t, luckily, but when I go inside Abigala is looking through a cabinet, and pulls out a bowl as she turns to me. ¡°Aber.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± I say quietly. The yogurt is in the fridge; the spoons in a cabinet nearby. Abigala watches me. ¡°What are you making?¡± ¡°Breakfast,¡± I answer. ¡°For Ava.¡± I don¡¯t have to look at her to know her lips tighten. ¡°Right,¡± she says quietly. ¡°And what about you?¡± she asks after a moment, turning to the pantry to pull out a box of cereal. I shrug. ¡°Not hungry.¡± ¡°Aber,¡± she says again, softly, and I look at her. There¡¯s something in her face, in her eyes, and then she comes to me and hugs me. I hug her too. I missed her. I spent all this time trying to get back to her. I squeeze her close to me for a second, and then gently push her away. ¡°Abigala.¡± ¡°Why is this so weird?¡± she asks quietly, and I laugh, turning back to the breakfast I¡¯m creating. ¡°Because we both did things we promised we weren¡¯t going to do.¡± Abigala doesn¡¯t answer, and I say, not looking at her, ¡°Speaking of, where even are your husbands?¡± She makes a noise. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Your husbands,¡± I repeat, busying myself with the blueberries. ¡°Your four husbands that I¡¯ve read about.¡± She sighs, leaning against the counter, and rubs her eyes. ¡°They¡¯re at home.¡± ¡°At home, where¡¯s home? I thought you lived here.¡± ¡°Well, I do,¡± says Abigala. ¡°But, you know, after they got Mom and Dad, and I had to live somewhere for a little while, and then Lilly asked me to move in, to be closer to her-¡± ¡°But not your husbands?¡± I ask. ¡°I mean, you already got what you needed from them, what with the six children and all, so you just left them-¡± The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± asks Abigala, her voice hard, and I turn back to her again. ¡°Abi.¡± She doesn¡¯t answer. ¡°For eighteen years we have been taking care of people who have been hurt like that. Our only example of what it could be, and should be, was Mom and Dad. And then as soon as they were gone, as soon as Lilly got them and you were allowed to, you joined it.¡± Abigala shakes her head. ¡°No.¡± ¡°No?¡± ¡°You¡¯re cynical,¡± she says, looking at me. ¡°We saw the worst of the worst. I always promised you that I wouldn¡¯t do that. That I wouldn¡¯t treat them like that.¡± ¡°And the whole time when you were not treating them like that, did you ever wonder what happened to me?¡± She looks at me, and then runs her fingers through her hair. ¡°Lilly said she was making sure you¡¯re safe.¡± ¡°Abi, I don¡¯t want to believe that you¡¯re stupid enough to trust Lilly LeGatte with that, but the only other option is that you just didn¡¯t care what happened to me.¡± ¡°Of course I cared,¡± she whispers. ¡°How could you be so sure, then, that Lilly was making sure I was okay, if she never let me see you, if she never let you check on me yourself? I could have been halfway across the country right now, she could¡¯ve sent me away like she did to her own son, and you would¡¯ve never known because you took her word for it.¡± ¡°No,¡± says Abigala softly, and then she clears her throat and shakes her head. ¡°No. I was looking into you, and into Mom and Dad.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± I ask. ¡°Where are they?¡± And Abigala looks at me for a moment, and then shakes her head. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that.¡± I scoff. ¡°You outrank me, right? In the government? In the agencies department? You can know, but I can¡¯t, about our own parents.¡± She does not answer this. I go into the cabinet for some cereal. Then I squeeze my eyes shut and tilt my head back and say, ¡°I¡¯m just confused, Abigala, how we all ended up here in this house.¡± ¡°Your wife explained it pretty well,¡± says Abigala softly. ¡°It¡¯s bigger than all of us, it has been, for years. And Lilly¡¯s the mastermind.¡± ¡°Are you saying that to defend her?¡± I ask. ¡°Or yourself?¡± ¡°So I disappointed you by marrying,¡± she says, her tone slightly defensive, and I open my mouth to protest, but she continues. ¡°So how did you disappoint me?¡± I think a moment of how to answer, opening a drawer slowly to get a spoon. Abigala watches, and then reaches over to hand me an orange. ¡°I married too,¡± I say in response, taking it from her. ¡°Well-¡± ¡°And,¡± I continue. She falls silent, looking at me. ¡°I choose her.¡± And I leave her standing in the kitchen, staring after me, but she makes no move to stop me. Penny and Nua are sitting on the floor when I get back, with the deck of cards between them. I just bring the bowl over to Ava and sit down next to her on the bed, and she grins, reaching for it. ¡°Oh, thank you.¡± Bayan comes over too, and Penny joins us. Ava looks around at us, raising her eyebrows as she takes a bit. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Where did you go?¡± asks Penny, and she smiles a little, swallowing. ¡°I told you. Hospital.¡± ¡°Why?¡± he asks. She sighs, and then takes another bite before answering. ¡°They had to take the stitches out. And when I left, before, I wasn¡¯t ready to. But we couldn¡¯t wait any longer.¡± I glance at Bayan. He does not say anything. ¡°She just wanted me to go for a couple days, to see if there was anything else they needed for me. And they took some blood and did some tests and tried out some new medicines.¡± ¡°New medicines?¡± I ask, and she smiles a little. ¡°Since I¡¯m not on the ones for my lungs anymore they can try some other things with me.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± asks Penny, but she just shrugs, and takes another bite. ¡°Honestly, that¡¯s pretty much it. There¡¯s not that much to tell.¡± Nua and I go to get some breakfast too, a little while after that, and then we go to the library. I go back through the bookshelves to her office, and put my hand on the doorknob. It¡¯s unlocked. The lights are off, and I turn them on, and I go to the desk. The last time I was in here the drawers were locked, but they¡¯re not anymore. Most of them are empty, though. The long skinny one is the only one that opens, and there¡¯s only a few pieces of paper inside. They¡¯re not Ava¡¯s; they¡¯re Abigala¡¯s. She must have taken over Ava¡¯s office too. One is a small badge, it looks like an ID, and one is a scrap of paper with scribbles on it that I cannot read. For someone who wants to be a writer Abigala¡¯s handwriting was always worse than even mine. The full-size pieces of paper just have numbers and letters on them, in columns and rows, some sort of data, and I don¡¯t know what it is and what it¡¯s for. These papers must not be very important, if she¡¯s left them here. I sit down in the desk chair and take a deep breath. The last time I was in here Ava told me about Abigala. I wanted to get back to Abigala. I wanted to leave Ava. Now I am here with Ava and Abigala will not tell me where her four husbands are. How times have changed. chapter 10 I wake up next to Nua the next day, but not Ava. No one else is in the room, either, and I roll over, rubbing my eyes against the sun, and try to fall asleep until Nua wakes up. He opens his eyes, sees that I¡¯m up, and murmurs, ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°It¡¯s weird that we¡¯re back, right?¡± I whisper, and he smiles, closing his eyes again. ¡°Are you asking if it¡¯s just you? Because it¡¯s not just you.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I murmur. ¡°Good. I guess.¡± ¡°Abigala looks just like you,¡± he says after a moment, rolling onto his back, and I laugh, shaking my head. ¡°No she doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Not like Penny and Ava,¡± he concedes, sitting up and running his fingers through his hair so it¡¯s more tousled and tangled than ever. ¡°But still.¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡± ¡°You think Bayan will bring us breakfast?¡± he asks, looking down at me, and I scoff. ¡°I hope not.¡± He does. He is back up to Ava¡¯s bedroom with a tray laden with plates of toast and eggs a few minutes later, and Nua rolls his eyes at me and then goes into the bathroom. I go to sit on the couch with Bayan, and we¡¯re quiet for a little bit, eating, even when Nua comes to join us. He takes a slice of toast and sits cross-legged on the ground by the table and asks, ¡°How¡¯s Taymer?¡± ¡°Good,¡± says Bayan softly. I raise my eyebrows at Nua but he just shrugs, taking another bite, and then there¡¯s a knock at the bedroom door. Abigala pops in. ¡°Aber. Hey, Aber.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± I say with a slight smile, turning to her. She grins too. ¡°Do you wanna go for a walk?¡± I blink, and then shrug. ¡°Sure.¡± So we go for a walk. She takes me down the stairs, and out the back door, and right into the flower garden. The last time I was in the flower garden was when Ava asked me and Nua to find Penny. I remember looking out the back window at it, every day, when Nua and I were alone in the house. Ava was alive then, but we didn¡¯t know it, and then she was gone, and then we found her again. I stand there for a second, looking at the flowers, and then Abigala puts her hand on my shoulder. I turn to her, and my heart sinks. ¡°Did you just take me out here to talk to her?¡± I say, and Abigala shrugs, shaking her head. Miss Lilly comes up to us. ¡°Aberworth. Abigala. It¡¯s good to see you two together again.¡± ¡°Why¡¯d you separate us in the first place, then?¡± I mutter, and she hears. She smiles slightly, and changes the subject. ¡°Do you have enough space up there, Aberworth, all of you squeezed into Ava¡¯s room?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not really squeezing, it¡¯s a pretty big room.¡± ¡°And you¡¯ve spread out to your old bedroom too,¡± she says, ignoring the cynicism in my voice. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± She turns, and jerks her head for us to follow. ¡°I heard you two had a bit of a spat yesterday, over the choices you both have made in the past few months.¡± I glare at Abigala; she shrugs and shakes her head again. ¡°You¡¯re both young,¡± continues Lilly. I don¡¯t know where we¡¯re going, we¡¯re just wandering past the fountain towards the pool. ¡°You both had to make a lot of decisions, big decisions, very quickly. And it can be easy to fall into doubt, or regrets.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t regret anything,¡± I say. Lilly looks back at me, her lips curving into a slight smile. ¡°Really? Nothing?¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. She wants me to blush. I will myself not to. ¡°What about you, Abigala?¡± she asks after a moment, looking at my sister, and my sister looks at me. Then she shakes her head. ¡°No.¡± I shake my head too, and look away. ¡°Good,¡± says Lilly with another grin. ¡°You¡¯re both very smart young people. But as you get older you might think back on some things, and wonder if you could have done different, or more. Like sometimes, myself, I wonder what else I could have done for my husband, when he was ill.¡± You could have not poisoned him. I bite my tongue. ¡°I just don¡¯t want you two,¡± says Lilly, ¡°to have any regrets. In the future.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± I ask. Lilly looks at me, and shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Aber. Like what?¡± I don¡¯t answer. Abigala looks at me, and then at my mother-in-law. ¡°Everything is complicated, Aber. Even what Mom and Dad were doing.¡± ¡°No,¡± I say. ¡°It wasn¡¯t complicated. They were taking care of people. People who needed protection from you.¡± Lilly smiles sightly when I look at her, and sighs and shakes her head. ¡°Aber, please. This is about the future. The greater good.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not,¡± I say. ¡°You¡¯re trying to make it sound noble and grand, like you¡¯re the good guys in one of Nua¡¯s books. You¡¯re not. You were stealing children from their families and marrying them off, and then tracking them down when they ran away.¡± ¡°No, Aber,¡± says Abigala frustratedly. ¡°I told you. We saw the worst of it. But it wasn¡¯t like that, most of it wasn¡¯t like that. There are things we need to fix, like what happened to our boys. We know that that¡¯s a problem. But most of it isn¡¯t like that.¡± ¡°And you came here to fix ithe parts that are?¡± I say. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How is marrying four boys fixing it?¡± Abigala flares her nostrils, she does that when she¡¯s mad, she has never done it at me before. ¡°Aber.¡± ¡°No, because it seems to me,¡± I say over her, ¡°like you¡¯re trying to convince me of something, and I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re trying to convince me of.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not,¡± says Abigala softly. ¡°We just want you to understand.¡± ¡°I do understand,¡± I say. ¡°I know why you did what you did, Abigala, and it was wrong, and you shouldn¡¯t have done it. You have to see it from my perspective. You betrayed everyone we promised to take care of in that house, including me. Including Mom and Dad.¡± Abigala bites her lip, glancing at Miss Lilly, and I make a noise in frustration. ¡°No, Abi, don¡¯t look at her, look at me.¡± And she does. Miss Lilly¡¯s eyes narrow slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t speak to your sister that way.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t speak to me that way,¡± I answer, and she looks at me. Once that look would have frightened me, but now I am just angry. ¡°God, I don¡¯t know why we came back.¡± ¡°You came back for me,¡± says Abigala quietly, and I shrug. ¡°Yeah. We thought you might be in danger. Turns out you¡¯re better than you¡¯ve ever been.¡± She just stares at me, hurt in her eyes, but I can¡¯t stomach it, not right now. She cannot make me feel bad about this, no, nothing she or Lilly does right now can make me any less angry, or any less right. ¡°You¡¯re treading in dangerous waters here,¡± says Lilly finally, her voice low. ¡°I told you that, months ago, before your little escapade, although back then I was debating more what to do with the other one.¡± ¡°I think Ava needs Nua more than she needs me,¡± I say softly. ¡°And I think she needs Penny more than you need her. So if there is a decision to be made, don¡¯t be so sure you¡¯d win.¡± ¡°No,¡± says Lilly. ¡°I don¡¯t need her. I don¡¯t need my son, either. I just need the two of you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Lilly laughs. It echoes off of I don¡¯t know what, maybe it just reverberates in my mind. ¡°I won¡¯t ruin the fun.¡± She leaves us. I hear her heels clicking away on the deck of the pool before she steps into the grass, and after a moment Abigala says hesitantly, ¡°Aber.¡± I shake my head. I take a deep breath of fresh non-smoky air, and I go back inside. chapter 11 I just need the two of you. She needs Abigala, I know. She needs Abigala to be her new Ava, her new success story and model and inspiration. But why does she need me? Sloan leaves us again. She goes back to Shan on a secret mission. Bayan knows what it is, but none of the rest of us do, and he won¡¯t tell us anything. Lilly keeps going back into the city, every few days, and sometimes she does not come home for dinner. Those are the nicest days, because Taymer can sit with us, but Abigala does not. She does her things for Lilly in Ava¡¯s old office in the library and sometimes she goes into the city, too. When she goes in, and whenever Lilly goes in, Bayan drives them, so Taymer makes dinner for us. He¡¯s only fifteen or sixteen years old, he looks like, he¡¯s probably never cooked a day in his life before now, but there are a few recipe books in the cupboards and Lilly orders ingredients to arrive every few days and he does a good job. I wonder if he will ever cook again, after this. He sits with us, too, at the table, Ava insists that he comes out to sit with us. I think he has gathered by now that Ava is not the same as her mother. It took me a little while to realize that Ava was not the same as her mother. I wonder, sometimes, when Bayan realized it. I wonder when Ava realized it. She must have grown up idolizing her mother, trusting and believing in her, because how could you not trust and believe your own mother? I did. I miss my mom. Ava knows it, and she is looking for her, which is what makes her different than Lilly. Lilly took her away. Ava will bring her home. But for now there is not much that Ava can do. She has her laptop and she has been reconnecting with people from her job, the job she ran away from, she does not know if she still even has a job at the moment, and that job wasn¡¯t related to the agencies anyway. But there are people in her department and even in Lilly¡¯s department who she trusts, and who she has been talking to recently. And she is talking to Sloan, to Alicia, and to Alicia¡¯s sister who is up here, somewhere else in the city, I¡¯ve heard her on the phone with someone she called Bellie and when I asked her who it was she said it was Alicia¡¯s sister, but when I asked her what they were talking about she just said, ¡°Oh, nothing.¡± Sometimes Lilly goes into the city, with Bayan, but without Abigala. Those days are awkward because I don¡¯t think Abigala knows what to do. She wants to help Lilly and she wants to see me, but she does not know how she can do both. So one day, when she is not helping Lilly, when Lilly has left her at home, she comes to find me, again, and she says, ¡°Have you been in my office?¡± ¡°Sometimes,¡± I answer, tilting my head to look at her. I¡¯m in the second floor living room, down the hall from the library, clicking through the channels on the TV without really watching anything. Sloan has gone down to Shan again, she says she¡¯ll be back tomorrow, and Penny and Ava and Nua are down by the pool. ¡°It¡¯s Ava¡¯s office, though.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± mutters Abigala, leaning on her elbows on the back of the couch next to me. ¡°What are you watching?¡± ¡°Dunno,¡± I say with a yawn. ¡°I haven¡¯t decided yet.¡± ¡°Remember that show we used to watch with Mom and Dad?¡± she asks, hopping over the back of the couch so she plops down next to me. She takes the remote and clicks something, and I smile a little, looking at her. ¡°Which one?¡± ¡°The one we watched at nights,¡± she says, ¡°the first grown-up show we watched.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± I say with a smile. ¡°It wasn¡¯t even a grown-up show.¡± ¡°Yeah, but we thought it was,¡± says Abigala with a grin, ¡°because it was on at nine pm and Mom and Dad liked it.¡± I laugh. The last time I was in this room we were watching a soap opera. But now Abigala has found the show we used to watch at home, it¡¯s called Game On and it¡¯s a sitcom and I haven¡¯t seen in years, I don¡¯t know why Abigala remembers it now, but she looks at me once it¡¯s going, and I look at her too. ¡°We¡¯d have chocolate popcorn.¡± ¡°Oh, god,¡± says Abigala with a laugh. ¡°That stuff was so bad.¡± ¡°What? It was amazing.¡± ¡°You thought so,¡± she says, rolling her eyes, and I say, ¡°Ava¡¯s just into, like, dramas. She likes the one about the Spanish royal family or whatever.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, that one is super popular,¡± says Abigala. ¡°I¡¯ve never watched it, but the actors are turning into, like, huge breakout stars now and they¡¯re in everything.¡± ¡°New movies and stuff?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess,¡± says Abigala. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen anything lately, I haven¡¯t watched a lot of TV or anything.¡± ¡°Yeah, me either,¡± I murmur, as the theme song starts to go on the TV. ¡°We should, though, we always used to watch stuff together.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± says Abigala with a sigh. ¡°Remember that reality show?¡± ¡°Oh, the, like, survival strategy game,¡± I say with a grin. ¡°Mom was obsessed with that.¡± ¡°Dad thinks Mom was obsessed with it only because of that one season with that one candidate that she thought was handsome,¡± says Abigala, and I laugh. ¡°Oh, yeah, he was always teasing her about that.¡± Abigala smiles too, looking over at me, and I say, ¡°Have you talked to them?¡± ¡°No,¡± she answers after a moment. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen them at all.¡± ¡°Did you help them get arrested?¡± ¡°No,¡± says Abigala quietly, her eyes suddenly shining soft with tears. ¡°Did you, like, tell Lilly where we lived?¡± ¡°No, Aber,¡± says Abigala, and I look at her. She sniffles. ¡°I didn¡¯t want, I didn¡¯t know¡­¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I say softly. ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± ¡°But they¡¯re safe, Aber,¡± she says softly. ¡°I know they are, she¡¯s told me, and I know you don¡¯t trust her, and look, I¡¯ve talked to her, these past few weeks, since you¡¯ve come back, and she¡¯s going to explain it to us.¡± ¡°Like you tried to explain the other day in the garden?¡± I ask, and she smiles a little, and shakes her head. ¡°I think we need to all sit down and talk.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that all we¡¯ve been doing since we came back?¡± I say, and she shakes her head. ¡°No, Aber, all of us. You and me and Lilly, and Mom and Dad.¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. I raise my eyebrows. ¡°You think she¡¯s gonna do that?¡± And Abigala nods. She sniffles a little, and she nods again. ¡°Yeah. Yeah, I do. Lilly has been¡­so steadfast, for years, for decades. She¡¯s never seen what it¡¯s been like for us, for Mom and Dad before. I think she has to, and then it can come together, we can, I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll all work together, but we can, we can at least start talking about it.¡± ¡°You wanna bridge the gap?¡± I ask, and Abigala smiles a little. ¡°I¡¯m on your side, Aber. I¡¯m on Mom and Dad¡¯s side.¡± ¡°But you were saying all those things, Abi,¡± I say softly, as a commercial starts to go in the background. ¡°You were saying that what Mom and Dad did was illegal, and that the boys ran away¡­¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t get to finish,¡± says Abigala, there¡¯s a hint of frustration in her voice but it¡¯s not at me. ¡°I was trying to explain to you. Lilly goes after people like Mom and Dad because they¡¯re breaking the law. But we know they¡¯re doing something good, even if it is against the law. So how can you reconcile that, legally and morally. I was trying to help Lilly see that, but when we first started talking, I couldn¡¯t, I couldn¡¯t just come out and say that my parents were running an illegal shelter.¡± ¡°No,¡± I say with a slight smile. ¡°I guess not.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I had to keep going back, and seeing her again, and listening to her. Seeing her part of it and then showing her mine, as much as I could¡¯ve. And she wanted me to come work for her so we could keep working on it.¡± ¡°Abi,¡± I murmur, and she scoffs. ¡°I know you don¡¯t believe me, you don¡¯t think she would ever come to anyone let alone me for help or advice or anything, but I swear. I was trying, at least. I was trying.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I say softly. ¡°No, I know, Abi, I get it, I get that part.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± she asks, she looks relieved, and I sigh. ¡°I¡¯m. Yeah. I¡¯m trying to.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want you to be mad at me, Aber,¡± she says softly, and I shake my head. ¡°I¡¯m not. I¡¯m just¡­trying to figure it out.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± mutters Abigala, leaning her head back. ¡°Yeah, I know. Me, too.¡± ¡°Hey, there you are,¡± says Ava from the doorway, and then she jumps over the back of the couch, too, to land sitting on my other side. I laugh a little, scooting over to make room, and she kicks her feet up on the coffee table. ¡°Whatcha watching?¡± Penny and Nua come in, too, flopping down on the chairs around us, Penny is still in his bathing suit but it doesn¡¯t look wet, they must have gotten out a little while ago. It must be warm outside, for the sun to dry them off so quick. Abigala answers. ¡°Game On.¡± ¡°Oh, we used to watch that,¡± says Penny, sitting sideways in the chair so he can see the TV. ¡°I think it was the first thing we watched in this room here, on the big screen.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± says Ava with a yawn, leaning her head on my shoulder. Abigala just smiles. It is late, by the time Miss Lilly gets back with Bayan, but we¡¯re all still in the living room watching the TV. We¡¯ve binged about an entire season by that point, and Lilly only finds us because she comes up to go into her office. She sees us all on the couches and chairs in there, and calls for Abigala to go with her. She makes a face at me, but does. Bayan comes to sit down in her spot on the couch, and Ava looks over at him, and then up at me as she puts her head back down on my shoulder. ¡°Did you talk to her?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± ¡°¡¯Bout what?¡± asks Penny, also with a yawn, and he makes me yawn too as I answer. ¡°Oh, you know, she¡¯s saying she did everything for the greater good and she¡¯s trying to sway your mother.¡± ¡°Mhm,¡± says Ava, closing her eyes, and I look over at Nua, but he¡¯s curled up watching the show. I catch Bayan¡¯s eye, though, and he just smiles a little, and he does not say anything. The next night Bayan helps Taymer make dinner. It¡¯s a roast or something and there are potatoes and a salad and it¡¯s really good, and I wonder again if Taymer likes cooking. If I got kidnapped and was forced to cook I would never cook again, after. I hope there is an after for Taymer. Sloan is due to back tonight, so we wait in the downstairs living room for her. There¡¯s a TV in here, too, but we don¡¯t turn it on. Nua has a book and Bayan has Penny to lie on and Ava has her phone, although when I try to look at it she doesn¡¯t let me see what she is doing. So I just tilt my head back and look at the ceiling until Bayan stands, he¡¯s been keeping an eye on the time and it¡¯s time to let Sloan back in. It¡¯s late when it¡¯s finally time, it¡¯s definitely past nine o¡¯clock, and it is dark outside. Ava looks up, too, when Bayan stands, and then she follows him. They go into the foyer, Bayan must always check the button to make sure the fence isn¡¯t on, and then they come back around to look at the sliding glass doors. I guess Sloan is coming in from the backyard again. Ava says something softly to Bayan, and he just responds with a nod, and then he opens the back door. Sloan comes in after a moment, she is breathing heavy and she says hi to Ava, and then she passes a bundle of something to Bayan from her arms so she can reach down and take her shoes off. Ava puts her hand on her shoulder, and then says, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Bayan does not answer. He just adjusts the bundle carefully in his arms, and Sloan looks up but does not answer either, and Penny on the far side of the room sits up. ¡°What¡¯d you bring back?¡± And then a baby cries, and Ava gasps. I sit up, looking over, and Nua does too, slowly closing his book. ¡°Is that¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s Julian,¡± whispers Ava, taking the baby from Bayan. He lets her. She holds the bundle of blanket close to her, and then she looks up at Bayan and Sloan, her eyes wide. ¡°Why did you bring, why do you have Marissa¡¯s baby?¡± ¡°Nerev asked me to take him,¡± says Sloan, straightening up. She looks at Julian, but does not attempt to take him back, and Ava bounces him in her arms so he¡¯ll quiet. He sobs a little still, but she moves him so his head is laying on her shoulder, and I see one of his little hands come out of the blanket to reach for her neck. I stand up, and Penny goes over to her too. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He needs to grow,¡± answers Bayan softly after a moment. And then he reaches out for the baby, Ava pulls away, but Bayan reaches for him. He takes Julian gently from her, he holds him carefully in his arms, and he goes upstairs. Ava stares after him, her mouth agape. After a moment she turns back to Sloan. ¡°You took the baby.¡± ¡°Nerev gave me the baby,¡± says Sloan quietly, reaching out and putting her hands on Ava¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Ava. It¡¯s okay. We planned this.¡± ¡°For how long?¡± ¡°Since he was born,¡± says Sloan gently. ¡°Bayan¡¯s right, Nerev and Marissa agree. He can¡¯t live underground, Ava, he had to get up as soon as possible.¡± Ava makes a noise, and then looks over her shoulder, and she says, ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± says Sloan with a smile. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t kidnap a baby, Ava, Nerev gave him to me.¡± Ava manages a laugh, and then she looks at me, and at Penny, and then over her shoulder to where Bayan left. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± ¡°Marissa said so?¡± asks Ava, and Sloan smiles a little again. ¡°She and Nerev agreed. Nerev gave Julian to me. They¡¯re going to come up again as soon as they can, to find him.¡± ¡°But Marissa said so?¡± asks Ava, and Sloan nods. ¡°Look, we¡¯re going to find Nerev¡¯s sister, and she¡¯s gonna take care of him for a little bit, until Marissa can come up and be with him.¡± ¡°You took her baby from her,¡± says Ava softly, and Sloan sighs. ¡°Ava.¡± ¡°Oh, my god, how can we have a baby here?¡± says Ava, and Penny steps in. ¡°Hey,¡± he says softly, taking her hand. ¡°He¡¯s gonna be okay.¡± Ava takes a deep breath, and closes her eyes, and then nods. ¡°We know Nerev¡¯s sister?¡± ¡°Yup,¡± says Sloan. ¡°He has a brother-in-law, one of her husbands, who¡¯s gonna take care of him. It¡¯s gonna be okay.¡± Ava takes another deep breath, and then she turns, and she goes up the stairs. We follow behind her, she goes up the stairs and down the hall into her bedroom, and she lets us all in, and then she closes the door behind her. ¡°Oh, god.¡± ¡°Ava,¡± I say softly, and she shakes her head. ¡°Okay. Just¡­is he okay? Was it hard to bring him up?¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± says Sloan. ¡°He¡¯s okay. He¡¯s been eating and sleeping like normal, but Nerev and Marissa and Shan all know that he needs fresh air and sunlight.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± whispers Ava. ¡°Oh god. Okay.¡± chapter 12 Miss Lilly is angry. She has not locked us in our room again, but I know that I and Nua and Ava and Penny and Bayan, especially Bayan, can tell when she is angry. For the entire night and next day he does not let the baby alone. He holds him, all the time, he is silent, just cradling Julian in his arms, looking down at him or over at Penny or at the wall or at nothing. We don¡¯t know what to do with him, other than to feed him or change him or bounce him or burp him, and Bayan does it all. He does not smile and he does not speak and he does not let anyone else take the baby from him. And Lilly is angry. She does not know where Sloan went and where she got the baby from or who the baby is or what to do with it, but she does not want a baby in her house. Ava is slightly upset, too, but on behalf of Marissa. ¡°You took her baby from her,¡± she says, over and over, and Penny shakes his head calmly. ¡°We took him from Nerev. Nerev asked us to bring him to his brother-in-law.¡± ¡°Why would he ask you to do that?¡± ¡°He has a sister,¡± Sloan tries to explain. ¡°He has an older sister, who has a few kids of her own, and he¡¯s good friends with, he trusts, one of her husbands, he knows that they¡¯ll take care of him.¡± ¡°What about Marissa?¡± says Ava, over and over. ¡°You took Julian away from her, he needs to be with his mother, she¡¯s supposed to feed him.¡± ¡°Nerev¡¯s sister has everything they need,¡± says Sloan. Ava shakes her head, and looks at the baby in Bayan¡¯s arms, and then up at Bayan. He does not say anything. He falls asleep on the couch that night with the baby still on his lap. Ava is pacing, rubbing her head, late into the night. Sloan and Penny have gone down to the backyard and Nua is in the library and I am in bed, and Bayan is curled up asleep on the couch with the baby, and Ava is pacing. I stare at the ceiling, waiting for Ava to come into my peripheral vision and then leave it again, and I know she is shaking for a smoke, I know she has never wanted a cigarette in these past few months more than right now. The baby has not cried, it has not made much noise, it seems to like Bayan, and now it is asleep, and Ava is pacing. Finally she comes over to me and sits by my feet and says, ¡°Was that the right thing to do, Aber?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I say honestly, my voice quiet. I don¡¯t want to wake up Julian, or Bayan. ¡°I mean, they¡¯re right, he can¡¯t grow up underground, and if Nerev trusts his brother-in-law, and they already have kids, they¡¯ll take care of him. Marissa will come up and find him when she¡¯s ready.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if she ever will be,¡± says Ava. ¡°She needs to get better, from giving birth, and then she has her mother to worry about, that¡¯s why she was down with Shan in the first place.¡± ¡°Ava, Julian was part of the reason you said you needed to come back here in the first place, to find a safe place for him.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± she says after a moment. ¡°I just didn¡¯t think about it, that Marissa would give him away. I don¡¯t think she would give him away.¡± ¡°Sloan said she gave him to her.¡± ¡°No, she said Nerev gave him to her.¡± ¡°Nerev wouldn¡¯t take Julian away from Marissa, Ava.¡± Ava sighs, and looks over to the couch where Bayan is sleeping. ¡°Okay. Yeah. But I¡¯m going with him, then.¡± ¡°Going where?¡± I ask, and she sighs, rubbing her eyes. ¡°Bayan¡¯ll bring Julian to Nerev¡¯s family. I¡¯m gonna have to go with them, to meet them, and know where they are.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I say softly, as she looks at me. ¡°But you¡¯re not in charge of everything, Ava. If this was what they decided, we have to let Bayan take him to Nerev¡¯s sister.¡± ¡°You say my name a lot,¡± she whispers, and I smile slightly. ¡°What do you want me to say, Miss?¡± ¡°No,¡± she says with a tired laugh, and comes to lie down next to me in bed. The next day, after breakfast, Bayan leaves the house with Ava and with the baby. They go driving away to find Nerev¡¯s sister, and Sloan takes a nap in Ava¡¯s bed. Penny and Nua and I go down to the backyard to avoid Miss Lilly, and Nua takes a deep breath when we go out to the back porch. ¡°Did you know about this?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± answers Penny. ¡°I knew they were going to do something, though. Sloan always has a look in her eye when she¡¯s planning something.¡± ¡°Do you know who Nerev¡¯s sister is?¡± I ask, and he shrugs. ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Ava was mad,¡± says Nua to me, and I sigh. ¡°I think she¡¯s just worried for Marissa.¡± ¡°When she¡¯s well enough they¡¯ll come up,¡± says Penny. ¡°That¡¯s part of the plan. They just, they wanted the baby to see the sun.¡± We¡¯re quiet for a moment, and then Penny moves away. He goes down the porch steps and into the grass, and Nua and I follow him. He looks at the flower garden, and says, ¡°Her husband built that.¡± ¡°Gave her the idea, yeah,¡± murmurs Nua after a moment. He glances at me, and then Penny looks back at us too. A slight breeze blows through, ruffling Nua¡¯s hair and lifting a few pieces of Penny¡¯s off his shoulders, and I look at the flowers too. I remember when we came out here, me and Ava and Nua, and she asked us to find Penny. Now here we are, with him, all back home. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°What was he like?¡± asks Penny after a moment, quietly, and I look at Nua. He smiles a little, and we both just think. Finally Nua says, ¡°He was kind of a dick.¡± ¡°Nua,¡± I say, and he shrugs. ¡°He was.¡± ¡°Yeah, but you can¡¯t just say that,¡± I protest, and Penny laughs, tilting his face up to the sky. When he closes his eyes he looks just like his sister. ¡°Did he take care of her?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I murmur. ¡°He was a dick to us, but not to her.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t give a shit about me when I got there,¡± says Nua. ¡°He was already sleeping in her room and sitting at her right hand at the table. They liked to go down to the pool, or the beach in the mornings to watch the sunrise.¡± ¡°He was from an agency,¡± I say softly. ¡°So he didn¡¯t really expect much.¡± ¡°I feel like people can learn to love each other,¡± says Penny quietly. ¡°If the timing¡¯s right. And if neither of them are a dick.¡± Nua laughs, and I smile. I go to the fountain and sit down on the ledge. This is where I got married. Nua sits on the ground like he normally does, and leans his head back against the stone. ¡°They worked well together. They were both young, and angry.¡± ¡°We¡¯re still young and angry,¡± says Penny, and I smile. A cloud passes in front of the sun, and I look up at it. He sighs, and says, ¡°I just, I never had someone like that, so when she came to me, when she told me, I was just surprised. And now she has three of you.¡± ¡°Two, now,¡± says Nua under his breath, and I glance at Penny. ¡°What about Bayan?¡± Nua looks up at him too, but Penny just laughs, leaning his head back. ¡°Bayan, I.¡± He licks his lips, and sighs. ¡°I thought about Bayan every day. And he thought about me, but I was just a kid when I left, and he didn¡¯t think that he should remember me like that, last time I saw him he was twenty-two and I was seventeen, and then, you know, it¡¯s been three years now, and¡­it¡¯s different.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± murmurs Nua. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he says with a sigh, and then a smile. He picks at something on his clothes, and shakes his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I mean. He¡¯s just got his hands full right now. With Julian, and Ava.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll always have his hands full with Ava,¡± says Nua, and I smile. ¡°So will we.¡± ¡°So will we,¡± agrees Penny. ¡°I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s going to do.¡± ¡°About what?¡± asks Nua. ¡°Any of it,¡± says Penny. ¡°All of it. Find a place for Julian and for Marissa and Nerev, and find a place for everyone else down there in Shan. And everyone else up here, too, like the people your parents helped, Aber.¡± ¡°My sister was trying to tell me that it¡¯s not all bad,¡± I say. ¡°Like, I have a bad impression of marriage because of all those boys I knew growing up, but that¡¯s just a minority that I shouldn¡¯t worry about.¡± ¡°It¡¯s definitely a minority,¡± says Penny after a moment of thinking. ¡°But it¡¯s not one that we should ignore.¡± ¡°How many people are out there like Nerev and Marissa?¡± asks Nua. ¡°If her mother wasn¡¯t hunting them down like Lilly, if they could just be normal and not in Shan.¡± ¡°More than the people like me,¡± says Penny. ¡°Sometimes even the agency matches work out. But sometimes they don¡¯t. And sometimes there¡¯s kidnapping and selling and manipulative contracts and people who get stuck, until they can find a way away.¡± ¡°Keol¡¯s agency match worked out,¡± I say softly. ¡°If only the mother of the bride wasn¡¯t such a bitch.¡± Penny laughs. ¡°God, yeah, isn¡¯t that always the problem.¡± ¡°Is it?¡± asks Nua, looking at Penny, and I look at him too. I wonder if he¡¯ll ever tell us anything about his wife, his mother-in-law, what happened to him in those few months that he was married and living with a strange woman whom his own mother gave him to, but now he just rolls his eyes and shakes his head again. ¡°Oh, usually, yeah.¡± And Nua looks at me, and then he smiles, leaning his head back against the wall of the fountain, and closes his eyes. Bayan comes home later that afternoon, with Ava, and without Julian. She comes out to sit next to me by the pool; Nua and Penny have gone inside by then, but I have my feet hanging over the edge into the water, thinking about the day Keol died, when she sits next to me. I jump, looking up at her, and she smiles a little, leaning over to put her head on my shoulder. ¡°We found his sister.¡± ¡°Nerev¡¯s?¡± I ask, leaning my head against hers, and she nods. The sun is setting behind the trees, and then the sliding door on the back porch opens again. We both look over at it; it¡¯s Bayan, and he raises his head so he can see us, and gestures inside, and then leaves. ¡°Dinner, I guess,¡± says Ava with a sigh. She pulls her feet out of the pool and stands, and I look up at her, squinting in the fading sunlight. ¡°Are you mad at Bayan?¡± ¡°No,¡± she says with a smile, holding her hand out for me. I take it, and she pulls me up. ¡°Not at all. But my mother is. It was¡­I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know how it could have been done different, but it was a bad idea to bring the baby here.¡± ¡°No other choice,¡± I murmur, and she nods, and we go in for dinner. Neither Bayan nor Sloan eats with us tonight. Lilly does, but she does not say much. The table is laid and we serve ourselves and eat in near silence, until Lilly is finished. She lays her fork and knife down on her plate and says, ¡°Aberworth. Abigala. Ava. Penrin.¡± We all look at her. I see Abigala glance at me, and I look at Ava, and I see Nua looking at me too. I look back at Lilly, and she says, ¡°I¡¯m going to take you into the city tomorrow.¡± No one answers. Nua is the only person she¡¯s not talking to, and he is silent. After a moment Ava says, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I have some things to show you,¡± says Lilly simply. Ava furrows her eyebrows. ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see,¡± says Lilly, rising. ¡°Bayan will drive us. Be ready at ten tomorrow morning.¡± She leaves. It is quiet. I look at Abigala, but she shrugs. Penny looks at his sister, and says, ¡°What?¡± Ava shrugs too. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll find out tomorrow.¡± chapter 13 Tomorrow morning at ten AM we meet with Lilly in the kitchen. She is dressed in a suit jacket and a skirt and high heels and her hair is up in a bun and she carries a leather briefcase and she looks over at me and Ava and Abigala and Penny when we file in, and she does not say anything. Bayan is behind Penny, and when she sees him she gestures to the door that leads to the garage. We go outside and we get in the car and Bayan drives us away. ¡°What is this?¡± asks Ava after a moment, finally, it¡¯s the first thing anyone¡¯s said all morning, and Lilly crosses her legs, putting her briefcase on the seat next to her. ¡°The boys have never been to my office.¡± I look at Penny. He is looking at his mother. ¡°Why would I want to go to your office?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not whether you¡¯d want to,¡± she says calmly. ¡°It¡¯s whether or not you can understand.¡± ¡°I think I understood fine when you sent me away with that woman when I was seventeen.¡± Lilly smiles slightly. ¡°Clearly you didn¡¯t.¡± Penny grits his teeth. Abigala is sitting next to me, and she takes my hand and squeezes it quickly and lets go. I feel her nails dig into my palm when she does it; she is nervous, her hands are always fidgety when she¡¯s nervous, and I wonder why she is nervous. She has been working with Lilly for months now at this point. She is only nervous because now I will see, finally, what she has been doing. No one talks for the rest of the ride. I cannot see out the window, Ava¡¯s near it again, but she is just staring at her mother. When Bayan parks and we get out he comes with us, and we go inside a huge shiny building in the center of the city. I can hardly concentrate with all the bustle around us, people are pushing in and out and past and through and Ava takes my hand and then Lilly swipes her badge against something and someone at the front desk says, ¡°Morning, Ms. LeGatte.¡± ¡°Morning,¡± says Lilly with a smile, and the man glances up at her, and then sees Ava and me and the rest, and does a double take. ¡°Miss Ava.¡± ¡°Hey, Jerry,¡± she murmurs as we pass, and the man Jerry watches Penny and Abigala and Bayan file in through behind us. Lilly brings us to an elevator. We go up up up. I don¡¯t think I have ever been this high up before. We step out and we go down a hallway to a door, that she opens again with her badge. She goes inside; we follow. She takes off her jacket and puts down her badge, and Bayan closes the door softly when he comes in. And then Lilly hits a button, and the lights in the room turn off and the projector turns on. We all turn to the other wall, and Ava gasps. Penny winces, and I murmur, ¡°Oh, my god.¡± ¡°Do you know what that is?¡± asks Lilly after a moment. Her voice is soft. I don¡¯t want to look at what is on the screen; it is a mess of blood and tissue and what looks like tiny little babies, fetuses, Ava called them, a long time ago, on the night that we slept together. Infants, before they¡¯re born. When they¡¯re supposed to be in the hospital. Or, I suppose, when they¡¯re supposed to be inside their mothers. ¡°It¡¯s called a miscarriage,¡± says Lilly, when no one answers. ¡°It¡¯s what happens, when¡­¡± She trails off, and sighs. ¡°It could be anything. The baby isn¡¯t developing right, it wouldn¡¯t survive when it¡¯s born, it¡¯s growing without a heart, or a brain, or it would have a genetic condition that makes it unable to breathe on its own or pump its own blood. Or the mother¡¯s body isn¡¯t fit to carry it; it implanted wrong in her uterus, or didn¡¯t at all, or she has a medical condition and can¡¯t give it enough nutrients, or she just isn¡¯t¡­strong enough to do it.¡± ¡°Mother,¡± says Ava softly. ¡°So the body forces it out,¡± says Lilly. ¡°Either it can¡¯t hold it in anymore, or it forces it to expel. The infant cannot survive inside the womb or outside of it, and the mother, it can kill the mother, too.¡± ¡°Mother.¡± ¡°My father was twenty-four years old when I was born,¡± says Lilly, ignoring Ava. ¡°By the time I was fifteen, my mother had been pregnant five or six times, but I don¡¯t have any siblings, Ava, you know that. None of my mother¡¯s babies made it. She miscarried all of them. And the last one, the day before my sixteenth birthday, the last one killed her.¡± ¡°Turn it off, mother,¡± says Penny. Lilly listens to her son. She switches the image on the screen; now it¡¯s numbers, in rows and columns like what I saw in Ava¡¯s office, Abigala¡¯s work, a few days ago. But this is not the same; the rows start seventy years ago. And the numbers next to them get bigger. By the time the row says only ten years ago, the number in the first column is 74%, and the number in the second column is 93%. ¡°This is the number of miscarriages,¡± says Lilly, ¡°or stillbirths. That¡¯s when the baby is dead when it¡¯s born. That first column, that¡¯s all live births. What happens when a mother lets the baby grow inside of her. Even ten years ago, some women still chose to do that, and almost three-quarters of them lost their child.¡± She is quiet for a moment, and then continues. ¡°The second column is specifically for babies whose fathers were over twenty-five years old. Ninety-three percent of them weren¡¯t born, or if they were, they weren¡¯t born alive. If they were, those seven percent, around eighty percent of them had some sort of genetic condition that either severely limited their quality of life, or killed them within five years.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be right,¡± murmurs Ava. Her mother does not respond to that, but switches the picture again. Another chart, more data, but now just two columns. One is labeled again by year, and the other says maternal mortality. ¡°Live birth,¡± says Lilly, ¡°and miscarriages, and stillbirths. Maternal mortality. Women who have carried children in their bodies. How many of them died? About forty years ago, my mother died. She was one of those 46%.¡± Thirty years ago, it was 52%. Twenty years ago it was 57%. Ten years ago it was 61%. ¡°Over half,¡± she says softly, ¡°by the time you were born, Ava, Penny. If I had carried you in my body both of you and I would all probably be dead.¡± Penny looks at Bayan, who is looking at the floor. Abigala is just staring at the numbers; I wonder if she¡¯s seen this before. ¡°But,¡± says Lilly with a sigh, hitting the button again, and the lights come on and the projector starts whirring. ¡°For a long, long time, for decades and centuries, scientists have been fascinated with how reproduction works. Humans are a kind of animal that gives birth to live children. There are other kinds of animals who lay eggs, and they¡¯re much, much older than mammals. Some scientists think that the reason our evolutionary ancestors started carrying our children inside our bodies instead of laying eggs was not because it was beneficial to do so, but rather, simply, almost an accident.¡± Ava turns to her mother. I don¡¯t know what expression is on her face, but she does not say anything, just looks at Lilly, and she continues. ¡°It might have been better for the fetus, you know, to be protected inside the very body of its mother, to use the nutrients and resources that she would give it. But it severely, severely endangers that body. Pregnancy is the single most dangerous thing a human being can put their body through, and for millenia almost every single woman did it. ¡°You can argue why,¡± she continues after a moment. ¡°A long time ago a woman¡¯s role was to stay home and be pregnant ten months out of every year. A lot of women were forced into it. A lot of women chose to do it, for the love of children and family and their husbands. But all that time, or at least within the past great era of scientific progress, one of the biggest overarching questions for researchers was how to make it safer.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be,¡± murmurs Ava. ¡°I watched Marissa do it, it can¡¯t be safe.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± says Lilly. ¡°So what do we do? We evolve. It might have been some sort of virus that changed our genetic code, to make us reproduce like this, instead of laying eggs like a reptile or a bird. Whatever it was, why can¡¯t we overcome that genetic glitch? Why have we never overcame it, and how can we, now, when it¡¯s so imperative?¡± ¡°But what caused all those¡­¡± I trail off, partly because I forget the word, and partly because I don¡¯t want to say it even if I knew it. Lilly smiles slightly, and says, ¡°The miscarriages. The stillbirths. The substantial risk if the fathers were too old. For most of human history men could father children until the day they died, and now, if they¡¯re older than twenty-five, their children are deformed. What caused that? What is it, where did it come from, and why does it affect every male throughout the population?¡± Yes, that. ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± says Lilly. ¡°We¡¯ve been researching that, too, but the first thing to figure out was how to stop the deaths. So we figured out how to keep children alive outside the womb, as if it were millions of years ago and we still laid eggs.¡± ¡°But the boys,¡± says Penny softly. ¡°The men.¡± ¡°They realized, looking at the statistics,¡± says his mother, ¡°that it was an age thing. Particularly on account of the fathers. Children born even to an older mother but a young father were healthier. And those miscarriages, that was how it started. Children were conceived, but if the father was too old, not even old but just over the age of twenty-five, the child wouldn¡¯t survive. The mother¡¯s body would expel it, or if it managed to be carried to term it would simply die. We started collecting this data, to figure it out, and we did. And we kept monitoring it. And soon we began to realize that, again, evolution, our genetics, were ramping up into gear to protect us. It takes a lot of energy and resource to be pregnant, and it¡¯s not worth it if it will just end in tragedy anyway. We only started monitoring these miscarriage and maternal mortality statistics about seventy-five years ago; it had been happening for a while before that, but then, once we were in the full swing of it, we started to realize that the overall rate of pregnancy, of even conception, was dropping. If you did conceive the pregnancy was going to be dangerous, but less and less women were conceiving in the first place. And the only ones were getting pregnant from men who were under twenty-five years old.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I ask again, after a moment. Everyone and everything is silent and still, the numbers on the wall are gone but I can imagine them, I can imagine Marissa down in Shan with her baby, Nerev is twenty-three, I remember Ava telling me once, so Marissa was not at risk of the horrible blood and danger but she was still at risk of every other dangerous thing a pregnancy and birth could bring, much less a pregnancy under the ground. Lilly sighs, twisting her neck so it cracks, and shakes her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Aberworth. We still don¡¯t know, why this started happening. A virus. A genetic switch that got flipped.¡± Ava said the same thing to me, a long time ago, on the first night that we slept together. ¡°Maybe just self-preservation that went too far,¡± Lilly continues. ¡°Some statisticians were worried that humans were over-populating the planet before this started happening. Of course, now, we¡¯re dying out.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Hardly, I know that. The human race is still billions strong, we are not dying out, but it has been shrinking. My parents always kept an eye on that. Every year the population is a few million less than before. ¡°So this is the solution?¡± says Ava, turning to her mother, finally. ¡°What you¡¯ve been doing? Sticking boys in homes, in agencies, where their only purpose is to be given to a wife? The boys on the streets taken in and sold to women? That¡¯s how we fix it?¡± ¡°This system,¡± says Lilly, ¡°was broken long before I came into this role. The system of agencies across the country was set up so that boys, that¡¯s another thing, there are five boys born to every girl and just like the rest of it we don¡¯t know why, all of those boys would have a place to go. A place to stay, if they were given up by their mothers, which a lot of them were. You¡¯re right, Ava.¡± She blinks. I wonder if Lilly has ever said that before. ¡°You¡¯re right. It was supposed to be a system to protect them. To keep them safe, instead of dying on the streets, and to give them a chance to join and start a family. It was radical, at the time, when the first ones were set up.¡± ¡°So what happened?¡± Ava says softly. ¡°If it was supposed to help them, how did it come to be that Aber¡¯s parents were arrested for helping them while your agencies sold Bayan to you?¡± And Lilly laughs, and she sighs, and she shakes her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Ava.¡± ¡°I know all of this,¡± says Ava quietly. ¡°You¡¯ve told me all of this before. It still doesn¡¯t explain how Nua got here, or where you found Keol. It doesn¡¯t explain why you gave Penny away.¡± And Lilly smiles as she looks at her son, and she sighs, and says, ¡°Let¡¯s go get lunch.¡± I raise my eyebrows. Lilly leaves the office. Ava rolls her eyes and sighs too, and then follows. I follow her and Penny follows me and Abigala follows him and Bayan follows her. We say hello to Jerry the desk man again as we go out of the building; right next to it is a little cafe, and Ava grabs my hand again and squeezes. I look at her, and she smiles a little. ¡°I do love this place.¡± Lilly sits at a table in the shade, under an umbrella, and pulls her wallet out of her pocket. ¡°Bayan, get everyone the regular.¡± I raise my eyebrows at him, and he smiles a little and takes her credit cards and goes inside. The regular for Miss Lilly, apparently, is a roast beef sandwich, because Bayan comes back with four of them. He gives one to Miss Lilly and one to me and one to Penny and one to Abigala, and then leaves again, and comes back with a tuna melt. Ava smiles a little when she sees him, and takes it from him. ¡°Thank you.¡± He does not answer, just sits back down. He has not gotten anything for himself. Lilly wipes her hands off and picks up a fork to start her salad, and says, ¡°Abigala has given me some very valuable insight as to what can happen when something goes wrong. Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯ve been worried about, Aberworth?¡± I look up at her. I¡¯m not hungry, not now, not after those pictures and not while I¡¯m here with her. ¡°Yeah. Things you didn¡¯t know before, or realize.¡± Lilly smiles slightly. ¡°I suppose. That¡¯s why a¡­plurality of viewpoints is always essential for examining any problem.¡± ¡°Sure, Mother,¡± says Ava, swallowing a bite of her tuna melt. ¡°But that means you know it¡¯s a problem.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± says Lilly, as if it¡¯s the simplest thing in the world. ¡°But I¡¯m afraid that, while you think I have a limited perspective on the situation, all of you have had your perspectives limited as well.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want to prove,¡± I say softly. Lilly looks at me, but does not say anything. ¡°But my whole life, I¡¯ve known people who have been abused by the system that you¡¯re in charge of. I¡¯ve taken care of them, and they trusted us, until you came and blew a hole in our front door.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s just it,¡± says Lilly. ¡°You have your one perspective, and you extend that to the entire system. Do you know what percentage of marriages across the country are forced?¡± ¡°Including ours?¡± asks Ava under her breath, and Penny rolls his eyes. ¡°Thirteen,¡± says Lilly, ignoring her children. ¡°It¡¯s not a big number, but it is still significant, and I understand your and your parents¡¯ concern with it.¡± Suddenly Bayan stands. He is looking away, looking across the plaza, squinting into the light, and I follow his eyes. Ava does too, and then she stands too. ¡°Marissa.¡± This gets her attention. She is standing in front of the government building, looking up to the very top, where Miss Lilly¡¯s office is, she is squinting a little too, but she looks over to Ava when she hears her name. Ava leaves the table and goes to her and says, ¡°What are you doing here, you shouldn¡¯t be up here yet, where¡¯s Nerev?¡± But she hugs her anyway. I see Marissa hug her back, slightly apprehensively, and I feel something in my stomach. I do not know what it is. Marissa answers. ¡°Nerev isn¡¯t here. He didn¡¯t want me to come and he wouldn¡¯t tell me where his sister lives.¡± The plaza seems quiet, suddenly, what happened to all the hustle and bustle of the people pushing past one another like this morning, and Ava sighs. ¡°Marissa-¡± ¡°I looked for her, but I couldn¡¯t find her, so I came here. I don¡¯t really know why, but I guess I found someone else I was looking for.¡± ¡°Were you looking for me?¡± asks Ava, and Marissa shakes her head. ¡°No. I was looking for him.¡± She looks over Ava¡¯s shoulder, to Bayan, and I feel cold. He does not say anything. Ava looks too, and then looks back at her. ¡°Marissa-¡± ¡°Where did you take my baby, Bayan?¡± says Marissa, ignoring Ava, taking a step past her. ¡°Where is he?¡± Bayan does not answer. He has not said a word all day today and normally I wouldn¡¯t even notice but now, he has to answer now, he took Marissa¡¯s baby away and now she wants him back and Bayan has to tell her where he is, but he doesn¡¯t or can¡¯t or won¡¯t. He does not answer. Marissa takes another step past Ava, and she puts her hand on her arm. ¡°Marissa.¡± Lilly stands up now, too. ¡°You must be the mother.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen my baby,¡± says Marissa. ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± answers Lilly. ¡°He was taken to my home for one night and then brought somewhere else.¡± ¡°Somewhere safe,¡± says Ava softly, but Marissa is not listening to her at all anymore. ¡°Where did you take my baby, Bayan?¡± ¡°Marissa,¡± says Ava, stepping in front of her so she¡¯s in her line of vision again. ¡°Listen, I was worried too, but Nerev said it was okay and that he wanted Julian to go to his brother-in-law, so that he could be up here. He could be safe. Julian is with Nerev¡¯s sister, he¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°He would¡¯ve been okay with me,¡± says Marissa. Her hand goes into her pocket and she takes another step forward, towards Bayan and us, and Ava says, ¡°I know, but you can go to him. You can go to him now.¡± ¡°No,¡± says Marissa softly. ¡°Nerev doesn¡¯t know I came up. No one knows I came up. They don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready, they won¡¯t let me leave the tent.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only been a couple weeks,¡± says Ava gently, and Marissa nods, her eyes still trained on Bayan. ¡°I know. That¡¯s why Julian should be with me.¡± Bayan takes a step back from the table, and then goes around so he is not behind it. Lilly takes a step forward too, towards Marissa, she is in between her and Bayan now, and she says, ¡°Marissa, I assume.¡± ¡°You¡¯re Lilly LeGatte,¡± says Marissa softly. ¡°You¡¯re Penny¡¯s mother.¡± Bayan glances at Penny; Lilly does not. ¡°I am.¡± ¡°You gave your son away, too. Just like Nerev did.¡± ¡°And look,¡± says Lilly, with a slight smile. ¡°He came back. You¡¯ll see your baby again.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± says Marissa, ¡°patronize me.¡± And she pulls out a gun. ¡°Jesus,¡± whispers Abigala, as she and I and Penny all startle, leaning away from her. He rises to his feet, and says softly, ¡°Marissa.¡± ¡°Woah, okay,¡± says Ava, reaching out for Marissa, but then she thinks better of it. ¡°Where did you get that?¡± ¡°Is that Keshi¡¯s?¡± says Penny, and Ava makes a noise, glancing at her brother but then back to Marissa, Marissa¡¯s hands, the gun in Marissa¡¯s hands. ¡°Why does Keshi have a gun down there?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± says Penny, his voice panicked, ¡°they need them sometimes, I don¡¯t know, Marissa, did you take Keshi¡¯s gun?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s my baby, Bayan?¡± says Marissa. She does not see anyone else in the world right now, except for Bayan, it¡¯s her and Bayan and a gun, and her baby, who was taken from her. This is what Ava was worried about, that Nerev gave Sloan the baby but that he had taken the baby from his wife, from Marissa, she didn¡¯t know or she didn¡¯t agree and they took her baby from her. Lilly takes another small step forward. ¡°Marissa. This is a public place, there¡¯s no need for weapons. Put it away.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need anything,¡± says Marissa, ¡°except my baby.¡± ¡°He¡¯s safe,¡± says Ava again, I don¡¯t know what else she can say and it seems she doesn¡¯t either. ¡°He¡¯s safe, I promise, Marissa, he¡¯s okay, you can see him soon, you need to go back to Nerev.¡± ¡°No,¡± says Marissa, and I see her eyes filling up with tears now, one slips down her cheek, her hands shake but she keeps the weapon pointed directly at Bayan, who is slightly behind Lilly now, but he has not said anything yet, not to any of us and not to Marissa. ¡°I need my baby, and he took my baby.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t him,¡± says Ava softly. ¡°He didn¡¯t take him, he just brought him to Paige, it was all planned out, it¡¯s okay, Marissa, Julian¡¯s okay-¡± ¡°You took him away from me!¡± says Marissa, her voice rising, and almost in slow motion, I see her finger, perched on the trigger, start to move. At least four people yell out, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m one of them, but Penny runs, he runs to his sister and pulls her back, wrapping his arms around her to get her away. She struggles against him, reaching out, reaching for something just out of grasp, like Keol, like Owen, and then I see who she wants. Miss Lilly steps in front of the bullet, and crumples. Bayan catches her. Everything stills. Ava¡¯s cry pierces the ringing, but Penny must be stronger than Nua because he doesn¡¯t let go. Abigala has scrambled backwards in her chair, she bumps into me and I catch her and then I get out of my chair too, because I¡¯m falling and because I¡¯m trying to get away and I¡¯m trying to get towards. I¡¯m suddenly on the ground, I don¡¯t know how, and Abigala crawls away from me, towards Bayan, towards Lilly. She looks up at him and says something softly, and then her hand falls limp. Ava falls to her knees on the ground, pulling her brother with her, and she stares at them, close but so far away from her in that instant. Penny¡¯s mouth is agape and he just stares at his mother, whose eyes stare lifeless at the sky. Bayan stands suddenly, letting Miss Lilly fall to the ground, and Penny looks up, and then untangles himself from his sister. Bayan takes a step back, and I can see his chest start to rise and fall with heavy breaths. Blood pools underneath Lilly¡¯s body, and Penny goes to him, taking him in his arms, wrapping him up and turning him away. I see Bayan shake. Ava puts her hand on the ground, Abigala has her hands over the wound in Lilly¡¯s chest but there is nothing she can do now, and I feel my breaths start to come quickly. I don¡¯t want to look at it anymore, but there¡¯s nothing else to do, what, how, when, where, who. Marissa is gone, I don¡¯t know where she went, but the gun is on the ground, she must have run, it¡¯s on the ground by Ava and she runs her fingers through her hair. I go to her, I¡¯m practically crawling on the ground, she reaches out for me as I get to her and she buries her face in my shoulder; I lose my balance and fall over to sit. She wraps her arms around me, Penny has his arms wrapped around Bayan, Abigala has her hands on Miss Lilly, and the world suddenly slams into me again. There are sirens, there are people, there is yelling and crowds and I wince. ¡°Oh, god.¡± ¡°Aber,¡± whispers Ava, and I put my hand on her head, her breaths are coming heavy and she presses her face into my shoulder. Tears are streaming down Penny¡¯s cheeks as he holds Bayan close to him, they have sunk to sit on a bench nearby, by a table that we were not sitting at, and Abigala has moved away from Lilly¡¯s body as it lies there on the ground, she is just staring at it, and Lilly is staring at nothing, and I run my hand over Ava¡¯s hair. She makes a noise, squeezing her eyes shut, and I say again, ¡°Oh, god.¡± ¡°Aber,¡± she whispers again, and I put my chin on her head. ¡°Oh, my god, Aber.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I say softly, even though it is so very much not okay, I put my other hand on her back to try and calm her down but how can I calm her down when I am not at all calm myself. I see flashing lights and I see someone in a uniform, I don¡¯t know what kind of uniform it is until I see the ambulance, there are EMTs and security guards and where were they thirty seconds ago, oh, my god, what happened, what happened, who, what, how. ¡°Aber.¡± chapter 14 I have never been to so many different places or seen so many people in one day. The security guards from Lilly¡¯s building came out when they heard the gunshot, and then the real police came. They asked us what happened; they tried to ask us where Marissa went, but no one could answer. They put us in ambulances and brought us to a hospital. Ava refused to go in, she kept rubbing her elbow where the bruises were fading, and didn¡¯t let anyone touch her. The rest of us saw a doctor and then they brought us to the police station. This time Ava was the only one who went in; Abigala had her hand on my arm the entire time and Penny had his on Bayan¡¯s, who stared blankly at the floor and did not answer if anyone tried to talk to him. And then they brought us home. Nua met us at the door and asked why there were police officers with us and where Miss Lilly was and I don¡¯t remember what we said or who said it but he just stared at us for a long time, and then came with us upstairs. Now he and I and Ava and Penny and Bayan and Abigala are all sitting in the second floor living room, and no one speaks. There are people in Miss Lilly¡¯s office next door, they are people from the agencies department and the police office who are looking through her things, they asked Ava if it was okay and she just nodded blankly, and then suddenly I say softly, ¡°What did she say to you? Ava looks up at me. But I¡¯m looking at Bayan, whose face like usual is expressionless. He stares at me a moment, and then finally says quietly, ¡°Take care of the children.¡± Penny scoffs, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes, and then leans back so he¡¯s lying down on the couch. ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°Miss LeGatte,¡± says someone from the door, and I jump. Ava just looks at her, it is one of the women who have been poking around the office, and she jerks her head out to the hallway. ¡°Can I see you?¡± Ava licks her lips, and then sighs and stands. Before she goes, though, she turns back to us. ¡°We should go to bed. All of you.¡± No one answers, and she sighs again. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long this will take, but. Just. Let¡¯s go to bed.¡± She leaves. No one moves for a moment. Penny bites his knuckle. Bayan leans over and then lies down on top of him and puts his head on his shoulder and closes his eyes, and then Nua stands. I look up at him. He holds his hand out for me. ¡°Come on. It¡¯s eleven o¡¯clock.¡± Is it? I haven¡¯t been keeping track of time all day today. It was noon. That¡¯s the last thing I remember. It was lunchtime. I stand. I look at Penny. He just shakes his head slightly and gestures for us to go, and then wraps his arm around Bayan; Bayan does not move or speak or open his eyes. I look at Nua, and take his hand, and Abigala stands too. The three of us go upstairs. I turn to her when we reach the hallway, but she just goes down to her room, my room, and closes the door behind her. ¡°Come on,¡± says Nua again, softly. He touches my hand. I grab onto it. I need him right now. I want him and Ava. I want Keol. ¡°What¡¯s going to happen?¡± I ask Nua when he comes into bed next to me. ¡°What¡¯s going to happen with the agencies and my parents and Shan?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he answers softly. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like that before,¡± I murmur. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone die.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± whispers Nua, and he puts his head on my shoulder. I put my hand on his head, and then I say, ¡°Nua, Lilly is dead.¡± He does not say anything. I don¡¯t know what else to do. We lie there, for a while, I am staring at the ceiling and he closes his eyes, but he does not sleep. I don¡¯t know how long it is until Ava comes upstairs, but it must be close to midnight now. It was noon, when we went down to get lunch with her mother, but now she comes back to us at midnight, and she goes into the bathroom and then into her closet and then she comes up to us. She crawls onto her bed, and Nua opens his eyes and sits up when he feels it, and Ava comes and wiggles in between us where she usually goes and leans back against the pillows and presses her hands into her eyes. ¡°Okay.¡± I look at Nua; he does not say anything. ¡°Penny and Bayan are still in the living room, Sloan is in your old room, and Abigala is in Keol¡¯s.¡± ¡°What about the people?¡± I ask softly, and she shakes her head. ¡°They got what they were looking for, some of them were people who worked for her so they were looking for her papers and stuff, god, I don¡¯t know, Abigala would probably know.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± murmurs Nua, and she shakes her head and rubs her face. ¡°They want me to do it.¡± ¡°Do what?¡± asks Nua, and she takes a deep breath, and says, ¡°Run the agencies.¡± ¡°What?¡± I say after a moment, and she shakes her head again. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s what my mother wanted, you know, once she¡­I mean, she thought she was going to retire, but she wanted me to take her job, but I didn¡¯t do that kind of work, I was working with the finances before, and then she couldn¡¯t get me to want to do it so that¡¯s why she went looking for Abigala instead, Abigala should be doing it, no, someone much higher up in the entire government should be doing it, but they want me to do it because I¡¯m her daughter, they want me to take over running the agencies.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Ava,¡± says Nua. ¡°I am twenty years old,¡± she says, looking at him with wide eyes. ¡°I should not be the head of a national gubernatorial agency.¡± ¡°Ava.¡± ¡°But if I don¡¯t do it, they¡¯ll find someone else. And that person could be just as bad as or worse than my mother.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± says Nua softly, putting his hand on her cheek. She looks at him, taking a shuddering breath, and then she looks at me. I don¡¯t know what to do, to say, I¡¯m younger than both of them, I don¡¯t know what she should do. ¡°What would you have to do?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she whispers. ¡°Whatever my mother did. Make sure they¡¯re running smoothly and that the funds are, are, correctly distributed and that no one¡¯s¡­breaking any rules.¡± ¡°Is that what your mother did?¡± asks Nua, and she smiles a little bit, closing her eyes. ¡°I mean, allegedly. She did find some agencies that were selling boys for extra funds. She really rose through the ranks because everyone was happy that she exposed that, but they didn¡¯t care that she was one of the people who had bought from them.¡± That¡¯s how Bayan got here, I know, he told me calmly and quietly when I first asked him months ago where he came from and he answered simply that Miss Lilly bought him; I have never really made that connection before, though, that Bayan got Lilly her job. ¡°It¡¯s the money, that they¡¯re worried about, it¡¯s not the boys. They didn¡¯t want to keep paying that agency more than they had to. They were glad that Lilly found out they were cheating the system, not that she found out they were abusing them.¡± ¡°But you,¡± I say softly. ¡°You could actually do something about it.¡± ¡°I could,¡± she says softly. ¡°The thing that Penny and I and all of us have been trying to do for so long. I could at least start.¡± I smile a little, and so does Nua. She exhales, leaning her head back, and says, ¡°I could annul his wedding.¡± ¡°Could you?¡± I ask in slight surprise, and she shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I could try, or at least find someone to, someone who could. And Sloan¡¯s.¡± ¡°That would be good,¡± murmurs Nua. ¡°And we can annul too, if you want.¡± I blink, and Nua looks up at her, and then props himself up on his elbow. ¡°What? Why would we do that?¡± ¡°Because you never wanted to marry me in the first place.¡± ¡°Yeah, but,¡± I say, and Ava looks at me, and smiles a little. ¡°Boys.¡± ¡°What would we do?¡± asks Nua. ¡°Where would we go?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°We¡¯d stay here,¡± I say. ¡°Nowhere else to go, right? And we¡¯d just sleep in here every night and eat at your table and help you with your work and do everything like we do now, so it won¡¯t make a difference.¡± Ava laughs a little again, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes. ¡°Look, boys, you¡¯re stuck with me, you know that, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not stuck if you choose it,¡± says Nua quietly, and she laughs slightly. ¡°Yes, it is. You realize you can¡¯t leave me, ever, right? You realize that if you do, and they find you, they¡¯ll¡­I don¡¯t even know what would happen.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± says Nua, unperturbed. ¡°So let¡¯s focus on getting boys who don¡¯t actually like their wives out of their marriage.¡± ¡°And what happens when you turn into one of those boys?¡± asks Ava, looking at him. ¡°What happens if I have to ask you to do something you don¡¯t want to, or if I have to tell you no to something you want, and you have to get into bed with me that night anyway, and be angry at me until it stirs up into hate, and you want to leave, but you can¡¯t?¡± Nua stares at her, and I feel my heart drop. She believes this. ¡°Ava,¡± I say quietly. ¡°We¡¯re not going to hate you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re eighteen,¡± she says softly, her voice breaking slightly as she reaches up to stroke a piece of hair back away from my face. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be married. You¡¯re eighteen.¡± ¡°There are boys younger than that,¡± I say quietly, ¡°who are stuck. Really stuck.¡± Ava squeezes her eyes shut, a tear trickling down her cheek. Nua puts his hand on her shoulder, and then pulls her into him. ¡°It¡¯s bad the way it happened. But we¡¯re lucky we got each other. A lot of people aren¡¯t so lucky.¡± She sobs, turning her head, burying it in his shoulder, and I look at Nua. He smiles slightly, pressing his lips to the top of her head, and I put my hand on her shoulder too. ¡°Hey. We¡¯ll talk about it tomorrow.¡± She makes a noise. Nua smiles a little, and then moves the blankets with his feet. ¡°Come on. Come on.¡± She sniffles, wiping her nose, and then wiggles down next to him. She lies on her back, so she can see both of us on either side of her, and looks between us. ¡°I love you both.¡± ¡°We love you,¡± murmurs Nua, and then looks at me, and I nod. She smiles again, and takes another deep breath, and squeezes her eyes shut, and she whispers, ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything right now,¡± says Nua softly. ¡°You can¡¯t. Ava, go to sleep.¡± ¡°Go to sleep,¡± she repeats through a laugh, but she does not sound amused, and Nua smiles a little too, putting his hand on her head. ¡°Ava.¡± She opens her eyes, she looks up at him, and she whispers, ¡°My mother is dead.¡± ¡°I know,¡± says Nua softly. I pull the blankets up, over my head, and then after a moment Nua takes them off again. ¡°Guys. There¡¯s nothing else we can do right now. Both of you need to sleep.¡± Ava makes a noise and rolls over and puts her head against Nua¡¯s shoulder. He smiles a little again, and lies down so she can lie on him. He looks over at me, too, and I go to him, and I wrap my arm around Ava and put my hand on Nua¡¯s stomach and I shiver. Nua puts the blanket over me again, and Ava sighs, closing her eyes. ¡°My mother is dead.¡± Nua does not say anything. She does not want us to say anything. Nua is right, she needs to sleep, she just wants to sleep. So we sleep. chapter 15 A week after we go into town with Miss Lilly and then come home without her, Ava goes back into work. She takes Bayan with her, he drives her in to the office in the mornings, and she tells me that he still is not talking very much. He is helping her, it has been his job for fifteen years to help her and so he is helping her, but she sits in the front of the car with him and tries to talk to him and he does not answer. He only talks to Penny, and even still, not very much. No one speaks about Miss Lilly anymore, except Abigala. Ava said that Abigala should have taken over Lilly¡¯s role, she was her assistant after all, but she was only her personal assistant. Abigala wants to keep working in the role, but she does not want to be Ava¡¯s assistant. She wants to at least be equal to her, to take on some of the work that Ava has been struggling with, but Ava does not want to include her. Abigala keeps asking me to talk to her, and I don¡¯t know what to do, because I don¡¯t think that I want Abigala working with her. Ava knows some people who worked with her mother and who were more sympathetic than Lilly was, and is trying to team up with them to start looking into the way the agencies were run around the country. But it simply is all moving too fast. The people even higher up in the government are skeptical that Ava can even take over for her mother, she¡¯s right, she¡¯s only twenty years old, she has some people on her side but they are the people that the higher-ups does not like very much anyway, can she stay in the role, will they oust her from the role, Ava does not know, and she is more stressed than ever. I thought she was stressed before, the last time we were in this stupid house, but now, she is constantly in her mother¡¯s office or in the city in her mother¡¯s other office or pacing in her bedroom or talking on the phone or glued to her laptop typing furiously, I don¡¯t know if she can read well enough yet but she certainly seems to be able to type out an email. And I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s doing, because she does not talk to me about it. She only talks to Bayan about it, but he doesn¡¯t answer, but he still helps her. Nua tries to talk to her too, but she does not want to talk to anyone else about it. She says she has some people who she trusts at work, who she talks to on the phone a lot, and she does not want us to worry. Go back to normal, she tells us, go swimming and go to the library and go sit outside by the fountain, but we cannot go back to normal, Nua and I cannot go back to normal, not without Lilly, and not without Keol, either. The first time I manage to talk to her for real after her mother has died is when I find her one weekend sitting curled up on one of the chairs on the porch. I look at her through the window for a moment, and then I see some people in the backyard, some people I do not recognize, but Ava is just watching them. I go out to her and put my hand on her shoulder. ¡°Who¡¯re they?¡± She sighs, putting her hand on mine. ¡°They¡¯re taking down the fence.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I say with a smile, and she smiles a little too, and then looks up at me. ¡°Should we get people?¡± I furrow my eyebrows. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Everyone in Tent City,¡± she says, moving her hand and putting her head on my fingers. ¡°We got Sloan, and the baby, but there are so many people still down there.¡± ¡°Where would we put them?¡± I ask, and she shrugs. I touch her chin with my thumb, and she says, ¡°I don¡¯t know. But the sick people, and the old people. And Jimmy.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I murmur. ¡°I mean, we should, we should ask. Some of them might want to stay, but if we could get something safe set up maybe we could start to get them.¡± ¡°We could send Sloan to talk to Shan,¡± says Ava quietly, looking back at the people in the backyard. ¡°See if we can get something planned. I think Nerev¡¯s sister might be able to help.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°What happened to Nerev?¡± I say softly, and she smiles a little. ¡°He¡¯s come up again. He¡¯s with her, his sister, and Julian.¡± ¡°What about Marissa?¡± She sighs, and then stands, and shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She does know, but she does not want to talk about it, and I don¡¯t want to press. She rubs her eyes, and then goes back inside. I follow. ¡°How¡¯s Bayan?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she says again, closing the sliding door behind me when I come inside to the dining room. ¡°I can¡¯t tell if him not talking is the normal kind or the having-someone-die-in-your-arms trauma kind.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I say softly. She takes a deep breath as she goes into the kitchen, Bayan is usually here but he is not now, he is probably with Penny. I sit down at the table, and say, ¡°What about Penny?¡± ¡°He¡¯s fine, I think,¡± she says with a slight smile. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking into finding someone to help him annul. I don¡¯t know how it would work, but I¡¯d obviously have to get his wife to agree too, and I don¡¯t know exactly how that will work out.¡± ¡°Has he seen her, in¡­¡± I trail off, and she smiles slightly, and shakes her head. ¡°Three years, almost, now. The fact that I¡¯m keeping him here, even.¡± ¡°What, you should give him back?¡± ¡°Technically, yeah,¡± she says with a scoff, and then Taymer comes into the kitchen. He freezes when he sees us, and then says softly, ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± says Ava with a slight smile, sitting down at the table. Then she gets up and goes to the fridge, and says, ¡°Where did she get you, Taymer?¡± Taymer looks at me helplessly, and I smile a bit as well. He takes a breath as Ava closes the door, and says, ¡°An agency.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± she mutters, opening a beer, and takes a sip. ¡°From the mouth of the beast right into the belly.¡± He doesn¡¯t answer, and she asks, ¡°Do you have a home? A family?¡± He looks at me again, and then says after a moment, ¡°I have a brother.¡± ¡°Hm,¡± says Ava. ¡°Me too.¡± He manages a smile too. ¡°He¡¯s six. Seven, now, I think. I don¡¯t know what she did with him.¡± ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± I ask, and he takes a breath, and then says, ¡°Caleb.¡± It¡¯s quiet for a moment, and then Ava nods, taking a sip of her beer. ¡°We¡¯ll find him.¡± She leaves, and Taymer stares after her, and then looks at me. ¡°Will she?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll look,¡± I say. ¡°She¡¯ll try. She¡¯s already looking for my parents, my mom and dad.¡± ¡°Is she really dead?¡± asks Taymer, and I look at him. He¡¯s not talking about Ava. ¡°Yeah,¡± I answer. ¡°She is.¡± ¡°So she¡¯s in charge now,¡± he says, and now he is talking about Ava. I smile, standing up, and go into the fridge too. There¡¯s a six pack minus one of her beers in there, and a whole bunch of strawberries. I take one. ¡°I guess. Don¡¯t say that to her, though, she won¡¯t like it. She is in charge of the agencies, though. And she¡¯s not going to do what her mother did.¡± Taymer doesn¡¯t answer. He looks about Jimmy¡¯s age. This is the longest conversation I¡¯ve ever had with him, the longest time I¡¯ve ever even looked at him, and after a moment I say, ¡°Have you spoken to Bayan?¡± ¡°My predecessor?¡± he asks with a slight smile. ¡°Yes. He came to talk to me.¡± ¡°Count yourself lucky, he doesn¡¯t talk to many people.¡± ¡°Did you want to marry her?¡± he asks me suddenly, and I smile, throwing away the top of the strawberry. ¡°That¡¯s a complicated question, Taymer.¡± He doesn¡¯t answer again. I look back at him, and sigh, and smile a bit. ¡°No.¡± ¡°She-¡± ¡°She took care of us,¡± I say. ¡°Her name¡¯s Ava. You can say it.¡± But he doesn¡¯t say anything. I leave him alone. chapter 16 ¡°It¡¯s a book,¡± Nua tells me. ¡°Not a very good book, but it¡¯s a book. You¡¯re torn between the women in your life. I¡¯ve read stuff like this before.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not funny,¡± I tell him. He laughs anyway. Ava and Abigala are arguing at every possible turn. Abigala is not pleased. She was Miss Lilly¡¯s assistant for months, even without my or Ava¡¯s knowing, and she thinks she should be in charge now. Ava just laughs whenever she brings it up, and one day I am sitting in Ava¡¯s office with the both of them, wondering if I am supposed to be mediating, but there is not much I can do because I cannot get a word in edgewise. ¡°She started to trust me,¡± says Abigala, ¡°because you wouldn¡¯t trust her.¡± ¡°And I was right not to trust her, and you were stupid to,¡± says Ava back. I rub my eyes, this has been going on for weeks; this is not how I wanted to get Abigala back. ¡°I¡¯m doing this now because I¡¯m her daughter, and because I want to do it right.¡± ¡°Just because you¡¯re her daughter doesn¡¯t make you qualified. You have no idea what you¡¯re doing. You¡¯re going to make it all worse.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be difficult to make it worse than what Lilly did.¡± ¡°We were making progress. Me and her.¡± ¡°Please,¡± says Ava. I tilt my head back to the ceiling and squeeze my eyes shut. When they get into it there¡¯s no stopping them. ¡°If things were going so well you wouldn¡¯t have been able to get married four times at once.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not-¡± ¡°Where are your husbands, Abigala?¡± asks Ava, raising her voice. ¡°Just tell me. Let me know, let me make sure they¡¯re okay, and legal, and that you never hurt them, and then I¡¯ll trust you.¡± Abigala makes a frustrated noise. ¡°Aber.¡± ¡°What?¡± I say in exasperation. Abigala waves her hands at me, and I groan. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want me to say. She¡¯s right.¡± ¡°You¡¯re taking her side?¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m taking her side. No, actually, I¡¯m taking your husbands¡¯ side.¡± ¡°What?¡± says Abigala, her voice going louder too, and I take a deep breath. ¡°Look, Abi, the fact that you won¡¯t tell us who your husbands are or where they¡¯re living and that you just keep saying that Lilly told you to keep them safe makes us think they aren¡¯t very safe. Or that they weren¡¯t, not after you came along.¡± ¡°How could you think that?¡± whispers Abigala, I can see genuine hurt in her eyes, and Ava scoffs. ¡°Because you¡¯re not giving us any other choice, Miss Ahman. I should be throwing you in jail, you¡¯re lucky I¡¯m only considering house arrest.¡± ¡°House arrest?¡± says Abigala in shock at the same time I look up at Ava. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I have to make an example,¡± says Ava decisively. ¡°How can I claim to be cracking down on the abuse within this entire system while I have an abuser living completely free in my home?¡± Abigala¡¯s jaw drops, and she shakes her head, she looks at me. I do not say anything. She makes a noise in anger and storms out of the office. I lean my head back and groan. Two weeks later it is July fifth, and it is Ava and Penny¡¯s birthday. He wakes us up by jumping onto the bed and wrestling his sister out of it and she whacks him hard with her pillow as they go down, and then he tells her to put on a bathing suit and meet him in the pool. Nua groans, loudly, when he runs out of the room, and Ava laughs from the floor. ¡°Oh, let him, he hasn¡¯t celebrated in years.¡± Nua opens one eye and looks up at me, as Ava pulls herself to her feet, and then smiles and closes it again. Bayan shows Taymer how to make Ava¡¯s favorite cake, and then they make Penny¡¯s favorite dinner, too, later on in the day. The morning is spent by the pool, me and Nua and Penny go in, but Ava does not. She has a swimsuit on and a wrap on over it and she sits on one of the pool chairs and looks at her phone, but finally when Penny yells at her enough times she puts it down and shakes her head. ¡°I have stuff to do, Penny.¡± ¡°You always have stuff to do,¡± he says, going over to the edge of the pool close to her. ¡°Do it later.¡± She smiles, and he splashes water out of the pool at her. ¡°It¡¯s your birthday.¡± She rolls her eyes, and then stands and takes off her wrap. She throws it on the chair and her phone on top of it, and jumps into the pool. ¡°It¡¯s him and Keol,¡± says Nua to me, rubbing his arms before they go cold, as we watch them with their pool noodles in the deep end. ¡°They¡¯re the only ones that can talk to her like that.¡± ¡°Can talk to her like that and have it work,¡± I mutter. ¡°She¡¯d just get annoyed at us.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Nua laughs, and I smile too. I miss Keol. I do not miss Miss Lilly, and it seems her children do not either, because they are laughing. They are finally together again, without her, and they are laughing. Bayan calls us for lunch a little while after Ava finally comes into the pool, and as I pull myself out dripping wet she comes over to me and crouches down in front of me with a towel. ¡°You moved it.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I say, wiping at my face, and she grabs my left hand. My wedding ring is on my first finger instead of my third, I don¡¯t even remember really when I moved it but it¡¯s been there for a while, I have worn it this whole time that I lived here and that we were in Shan and that we came back, but now it is just on a different finger. ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± ¡°Why?¡± she asks, running her hand over my head to get the water out of my hair, and I shrug. ¡°Dunno. Why not?¡± She shrugs too, and we stand. I wipe the water off more as we go back inside, and the first thing that Ava says when we go into the dining room is, ¡°Are you sitting on the good chairs in your bathing suit?¡± ¡°Lighten up,¡± says Penny lazily. ¡°It¡¯s my birthday.¡± ¡°Mine too,¡± she says, and throws a towel over her chair before sitting down. Bayan comes in from the kitchen with some sandwiches, and to my surprise Nua takes my chair. I look at him, and he grins and nods to his own, the one at Ava¡¯s left hand. After a moment I take it. Penny¡¯s at her right hand and Bayan sits next to him, and after a moment Taymer comes out with a bowl of cut up fruit and sits next to him too. I do not know where Abigala is, I haven¡¯t seen her all day, I actually haven¡¯t seen her in a while since Ava put her on house arrest, and to be honest at this moment I do not really care, because Ava is laughing, and there is no smoke coming out of her mouth with it. Bayan is here, he is not saying much but he is here with us at the table, and Nua wants me to sit close to Ava so I can see her laugh. We spend some time together in the afternoon too, but after birthday dinner and cake Ava insists on getting some work done. Penny protests, but Ava reminds him that he told her to just do it later and now it¡¯s later, and he grumbles but puts on another episode of his favorite drama show. Bayan is sitting with us, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a pile of dishes in the sink but they can sit there overnight, he has his head on Penny¡¯s shoulder and his eyes closed and Penny¡¯s pinky finger is curling around his gently. But when the episode is over and the TV goes silent I can hear Ava¡¯s voice in the room next door. The clock on the wall says it¡¯s almost ten-thirty at night, but she seems to be on the phone with someone, and Nua glances at me. He hears it too. She is always on the phone nowadays. We leave Penny and Bayan there. I think they have been sleeping in his mother¡¯s bedroom, which is only accessible through the office that Ava has been working in lately. I wonder if they¡¯re gonna cut a hole into the hallway. Nua knocks on the office door and then pushes it open, and Ava glances over at him, sees me too, and smiles. She says something into her phone, and hangs up, and sighs. She runs her fingers through her hair, and says, ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°How was your birthday?¡± asks Nua softly, and she smiles. ¡°Sit.¡± She starts to organize the papers on her desk as we take the two chairs across from her, and she doesn¡¯t look up when Nua says, ¡°Ava.¡± ¡°Mm?¡± ¡°Relax for a second. Please.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± she mutters, ¡°I have to get all of this sorted out to start the monitoring and the check-ups-¡± ¡°Ava,¡± says Nua again, leaning forward. ¡°Look at us. You can¡¯t read.¡± ¡°I can read some,¡± she says defensively, looking up, and she stares at Nua for a moment before exhaling sharply and sitting down slowly in her mother¡¯s desk chair. ¡°I don¡¯t know, okay?¡± I blink, and Nua furrows his eyebrows. ¡°Know what?¡± ¡°Who I would pick.¡± Her eyes flicker between me and Nua, and he looks at me for a moment. ¡°As your prominent?¡± ¡°I know you want to know,¡± she says softly. ¡°And I can¡¯t pick. And I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Ava,¡± I say softly. Nua swallows, leaning back, and she shakes her head, looking away. ¡°We¡¯re not doing that anymore. I don¡¯t want to choose between you which one I have to love more, or hurt more. We¡¯re doing...something new, together, all of us. I know that it was Keol before. And before him it was Owen. But I don¡¯t want to do that to you again.¡± Nua¡¯s smiling slightly, and I take his hand. She throws down the papers in her hand, sighing, and says, ¡°And I think that we should annul.¡± ¡°Ava,¡± says Nua, his fingers squeezing mine, and she shakes her head. ¡°Just think about it.¡± ¡°We have,¡± says Nua. ¡°You have other things to worry about right now.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± she mutters, leaning back and rubbing her eyes. ¡°Everything. Everything in the world. Your sister wants to kill me, Aber, but you know I have to keep her here, I don¡¯t need her going out and telling everyone about Sloan, and I have no idea what to do about Taymer-¡± ¡°Hey,¡± I say. ¡°Take a breath.¡± She exhales out, and looks at me. ¡°I can handle Abigala,¡± I say softly. She smiles a little. ¡°Is she mad at you?¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to talk much,¡± I say after a moment. ¡°I guess we, um, already got over our whole needing-to-see-each-other-again thing.¡± ¡°And Bayan and Penny, they¡¯re talking to Taymer,¡± says Nua as Ava smiles a little again, when I do, and she nods, rubbing her eyes. ¡°I need to find his brother.¡± ¡°And my parents,¡± I say, and she nods. ¡°And I need to get people to look into the way my mother ran the agencies.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯ve been working on?¡± asks Nua, and she nods. ¡°I¡¯m trying to find people I can trust.¡± ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a few.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re doing good, then,¡± says Nua, and she looks at him. He smiles a bit. ¡°You¡¯re making progress.¡± She sighs again, but smiles a bit too. ¡°It¡¯s a start.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been in this job for three weeks,¡± I say, and she leans her head back in the chair, and sighs. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Come to bed,¡± says Nua softly. ¡°It¡¯s late.¡± She looks at her watch, and stifles a yawn, and Nua stands up. I stand up too, because he still has my hand, and after a moment Ava rises to her feet too. She turns the lights off in the office as we go, and closes the door behind her, and we go to bed. chapter 17 Summer keeps getting hotter and Ava keeps getting busier and Penny seems to be a little bit discontented with how everything is going. Back down in Tent City he worked with Shan and was in on their missions and secrets and planning, but Ava does not let him in on what she¡¯s working on. She says it¡¯s partly because she has authorization that he does not have and she legally cannot tell him most of it, but also partly because she does not want him to worry about it and deal with it anymore. I do not know if he wants to deal with it, but he spends a lot of time with Bayan still, and I am not sure if he misses Shan or at least that he was busy down in Shan, but he is busy with Bayan now too. I overhear them sometimes, Penny wants him to talk about Miss Lilly, and Miss Lilly dying, and what Miss Lilly did to him, and how Miss Lilly bought him from an agency, and what happened to him before Miss Lilly bought him from an agency. But Penny does most of the talking. Bayan listens to him, he always listens to him, he is a good listener but not a good talker and so he just listens to Penny talk but he does not talk much himself. He does not want to talk about Miss Lilly, I know this, because if I were him I would not want to talk about it. He should, I know he should, but he doesn¡¯t, and he can¡¯t. I find Penny one evening out in the backyard, alone. He¡¯s standing by the edge of the pool, staring down into its depths, and I think of what Ava told me right after Keol died, right after the death of her second prominent. The second one died from withdrawal off the meds that she had been giving him; the first one died by jumping into the pool and sinking to the bottom. I go out to him. He does not seem to notice me coming towards him, until I say, ¡°Bayan¡¯s making lasagna.¡± He looks over at me, and is quiet for a moment, and then says, ¡°Nice.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never had lasagna before.¡± ¡°Bayan makes it good.¡± But there¡¯s something off about him, and I look at him for a moment. I¡¯ve always had a sister, but I¡¯ve never had a brother. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He looks up, away from me, towards the poolhouse. ¡°Are you and him okay?¡± Penny gives a big sigh. ¡°Did you know that even before he used to sleep in my mother¡¯s room? With her?¡± Oh, god. It had crossed my mind when we sent Sloan to go find him, the fact that we all had beds but I never knew of any room specifically for Bayan, I didn¡¯t know where she would find him in the house in the dead of night. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± says Penny softly. ¡°Ava has her big room and I used to sleep in your room before I went away. And then after Mother died I moved into her room, with Bayan, we were supposed to, we were supposed to live together. But now he moved out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I say quietly, and Penny shakes his head. ¡°Don¡¯t be. He¡¯s never been able to move out before. ¡°He just,¡± he continues after a moment, his voice breaking. ¡°He just can¡¯t deal with me. Not right now. Not in that room.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not your fault,¡± I say softly, and he smiles a bit, looking down at the pool. ¡°I know. I just don¡¯t know how to help him.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± I ask softly, and Penny looks at me. ¡°What about me?¡± ¡°Are you okay?¡± He sighs, and shrugs, and says, ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t know. I think so. It¡¯s just. I¡¯ve had more time, to deal with it. He doesn¡¯t, he doesn¡¯t want to go to sleep in that room every night anymore.¡± ¡°Rearrange it,¡± I suggest, and he looks at me again. I shrug. ¡°Make it look different, make it not hers anymore.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± says Penny softly, with a slight smile, and then says suddenly, ¡°Hey, you know we¡¯re brothers now. Technically.¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess,¡± I say with a smile. ¡°Unless Ava signs me out of it.¡± And he looks at me once more, and then down at my hand with the ring on it, and says, ¡°You really don¡¯t have to annul if you don¡¯t want to.¡± I shrug. ¡°Yeah, I keep telling her that there¡¯s more important things she could be focusing on, than me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the most important thing to her.¡± ¡°No,¡± I say, ¡°that¡¯s you. For as long as I¡¯ve known her, that¡¯s been you.¡± And Penny smiles, but I can see tears in his eyes, and he stares at the water in front of us. The sun is going down, reflecting in shimmers, and I say softly, ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°She died in his arms,¡± whispers Penny. ¡°Like Ava did. But my mother, she stayed dead. Do you think he ever dreamed about that?¡± ¡°Bayan?¡± I say in slight surprise. ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s ever dreamed of violence. He wouldn¡¯t wish death on anyone.¡± ¡°Maybe, yeah,¡± says Penny. ¡°But people who have been hurt, they¡¯re not bad people if they want their abusers gone. Or to hurt too.¡± ¡°Have you talked to him about any of this?¡± I ask, glancing at him, and he sighs again, shaking his head. ¡°He doesn¡¯t talk.¡± ¡°Wish he could talk to Haywood,¡± I say softly. ¡°He¡¯s good at that kind of stuff.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± agrees Penny with a slight smile, I¡¯m sure he did his fair share of talking to Haywood down in Shan. Penny looks up, and sighs, and says, ¡°How¡¯s Abigala?¡± ¡°Angry,¡± I admit, looking up at the sky as well. ¡°She thinks Ava¡¯s out to get her and she can¡¯t believe I¡¯m taking her side.¡± ¡°Ava is kind of out to get her.¡± ¡°Well, she wouldn¡¯t have to be if she just told us where her husbands are.¡± Penny looks at me, and I close my eyes, and sigh. ¡°They¡¯ve gotta be underage. Or, or, or¡­¡± I don¡¯t even want to say it. ¡°Or she hurt them. She raped them. Or she let Lilly and didn¡¯t do anything. And that¡¯s why she doesn¡¯t want us to find them and talk to them.¡± Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Are you angry at her?¡± asks Penny after a moment, and I shrug. ¡°I mean, I guess. At first I kinda got it, like, I should trust her, right, she was mad that I wasn¡¯t trusting her, but, I mean, at this point¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s really no other reason,¡± murmurs Penny. He looks down into the pool again, and takes a deep breath. ¡°We should go inside, then, if he¡¯s making dinner.¡± The lasagna is good. Bayan and Taymer eat with us, and then Ava helps them take the plates into the kitchen, but tells us to stay. Nua is telling us about a book he¡¯s been reading because apparently one of the shows Penny likes is based off of it, so I am just sitting listening to them when Abigala enters. I look at her in surprise, she hasn¡¯t eaten with us since she and Ava fought, and she shrugs, sitting down next to me. ¡°Taymer told me you wanted to see me.¡± ¡°Well, yeah,¡± I say, ¡°but I don¡¯t have anything to tell you.¡± ¡°She might,¡± mutters Abigala, and I laugh a little. ¡°Hey, you wanted to live in this house.¡± ¡°Aber,¡± says Abigala, and I just smile. ¡°Abi, I haven¡¯t seen you in, like, three weeks.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going anywhere,¡± she says softly. ¡°He won¡¯t drive me anywhere because she told him not to.¡± ¡°You could still come and hang out with us,¡± I say, and she scoffs. ¡°Please. Would you hang out with Lilly?¡± ¡°No, because Lilly kidnapped me.¡± ¡°Ava¡¯s holding me hostage.¡± ¡°If you just told us you¡¯re not a criminal she wouldn¡¯t have to.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a criminal,¡± says Abigala hotly, Penny glances at us but doesn¡¯t say anything, he and Nua are talking at the other end of the table and I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re listening to what we¡¯re saying but I hope not. ¡°I know you don¡¯t get it and at this point I don¡¯t expect you to but Ava has a thing against her mother and she¡¯s taking it out on me now.¡± ¡°Her mother gave Penny away and forced to her get married four times and kept in place the entire legal system that makes those things keep happening across the country,¡± I say, lowering my voice, Nua is soft-spoken and I don¡¯t want to be louder than him. ¡°As far as we know, you helped her with it. Tell us you didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°We were trying to fix it.¡± ¡°Then why did you get married four times?¡± Abigala opens her mouth, but then sighs angrily and looks away. Ava comes back in the room then, and Penny and Nua and Abigala and I all quiet down, and she takes a deep breath. ¡°Okay. I need to talk to all of you.¡± ¡°Told ya,¡± mutters Abigala. ¡°About what?¡± says Nua, and she smiles a little, looking at me. ¡°A few things. The first, Aber, Abigala, is for you.¡± Something happens in my stomach; I don¡¯t have time to figure out what it is before Ava says it, finally, she says the words I have been waiting to hear for almost a year. ¡°I know where your parents are.¡± The conversation of the past few minutes is forgotten; Abigala takes my hand and squeezes, and I look at her, I smile, and I say, ¡°Where? Are they okay?¡± ¡°They¡¯re fine,¡± says Ava with a slight smile, ¡°but I hope soon they¡¯ll be more than fine, because at the moment they are in a jail downtown.¡± ¡°Jail?¡± repeats Abigala, and I take a deep breath. Then I look at my sister. ¡°You didn¡¯t know that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve told you,¡± she says, sounding slightly frustrated, ¡°I told you I didn¡¯t know, I never knew.¡± ¡°Well, you do now,¡± says Ava, raising her voice slightly. ¡°I know, it¡¯s hard to hear that they¡¯re in a jail but I think, what I¡¯m trying to tell you, is that I think I can get them out. And bring them here.¡± ¡°Ava,¡± I say softly. She looks at me, and smiles. She nods, and I manage a smile too, but swallow. ¡°Ava, I need to see them.¡± ¡°I know,¡± she murmurs. I shake my head. ¡°No, Ava, I need to see them now, I need to go see them right now.¡± ¡°I know,¡± she says again, gently, patiently. ¡°Aber, I¡¯m telling you this because I think I can bring you to see them and we can bring them home. Soon.¡± ¡°How soon?¡± I ask, and she smiles softly. ¡°Soon.¡± I take a deep shuddering breath, and Abigala grabs my hand again and squeezes and lets go. I press the heels of my hands into my eyes, I feel something in my stomach, god, Ava has my parents, I have not seen them in a year, almost, I have been asking for them this whole time and she can bring me to them, she can bring them to me, I feel hot pressure behind my eyes and I rub them and swallow again and say, ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± she says, still looking at me with a slight smile, and I nod. ¡°Okay. What¡¯s the other thing, then?¡± Ava laughs, she seems a bit more relaxed now, and sighs. ¡°Well, this also is kind of for Aber, but I thought you all would want to know, um, Nerev is up, now, right, he¡¯s living with his sister. And he managed to get Jimmy and Sina up, too. Because his sister, her name is Paige, she found some houses, some safe houses, that are both not agencies and also still legal. So what happened to your parents won¡¯t happen there again.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t, with you as head of the agencies,¡± murmurs Penny, and Abigala rolls her eyes. Ava closes hers, shaking her head. ¡°Oh, god, I¡¯m not used to hearing that, yeah, well, how much authority do I really have to stop any of it.¡± Penny smiles slightly, and nods. ¡°Well, that¡¯s good, though, that Jimmy and Sina are up. I know Shan wanted to get the young people and the older people up first, if we could.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± agrees Ava. ¡°Paige is looking into places that also offer a decent healthcare service for the older people, but they¡¯re next on Shan¡¯s list.¡± ¡°Nerev¡¯s with Julian?¡± asks Sloan, and Ava nods. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s taking care of him.¡± ¡°What about Marissa?¡± asks Penny after a moment. We were all thinking it, but I did not want to say it, but Penny did, he has broken the awkward silence and now we are all looking at Ava, because what about Marissa? She closes her eyes, and does not answer. Penny looks up at her. ¡°Where is she now?¡± Ava sighs, crossing her arms, and then opens her eyes and gestures towards me with her chin. ¡°The same place your parents are.¡± ¡°You arrested her?¡± asks Bayan in surprise, and Ava looks at him. ¡°She tried to kill you.¡± ¡°She did kill our mother,¡± says Penny. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have taken her baby,¡± says Bayan softly, and Ava rolls her eyes and shakes her head. ¡°No, that¡¯s not how that works.¡± ¡°Miss Ava,¡± says Taymer from the doorway, and I see her take a deep breath, closing her eyes, and then she opens them and turns to him. ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°They¡¯re back,¡± he says, which sounds quite ominous until I notice that he¡¯s holding her cell phone. She smiles slightly, and looks at me, and says, ¡°This is for you.¡± She goes to him and takes it and steps into the kitchen to talk, leaving Taymer with us, and I raise my eyebrows at him. He shrugs. ¡°They put her on hold, she told me to get her when they came back.¡± ¡°Who?¡± asks Nua, and Taymer shrugs again. Penny laughs, and I look at him, and he shrugs. ¡°She does this.¡± ¡°I know,¡± I mutter, crossing my arms. Nua puts his hand on my shoulder. Abigala looks at me, and takes a deep breath, and whispers, ¡°I didn¡¯t know they were in jail.¡± ¡°We can get them back,¡± I murmur. ¡°She¡¯s gonna get them back.¡± Abigala grits her teeth, and then takes another deep breath. ¡°How soon is soon?¡± I look at Bayan. He shrugs too. Ava says from the doorway, ¡°Now.¡± I turn to her. She smiles slightly. ¡°If you want.¡± I rise to my feet slowly. Abigala comes with me, and Ava shrugs. ¡°That was the lawyer. And the jail. And the judge. Big call. Working out bail. It, um, might take a few hours, but if you want-¡± ¡°Now,¡± I say softly. ¡°Now, Ava.¡± She looks at me, and she smiles, and she nods. ¡°Okay.¡± I rise to my feet. Abigala does too. Ava looks at her, and then at me, and raises her eyebrows. Abigala says, ¡°I¡¯m coming.¡± ¡°You¡¯re on house arrest,¡± says Ava. ¡°Aber,¡± says Abigala, and I say, ¡°Ava.¡± She looks at me a second, and then sighs, and turns away. ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s go.¡± chapter 18 Bayan drives, because of course he does, and no one else knows how to drive. Penny and Nua both stay home, so Ava sits in the back of the car with me and Abigala as we go to the jail. The ride is quiet, though, because Ava is typing on her phone most of the time. When she does look up to ask a question, it startles me. ¡°What exactly did they do?¡± I jump, and look at Abigala, and say, ¡°I.¡± Then I say, ¡°Like, before?¡± Ava nods, and I shrug. ¡°They, um, we took care of boys. Who had run away and were homeless and didn¡¯t want to go anywhere because they were afraid they would just get sent back.¡± ¡°How old were they?¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°The boys,¡± says Ava, and I shrug again. ¡°All ages.¡± ¡°Older than you? Younger?¡± ¡°Both,¡± answers Abigala in a whisper, and Ava ignores her. She raises her eyes at me, and I nod. ¡°Both,¡± I repeat. ¡°Some were our age, when we were growing up, some were adults.¡± ¡°But they did help underage boys.¡± ¡°Sometimes, yeah,¡± I answer, starting to see what she¡¯s getting at. She nods, looking back down at her phone. I think she is in a very angry text message or email conversation, because it is constantly buzzing at her, even as she is typing back. Then she says, ¡°They can¡¯t sentence people to jail for following the law.¡± ¡°You have to be eighteen to marry,¡± says Abigala softly. ¡°Technically, yes,¡± says Ava. ¡°If the boys at your house were under eighteen, they shouldn¡¯t have been married in the first place. Maybe your parents didn¡¯t do the exact legal thing by harboring them, but the legal thing would be giving them to an agency, and we have a lot of reason to believe the agencies weren¡¯t doing much, do we. Too young, remember?¡± I do. She said the same thing to her mother, the first day I met her. ¡°But legal,¡± I say, and she shrugs. ¡°The lawyer thinks we can make a case out of it. That¡¯s how laws get changed, right? We show how they don¡¯t work and how people have to break the law to do the right thing, and then we make the right thing the law instead.¡± I exhale slowly. ¡°They weren¡¯t all¡­¡± ¡°I know,¡± she says with a slight smile. ¡°But it¡¯s a start. And the sentence the judge is recommending is an abuse of power on a whole other level, I can get them out of that.¡± The car slows to a stop. I wonder briefly how Bayan knows where the downtown jail is before Ava throws open the door and rolls out of the car, and Abigala follows, and I follow her. Ava leans into the passenger side window to talk to Bayan for a brief moment, and then turns to me and claps her hands and says, ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go.¡± We follow her inside. Bayan has parked in front of a gate, and it creaks open as we approach. The building behind it is big and grey and ominous and I am nervous, I have been nervous the whole car ride down, but someone comes out to meet us as Ava brings us towards the jail. It¡¯s a woman, and she gestures Ava in, and she says, ¡°It¡¯s late, I thought you would wait until tomorrow, at least.¡± ¡°My husband wanted to come,¡± says Ava with a smile, and the woman smiles too, and looks at me, and holds out her hand. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m Anna. I used to work with Nova.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Nova?¡± murmurs Abigala. No one answers and she does not care enough to press. Anna leads us down the hallway, there is a big desk at the end of it that we¡¯re going to, and Ava says to me, ¡°Anna is your parents¡¯ lawyer.¡± ¡°Is she good?¡± I ask, and Anna laughs. ¡°I hope so. Here. Ava and I have a few things we need to figure out.¡± There are a few chairs across from the desk. It must be a waiting room. Abigala and I sit down, and we wait. Ava goes into an office with someone wearing a uniform, and Anna goes with her, and Abigala and I wait. And wait. We do not talk. There is nothing to say. Somewhere on the other side of any of these walls could be our mom and dad and we are so close and we do not want to ruin it, we do not want to jinx it, we do not want to breathe a word unless it would jeopardize the whole thing, so we sit, and wait. And wait. I watch the clock on the wall. The minute hand moves, the hour hand moves, Abigala leans her head on my shoulder and closes her eyes but I know she does not sleep. We have had nights like this before. Usually it is when Mom or Dad does not come home when they are supposed to. Usually it¡¯s Mom. Dad would tell us to go to bed but we would not listen and he would not press; he would just sit with us on the couch, an arm around each of us, and open a book in his lap. He would not read; he would watch the clock just like I am doing now. I would turn a page every so often but I would not be able to read much, neither would Abigala, she would close her eyes but she would not sleep, not until Mom came home, and every time this happened she would be exasperated that we waited up for her again, of course she was coming home, she would always come home, we didn¡¯t have to wait for her every time. But every time we waited. And we wait. The first person I see in hours other than Abigala is the lawyer again, Anna. It is now the early hours of the morning, and we have just been sitting here, and when she comes back into the waiting room Abigala opens her eyes, and then pushes herself to her feet. Anna smiles, and she does not say anything either, but she gestures to a door. We go through it, and another, and one more, and then Anna uses what looks like an ID card to open one last door, and finally finally finally, for the first time in months, in a year, I see my parents. I bury myself in my father¡¯s arms. He¡¯s shaking, I can feel him pressing kisses to the top of my head, and then I feel my mother, too, she¡¯s reaching out for me, and my dad goes to Abigala, she is crying a little, and I wipe at my eyes too. My parents, my parents are here, Ava found me my parents, Ava got me Abigala and she got me my parents, she did it, she said she was going to do it and she did it. ¡°Hey, baby,¡± says my dad softly, he¡¯s talking to Abigala, he reaches out for her, and my mom takes my hand and hugs me again. And then we sit, they were sitting in two hard chairs around a table and there are two more, this looks like an interrogation room from one of Ava and Penny¡¯s police dramas, and my mom runs her fingers over the ring on my left hand. ¡°Abbie.¡± ¡°Mom,¡± I say softly, my voice catching. Her eyes are full of concern. ¡°Are you okay? What happened?¡± ¡°They raided the house,¡± I say softly. ¡°They arrested you. They took the boys back.¡± ¡°Back,¡± whispers Dad, he has tears in his eyes and I haven¡¯t seen him with a beard in years, and I look at Abigala. She shrugs, she wasn¡¯t there, she doesn¡¯t know what happened, she knows other things that happen and I wonder if my parents know about that, about her, but I have to tell them what I know now. ¡°We got everyone who was of age out in time. So by the time they got to us in the back room it was just me and the underage boys. So¡­¡± ¡°Abbie,¡± says Mom again, now she grabs onto my finger with the ring, and I take a breath. ¡°She chose me, in exchange for everyone else getting sent somewhere safe. Not back to their wives or to an agency. Because they were underage.¡± ¡°You,¡± says Dad. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°You¡¯re married,¡± says Mom softly, and I smile, and then I laugh, and Abigala stands up, running her fingers through her hair, but I ignore her. ¡°I¡¯m okay, Mom, I promise, I¡¯m okay. My wife.¡± Dad winces. ¡°My wife chose me because she knew I was eighteen and she had the rest of them put into homes, safe homes, not agencies.¡± Mom sighs, leaning back in her chair. She lets go of my hands. ¡°Where¡¯s your wife now?¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°In the other room with the lawyer, trying to get you out of here.¡± Mom and Dad¡¯s eyebrows go up. ¡°Really,¡± says Dad softly. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Oh, god, Aber,¡± says Abigala. Mom shakes her head. ¡°You stayed?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I say softly. ¡°Actually, I went to her, again, I looked for her, because she died, but she didn¡¯t actually die, but, that doesn¡¯t matter, okay.¡± ¡°It does,¡± whispers Mom, and Abigala opens her mouth to say something else, but then the door opens again, and Anna pokes her head in. ¡°Abigala. We need to talk to you.¡± God, what do they need to talk to her about, I don¡¯t know and right now I don¡¯t care, she gets up and she follows the lawyer out of the room and as soon as the door is closed again they turn their attention right back to me. I look at them, and Dad takes a deep breath. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Are you in danger?¡± asks Mom. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Are you clean?¡± asks Dad. I open my mouth, and then take a breath. My mother¡¯s eyebrows knit together, and she leans forward. ¡°Aber.¡± ¡°Abbie,¡± says Dad softly, and I shake my head, biting my lip, and then say, ¡°No.¡± ¡°You stayed with her,¡± says Mom softly, her eyes full of concern, she reaches forward for my hands again, and I smile, and I shake my head. ¡°Mom, no, it¡¯s okay, I promise.¡± ¡°Aber,¡± says Dad, I haven¡¯t heard my parents say my name in a year and now they are here and they are worried for me and I¡¯m sure they have been worried about me the whole time we¡¯ve been apart but about this, this was one thing they didn¡¯t need to be worried about. ¡°You stayed with Mom, Dad.¡± ¡°I chose your mother.¡± ¡°And you love her,¡± I say softly. Mom¡¯s fingers squeeze around mine. ¡°You love this woman? Who took you from your home and forced you to marry her?¡± ¡°It was more her mother who did all that,¡± I mutter, but they don¡¯t seem to hear. Dad gets up out of his chair again and comes around to hug me, and I stand to hug him again, and I feel him shake slightly. ¡°Oh, my god, are you okay?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I whisper into his shoulder. ¡°Yeah, Dad, I promise I¡¯m okay. I promise.¡± ¡°Oh god, thank god,¡± he murmurs, and I smile, and gently pull away from him. ¡°Oh, god, you too, I missed you guys, I was trying to get back to you and to find Abigala the whole time, and Ava-¡± ¡°Ava, Ava LeGatte, you know Ava LeGatte?¡± asks my father, and my jaw drops. ¡°I-¡± ¡°With everything her mother did,¡± my mother starts to say, and then the door opens again, and Abigala comes running back in. This is chaos, I can¡¯t think straight, but then Ava appears in the doorway as well, and everything is clear when I see her. She smiles slightly, at me, and then at my parents, and she says, ¡°You¡¯re free to go.¡± ¡°Oh, my god,¡± I whisper, and I go to her and I wrap her up in a hug. She seems a bit surprised, but she hugs me back, and then I let go of her and turn back to my parents. ¡°Mom.¡± Her mouth is open. Abigala¡¯s got a look on her face that I can¡¯t quite read, and my dad looks in between Ava and I. ¡°Aber, Ms. LeGatte has visited us a few times, we¡¯ve been working out the details with her for a few weeks.¡± Mom elbows him in the ribs. ¡°Addis.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve visited my parents?¡± I say to Ava in shock, and my mother steps forward. ¡°You¡¯re married to our son?¡± ¡°Well, now that we¡¯re all caught up,¡± mutters Ava, pushing a lock of hair out of her face. ¡°Listen, I am their next contact, okay, the office reached out to me when the case was moving forward.¡± ¡°Why you?¡± I ask in disbelief, and she shrugs. ¡°They¡¯re my parents-in-law.¡± ¡°They¡¯re my parents.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± says Ava with a slight smile. ¡°And you¡¯re married.¡± ¡°Well, what about me, then?¡± says Abigala before I can even respond to that. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I know about them?¡± ¡°Mm, that is a good question,¡± says Ava, flashing her a grin, ¡°and the answer is that I outrank you. Addis, Ane, would you like to go home?¡± ¡°Ava,¡± I say softly. ¡°You¡¯ve seen them? How many times have you seen them?¡± ¡°A few,¡± answers Ava after a moment, and I exhale sharply. ¡°You¡¯re only telling me now?¡± ¡°You visited us how many times and you never told us you were married to our son?¡± repeats my mother, I have only seen her this upset a few times in my life and it¡¯s a stark contrast to how relieved she was just a few minutes earlier. Ava sighs, and waves her hands in the air, and says, ¡°Yeah, and this is why. Okay, it is three in the morning and I just bailed you out of jail and we should go home.¡± ¡°That was like, a million dollars,¡± says Dad, and Ava nods. ¡°Yeah, I know, you people are a huge threat to society. So come on, then, and let¡¯s go back to my house before I change my mind about the invitation.¡± ¡°Wait, what does that mean?¡± I say, grabbing Ava¡¯s hand. ¡°That you bailed them out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m responsible for them,¡± says Ava, ¡°while they stay under my roof.¡± ¡°And we¡¯ll be staying under your roof?¡± says Mom. Dad grabs her hand too, but Ava just smiles slightly. ¡°It¡¯s a pretty big roof.¡± ¡°No matter how picturesque I¡¯m not sure I want to stay in Lilly LeGatte¡¯s lair,¡± says Mom cooly, and Ava shakes the hair out of her eyes. ¡°Lilly LeGatte is dead, and her daughter is married to your son.¡± ¡°Ava,¡± I say softly. Her fingers squeeze mine, and Mom looks down at our hands, and her nostrils flare, and there are so many thoughts in my head right now that I feel like I am about to explode. ¡°Mom. Please. Let¡¯s go home.¡± ¡°With her?¡± says Dad incredulously, gesturing with his chin towards Ava. ¡°She¡¯s home?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Dad looks at Mom. He squeezes her fingers too, and we go home. Bayan is waiting in the car by the gate. Ava says goodbye to Anna and says they¡¯ll talk soon, and my parents hug her too, she is their lawyer, and then we pile into the car. Abigala rests her head on our dad¡¯s shoulder and I sit next to Ava and I feel Mom¡¯s eyes boring into me, and then into Ava, and then back into me. Ava did not tell me that she has met my parents before, has spoken to my parents before, has been figuring out the details with my parents for the past few weeks, how could she not tell me that, and her phone buzzes. She sighs, pulling it out, and I say softly, ¡°Are you in trouble?¡± She grins a little, not looking up. ¡°Nothing I can¡¯t handle. I just have a few more things to do when we get home.¡± ¡°It¡¯s three am,¡± I say. ¡°We¡¯re all going to bed when we get home.¡± Dad raises his eyebrows but doesn¡¯t say anything, and Ava laughs. ¡°You¡¯re finding a room for your parents and then you¡¯re going to bed and I¡¯ll come to bed when I¡¯m done.¡± ¡°You always do this,¡± I say, and Mom scoffs. She is still looking at me and Ava and I don¡¯t know what to do about it. I look back at Ava, and she smiles, and then when we get home we do what she says because don¡¯t we always. Nua is asleep by the time I finally crawl back into bed in Ava¡¯s big bedroom, but he wakes up when I move the bed. He yawns, and rolls over, and says, ¡°What time is it?¡± ¡°Three twenty-one,¡± I say, glancing at the clock. He groans, but then opens one eye and looks up at me. ¡°Did you see your parents?¡± ¡°I did,¡± I say softly, and then I smile and I lean over and I press my face into his shoulder. ¡°They¡¯re here, we brought them home.¡± ¡°Oh, Aber,¡± whispers Nua as I fall on top of him, and he leans his head against mine, wrapping his arms around me. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s so good, that¡¯s so good.¡± ¡°They¡¯re here,¡± I say again. ¡°She got them out and they¡¯re safe and they¡¯re here.¡± Nua nods, I can tell he¡¯s smiling, and then I yawn, too. He laughs a little, adjusting himself a little. ¡°Where is she?¡± ¡°Work.¡± ¡°How?¡± he mutters, and I shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t know. But it¡¯s probably a lot of work, isn¡¯t it, she, she, she brought them home.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± says Nua softly. ¡°You knew she would.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I whisper. I close my eyes, but I do not sleep. I wait. This time it is not too bad, the waiting, because I am with Nua and I am waiting for Ava, and I know that she will come, eventually, she has to come back sometime. It is less than an hour when she comes back to us, and she comes in quietly through the bathroom, she must have been with Abigala and went with Abigala back up to Nua and my¡¯s room where she has been sleeping. Ava tiptoes up to the bed, but I open my eyes, and she sighs, and smiles. ¡°You should be asleep.¡± ¡°You should¡¯ve come to bed sooner,¡± murmurs Nua, he¡¯s still got his eyes closed, and Ava laughs in exasperation, shrugging off her sweater. She crawls into bed too, sliding between us, and Nua pulls the covers out for us. She yawns, and I roll over to face her, putting my arm under the pillow. ¡°Ava.¡± ¡°Aber.¡± ¡°For real,¡± I ask softly. ¡°Are you in trouble?¡± She smiles small, brushing her hair out of her eyes. ¡°For real. Nothing I can¡¯t handle.¡± I smile too, and finally she betrays a yawn, wiggling under Nua¡¯s arm. ¡°They¡¯re all set up?¡± I nod. ¡°They¡¯re in a bedroom, the big guest room, they¡¯re good.¡± ¡°Good,¡± says Ava softly. ¡°And Anna is a good lawyer, she¡¯s done cases like this before. Well, not exactly like this, but, it¡¯s gonna work out.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I whisper, and she examines me for a moment, her lips curving into a slight grin, and then raises her hand. She gently touches my cheek, stroking my chin as she pulls her hand back, and says, ¡°Of course, darling.¡± chapter 19 I wake up before both of them, only a few hours later. Sunlight is streaming in the window, and sometime in the past few hours Shiv has joined us on the bed. She lies curled in the crook of Ava¡¯s elbow, and Nua¡¯s arm is over her waist, his hand lying on the cat. I yawn, stretch, and look over at the clock. It¡¯s late morning now, but the house is still asleep. I roll out of bed as quietly as I can, and Shiv lifts her head to look at me, then rests it back down on her paws. I slip into the bathroom, and after I brush my teeth I gently push open the door to where Abigala is sleeping. But she¡¯s not inside, and the door to the hallway is open a crack. I smile slightly and go downstairs. The lights are off in most of the rooms, in the living room and library and in Lilly¡¯s office and her bedroom connected to it that Penny and Bayan have taken over now that she does not sleep there anymore. The only light in the hallway comes from the windows and from under the crack of the closed door to the room my parents slept in. I knock gently on the door, and I can almost hear the smile in my father¡¯s voice when he says, ¡°Come in.¡± My mother is sitting on the foot of the bed closer to the window, and Abigala is lying across it. The room is set up like mine and Nua¡¯s, and my father lounges on the other bed. He grins at me, and I smile back sleepily. My mother yawns. ¡°Who else is awake?¡± ¡°From what I can tell, no one,¡± I answer, sitting on the foot of my dad¡¯s bed, and he raises his eyebrows. ¡°You left your wife¡¯s bed?¡± Abigala¡¯s lips tighten, but I just shrug. ¡°I suppose I did, yes. They were both asleep, I didn¡¯t want to bother them.¡± My mother looks at me for a moment, then raises her eyebrows and draws her legs up onto the bed. She crosses them and leans her elbows on her knees. ¡°Tell me about her.¡± I tilt my head, glancing at my father, and he smiles slightly. ¡°I¡¯m curious about what you said, when you said that she died but didn¡¯t actually die.¡± ¡°Ah, yes,¡± murmurs Abigala, and I smile slightly. ¡°It¡¯s kind of a long story.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have anything but time,¡± says my mother quietly. I smile slightly. ¡°When I first met her, she was sick. In her lungs. And she had two other husbands, Nua and then someone else named Keol. And she was afraid that he was getting sick, too, especially since she always blew smoke at us.¡± ¡°Smoke?¡± asks my mother, and I nod. ¡°She used to chain-smoke. Like, a pack a day, or more.¡± ¡°You said she was sick in her lungs,¡± says my father, and I nod. ¡°Yeah. See, when she found out that she was sick, her mother gave Penny away so he wouldn¡¯t get sick too, and then she married Keol, along with another boy who she had known growing up. But he didn¡¯t want to be married to her, and her mother scared him. He killed himself. And after that she kind of gave up.¡± ¡°You slept with her,¡± says my father quietly, and I shrug. ¡°She mostly slept with Keol. He was always the prominent, from the time that I was there, until he died.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± says Dad softly. ¡°Who¡¯s the prominent now?¡± asks my mother, and I shrug. ¡°She didn¡¯t pick one.¡± ¡°Really,¡± says my father slowly, and I nod. ¡°She says she wants to do something different. ¡°Keol died,¡± I continue after a moment. ¡°But not from the smoke or anything. Ava used to give him some of her medication, but when Miss Lilly found out she stopped giving her the one she gave him. So he died from withdrawal, and then Ava stopped taking her other medicine and she died pretty soon after too. But Miss Lilly had made a deal with the doctors, and Keol really loved her, and asked her mother to do whatever she could to save Ava. So they took Keol¡¯s heart and a pair of healthy lungs from some other dead person and gave them to Ava and restarted her.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± says my mother softly. ¡°And she ran away with Sloan and Bayan¡¯s help to find Penny, in his rebel camp. And then Bayan sent us there, too, and then we got Bayan out. And then her mother, who¡¯s been, like, stalking Penny ever since she gave him away, sent a message through Bayan that said that she had Abigala. So we came back here.¡± ¡°And the rest is history,¡± murmurs Abigala through a yawn, and my mother smiles slightly. ¡°Wow.¡± ¡°Do you love her?¡± asks my father, and I look at him for a moment, then at the ground. I shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I like her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s always good,¡± says my mother quietly. ¡°Why¡¯d she get us out?¡± asks my father, and I open my mouth, then say, ¡°Don¡¯t ask me to explain what goes on inside her head.¡± Mom laughs, standing up, and sits down beside me, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. I lean my head against her, she¡¯s comfortable, she¡¯s familiar, she smells like I remember, and I feel her press a kiss to the top of my head. ¡°We appreciate it.¡± ¡°Me, too,¡± I murmur. ¡°I can¡¯t believe she didn¡¯t tell you,¡± says Abigala softly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about her,¡± I say suddenly, I don¡¯t know if she means telling me about my parents or my parents about me, but I don¡¯t want to rehash that right now. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°What about us?¡± says Dad, making eye contact with his wife, and I shrug. ¡°What happened?¡± Mom sighs, I can feel it against my head, and says softly, ¡°They arrested us as soon as they got into the shelter. That¡¯s why we always slept in the front room.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t¡¯ve,¡± murmurs Abigala. Dad smiles at her slightly, but lets Mom continue. ¡°They took us into jail, they wouldn¡¯t tell us what had happened to you, to the rest of the boys. They got people to testify against us. Even some of the boys that we had placed.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I say softly. Dad grins sadly. ¡°Not their fault.¡± ¡°No,¡± agrees Mom, smiling slightly. ¡°Only a few days ago did we hear the conviction. We were getting ready to spend the rest of our lives in prison when you two showed up.¡± The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I found Jimmy again,¡± I say suddenly, and Dad sits up, staring at me. ¡°Jimmy?¡± ¡°Jimmy Fellner,¡± I say, remembering his wife¡¯s name. ¡°From home.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± breathes Mom. ¡°Oh, god, how is he?¡± I open my mouth, and then remember his son. I tilt my head, and then say, ¡°He¡¯s good. Ava¡¯s gotten him out, actually, we¡¯ve found a few houses that aren¡¯t real agencies but aren¡¯t illegal. We got him and Sina out.¡± ¡°Sina?¡± asks Dad, and I shrug. ¡°Someone he came down to us with. But Dad.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± says Dad. ¡°Did he ever tell you he had a kid?¡± ¡°What?¡± says Mom, looking down at me, and Dad sits up. ¡°What? No.¡± ¡°His wife had a kid,¡± I say, ¡°and he ran away to us when they found out about it, and then they tested to see who was the father and it was him, so he ran away from the place Ava¡¯s mother put him because he heard she, his wife, was going to come looking for him again. And Sina went with him because he was turning eighteen.¡± ¡°Oh, god,¡± whispers Mom, and I smile slightly, although I¡¯m not amused. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I said.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± she says after a moment. ¡°We can look into that.¡± ¡°Are you gonna work with her?¡± I ask, looking up at her. I know that Ava needs help, and I know that she got my parents out, and I know that my parents have more experience than she does in how all of these agency things work. Mom sighs, and smiles a little, and says, ¡°I suppose. If she wants our help.¡± ¡°She will.¡± ¡°Well,¡± says Dad, stretching a little. ¡°Let¡¯s find out. You got anything to eat in this giant house of yours, Aber?¡± I laugh, and nod. ¡°Yeah. Come on.¡± I bring them down to the kitchen. My mother comments that she can smell the smoke, now that I¡¯ve mentioned it, and I laugh a little. ¡°Yeah, it was¡­not good, a couple months ago, but ever since the new lungs she¡¯s been able to hold back. What do you want for breakfast?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± says Dad as we go into the kitchen; he raises his eyebrows, looking around, he goes to look into the dining room, and then out the sliding glass door to the backyard, and I hear him say, ¡°Wow.¡± ¡°What do you have?¡± says Mom, and I laugh. ¡°I don¡¯t know, eggs, yogurt, toast, cereal, fruit.¡± ¡°What do you usually have?¡± ¡°Usually Bayan cooks,¡± I say, more to myself at this point. ¡°And Taymer¡¯s been helping with that, too, since he¡¯s been here.¡± Dad scoffs a little, coming back to sit at the little table in the kitchen. ¡°How many people live in this house?¡± ¡°Nine,¡± answers Ava, pushing through the door, Nua trailing behind her in his pjs looking sleepy. ¡°Counting you two, now. And Sloan comes in and out every so often. And then there¡¯s Penny¡¯s dog and my cat. Morning.¡± She comes to me and kisses me on the cheek, and Nua does too, yawning, and then rubs his eyes. ¡°You must be Aber¡¯s parents, I¡¯m Nua.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± says Mom, taking his outstretched hand, and he shakes Dad¡¯s hand too, and then goes into the fridge. ¡°Get me the eggs,¡± I say. ¡°I think,¡± says Mom, ¡°I need to ask you a few questions, Ms. LeGatte.¡± ¡°Please,¡± says Ava, ducking under Nua¡¯s arm as he holds open the fridge door, perusing the contents inside. ¡°Ava is fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure she is,¡± says Mom. ¡°Were you ever gonna tell us that you¡¯re married to Aber?¡± ¡°Nua,¡± I say. ¡°Eggs.¡± ¡°Eventually,¡± answers Ava. ¡°We had more pressing concerns, though, when I was visiting you in jail.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± mutters Dad, and I make a face at him, and then go to get the eggs myself. Nua pulls out a carton of milk and Ava gets busy spooning her yogurt into a bowl. Mom watches us for a moment, and then says, ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°Twenty-one,¡± answers Ava. ¡°When¡¯s your birthday?¡± She squints her eyes, thinking, and then says, ¡°Two weeks ago? July 5th.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± says Dad, looking at Mom, and then he looks at Nua. ¡°You?¡± ¡°Twenty-two,¡± he says, rummaging in the cupboards for a glass. ¡°Almost. August¡­¡± ¡°Eighteenth,¡± supplies Ava. ¡°Hey, Aber, what about you?¡± ¡°What about me?¡± I say, finally cracking a few eggs onto a frying pan on the stove, and Nua comes up and looks at what I¡¯m doing. ¡°You never said anything about your birthday, you¡¯ve been here almost a year now.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, I guess.¡± ¡°February 28th,¡± says Dad, glancing at Mom, and I take the carton of milk from Nua. ¡°We were underground, we weren¡¯t keeping track of the days.¡± ¡°You never mentioned your birthday,¡± says Ava slightly accusingly, and I laugh. ¡°We had way too much else to be worried about down there.¡± ¡°You two are just alike, aren¡¯t you,¡± mutters Dad. ¡°Did you say underground?¡± says Mom. Ava laughs, going back to the fridge for her blueberries, and suddenly Bayan is there by the fridge too, when did he get here, he passes the container to her and says, ¡°Miss Ava, you don¡¯t need to pick out the best ones.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to call me Miss Ava, but here we are,¡± she says, poking through the blueberries. She tosses the biggest fattest juiciest ones into a little strainer, and washes them, and then dumps them on her yogurt. I dump my eggs onto a big plate and put the frying pan in the sink, and Ava heads to the door. ¡°Where are you going?¡± asks Nua. ¡°Work,¡± she calls over her shoulder, and the door swings shut behind her. I turn back to my parents, who are staring at me. After a moment I say, ¡°This is Bayan.¡± ¡°Right,¡± says Dad slowly. ¡°And¡­¡± ¡°You just haven¡¯t met Penny yet,¡± I say, setting the plate of eggs down between him and Mom with a few forks. Abigala grabs one too and digs in, she¡¯s been quiet all morning, but there¡¯s not much for her to say. I wonder when we will talk about her. Bayan puts some bread in the toaster. Dad picks up a fork, looking at me still, and I say, ¡°He¡¯s Ava¡¯s brother.¡± ¡°The twin,¡± murmurs Mom, picking up a fork as well, and I nod. ¡°Yup.¡± Abigala grins at me, her mouth full of scrambled eggs, and Nua sits down with us too, a few pieces of his own toast on a plate. ¡°Seems like everyone¡¯s got a twin around here.¡± ¡°Not you?¡± asks Dad with a slight laugh, and Nua smiles too. ¡°Nope. Just me.¡± ¡°How long have you been here?¡± asks Mom, and he shrugs. ¡°Two years now, about.¡± ¡°How about you?¡± she asks, looking at Bayan, and he says, ¡°Fifteen.¡± Dad raises his eyebrows, and Bayan takes his toast out of the toaster and puts it on a plate. It¡¯s probably not his toast, it¡¯s probably for Penny. He does not say anything else, he just takes some butter and a knife and silently leaves the room, and Dad looks at me again. I shrug. ¡°He doesn¡¯t talk much.¡± ¡°Penny talks enough for the both of them,¡± says Nua, his mouth full, and I laugh. And my dad laughs, too. It¡¯s been a year since I¡¯ve heard my dad laugh, since I¡¯ve seen my mom smile, and I missed it, I missed them. Mom just leans back in her chair, looking at Nua, studying him, he doesn¡¯t seem to notice. Then she looks at me, and just shakes her head, and smiles. ¡°I guess we got some things to get used to around here.¡± chapter 20 My parents take a day or two to get used to things around here, and then my mom jumps into action. Two days after they get home she asks me to bring her to where Ava works, and so I take her to Lilly¡¯s office, I¡¯m not sure if she¡¯s gone into work today, but when I knock on the door she says come in, and I let my mom in. She asks if Ava needs any help, and Ava says, ¡°Oh, my god, yes,¡± and I leave them be. They are there the entire day, past the time I go to bed, but Ava is there when I wake up the next morning, and I murmur, ¡°Did you get along with my mom?¡± ¡°Your mom is awesome,¡± Ava murmurs into her pillow, not opening her eyes. I smile a little, yawning. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°We needed some adults in the house,¡± says Ava sleepily, adjusting herself, and I scoff. ¡°We¡¯re adults.¡± ¡°Are we?¡± I open an eye and look at her. She does not open her eyes, but she knows that I am looking, and she smiles. So my mom works with Ava and my dad asks me to show him around the house, so I show him the upstairs living room and the downstairs living room and the dining room and the library, we spend quite some time in the library together, and then I show him outside, the pool and the fountain and the garden that Ava built for Penny, and for Keol. He asks about Keol, the way Penny did, and I tell him what I can remember and what I think I know. He asks if their marriage was arranged, too, and I say yes. I try to explain that I was the first one she picked, really, other than Owen, but it was not as if she had much of a choice, because she only married him to save him and she only married me because I was the only one who was of age and she was going to have to marry someone anyway if not me. My dad sighs when I tell him this. We go back inside to the library again after that. It is later that week that Bayan makes a dinner for us and we are all sitting around the table, Sloan has gone back to Shan with the news of my parents and I hope she tells Haywood that I have found them again, and I hope they have news for us from Nerev¡¯s sister Paige, she¡¯s in contact both with Ava above ground and with Shan below ground and Ava spends the dinner trying to explain the whole Shan thing to my parents. Mom is incredulous; ¡°You lived underground for six months?¡± is her main question, directed at me, until Penny says that he lived underground for three years, and Dad laughs, burying his face in his hands, and says, ¡°That¡¯s insane. That¡¯s all I can say, Ane, that it¡¯s crazy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s crazy,¡± agrees my mom, ¡°that our son was underground for half a year when we didn¡¯t even know where he was and the only people we were in contact with were our lawyer and his mother-in-law who didn¡¯t even tell us she was his mother-in-law.¡± I look at Ava; she shrugs a little bit. Then her eyes light up, and she gestures with her chin to my Mom. ¡°Speaking of, you should talk to your parents about the annulment stuff.¡± I roll my eyes, and Nua scoffs. ¡°Not this again.¡± ¡°I actually don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad idea,¡± says Dad, leaning forward, and Ava grins. I look at him incredulously. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°You¡¯re nineteen years old, Abbie,¡± says Mom softly, reaching her hand out for me. She¡¯s taken to sitting at the head of the table across from Ava, and Dad usually sits next to me with Nua back next to Ava again so I can be near my parents. That¡¯s where Abigala used to sit, at Lilly¡¯s right hand, but Abigala does not have dinner with us anymore. She is angry at Ava and she is a little bit angry at Mom and Dad because they have agreed with Ava about the house arrest. I still do not know what Abigala has told my parents about what happened in the year we were all apart, but right now my mother is worried about me. ¡°You¡¯re too young to be married, you shouldn¡¯t be married.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I say in slight frustration, ¡°but I am, and there are other people who need an annulment more than we do.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like there¡¯s only a set number of annulments they can give out, Abbie,¡± says Dad. Nua snorts, but doesn¡¯t say anything, and I roll my eyes again. ¡°Yeah, Dad, I know, I just. I don¡¯t get why you don¡¯t want to be married so bad.¡± Ava laughs a little when I say this, reaching out for Nua¡¯s hand. ¡°I don¡¯t not want to be married. I would love to be married if it meant something real, but the way it is right now, it¡¯s just a trap. It¡¯s a contract and a promise that you can¡¯t break and you didn¡¯t get to choose to promise it. It¡¯s not fair.¡± ¡°Come on,¡± I say, looking at Nua, looking at Penny, but no one offers me support here. ¡°Mom, you¡¯re married.¡± And my mother laughs, looking at Dad, and says, ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°We never got married like that,¡± says Dad with a smile. ¡°Not legally or anything. We¡¯ve never been married.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t?¡± I say, and then I feel stupid, of course they¡¯ve never been married, why would they ever get married like this, Ava¡¯s right, of course Ava¡¯s right. Mom smiles, and says, ¡°No. We don¡¯t need the government involved in our family. We just made a promise to each other.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that nice,¡± murmurs Ava, but she holds up her hands and she holds her tongue when I glare at her. Abigala joins us, then. I look up in surprise, and she smiles a little, sitting down on the arm of Mom¡¯s chair, and she looks up at her, taking her arm. ¡°Hey, you.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± says Abigala softly. ¡°You okay?¡± asks Dad, and she shrugs. ¡°Yeah. Just¡­I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Anything you wanna tell us?¡± asks Ava under her breath, and I say, ¡°Ava.¡± She smiles slightly, spearing a piece of broccoli with her fork, and Penny stands up suddenly. ¡°Bayan, you need help with the dishes?¡± Bayan does not answer, but he rises too, and reaches for the plate in the center of the table. Nua stands as well, and when I look up at him he shrugs, reaching over for my plate too. ¡°Seems like a family matter.¡± I watch him go into the kitchen, and then I look at Abigala. She looks at me, too, an expression on her face I don¡¯t know what it is, and then she swallows and looks down at Mom. ¡°Mom, I got married, too.¡± Ava looks up at her. Our mom does too, she does not seem that surprised, and after a moment she sighs. She points to the chair on her other side across from Dad, where Taymer sits, and says, ¡°I know, dear.¡± Abigala sits. Ava stands. She moves over to Nua¡¯s seat to sit next to me, and I feel anxiety in my stomach. ¡°Why are you saying this now?¡± ¡°Because your parents need to know what¡¯s going on in this house,¡± says Ava softly, reaching over to take my hand. I pull it away. ¡°What, are we having an intervention?¡± ¡°No,¡± says Mom. ¡°Abigala, Ava told me a few days ago that you were married. She also told me that you were working with Lilly while we were away. I¡¯ve been looking at some things with Ava, and we¡¯re trying to untangle this web that her mother left behind before she died. We¡¯ve been meaning to come to you to ask what part you had to play in it.¡± ¡°I know,¡± says Abigala. she takes a deep breath, and then she says, ¡°I didn¡¯t know exactly what I was getting into. But I did know, generally, what Lilly did. I had met her before.¡± ¡°How many times before?¡± asks my mother. Abigala shrugs. ¡°A couple¡­times. Maybe like five or six.¡± Dad raises his eyebrows, and Abigala shrugs again. ¡°It was just, it was things I was doing, going to the place she worked and then places she was visiting and sometimes it was a coincidence but then she asked me what I was doing and I said I was doing research and she asked if¡­if I wanted to help her.¡± ¡°How exactly were you supposed to help her?¡± asks Dad, and she shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just started being her assistant.¡± ¡°When did she make you get married?¡± asks Mom, and I look at her, and then at Abigala. I don¡¯t know what she¡¯ll say to that. She just shrugs again, and says, ¡°A little while after you guys were taken away. She said she would take care of me, but I needed to help her too.¡± ¡°When did she tell you to have the kids?¡± I ask. Mom turns to look at me, lightning fast, and then her expression changes, from one of gentle understanding to one of confusion and astonishment. ¡°The kids?¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. I look at Abigala, and then at Mom, and then at Ava. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell her about the kids?¡± ¡°I figured it wasn¡¯t really my place, that part,¡± murmurs Ava, and Abigala shakes her head. ¡°Mom.¡± ¡°I knew you were married,¡± says Mom slowly, but I can hear anger creeping into her voice. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had kids.¡± ¡°Baby,¡± says Dad, his voice slow and controlled, ¡°how many?¡± Abigala does not answer. I do. ¡°Six.¡± She looks at me. So do my parents. ¡°Unless you¡¯ve had more, since Shan got their intel.¡± Tears are welling in Abigala¡¯s eyes. She shakes her head, but does not say anything, and Mom takes a slow, deep, breath. ¡°Abigala. Did you rape those boys?¡± Ava winces, she is thinking of Owen and of Keol, I know, I know, I don¡¯t know what to do about it, I don¡¯t know what to say anymore, why are we having this conversation right now, why are we talking about this, why did Abigala come down now to talk to my parents, what is going on. Abigala is crying now, and again I am angry, what right does she have to cry right now when we are talking about the children that she has conceived through forced marriages that she will not even confirm are legal. I don¡¯t want to do this right now; I stand up, and I go outside. I stand on the back porch for a moment, unsure of what to do now, and then I sink shaking into one of the chairs by the table out here. I was not prepared for this to happen tonight. The sun is setting behind the house, and I look at the long shadows on the lawn from the trees. I wonder if I should go back inside, Ava clearly wanted me there for the discussion, or maybe not, maybe Abigala just decided that now was the time and we happened to be there, I don¡¯t know what is happening at all but I do not want to hear my parents talk about rape and about my sister doing it. I don¡¯t think Abigala wants me to hear that either. She has never talked about her husbands before, which is the problem. She will not tell us where they are. I hear the door open behind me, and I turn around to see Ava coming out to join me. ¡°Hey,¡± I say in surprise, and she smiles, but sighs. ¡°Hey.¡± She has her laptop and a beer can, and she runs her fingers through her hair and then sighs. ¡°I asked her to come down to talk to your parents.¡± ¡°You did? Why now?¡± ¡°Well, I just said she was going to have to, sooner or later, and we would see what they said. If they didn¡¯t agree with me on the whole house arrest thing I¡¯d stop it and maybe she could start helping me and your mom.¡± ¡°Did you really think my mom was going to be okay with it?¡± ¡°No,¡± says Ava, putting her laptop down. ¡°Seems like she held out hope, though.¡± She goes to the railing and looks out over the pool, and then turns back to me. ¡°You want a beer?¡± I raise my eyebrows. ¡°Really?¡± She shrugs. ¡°I thought you wanted my parents to like you.¡± She manages a laugh at that, and says, ¡°Just try it.¡± She comes over and sits next to me, handing it over, and I take a sip. Then I wrinkle my nose and shake my head, forcing it down, and say, ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Not for you?¡± she says with a laugh, taking it back. She takes a sip herself, and says, ¡°Alright.¡± I draw my legs up to my chest, putting my feet on my chair, and wrap my arms around my knees. ¡°You told them about the husbands?¡± ¡°I kinda had to,¡± says Ava. ¡°Your sister complained to your mother that I was keeping her trapped here but didn¡¯t tell her why so when your mom came to talk to me about it I¡­¡± ¡°Was she mad?¡± ¡°She was so mad about the husbands,¡± says Ava softly, ¡°I didn¡¯t even want to bring up the kids. I mean, Abigala would¡¯ve told your parents right away if she had been forced to marry, right, so it seems like she had some choice in the matter, but we can¡¯t say the same about those boys. And the fact that she won¡¯t tell us where they are¡­¡± ¡°I know,¡± I murmur. I just cannot believe it all. My parents are back with me and I am with Ava and Nua and Miss Lilly is gone, it should be perfect, it should all be perfect, but my sister has betrayed us. She has done something bad and she won¡¯t even admit that she did something bad, and she won¡¯t tell us anything so we can fix it. ¡°Are they yelling?¡± ¡°They asked for some family privacy,¡± says Ava with a slight smile, ¡°so I think it¡¯s less business and more personal now. I asked if you should go back in but I think they want to talk to her alone for a minute now.¡± ¡°Is she yelling?¡± I ask again, and Ava laughs, taking another sip of her beer. ¡°Your mom? Yeah.¡± I peer at her. She notices. ¡°What now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I say. The night is warm and it¡¯s nice to be sitting out here with her, like this, if I was able to forget the context of the situation. ¡°You¡­you¡¯re working so much now, and you¡¯re working with my mom, and you¡¯re trying to figure out what to do with my sister, and we don¡¯t get to talk a lot, but you seem like you want to talk about something.¡± She smiles, and reaches out her hand, and I put mine into it. ¡°I just, I forgot, for a while.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± I say quietly, and she smiles a little, looking out over the backyard again. The sun is setting in the distance, behind the trees, and the sky above us is pink and orange. I tilt my head back and look straight up, and just in front of the house I can see a star, twinkling in the slowly darkening sky. ¡°When I was in the hospital,¡± Ava says finally, her fingers interlacing between mine. I look at her again, and ask, ¡°The first time?¡± She laughs slightly. ¡°No, the second time. When I left you guys for a few days.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. I remember.¡± She rubs her eye with her other hand. ¡°My mother had them test me for¡­¡± She trails off, and I raise my eyebrows. She says, ¡°Um,¡± playing with my fingers, and then, ¡°I can¡­get¡­pregnant. Which means it was just Keol who...couldn¡¯t. He was only twenty-four, but for some reason the issue might have started early for him.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I say softly. ¡°Um¡­¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not,¡± she says before I have to ask. ¡°Trust me, we would¡¯ve known by now, and I wouldn¡¯t be having this drink. But I could, if I wanted to.¡± ¡°Do you want to?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± she answers, letting go of my hand to pick up her beer and take a sip. She stares out to the sunset. ¡°Not yet, I don¡¯t think.¡± ¡°Only got a few years left,¡± I say quietly, and she smiles slightly. ¡°We have more important things to worry about.¡± Yes, we do. I look back over my shoulder to the doors, and I see that the dining room is now empty. Ava follows my eyes, and then rubs her face and stands up. She picks up her laptop and brings it back inside, and I follow. She sits down at the table, and Taymer peeks his head in from the kitchen. There are a few plates left on the table, and now that the arguing Ahmans are cleared out he comes in to take them. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that,¡± says Ava, and he shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°You sound like Bayan,¡± she murmurs, opening her laptop, and I smile a bit, biting my lip. She doesn¡¯t look up, just says, ¡°Stop doing that.¡± Taymer looks up in slight surprise, and she glances at him. ¡°Not you.¡± ¡°Me?¡± I say, also surprised, and she nods. ¡°Yeah, you, stop doing that with your lip, it makes you bleed.¡± I make a face. Taymer smiles a bit, taking the dishes out into the kitchen, and she glances up at the door as it closes, and then at me. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± She twists her mouth, looking after Taymer again, and I say, ¡°He likes you.¡± ¡°Does he.¡± ¡°Well, he doesn¡¯t hate you.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± she mutters. ¡°That¡¯s not the same thing.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not afraid of you,¡± I say, and finally she looks at me again. I shrug. She smiles despite herself, shaking her head. ¡°I am looking for his brother. But he doesn¡¯t know the name of the agency he was at, or when they got there. He doesn¡¯t even know if they have the same father.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, Ava,¡± I say softly. ¡°You¡¯ve been thinking about a lot lately.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about Julian,¡± she murmurs, and I nod. ¡°He¡¯s safe. You can only think about one thing at a time or else you¡¯ll drive yourself mad trying to do everything.¡± She doesn¡¯t answer, fiddling with the ring on her thumb, and I reach out and still her hands. ¡°You¡¯re doing well, you know, everything that you and Sloan have been working on. You knew it was going to take some time.¡± ¡°I know,¡± she says softly. ¡°I just.¡± She looks away from me, her fingers still in mine, and I can feel them tense slightly. Finally she says, ¡°It would just be so much easier, if he were still here.¡± My thumb falls on Keol¡¯s ring, and she presses her lips together, and then bites her lip. I squeeze her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± She laughs despite herself, looking away with a sigh, and then Taymer comes in to collect a few more plates. She sniffles, and he looks at her, and then Nua comes in from the other side. ¡°Hey, Penny¡¯s looking for you, the show¡¯s about to start.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± she says, wiping her eyes. ¡°I forgot about the show.¡± ¡°No you didn¡¯t,¡± says Nua as she stands, closing her laptop, and she laughs, turning to him. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t, I¡¯ve been thinking about it all day.¡± He grins, taking her hand, and pulls her out. Taymer is just watching with some plates in his hand, and I look at him. ¡°Need any help?¡± ¡°No,¡± he says after a moment, looking at me. ¡°Go be with your wife.¡± I smile, and so does he, and we part ways. chapter 21 I do not know exactly what my parents talked to Abigala about, but it was a relatively short conversation given the subject matter. Afterwards Abigala went up to her room, my room, mine and Nua¡¯s, and she locked the doors behind her. The doors were never able to lock when I lived in there, but now the door to the hallway and the door to the bathroom can, and she locks herself in her room, my room, mine and Nua¡¯s. She puts herself on house arrest, bedroom arrest, she does not want to talk to my parents or me or Ava, especially not Ava, not after she has told all of us, finally, what happened. Nua and I go to the library a few days later, he¡¯s done with all the books he¡¯s lugged into the bedroom and he goes wandering along the shelves as I curl up on one of the chairs. He comes back after a little while, and puts a stack of books down on the table between them as he takes the other. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°You already read that one,¡± I say absentmindedly, and he laughs, picking the top one off his stack and looking at it. ¡°Yeah, but it was one of my favorites.¡± ¡°Mm,¡± I say, and he reaches over and whacks me on the arm with the book. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I say, looking over at him, and he grins a little. ¡°That was a big fight.¡± ¡°Was it?¡± I say. ¡°I left halfway through, I don¡¯t know what they talked about.¡± ¡°Yeah, you do.¡± I scoff, and sigh, and shake my head. ¡°Yeah. I mean, I don¡¯t know how she hadn¡¯t told them anything yet and I don¡¯t know how she thought she was just gonna get away with not telling them.¡± ¡°She was just putting it off,¡± says Nua. I sigh again, and lean my head back against the back of the chair. ¡°I¡¯m mad at myself.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°I know you wanted to get back to her,¡± says Nua softly. ¡°I wanted you to get back to her too. I thought it was so good that you had someone out there who you loved so much and I wanted it to work out for you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t not love her,¡± I say softly. ¡°I just don¡¯t know if I can forgive her.¡± ¡°Well,¡± says Nua, ¡°right now, you don¡¯t have to.¡± I glance at him. ¡°She hasn¡¯t apologized,¡± says Nua, ¡°she hasn¡¯t done anything to help make it right. I know you want to stand with her because she¡¯s your sister but you couldn¡¯t have known that all this was gonna happen and you don¡¯t have to support her just because she¡¯s your sister.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to support Ava just because she¡¯s my wife,¡± I mutter, and Nua laughs. ¡°No, but you don¡¯t. You support her because she¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Do you like what she¡¯s doing?¡± I ask him, and he shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t really know what she¡¯s doing. But I assume it¡¯s better than Lilly, and Lilly¡¯s the reason I was living on the run since I was a kid.¡± ¡°Streets?¡± I ask, and he smiles slightly. ¡°Sometimes.¡± There¡¯s a knock at the door, and I look over the back of my chair to see Dad pushing the door open. He grins at Nua, and then jerks his head at me. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Hi.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go for a walk.¡± I glance at Nua, and he smiles, picking up a book. So my dad and I go for a walk. My dad wants to go down to the beach, because he hasn¡¯t been to a beach in a long time, he tells me, but he doesn¡¯t want to go into the water. We take Nano, too, and she goes running down the sand. I¡¯m pretty sure she won¡¯t run away but I still keep an eye on her. We just kick our shoes off and go towards the jetty, the rocks that go down into the ocean. I sit on one, watching my dad try to balance, and he looks at me as the breeze brushes against us. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°I guess,¡± I say, leaning my head on my hand. ¡°I guess, I just, what did you talk about?¡± And he sighs, jumping off the rocks, and brushes some sand off his hands. I stand up to follow him, and he goes down the beach, towards the water. ¡°She told us about Lilly. And what Lilly had told her. Abigala knew that Lilly had a daughter, and that the daughter was married, but not that she was married to you.¡± ¡°I know,¡± I whisper. Nano comes running back towards us, barking at a seagull, but when it flies away she skids to a stop in front of me, her tail wagging furiously. ¡°And Lilly told Abigala that she needed help both in reforming the agencies system, and reforming their public image. That¡¯s why she wanted to mold Abigala into a representation of the way it could all work out perfectly.¡± ¡°And she fell for it?¡± ¡°Abigala met Lilly years ago,¡± says Dad softly, and the breeze picks up his voice and carries it away. He sighs, and shakes his head, and then says, ¡°I mean, at first it was just coincidence and because Abigala was going to the same places Lilly was, they were both interested in the same events, well, for different reasons. But when she mentioned that she had a twin brother Lilly got really interested.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what Ava said,¡± I murmur. ¡°She said her mother had been planning it for years.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± says Dad with a shrug, ¡°because your sister never told us she had met Lilly LeGatte. Why, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You would have told her it was too dangerous and she couldn¡¯t keep working.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± says Dad with a slight smile. ¡°But she had a secret, and Lilly knew it was a secret, and she told her that she was going to make her life better, and all of our lives better.¡± ¡°She arrested you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think Abi knew about that part until it happened,¡± says Dad with a laugh. ¡°There was a lot she seemed confused on. You must have been confused, too.¡± ¡°Well, yeah,¡± I say. ¡°I just, I didn¡¯t know how it all ended up like this but it wasn¡¯t just a coincidence.¡± ¡°No,¡± agrees Dad. ¡°But Lilly got her claws in, and she told Abigala she should get married.¡± ¡°Four times.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± says Dad with a sigh, looking down to the sea. We stop, the sand under our feet is getting wet and cold. Nano sits, panting, and I crouch down to rub her head behind the ears like she likes. ¡°Ava said that Abi traded me, to take her place. Ava¡¯s place.¡± Dad raises his eyebrows, and then shrugs. ¡°One way of putting it. You know, a lot of it, I don¡¯t blame Abi for. She¡¯s young, and she wanted to be active in this world and she didn¡¯t want to get us in trouble, she wanted to help us, and she, she fell for a scam. She got manipulated.¡± ¡°What about the kids?¡± And Dad sighs, looking down at his toes, and then he turns to me. ¡°That part¡­¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I mutter. ¡°I¡¯m stuck on that part, too.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°She won¡¯t tell us anything about her husbands,¡± says my dad, ¡°which means one of two things. Either they were forced to marry her, or they¡¯re underage and they were forced to marry her.¡± ¡°And the kids,¡± I say softly. ¡°Even if the boys aren¡¯t underage she still could have forced them to¡­¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± says Dad softly. He reaches down and puts his hand on my shoulder, and says, ¡°Is that what happened to you?¡± And I smile, finally, and then I laugh, and rub my eyes as I stand up. ¡°No.¡± I look at him, but he doesn¡¯t say anything, and I sigh. ¡°No, she did this weird thing, that I didn¡¯t expect her to do.¡± ¡°What thing?¡± ¡°She was nice to me,¡± I say, and Dad smiles a little too. ¡°I mean, I had to get to know her, a little bit, and Keol, her prominent, and¡­¡± I trail off, because it¡¯s awkward, I don¡¯t want to tell my dad what happened that day and that night, and even some of what happened after, and he just looks at me, the wind pushing against us. I smile again, and say, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Dad.¡± ¡°Do you love her?¡± he asks me, and I press my lips together, and he smiles a bit. ¡°It kind of seems like you love her.¡± ¡°She took care of me,¡± I say softly. ¡°And she got us out, she got us away.¡± ¡°She brought you to live underground in a secret tent world.¡± ¡°It was either that or stay with Miss Lilly,¡± I say, and Dad laughs. ¡°Yeah. The wife or the mother-in-law, I get that.¡± ¡°Dad, she got you out of jail.¡± ¡°I know,¡± he answers, ¡°and we¡¯re not letting her hold that over our heads forever.¡± I laugh. ¡°She won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Your mom and I always thought about it,¡± he says after a moment, starting to walk again, and I follow. So does Nano. ¡°As you got older, what to say if you ever asked us, you know, about marriage, or girls.¡± ¡°Dad,¡± I say with a laugh, and he shrugs. ¡°I mean, it happens.¡± ¡°You hardly let me out of the house, how was it supposed to happen?¡± ¡°Oh, please,¡± says Dad, nudging me with his elbow. ¡°I mean, Aber, with everything we¡¯ve seen, what do you think we would say if you ever came home and said you liked a girl?¡± I smile a little, scratching my head, and sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t know. You¡¯d vet her.¡± ¡°Yes, we would,¡± says Dad with a laugh. ¡°And if you ever came home and told us you wanted to marry Ava LeGatte the vet would immediately yield a no.¡± ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t want to marry her,¡± I say, kicking a rock in our path. ¡°She didn¡¯t want to marry me, either. Or Nua. Or Keol.¡± Dad looks at me, and I sigh. ¡°I mean, with Lilly as a mother, she had no choice. What about Lilly as a boss?¡± Dad smiles slightly, and puts his hand on my shoulder again before letting it fall. ¡°I know. We talked about that too. Maybe Abi didn¡¯t have a choice in the marriages. But she did have a choice in what she did to her husbands. Lilly couldn¡¯t have forced that.¡± ¡°Lilly was a rapist,¡± I say softly. ¡°She, she, I know she did things to Keol, and he had to go down and sit at the dinner table with her every night. And Owen, that¡¯s why he killed himself, and, god, she made Bayan sleep in bed with her, and she hit him a couple times and god knows what else, and he got up every morning and just kept doing the housework.¡± ¡°Did she ever do anything to you?¡± asks Dad, and I shake my head. ¡°No. Not like that. Just words. I don¡¯t think she did anything to Nua, either, because Ava¡­for the first few years Nua was here Ava didn¡¯t pay attention to him. She would¡¯ve cared, if Lilly hurt him, but Lilly was focused on Keol, and Bayan, because she knew that Ava loved them more.¡± ¡°Bayan¡¯s been here, what, fifteen years, he said?¡± says Dad, and I nod. ¡°Yeah. He¡¯s five years older than them, he was only eleven.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± murmurs Dad softly. ¡°And that¡¯s all he¡¯s done, for the past fourteen years? Do the housework?¡± ¡°His job is Ava,¡± I say with a slight smile. ¡°It was the twins, but then when Penny went away it was Ava. So he did what Lilly said but he also got Ava out of the hospital and he¡¯s been helping Ava, a little bit, with her work, at least driving her and stuff.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t she drive herself?¡± ¡°Bayan won¡¯t teach us.¡± ¡°Really,¡± says my dad through a laugh, and I smile too. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know why, but he drives her to work and he used to drive Lilly around, too, and he cooks and cleans and¡­keeps the house pretty.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± ¡°Ava¡¯s told him he doesn¡¯t have to keep doing it,¡± I say, and Dad shakes his head. ¡°Something like that¡­it gets to be a habit. And when the habit is taking care of someone you care about it¡¯s really hard to break.¡± ¡°Ava cares about him,¡± I say softly. ¡°She wanted to get him out of the house, too, and we did. But then we all came back.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± says my dad musingly. We¡¯ve turned a little bit, and are now heading back up to the house. ¡°And you came back for Abigala.¡± I take a big sigh, and my dad smiles, and looks up to the sky as we go. ¡°Ava and your mom are discussing what to do. I don¡¯t think we knew how serious it was until last night, though.¡± ¡°So you get how complicated it¡¯s been,¡± I say, and Dad laughs, stopping in the sand again. Nano goes running again, she has been trotting behind us flinging up sand from her paws but she sees something over there now and goes to investigate. Dad reaches out and puts his hands on my shoulders, and then he draws me in close to him and hugs me. ¡°I missed you.¡± ¡°I missed you too,¡± I whisper, hugging him back, and he smiles, and holds me at arm¡¯s length. ¡°I don¡¯t know how difficult it must have been for you, this past year, having to be married and trying to find out what happened and then realizing everything was so upside down.¡± ¡°When I was underground,¡± I say, and my dad laughs, taking his hands back to rub at his face. ¡°Oh, god, I won¡¯t ever be used to that.¡± I smile too. ¡°Two of the Shan people, Alis and Haywood, they were both married to Nova, but she was in love with Sigrid, those are all the Shan people.¡± Dad raises his eyebrows, connecting all of that in his head, and then nods. ¡°And Alis and Haywood realized that they didn¡¯t, they weren¡¯t in love with Nova, but they still cared about her, and so that¡¯s why they all ran away.¡± ¡°Makes sense,¡± says Dad. ¡°Kinda.¡± ¡°Haywood was really good to talk to,¡± I say quietly. The breeze picks up again, and I shiver. ¡°He reminded me of you.¡± Dad smiles. ¡°And I figured, it would¡¯ve been good for Bayan, maybe, to talk to him, but I think it was too soon and he didn¡¯t want to talk about it.¡± ¡°Do you want me to talk to Bayan?¡± asks Dad with a grin, and I shrug. ¡°Yeah. If he wants. Maybe. I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°See, this is just so Aberworth of you,¡± says Dad. ¡°I¡¯m trying to talk to you about how you¡¯re feeling, and you¡¯re worrying about Bayan.¡± ¡°I¡¯m worrying about everyone,¡± I say. ¡°All the time.¡± Dad laughs again at that, and bumps my arm so we¡¯ll start walking again. ¡°Oh, I know. You always had a lot of anxiety about everything and everyone.¡± ¡°Can you blame me?¡± ¡°No,¡± says Dad. ¡°But for right now, Aber, I want to know you¡¯re okay.¡± ¡°I am.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± says Dad, side-eyeing me, sounding as though he does not believe me. ¡°Listen. I give you permission.¡± ¡°To what?¡± ¡°To not care,¡± says Dad. ¡°I know you¡¯re worried about Bayan and Penny and Ava and Abigala and us. And yourself. But right now, your mom and I are fine. I¡¯ll talk to Bayan and Penny. Your mom and Ava will figure out what to do with Abigala, and you know your mom will help with everything Ava¡¯s been stressing about too just by being there. So you can relax. You don¡¯t have to worry about us.¡± I sigh. ¡°I guess.¡± ¡°Do I need to be worried about you?¡± asks Dad, as we approach the front of the house again. Nano comes us to join us, running in between me and him, she almost trips me as she darts around us. There¡¯s a little pathway that goes around to the side door, and the stones against my feet are cold after the sun-warmed sand. ¡°I know you¡¯ve said over and over that you¡¯re okay and that you¡¯re okay with Ava.¡± ¡°I am,¡± I say again, as we stop outside the door. ¡°I am, I wouldn¡¯t be, I wouldn¡¯t do, I would tell you if I wasn¡¯t. I am. I love her.¡± ¡°You love her?¡± says Dad, turning back to look at me, and I flush, I didn¡¯t mean to say that, but then Dad smiles at me, and he says, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think so.¡± ¡°Have you told her that before?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I say. ¡°Underground.¡± Dad laughs. ¡°Right. And how did you feel when you said that?¡± ¡°How did I feel?¡± I ask. ¡°I don¡¯t know, she said it first, and it felt, it felt good, and I wasn¡¯t sure, but I said it later, and she smiled, and that¡­was good.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± murmurs Dad. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± I say, and he smiles again, and opens the door to let us back inside. Nano shakes, we should have wiped her feet off before we came in, now Bayan will have to clean the entire kitchen and he won¡¯t complain one word about it. ¡°Yeah, okay. I think I believe you now.¡± ¡°Finally.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± says Dad, catching my arm. I stop, turning back to him, and he smiles. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± chapter 22 Don¡¯t worry. Don¡¯t worry. Don¡¯t worry. It is so not that easy to just not worry. And my dad knows that, he has been trying to get me to relax about everything for years and years but as I got older and as Mom and Dad let us help more in the shelter and learn more about what was happening it was impossible not to become more and more worried. Don¡¯t worry. Don¡¯t worry. I have Ava and Nua and I have my parents back and my dad will talk to Bayan and Penny and we are going to figure out what to do about Abigala. Don¡¯t worry. It will all work out. I spend some time with Ava and my mother, now, in her office. Abigala is still keeping herself locked in her room, Ava tells me that Bayan tells her that Taymer has been bringing her breakfasts and dinner but I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s doing, locked in there every day. Probably just what I was doing, back when it was just me and Nua in the house and we thought Ava was dead and we just sat around and thought about it all day. I wonder what Abigala thinks about. I wonder about it while I¡¯m sitting in Ava¡¯s office with her and my mom and they are talking about Abigala and about me and about what to do what to do what to do. Dad has finally got Abigala out of her room today, miraculously, for the first time in a while. She has let him in to talk to her once or twice but this is the first time he has convinced her to leave, he takes her down to the beach to walk and talk too and I wonder if that is allowed with house arrest. But Ava doesn¡¯t seem to mind when I tell her where my dad and sister are, and my mom doesn¡¯t say anything about it. She just tells me to sit down, and gives me a stack of papers to hold, like when I was little and wanted to be helpful. I look listlessly down at the top one; it¡¯s a chart of money, money, it¡¯s all about the money, outlining how much the audit that Ava wants to do on the agencies would cost. It¡¯s a lot of money, and this is only the agencies in the city, much less across the country, I wonder how much money the agencies department has. I only tune into the conversation when I hear my name, my mom says my name. ¡°Do you think Aber¡¯ll get it?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I say, looking up, and Ava smiles slightly. ¡°Welcome back.¡± ¡°What about me?¡± I say, looking at Mom, and she smiles a little too, rubbing her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just. I know you talked to your dad and now Abigala is talking to your dad but it¡¯s a lot, isn¡¯t it, it¡¯s all just a lot, you¡¯re only nineteen years old.¡± ¡°I was seventeen when I married,¡± says Ava. ¡°Knew it was wrong.¡± ¡°Were you brainwashed?¡± ¡°Kinda, yeah,¡± says Ava, and my mom laughs, and then she sighs. ¡°I, okay. Listen, this is a horrible thing to suggest about your own daughter, but I¡¯m not speaking as her mother right now.¡± ¡°Mom,¡± I say slowly, sitting up in my chair. ¡°I think we need to arrest her.¡± ¡°Mom.¡± ¡°Like, for real.¡± ¡°Ane,¡± says Ava softly, and then she falls into her seat and buries her face in her hands. ¡°God, I mean, I thought about it too, but I didn¡¯t want¡­I didn¡¯t know if I was going too far with it.¡± ¡°No,¡± says Mom, shaking her head. ¡°I mean, we have to set an example, right? We won¡¯t tolerate these abuses anymore.¡± ¡°Mom,¡± I say again. ¡°She¡¯s my sister-in-law,¡± says Ava, and Mom shrugs. ¡°Even more of a reason. You can¡¯t make excuses, even for family.¡± ¡°Mom,¡± I say. ¡°You can¡¯t.¡± And Ava and my mother look at me, finally, and my mom¡¯s face goes soft and she sits down next to me in the other chair. ¡°Aber.¡± ¡°You spent a year away from us, I spent a year looking for her, for you, and you¡¯re just going to send her away?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t about your sister, Aber,¡± says Mom gently, reaching out and putting a hand on mine. ¡°This is about a rapist.¡± My eyes fill with tears. I pull my hand away and I stand and leave the room. I find myself in my old bedroom. Abigala¡¯s bedroom, now, she hasn¡¯t left here for days, she¡¯s been avoiding us, she doesn¡¯t want to see us because, because why, because we are mad at her for doing bad things and she is mad at us for being mad at her. Nua¡¯s bed is messy and unmade, sheets rumpled, and I look at my own bed. I slept here for months, thinking about Abigala, trying to get back to Abigala, hoping that she was okay, and the entire time she was working with my mother-in-law. She was getting married, too. She was conceiving children. Everything I hated Ava for, before I knew her well enough. Everything I have always been afraid of. That¡¯s what Abigala did, while I lay worrying for her every night. I go into Keol¡¯s room and shut the door behind me. I sit on the bed, looking out the window at the sea. It is a cloudy day and the water is choppy. I remember lying here when I thought Ava was dead, with the cat. Now the cat is not with me but Ava is alive again and my parents are safe, at home with me. But my mother, our mother, wants to send my sister, her daughter, away. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. I lie down slowly, feeling tears burning in my eyes, I don¡¯t know what to do. I know that it is complicated and I know that Ava and Mom are trying to do something here but it is Abigala, I have worked so hard to get back to Abigala and Ava got me back to Abigala and now Ava is sending her away. There is a knock on the door, and I do not move or answer it. The door opens anyway, and someone sits down at the foot of the bed. It¡¯s Ava, I can tell, because she leans over and lies down next to me and wraps her arms around me from behind. I move away from her a little. ¡°You wanted to do this the whole time.¡± She sighs. ¡°Aber.¡± ¡°You wanted to send her away.¡± ¡°Kinda, yeah,¡± says Ava after a moment. I scoff, and I can hear her sigh. ¡°I mean, yes, Aber, but I didn¡¯t know if I was being dramatic about it, until your mom agreed with me.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe she could even say that.¡± ¡°Look, Aber,¡± she says softly, she reaches out for me again and puts her hand on my arm. ¡°It¡¯s not about you. It¡¯s about her husbands.¡± I don¡¯t answer. ¡°You know there¡¯s a reason she¡¯s keeping them hidden.¡± ¡°Your mother told her to.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± says Ava with another sigh. ¡°I think she did. Because she wanted Abigala to keep going, even if she wasn¡¯t there anymore. She thought Abigala would take her place, sometime in the future, not right now, but she thought eventually she would have trained Abigala to take her place instead of me and then she would wander around the city with her husbands and her children and be the model that I was supposed to be. And Abigala wants to do that.¡± I shake my head, even though my stomach is sinking, because I think, I know, she is right. ¡°No.¡± ¡°And she knows,¡± Ava continues gently, moving closer to me again, ¡°that I want to set a different model. She¡¯s just still holding onto hope that one day she¡¯ll get to finish what Lilly got her to start.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not fair,¡± I whisper. ¡°You don¡¯t know that. You don¡¯t get to say that, you don¡¯t get to arrest my sister.¡± ¡°Aber,¡± she whispers. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I really wish I didn¡¯t have to. But the only way this wouldn¡¯t have had to happen is if Abigala just told us. Even your mother agrees.¡± ¡°I¡¯m mad at my mother, too.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Ava whispers, leaning her forehead against the back of mine. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. But we¡¯ve tried. You¡¯ve tried. I know you¡¯ve tried your best. She won¡¯t cooperate. And her non-cooperation means that those boys are in danger.¡± I exhale, closing my eyes. Ava presses a kiss to the back of my neck, and it makes me shiver, and I know she smiles. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Aber.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be,¡± I whisper after a moment. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± She does not say anything. ¡°I¡¯m just mad, at her. She didn¡¯t have to do this. I don¡¯t know why she fell for it.¡± ¡°She wanted something different,¡± murmurs Ava. ¡°My mother is good at that. She manipulates.¡± ¡°Did she ever manipulate you?¡± I ask, and Ava laughs a little. The bed is small but I manage to turn myself around in it so I¡¯m facing her, and I look in her eyes, light brown eyes framed by those long eyelashes that blink slowly at me. ¡°I mean, like I said, she tried to brainwash me, right?¡± ¡°How did you get out of it?¡± ¡°I saw what she did to Bayan,¡± she answers after a moment. ¡°And Penny. I had to see it hurt people I love before I figured it out.¡± ¡°But you figured it out,¡± I say softly. ¡°Eventually.¡± She smiles a little, and now her brown eyes are filled with tears. ¡°I had to see her hurt Owen.¡± ¡°So why can¡¯t Abi see it?¡± I say softly. ¡°If she hurt those boys.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± says Ava gently. ¡°But I do know my mom was good at making people think she cared about them. She moved us out here, she got us Bayan when our dad died, she told us she was doing it because she loved us, and then she sent Penny away, and she said it would be better for him, and that she didn¡¯t want him getting sick. I almost believed her on that one, too. And then she wanted me to get married, and she said she would pick him out for me, and that¡¯s when I knew, I guess, that nothing was ever for our best interest, it was for hers. Abigala didn¡¯t have enough time to see that.¡± ¡°Do you blame her?¡± I ask softly, and Ava sighs. ¡°Partly. I don¡¯t know. But I do know that even if she thought what she was doing was right, you¡­you can tell when you hurt someone like that. If she made a mistake and then realized, fine. But Aber, she has six kids.¡± ¡°What are we gonna do with them?¡± I ask. ¡°If you¡­if you send her away.¡± Ava smiles slightly, tilting her head down so her forehead is against mine. ¡°Well. We can see if we can work out a way for her to visit them. And we can take care of them, when they¡¯re old enough. If we need to. Your parents can help. Until¡­everything is ready, and Abigala can come home.¡± ¡°I want this to be home,¡± I whisper, closing my eyes, I feel a tear running down my cheek, I don¡¯t know why, but Ava just smiles, I can tell with my eyes closed, because I can hear it in her voice when she says softly, ¡°Okay.¡± She lifts her hand and puts it on my face, and everything seems a little bit clearer now. I do not know what it is about Ava, but she makes things simple. Her fingers trail over my cheek, and then go under my chin, and then she moves closer to me, she nudges me so I roll, and she puts her head on my shoulder. She¡¯s facing the window, the sun is coming in beams through the white curtain but it¡¯s not too bright and she takes a deep breath, closing her eyes. I put my hand on her head, her hair is soft and everything about her is soft, and she smiles. It is soft too. She just makes sense. chapter 23 ¡°Okay,¡± says Ava, putting her hand on the wall. ¡°We knock it down.¡± ¡°Knock it down?¡± says Penny, raising his eyebrows, and then grins. ¡°Cool.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s what I¡¯m thinking,¡± says Ava. She turns to us; it¡¯s me and Penny and my mom, standing in the hallway on the second floor in front of her office. ¡°We have to put a door into this bedroom.¡± ¡°I was wondering if we were gonna cut a hole in that wall,¡± I mutter, and Ava grins, nodding. ¡°Yeah, I think we should. So we cut a hole in this wall, and I think Addis and Ane should get the big bedroom.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± says Mom, at the same time Penny says, ¡°Huh?¡± And then he says, ¡°Bayan and I have been in there.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± says Ava, holding up her hands. ¡°But that¡¯s only the first part. The second part is that we turn the boys¡¯ bedroom upstairs into a nicer room for the two of you.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± says Penny now, raising his eyebrows, and then he looks at me. I shrug. ¡°Yeah, sure, works for me.¡± ¡°Well,¡± says Mom. Ava smiles a little. ¡°And there¡¯s the little bedroom, inside that room. So, like, Aber, if you or Nua ever want a room to yourself, you can go in there, if that¡¯s alright with Penny and Bayan.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a little room?¡± asks Mom, and I nod. ¡°Yeah, I mean, it¡¯s literally just a bed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s cool, I think,¡± says Penny. ¡°Like, I¡¯m fine with that.¡± ¡°Good,¡± says Ava. ¡°Okay. I also think we can refurnish the upstairs living room.¡± ¡°Refurnish it how?¡± asks Mom, and Ava says, ¡°Turn it into more bedrooms.¡± ¡°More bedrooms?¡± I say skeptically, looking over my shoulder. The room with two beds in it that my parents have been sleeping in is down the hallway behind us, as well as the room Taymer has been using and then the third guest room, the door to that one is locked, it has been locked and no one has gone into it since the day Keol left it. ¡°Yes,¡± says Ava, ¡°because eventually we¡¯re going to bring the kids home.¡± ¡°The kids,¡± murmurs Mom under her breath, and Ava says, ¡°There¡¯s six of them.¡± ¡°Can we make three more bedrooms out of the upstairs room?¡± asks Penny, and Ava shrugs. ¡°Maybe, or just two, because we¡¯ll need a bathroom. So then some of ¡¯em will have to share a room, but it can be the bigger one that you¡¯re in now, Ane.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± says my mom slowly after a moment. ¡°Okay, that makes sense.¡± ¡°We can get a new bed for you, Penny,¡± says Ava, ¡°and move the two beds up there down to the new rooms down here.¡± ¡°Sweet,¡± says Penny. ¡°Can I interior design it up there?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask Nua,¡± I say, to both him and Ava. ¡°He¡¯s pretty attached to the lamp in there.¡± Ava laughs. ¡°We can put it in our room somewhere.¡± ¡°We have to go shopping,¡± says Penny. ¡°We gotta get all new stuff, for new rooms and my room and building more rooms.¡± ¡°Yes, we do,¡± says Ava with a slight smile, glancing at me. ¡°I¡¯ll have to hire someone for that.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± says Mom. ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± says Ava with a grin. ¡°Oh, good, it took me hours to figure out how everything could work.¡± Mom laughs, and then puts her hand on my shoulder. ¡°Well, good job.¡± She heads off down the hallway, and Penny claps his hands. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go tell Bayan.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± says Ava softly, as Penny goes bounding away, and then she reaches out for me. ¡°You okay?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I say, looking down the hallway to the guest rooms again. ¡°Yeah, no, that all sounds good.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± she says, squeezing my fingers, and I smile a little, looking at the floor. ¡°Are you ever gonna do it, then?¡± And Ava sighs too, and pulls a little on my arm so I take a step closer to her. ¡°We¡¯re setting things up.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Like figuring out what exactly we have to charge her with,¡± says Ava softly. ¡°And where she¡¯ll go, and what kind of deal we can make with her if she ever decides to talk to us.¡± I sigh. It has been a few days since my own mother suggested arresting her own daughter, a few weeks since my parents have come home, but no one has made any move on Abigala yet. She knows what is happening, she knows we are dealing with her, but she just stays in her bedroom when she is not with Dad, and even when she is with Dad she does not do much talking. She has shut herself down, and if we arrest her and send her away she will never speak to any of us ever again, I think. But Ava and my mom and my dad have agreed, have decided, they know what they have to do. ¡°Here¡¯s the other thing,¡± says Ava softly. ¡°I think what we can do, well. Part of the upstairs living room will have to be made into a bathroom, too, I think, so we¡¯ll have to do repiping and rewiring and stuff. But I think, also, I¡¯m gonna try and see how many bedrooms we can fit in there, if we rearrange everything and remodel. We¡¯ll keep a room for her, for when she comes back.¡± ¡°Will she ever come back?¡± I mutter, and Ava smiles slightly, squeezing my fingers again, and shrugs. ¡°I hope so.¡± I look at her, and she smiles again, and that is that. It takes almost another week after that for all of those details that I don¡¯t know anything about to be figured out. I don¡¯t know about the details and I don¡¯t want to know. Ava is slightly less stressed nowadays, because my mom has been helping her, but my mom is also slightly more stressed now. And Ava only comes to bed late, usually Nua or I are already asleep by the time she crawls in between us, and we only wake up in the morning when Bayan comes in to bring us breakfast. He is in his routine, the routine he has been in for fifteen years now, he does what he needs to do around the house and he does not know how to do anything else so he just keeps doing it. I ask Penny every so often if my dad has talked to him, to Bayan, to both of them, and he just says not yet. There is not much to do anymore. The first few months I was here I was constantly thinking about Abigala and where she was and if she was okay, and then when we were down in Tent City I was thinking about my parents and where they were and if they were okay, and then we came back here and I was thinking about Ava and where she was and if she was okay, and now they are all home and they are all working and figuring things out and I am too tired to be a part of what they are discussing but too awake to not do anything. I go with Nua to the library, we sit in our two chairs and he reads and I try to read but more often than not I just stare at the pages of a book, thinking about what Nua said about having a fireplace in here. If we¡¯re renovating the entire house maybe we could throw that into the mix too. It is about a week after Ava starts planning the house renovations that the other thing that Ava has been planning comes to fruition. I wake up early one day, she pulls me out of bed, and we meet my parents and Abigala in the foyer. Out of the window, in the morning light, a car is waiting outside for her. My sister hugs my mom, and then my dad, and then me. I hug her back. Ava is waiting by the door, and Abigala squeezes me close to her, and then lets me go, and looks to her. Ava opens the front door, and the two of them go out to the car. I go to the window, and watch Abigala get in. There is someone in the front seat whom Ava seems to know, because she talks to them through the window for a minute, and then she stands back and watches the car pull away. ¡°So that¡¯s it, then,¡± I say softly. ¡°She¡¯s going to jail.¡± Neither Mom nor Dad answers me. Ava stands outside for a moment more, and then turns back to the house. She comes back in quietly, closing the door behind her and leaning against it. She¡¯s close to me, I¡¯m standing by the window right next to the door, but I don¡¯t look at her. Finally Mom says, ¡°She knew what was coming. She knew what would happen. She still refused to talk.¡± ¡°Aber,¡± says Ava softly, putting her hand on my shoulder, and I step away. ¡°Don¡¯t Aber me.¡± ¡°Aber,¡± she says again, and Mom sighs. ¡°Okay. We should probably¡­¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. But she trails off, and I take a step back again, looking at all of them, my dad and mom and Ava, they look back at me, and I feel something in my stomach. I swallow, and Ava says softly, ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°You broke up my family,¡± I say softly. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°Aber,¡± says Mom this time, gently. ¡°We¡¯ve talked about this.¡± ¡°I know,¡± I say frustratedly. ¡°That¡¯s all we¡¯ve done, is talk, and even with all that talking you couldn¡¯t find time to tell me that you knew where my parents were and you were visiting them.¡± Ava scoffs, but my mom looks at her too, Ava never told my parents that she was married to me until the day I showed up in the jail to see them again, I am a bit angry at her for not telling me about my parents earlier and I don¡¯t know if my parents are angry about that too. ¡°What do you want us to do?¡± asks Dad quietly, and I make another noise, rubbing my face, my voice is muffled into my hands when I answer. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t know, because you won¡¯t tell me anything, so I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing, or why you do anything, so how am I supposed to make any suggestions?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been telling you,¡± Ava says quietly. ¡°We¡¯ve been telling you what we can. We¡¯ve told you everything you need to know.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I say, dropping my hands. ¡°Just like before. You told me everything I needed to know, except that Abi was working for your mother, and you only told me that when we had been underground for months because you couldn¡¯t hide it anymore.¡± Something flashes in Ava¡¯s eyes, and I remember the day that she locked me in the closet here in the foyer. I look over my shoulder to the door, and Ava follows my eyes, and sighs, she must remember too, she never apologized for that, did she. I take another step back, away from her, and she sighs. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Aber, but we¡¯ve made a decision.¡± ¡°I know,¡± I say softly. ¡°You made your decision.¡± Ava looks at my parents. Neither of them say anything. She sighs, and closes her eyes, shakes her head, and turns to go. Anger flares up in my stomach as she starts to go up the stairs, and I take a step forward. ¡°Don¡¯t just walk away.¡± Ava whirls around, a few steps above us. ¡°Oh, like that¡¯s not what you¡¯ve done this entire time, whenever anyone upsets you even slightly.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± says Mom, holding up her hands. ¡°Guys.¡± Ava ignores her. ¡°Really, Aber, you want to be married so bad, maybe try acting like you¡¯re old enough.¡± ¡°Ava,¡± says my dad, and this gets her to look at them, finally, how long has it been since a father said her name like that. She exhales angrily, her nose flaring, and then she turns and she walks away. I make a noise in frustration, and my dad says, ¡°Aber.¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s her fault, I know she should just tell us, but what now?¡± I say. ¡°We sent her away. She¡¯s not going to talk to us ever again. We just confirmed for her everything Lilly told her about us.¡± ¡°If she never talks to us ever again,¡± says Mom calmly, ¡°then she¡¯ll just have to go to court and see what a judge says.¡± ¡°Will you ever forgive her?¡± I ask quietly, looking up at them, and they look at each other. They have a look on their faces that I recognize, from when I was younger, when Abigala or I would ask a question that they didn¡¯t want to tell us the answer to like where did all those boys in our house come from or what do they mean when they mention their wife. Finally my dad says, ¡°Maybe. If she¡¯s sorry.¡± ¡°If she apologizes,¡± says Mom softly, ¡°to her husbands. We¡¯re not the ones who need to forgive her, they are. And it very well may be that they never do.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll find them,¡± I say. Mom shrugs. ¡°I hope we will. And even if we do, they still might not forgive her. And if she has hurt someone that badly, that they cannot forgive her, how am I supposed to?¡± I take a deep breath, and look at them. Dad smiles slightly at me, but it¡¯s sad, and I nod. ¡°Okay.¡± I go up to my bedroom after that. I think Nua is still sleeping, probably, I don¡¯t know if Ava went back to bed with him, but I go to Abigala¡¯s bedroom, my bedroom, Nua¡¯s and mine, and I sit on my bed. I sit on my bed, staring at Nua¡¯s, that¡¯s the one Abigala has been using, but she won¡¯t be using it anymore. I could sleep in here if I wanted. I could¡¯ve been sleeping in here the whole time if I wanted, back in my bed and away from Ava, but I chose not to. I chose her and I didn¡¯t even think about it, it was the easiest and most natural thing in the world to choose her. Someone knocks at the door, and I sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t really want to talk right now,¡± I say softly, and Bayan clears his throat. I jump a little, I thought he was Ava or my dad, and he just smiles slightly, and then sighs, and sits down on Nua¡¯s bed. I look at him. ¡°Oh. Sorry.¡± He shrugs. ¡°I know that you¡¯ve been asking your father to speak with me, and I appreciate it. It¡¯ll be good to do that, soon.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± I say again. ¡°I just, he was always so good about stuff like that.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± says Bayan with a slight smile. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to figure things out, now, as we all are.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I murmur, twisting my fingers together. ¡°You know, you don¡¯t have to keep keeping her house pretty.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± says Bayan, with the patient but tired tone of voice of someone who has been told the same thing a billion times already. ¡°I told Miss Ava this, in the car, a few weeks ago, she asked what I would do if she kicked me out.¡± I look up at that, surprised. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t kick you out.¡± ¡°No,¡± says Bayan, his lips curving into a smile ever so slightly, ¡°but if I was absolutely forbidden from living here, what would I do, and I said I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Do you have a home, or a family?¡± I ask. I should have asked this months ago, but I just never thought about it. Bayan just shakes his head. ¡°Not that I remember. There¡¯s nothing I miss outside of this house.¡± ¡°Yeah, me either,¡± I whisper. ¡°Except¡­¡± ¡°For a long time my job has been taking care of Ava,¡± says Bayan softly. ¡°And then Owen, and Keol, and Nua, and you.¡± I scoff, looking away. ¡°You¡¯ve all had your¡­unique challenges. Things I had to learn about you. What kind of foods you liked, what time you woke up in the mornings, where you spent most of your day. And also how you related to Ava, and how she took to you, and how the two of you got along. And for you, there was the twin connection.¡± I look back at him, and he smiles slightly again. ¡°Everyone says twins have a stronger bond than most siblings, or something like that. And I saw it with Ava and Penny, when they were younger. But two different twins, married to each other, missing their siblings, that was something I had never seen before. And Ava understood it, she understood you, and so we all wanted you to find Abigala again. Ava wanted to help you find Abigala again.¡± I can feel my eyes welling with tears. Bayan never lets on how much he knows but he must have known much more than I did much longer than I did, with the way he helped Ava and gathered information from Lilly. And I think of Ava¡¯s father, who died when she was six and they don¡¯t know why, and Penny, who was sent away when he was seventeen and he had no choice, and Abigala. I was taken away with no choice too, and I found my way back to Abigala. Penny found his way back to Ava. And then Ava sent Abigala away again. ¡°We all did, we wanted something good to happen so bad, and so it was hard for us, too,¡± Bayan continues softly, ¡°for me and Ava to figure out what was happening with her and what we needed to do. And even when your parents came into the mix, trying to balance all of that, it got complicated.¡± ¡°I know,¡± I whisper. ¡°It¡¯s disappointing,¡± says Bayan softly, ¡°and frustrating. You tried so long to get back to Abigala and when you finally did you learned she had betrayed you. So you stayed and you stood with your wife, which was something you would never have thought could ever happen just a year ago.¡± ¡°The world¡¯s upside down,¡± I say, and Bayan smiles. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be, Master Aber. We¡¯re home, in this house, with your parents and a family that cares deeply about each other, and in a few months we¡¯ll be bringing home six children to take care of. It¡¯s going to be a lot, but it¡¯s exactly how it should be.¡± ¡°How it should be?¡± Bayan shrugs. ¡°It¡¯s what is happening, so it must be what needed to happen.¡± ¡°That is a very,¡± I say slowly, ¡°a very philosophical way of looking at it.¡± Bayan smiles a little. ¡°Things wouldn¡¯t happen if they weren¡¯t supposed to.¡± ¡°Is that how you¡¯ve lived your life?¡± I ask him. ¡°Everything that¡¯s happened to you, from the agency and Lilly and Penny, things wouldn¡¯t happen if they weren¡¯t supposed to?¡± ¡°It¡¯s more of a big picture thing,¡± answers Bayan. ¡°The day to day can be full of unnecessary little actions, things that don¡¯t have any affect on the outcome. But the outcome will always happen, the way it was meant to. I know that I was meant to be here. Some of the other things, while I¡¯ve been here, that happened to me, they didn¡¯t need to happen, but overall, I¡¯m supposed to be here, in this house, with all of you.¡± ¡°Is it a god?¡± I ask. ¡°Who decides what was meant to happen?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± says Bayan. ¡°And I don¡¯t need to know. I just need to know that the big things, in the grand scheme of things, are right. And if they don¡¯t feel right, then they are a step on the path towards the right. And a lot of the big things, I don¡¯t have control over. I just have control over the little things. Like what to make for dinner.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not a big world-defining event, then?¡± I ask, and he smiles. ¡°No. Your marriage was.¡± I look at him. ¡°Abigala¡­going away,¡± he says after a moment, ¡°was. It¡¯s what needed to happen, so that we can take care of her children, and we can work towards finding her husbands. Because for them, what needs to happen is that we find them, and this is a step on that path.¡± ¡°Greater good,¡± I murmur, and he purses his lips. ¡°More or less. More like, untangling a web. Sometimes a bunch of people¡¯s strings get mixed up into a knot, and we have to work through it. But it¡¯s only a matter of time before what¡¯s supposed to happen does.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s undoing the knot,¡± I say. ¡°So we get our strings and Abi¡¯s strings and her husbands¡¯ strings all sorted out.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± says Bayan softly. ¡°We just have to take care of our strings.¡± This makes me laugh, I¡¯m not sure why, and Bayan looks at me, and smiles too. ¡°I understand if you¡¯re angry about it, though.¡± ¡°I¡¯m,¡± I say, I was about to say I¡¯m not, but I don¡¯t know if I am or not. I sigh, and shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just have to figure it out. And let what¡¯s supposed to happen happen.¡± Bayan smiles a little, and nods. After a moment he stands, and he leaves me alone. chapter 24 Ava is right, of course she¡¯s right. Abigala is not cooperating with us and her husbands are in danger and we cannot excuse her just because she is part of my family, this family. But I am right, too. The summer is waning, and as the heat goes Abigala¡¯s stubbornness comes in full swing. My parents always called us stubborn, the both of us, and sometimes I felt like it wasn¡¯t fair to me because Abigala was always much more stubborn than I was. She is showing it now. She is in a minimum-security jail, not even a prison, not even bars, it is a decent place to be, I think, but she is angry about it, because she wants to be home, with me, and with our parents, even if Ava has to be there too. But Ava is the one who has to go in to talk to her, occasionally my parents but usually Ava, and Abigala does not want to talk to her. A few weeks after Abigala goes away Ava comes home and announces that Abigala did not even come to the meeting with her; the guards at the jail said that she simply refused and they could not force her to respond to a meeting summons. My dad rolls his eyes when she says this. He and Mom went to visit her the week before, and she came to that meeting, but she was quiet and sullen throughout it and hardly talked to them. This is what they tell me, anyway; I have not been going in to see her. I have not seen her in weeks now, and I have stopped wanting to. I stay home with Nua and Penny and Bayan and Nano, and we go to the library and out to the pool and sometimes we go into town, on the train. We visit the big library again, and Penny points out what building he was standing on top of to throw pink paint all over me and Nua. Then he says he wasn¡¯t personally in charge of the pink paint, but he was there, and then we spend some time in the library. The newspapers are up to date now; a few of them talk about the death of Lilly LeGatte and her daughter taking over her work. Abigala is mentioned in a few of them as well, her arrest, and Nua and I even find our names in one. Penny is not mentioned in any. Taymer leaves us after a few weeks. Alicia and her sister Bellie have been looking for safe houses outside of the city, and they have helped fix one up so that it is ready to both take care of the boys they have and to take new ones. Ava did budgeting before, she¡¯s trying to figure out how she can start allotting more money for the better houses, she calls it a sanction against the ones that abuse the system and I don¡¯t know what that means but it seems my parents do, because my mom is working very closely with her. They are starting to get along better, now, Ava tells me my mother was a little bit icy at first but she has begun to warm up. For my mom, that means being more quick to criticize and lend advice even when someone doesn¡¯t ask. But that¡¯s good, it must be, that my mom and Ava can work together, because like Lilly said, they both have a perspective, and the two of them know more than just one of them would alone. So Taymer goes to a house an hour or so away, to be taken care of by Alicia¡¯s sister Bellie and the people that Ava and Alicia and Bellie trust. Ava has still not found his brother Caleb yet, but when they do, she tells me, they will send him to go stay with his brother. All of this she tells me at nights, usually Nua is there too but a lot of the times he is sleeping already when she comes back, and she comes to bed and I ask her what she did that day and she laughs and she tells me and then she asks me what I did, and I say, ¡°Nothing.¡± Nua¡¯s birthday comes in August. He is twenty-two now, and Ava helps Bayan make a cake for him. Penny says that Bayan must have done most of it, and Ava whacks him on the arm, and Bayan smiles, but does not say anything. He has not said much, recently, not even to Penny, and I want to ask my dad if he has tried to talk to him, but Bayan said it would be good, but only soon. I don¡¯t want to rush him. I don¡¯t want to rush Ava, or Abigala, either, so I just sit and I wait. There is not much else I can do. I help Penny take care of Nano, Chloe¡¯s gone back down to Shan with Sloan and Shiv the cat is very calm and follows Ava around when she¡¯s home, and Penny and I take Nano running on the beach almost every day. She likes to swim, she always goes bounding into the water and barking at the waves. Penny tries to drop her in the pool once as an experiment and she paddles around in there for a few seconds and then hops out and shakes herself off, spraying us with water. ¡°I think she likes the salt,¡± I tell him, ¡°she wants to drink the ocean water and she doesn¡¯t like the chlorine.¡± Penny laughs and crouches down for her, and she licks his face a little and then she leads us around the house to the beach. But Ava and my mother do seem to be getting along, until one day in the early fall when they come down to lunch in a stony silence. We haven¡¯t been having every lunch together anymore, usually we just wander down to the kitchen whenever we feel hungry so that Bayan only has to make one meal a day. He makes Ava and Penny breakfast sometimes, even though they¡¯ve told him he doesn¡¯t have to, but he knows how to do it perfect and it¡¯s just a habit for him and he doesn¡¯t seem to want to stop. And he still makes dinner almost every day, even though they¡¯ve told him he doesn¡¯t have to, but he¡¯s the best cook in the house and has nothing else to do all day, so he cooks and sometimes he cleans and then he spends a lot of time sitting with Penny. A lot of times they don¡¯t talk, they just sit, sometimes watching something on TV and sometimes not, just sitting. It¡¯s the first day of fall, at least the first day where the temperature is cool and Nua goes rummaging through Ava¡¯s big closet for sweaters, that Ava and my mother come down to the kitchen while I am in there with Bayan and Nua and Penny, looking for something to make for lunch. I am pulling ingredients out of the fridge for an omelet when Ava comes in, dropping her bag on the floor, and she goes right to the sink. She pulls a glass down from the cabinet and fills it with water, and then my parents come in behind her, my mom saying, ¡°I don¡¯t think this is the best way to handle it.¡± She stops, though, when she sees the rest of us, and Ava takes a long drink of her water, and says, ¡°Thank you, Ane, but I¡¯m not really looking for suggestions at the moment.¡± ¡°I thought we were working on this together,¡± says Mom, her voice is patient but I can tell she¡¯s slightly frustrated and I wonder how long they¡¯ve been arguing. Ava shakes her head. ¡°We are, yes, but I¡¯m still in charge.¡± ¡°Ava, dear-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me that.¡± Ava slams the glass down on the counter, and my mother looks at her. She sighs, and then leaves. God, I guess we do all like to walk away from conflict. My father looks at me, but it¡¯s Nua who answers. ¡°Her mother used to call her that.¡± Penny looks at him. We are quiet for a minute, I don¡¯t know what to say or do, and then Bayan gives a sigh. ¡°Keol.¡± I look at Nua, my stomach dropping, and he makes a slight noise in understanding. It has been one year, now, hasn¡¯t it, one year gone since the last time she came home and kissed him on the forehead. No one moves for a moment, and then I go after her. I find her standing in her mother¡¯s office, her arms crossed as she looks over the backyard, and I knock gently on the door. ¡°Ava.¡± ¡°I yelled at your mother,¡± she says, turning to me, and then sinks into her chair. ¡°Oh, god, Aber, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I say gently, sitting across from her. ¡°God,¡± she says again, burying her face in her hands. ¡°I¡¯m such a mess, I¡¯m sorry¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I say again. ¡°We know it¡¯s¡­it¡¯s been a year, since we lost Keol, you¡¯re allowed to be sad.¡± She doesn¡¯t look up, but I hear her exhale, and then she lowers her hands so her fingers are on her nose, but she can see me. I shrug. ¡°Bayan.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s too smart,¡± she says under her breath. I smile slightly. She looks up at the ceiling and says bitterly, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be upset, shouldn¡¯t be, he¡¯d be twenty-five by now and my mother would decide he¡¯s not worth the trouble, he¡¯d be gone anyway.¡± The silence hangs heavy between us, and finally I say, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to respond to that.¡± She sighs, wiping her mouth, and turns away. ¡°Never mind. I have work to do.¡± ¡°No, no,¡± I say. ¡°You don¡¯t get to do that anymore.¡± ¡°Do what?¡± she says, looking at me, and I shrug. ¡°Push us away because you don¡¯t wanna talk about it. As if...as if we¡¯re not a part of this.¡± She leans her head on her hand, and then sighs. ¡°You are. I know that. But¡­¡± ¡°You loved him,¡± I say gently. ¡°You pretended like you didn¡¯t, but you did. And you loved Owen, too.¡± She smiles slightly, but she doesn¡¯t look happy. Tears well in her eyes. ¡°I should have all of you.¡± I don¡¯t say anything. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have any of you, but I did, and now I should have all of you, but I don¡¯t. ¡°And he didn¡¯t have to die,¡± she says quietly after a moment. ¡°My mother just...let him. So that I wouldn¡¯t, but then I did, so it didn¡¯t even work out for her anyway. And Owen.¡± She rubs her lips together, and then says, ¡°He did it to himself, but he did it because of her.¡± I take a deep breath. ¡°You can¡¯t change any of that now, Ava. It¡¯s not your fault.¡± ¡°His last name was Mercer,¡± she says quietly, and then spins her computer screen to me. She has multiple articles open, all pertaining to a woman named Melany Mercer. ¡°That¡¯s his mother. Owen¡¯s.¡± ¡°That¡¯s his¡­¡± ¡°She used to work for my mother,¡± says Ava quietly. ¡°That¡¯s how Penny and I knew him. But she moved on and left him here. I don¡¯t even know if she knows that her son is dead.¡± ¡°He would be twenty-three,¡± I say softly, after a moment. She sniffles, and looks away, leaning her head on her hand. ¡°Keol would be twenty-five. You¡¯re twenty-one. Ava, my mom is fifty. She¡¯s been doing this for as long as you¡¯ve been alive.¡± Ava scoffs, but she smiles a little, and looks back at me. ¡°I know you¡¯re the one with the position, and the money, and you get to give the final order, but you gotta let her help you with this.¡± ¡°I know,¡± she murmurs. ¡°I know. I just, I don¡¯t know how to break through it, you know, I have my people who are advising me, and your mom¡¯s one of them, but my mother had all of her people, and I just can¡¯t, I can¡¯t get through to them, I can¡¯t convince them.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t there a time when you believed your mother?¡± I ask, and she glances at me. ¡°What?¡± ¡°When you were a child. When you still trusted her. You must¡¯ve believed what she told you. Which is okay, because like you said, she brainwashed you, manipulated you, you didn¡¯t know any better. But now you do.¡± She just looks at me, from across her desk, and I smile slightly just looking at her. ¡°And you, Miss Ava, are one of the most stubborn people I¡¯ve ever met, so if you can change your own mind, you can change theirs.¡± She gives me a short laugh, leaning her forehead on her hand, and sighs. ¡°I just¡­¡± ¡°Use us,¡± I say. She looks up at me. ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°We¡¯re your family,¡± I say, reaching my hand across the desk. ¡°You¡¯re stuck with us now, and we wanna help.¡± She smiles, a tear trickling down her cheek, and takes my hand. We¡¯re quiet for a moment, her fingers twist around mine, she has Keol¡¯s ring around her thumb and it rubs against mine. ¡°Tell your mother I¡¯m sorry,¡± she says after a moment, and I laugh. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you tell her?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± says Ava, ¡°but I don¡¯t want to, is she mad at me?¡± ¡°I think she knows you have a lot going on.¡± ¡°There¡¯s more,¡± says Ava softly, and then she lets go of my hand and pulls her computer back to her. She turns the screen so I can¡¯t see and starts to type something, and I say, ¡°More what?¡± ¡°More going on,¡± answers Ava after a moment, she is reading something, and then she takes a deep breath and looks at me. ¡°Yeah. Um. I haven¡¯t even, I haven¡¯t even told your mom this yet, but.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I say when she stops, and she takes a breath, and says, ¡°Do you want to meet Abigala¡¯s kids?¡± My eyes widen, and then I lean back in my chair. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been keeping track of them,¡± says Ava softly. ¡°They, um, they¡¯re not ready to come home yet, I know we were talking about renovating the house and we still have some time for that, but since they¡¯re so close in age we can, we can maybe visit them, every so often, starting pretty soon. Like, in the next month or two, maybe.¡± ¡°Are you in contact with someone about this?¡± I ask, and she shrugs. ¡°They needed someone to take over after Abigala went away, and since she won¡¯t tell us where her husbands are¡­¡± ¡°What about my mom?¡± I ask, slightly surprised, and Ava smiles a little. ¡°Well, she¡¯s still in the middle of the whole having-been-arrested thing, so they came to me. I don¡¯t think she knows. But they emailed me, yesterday, about maybe, we could go in to meet them soon. All of us, if we want.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I say softly, and then I swallow. ¡°No, yeah, I think that would, we should do that.¡± ¡°Have you ever held a baby before?¡± asks Ava, looking up at me, and I smile a little, and shake my head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°It¡¯s,¡± says Ava, and then she smiles too, and says, ¡°It¡¯s nice.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± I say with a slight laugh, and then I laugh again, and I say, ¡°Oh, god, the babies.¡± ¡°The babies,¡± agrees Ava. ¡°Still no word on the husbands, but when we do find them they¡¯ll have rights to their kids too, so I don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll be able to, like¡­¡± ¡°Keep them,¡± I say quietly, and Ava nods. ¡°We¡¯ll have to see. I think we should make room here, still, because they might not want them. But if they do, we can work out a custody thing, between them and your parents, because your parents have rights too, and then, then, when Abigala comes home.¡± ¡°When,¡± I say softly, and Ava hears, and she nods. ¡°Yes. When.¡± ¡°When?¡± I ask, and Ava smiles a little, and sighs. ¡°That, I don¡¯t know. I guess that¡¯s up to Abigala.¡± I bite my thumbnail. Ava looks at me. ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± I smile, and she reaches out for my hand again. I give it to her, and she looks at my thumb. ¡°We can, we can tell your parents about that, then, if you think it¡¯s a good idea.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I say softly. ¡°I think they¡¯d want to know.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± murmurs Ava in agreement. ¡°Okay. Um. I do, actually, have a lot of work to do, though.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I say with a grin, standing, and she holds onto my hand for a second before letting go. She looks up at me, and I lean my hands on the desk. ¡°I¡¯ll bring you up something for lunch.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, Bayan will make it, I¡¯ll just bring it up.¡± Ava smiles too, rolling her eyes, and mutters, ¡°Stupid boys.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± I say. She shakes her head, and I smile, and I go to the door. Before I leave, though, she says softly, ¡°I love you.¡± I stop, my hand on the knob, and I look back at her. She picks at her fingers, so she doesn¡¯t have to look at me, but after a moment she does, when I don¡¯t say anything, and finally I just say softly, ¡°Love you too.¡± And Ava smiles. chapter 25 It takes exactly forty-two days after that conversation, but we are finally given permission to go and visit Abigala¡¯s children. She still has not told us where her husbands are. She has been talking to Anna, who has been talking to Ava, since Abigala is refusing to see Ava. She has been talking to Mom and Dad, too, but less and less, and I think Mom and Dad do not want to see her that much anymore. They are angry with her, I know. They thought if we threatened her with arrest she would do the right thing. They thought if we actually arrested her she would do the right thing. They thought if they told her she could not see her children until she told us about her husbands she would do the right thing. She has not done the right thing, not yet. Bayan drives, because of course he does. He takes me and Ava and Mom and Dad and Penny and Nua to the children¡¯s hospital that is in the part of the city that is far from us, so the drive takes about an hour. Penny sits up front with Bayan as he drives, so he is not lonely and they can talk, Penny can talk, at least, and my parents sit with me and Ava and Nua in the backseat. I am going to meet, I realize, my nieces and nephews. Maybe just my nephews, I don¡¯t know if they are boys or girls, I just know that there are six of them. Maybe Abigala is the luckiest person in the world and got six daughters. Maybe she¡¯s like the majority of people out there and got mostly, or all, sons. Ava¡¯s nieces and nephews, too, because she¡¯s married to me. Mom and Dad¡¯s grandkids. Nua, I don¡¯t know what these kids are to Nua, or to Penny. But we asked them to come with us, because we are a family now, and if we take those kids home we will all be one big family in one big house, a house on the beach with the ocean in the front and a pool in the back and nine bedrooms and six kids, we could have kids, I asked Ava if she wanted to have kids and she said, ¡°Not right now,¡± and we have six years to figure it out, if we want to have kids of our own, it would only be me, not Nua, but we might have kids sooner than that anyway, if we take these kids home, if we take care of Abigala¡¯s kids. This is one of the best facilities for infant development in the country, Ava tells us, so of course her mother had access there. Abigala had to go in six times, every time she realized she was pregnant, to have the fertilized cells extracted from her uterus and placed into an artificial one, where they could grow outside of her body, so she could get pregnant again. Maybe less than six times, I think suddenly, if any of her children are twins. Ava explains all this to us, on the way, my mom knows it already because it¡¯s what she did with me and Abigala right after she got pregnant with us. My dad is holding her hand, gripping it tight, and finally after Ava is done telling us, mostly me and Nua, what happens to pregnant women, she looks over at him and says, ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t had babies around in a long time,¡± says Dad. Mom laughs at the look on his face. ¡°Come on, Addis.¡± ¡°Seriously,¡± he says. ¡°I was twenty-three when you guys were born, your mom wasn¡¯t even thirty, we didn¡¯t know what we were doing.¡± ¡°Yeah, you did,¡± I say in surprise, and Mom laughs, shaking her head. ¡°Oh, Aber, god, no. No new parent knows what they¡¯re doing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s reassuring,¡± says Nua. ¡°It¡¯s been nineteen years since we¡¯ve taken care of babies,¡± says Dad. ¡°We¡¯ve had our share of teenagers and young adults, sure, but babies?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why they stay in the hospital for a while,¡± says Ava with a grin. ¡°The doctors know what they need and they have infant care specialists to make sure they¡¯re developing right, like, socially, and everything. And then¡­well, the parents are supposed to visit, to bond with them.¡± I look at my parents, and my dad nods. ¡°One year after full development, when they could¡¯ve and would¡¯ve been born, that¡¯s when parents can take them home. But you¡¯re supposed to come and stay with them and bond with them within that year, even though they have to stay here where the doctors will take care of them.¡± ¡°Is that what you did?¡± I ask, and my mom laughs. ¡°Yeah. We practically lived in that hospital.¡± ¡°We live so far away,¡± says Ava softly. ¡°How would we go and visit?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that far,¡± says Mom. Ava smiles slightly, but does not answer. She takes my hand in hers too, though, and when she rubs my fingers I can feel the stress in them. After about fifty minutes in the car it slows to a stop, and Penny opens the door for us. He is excited, he wants to see the babies, he leads us inside the hospital after Bayan parks the car and rejoins us. We have to get visitor badges and go up and elevator and then we arrive in the newborn suite, and Ava goes up to the front desk to talk to the nurse there as the rest of us sit down in the waiting room, and then she comes to join us, letting out a shaky breath as she sits down. ¡°You okay?¡± asks Nua, and Ava sighs, leaning her head against the wall and closing her eyes. ¡°Oh, yeah, I just haven¡¯t been in a car that long for a while.¡± ¡°You never used to get carsick,¡± says Penny, and she smiles. ¡°No, I guess it¡¯s just, it¡¯s more that. Well. Keol hated cars.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± asks Penny after a moment, looking at me, and I shrug. Ava nods. ¡°If he didn¡¯t lie down he¡¯d get sick. And I know because it happened once, at that party that I took him to, remember?¡± I don¡¯t and Penny looks blank, but Nua and Bayan both nod. ¡°All over my shoes,¡± she sighs, and Penny grins a little. ¡°And then what?¡± ¡°Told him I hated him,¡± says Ava, as if it were obvious. ¡°And then he said ditto, and then we sent the car away before he was sick again, but we didn¡¯t want to go to that stupid party, it was Mother¡¯s idea, to showcase me all respectable and married. So we went to the beach.¡± ¡°The beach.¡± ¡°Not our beach,¡± she says softly. Mom glances at me, but doesn¡¯t say anything, and after a moment Ava continues. ¡°We didn¡¯t want her to see. But I took off my shoes and then he threw them in the water and then I told him to get them back and he did and they were cleaner but there was water in them so he dumped it on me, and then we¡­sat on the sand for a little bit. The stars were nice.¡± ¡°I bet,¡± murmurs Penny. I look at Nua; he smiles a little, sadly, but doesn¡¯t say anything. A man comes in from the door next to the nurse¡¯s desk. He¡¯s wearing a white coat and carries a clipboard and it takes me a second to realize he is a doctor, of course he is a doctor, we are in a hospital. Ava stands, he reaches out his hand to her and she shakes it and he says, ¡°You must be Ms. LeGatte.¡± ¡°I am,¡± says Ava with a slight smile. ¡°The whole family wanted to come.¡± ¡°I can see,¡± says the doctor with a smile, gesturing for her to sit again as he takes a chair as well. ¡°I¡¯m Doctor Hayes. Before we bring you in I just need a few more paperwork things. There are a lot of you here; are you all related to the kids?¡± ¡°No,¡± answers Ava for us. She gestures to my parents. ¡°These are the grandparents, Addis and Ane. And then Aber.¡± She looks at me, putting her hand on my knee. ¡°Uncle, I guess.¡± ¡°Uncle,¡± I say softly, taking her hand. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Right,¡± says Dr. Hayes, his eyes sparkling. ¡°And then you¡¯re married to Ms. LeGatte, correct? So she would be their aunt.¡± I look at her. Her eyes are wide and she¡¯s got an expression on her face as if she¡¯s never even considered that before, and my mom laughs. Dr. Hayes smiles again, he¡¯s got a nice smile, he must be good with the babies, and says, ¡°And the others who are here today?¡± ¡°Nua,¡± says Ava, glancing at him, ¡°also my husband, and my brother, Penny. And then our¡­friend, Bayan.¡± I have no idea what to call Bayan now. He was a servant and a slave for fifteen years and now he is free and he is still with us, he brings us to meet the babies. Dr. Hayes does not react to the hesitation in Ava¡¯s voice, and he just nods, scribbling something down on his clipboard. ¡°Okay, so you four directly, Ms. LeGatte, Mr. Ahman-LeGatte, Mr. Ahman, and Ms. Ahman, you¡¯re related to the children all through the mother. Am I correct that we have no information about the father?¡± I shift uncomfortably, both from the designation as Ahman-LeGatte and from the mention of Abigala¡¯s husbands, and Ava squeezes my hand. ¡°There are, potentially, four, fathers, and at the moment they¡¯re not in the picture.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± says Dr. Hayes simply, jotting down another quick note, and then he stands. ¡°Doctor Barlowe is in the room with the kids right now. I¡¯ll finish up a last few administration things and then I¡¯ll let her know you¡¯re ready.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He goes back through the door, and I look at Ava. ¡°What about the fathers, Abigala¡¯s husbands, what were we supposed to say?¡± ¡°Not his problem,¡± says Ava softly. ¡°Anna¡¯s the go-to for all that legal stuff, so when we figure it out it¡¯s on her to deal with custody issues. The doctors just need to know who¡¯s allowed to see the babies, not why.¡± ¡°So we are,¡± I say. She nods. ¡°Us four, because of blood and marriage.¡± ¡°What about us?¡± says Penny, jerking his head to Nua. ¡°We¡¯re blood and marriage to you.¡± ¡°True,¡± says Ava with a slight grin, squeezing my hand again. ¡°But I¡¯m only marriage to the blood to the kids. I¡¯m not sure where exactly they draw the line.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± says Dr. Hayes, appearing in the doorway again. ¡°We¡¯re ready. ¡°You all can come,¡± he adds after a moment, when just Ava and my parents and I stand. ¡°We¡¯ll need a lot of hands.¡± Penny grins, and he pulls Nua up, and we all follow the doctor through the door and down the hallway. We go past a few doors. We go past a few windows, too, into rooms that look like the living room of my home growing up, with comfortable furniture and toys and books and games strewn all around the floor. I¡¯ve still got Ava¡¯s hand in mine, and she looks at me and smiles a little when I squeeze. Dr. Hayes leads us far down the hallway, almost to the last door there. When I look in through the window on the wall I see a rug in the center of the room with some baby toys, like a rattle and a stuffed animal, and I see six cribs around the walls. The sign on the door says Ahman, and I feel something go through my stomach, I don¡¯t know what it is. Dr. Hayes knocks gently on the door. After a moment, another doctor, a woman, in a white coat and a surgical mask, opens the door, and steps out into the hallway. ¡°Hi. I¡¯m Dr. Barlowe, you must be the family.¡± ¡°The big family,¡± Ava murmurs, and Dr. Barlowe laughs. ¡°Well, good, you¡¯re about to double it, practically, it looks like.¡± ¡°Six babies,¡± says my dad softly, as if he needs confirmation of the fact, and Dr. Barlowe nods. ¡°Five boys,¡± she says with a slight smile that I can see in her eyes, even behind the mask. ¡°One girl.¡± ¡°Really,¡± breathes Penny. ¡°Five to one,¡± says Ava softly, and I look at her. My mother does too, and takes my father¡¯s hand. I can hear her murmur, ¡°The perfect ratio.¡± I don¡¯t know if either of the doctors hear, but Dr. Barlowe gives Dr. Hayes a bit of a look and another surgical mask, and he puts it on, and then Dr. Barlowe steps out of the way, and lets us enter the room. I can see two of them in their cribs. One of them that I can see is awake, a lump of blanket wiggling around in there, and I don¡¯t know if the other ones are awake or sleeping or scared or anything, I don¡¯t know anything about babies, but the doctors do, and Ava does, she has held Julian before, and my parents do, they have held me before. They did this, nineteen years ago, when I was a baby, when Abigala and I were babies and hardly old enough to come home, but they came to the hospital to see us and there were doctors there that took care of us, too, until our parents took us home. ¡°Okay,¡± says Dr. Hayes with a smile, cutting through the tense silence of the room. He goes over to a crib, Dr. Barlowe goes to another, and they each pick up a baby. ¡°Aber and Ava, your niece and nephew.¡± Oh my god. He lays the baby in my arms, wrapped in a blue blanket, a little baby boy, and I feel a spark go through my chest. The baby wiggles around in his blanket, one of his hands waving around in a fist, and I look at Ava, who¡¯s got the only pink blanket of the bunch, she sinks down into a rocking chair nearby and I can see the same look on her face that I can feel inside me. ¡°Take care of the children,¡± said Miss Lilly to Bayan as she was dying in his arms, and she was not talking about her children, not about Ava and Penny, I realize, finally. She was talking about Abigala¡¯s. Five boys and one girl, the perfect ratio, the children, the children, she wanted Ava to have children and Ava couldn¡¯t, so Lilly abandoned her for Abigala, who gave her what she needed. A success story, from the woman in charge of marriages across the country: a girl, her husbands, her children, and she told Bayan to do what he does best and take care of the children. Bayan is standing by the door still, though, just watching. The doctors hand two more babies to my parents. ¡°Addis and Ane, your grandsons.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± says my dad softly. ¡°And Penny and Nua,¡± says Dr. Hayes, carefully picking up one of the last two babies, lying in their hospital cribs. ¡°I don¡¯t really know what to say for you guys.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s alright,¡± breathes Penny as Dr. Barlowe lays the little boy in his arms. ¡°Do they have names?¡± ¡°The first four do,¡± says Dr. Barlowe. ¡°Mr. Ahman, you have Kian, he¡¯s the oldest, around sixteen months from conception, and then the girl, Olivia.¡± Ava looks down at the little girl in her arms. ¡°And then Nua, you have Finn,¡± continues Dr. Hayes, ¡°and Ms. Ahman, you have Xavier. Aber and Penny, you¡¯re holding baby ¡°Doe¡±s five and six at the moment.¡± ¡°Are any of them twins?¡± I ask, looking up at him, and the doctor smiles, and shakes his head. ¡°No. All one at a time.¡± ¡°No A names,¡± murmurs Ava, rocking back and forth in her chair, the girl in her arms seems to have fallen asleep. ¡°There¡¯s gotta be some A names we can pick.¡± And my mother laughs. ¡°Family tradition.¡± ¡°Is it really?¡± I ask, ¡°or did you just want to be annoying about it?¡± And my dad laughs too, at the look on my mom¡¯s face, and the doctors both seem to smile under their masks. ¡°We¡¯ll let you guys get acquainted,¡± says Dr. Barlowe, and she and Dr. Hayes leave us all alone. Not alone, there¡¯s thirteen people in this room, unlucky thirteen, I think to myself for a split second before the baby in my arm yawns, and everything else melts away. ¡°So if he¡¯s sixteen months from conception,¡± says Penny after a moment, ¡°then he¡¯s like, what, four months old?¡± ¡°Closer to six-ish,¡± says my mom. ¡°And then, what did they say, one month apart, or thereabouts? So Kian¡¯s about six months, Olivia¡¯s five, what did he say the next one was?¡± ¡°Finn,¡± answers Nua softly, staring at the baby he is holding. ¡°Finn¡¯s four and Xavier¡¯s three,¡± she finishes, looking down at the infant boy in her arms. ¡°She must have come to visit them, then, at least a few times, to name them, but not the last two.¡± ¡°She couldn¡¯t, really,¡± says Penny quietly. ¡°A month, two months ago, we were back at the house, trying to figure everything out, especially after Lilly died.¡± ¡°I mean, she just forgot about them, right?¡± I ask. ¡°Like she forgot about her husbands, until we brought it up again.¡± ¡°Will she be able to name these guys?¡± asks Nua, looking down at Finn, and Ava sighs, still rocking back and forth with little Olivia. ¡°We told her she can¡¯t see them until she tells us where her husbands are.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to give that up,¡± says my mom softly. ¡°It¡¯s the last great secret Lilly entrusted her.¡± ¡°They¡¯re probably somewhere in the city being taken care of by one of Mother¡¯s people, or back in an agency,¡± says Ava. ¡°The babies are too young to be taken home, anyway, so she¡¯ll probably hold out at least for another six months ¡¯til Kian¡¯s ready.¡± Baby Doe Five makes a noise in my arm, and Dad¡¯s Kian makes one in response. Ava smiles, shaking the hair out of her eyes, and takes a deep breath. ¡°This is just. Crazy.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± answers Nua, his voice sounds dazed. Mom bounces Xavier in her arms, and says, ¡°Who has the girl?¡± ¡°I do,¡± says Ava, standing. ¡°Olivia.¡± ¡°Olivia,¡± whispers Mom, as Ava comes over to show the baby to her. ¡°Oh, my god, all of this and she got one daughter.¡± ¡°Ane,¡± says Dad softly, he goes to her too, and my mom sinks to the ground in the center of the room, onto the rug, she moves a stuffed elephant out of the way and crosses her legs and cradles the baby she is holding to her chest. ¡°We lost our daughter for all of this.¡± ¡°Mom,¡± I say softly. I can feel my eyes start to fill with tears, and my dad sits down next to her on the ground. The babies can tell they are close to each other, they start making noises, Mom is holding Xavier and he reaches his hand out for his older brother, who is in Dad¡¯s lap. And my mom is crying, but when she looks down at the baby and his fingers stretching out she smiles a little too. ¡°Mom,¡± I say again. I go to sit down next to her on the ground, me and my parents and our grandchildren slash nephews, the only person missing is their mother, my sister, my parents¡¯ daughter, Abigala. We lost her, she lost herself, she followed Lilly into all of this and then into jail, because of this, because of these babies, all for them. She has not even met two of them. I do not know if she ever will. Ava joins us too, and Penny takes the chair she was sitting in. He has the littlest baby and he is holding him so carefully, Bayan goes over to look too, and Penny smiles looking up at him. Nua is bouncing Finn in his arms as he walks slowly around the room, his hand on the back of the baby¡¯s head, I can see the gold of the wedding ring on Nua¡¯s finger glint in the light against the baby¡¯s dark wisps of hair. My mom takes a deep breath beside me, and she puts her hand on my head too and pulls me close to her and kisses me on the forehead, and then she nods, holding up her baby, she has Xavier, she holds him up and looks at him, and the baby giggles. I can¡¯t help but smile too, and neither can Ava or Dad or Mom, even as a tear rolls down her cheek again, and I look down at the baby in my arms, the second youngest, doesn¡¯t even have a name yet, will we get to name them. He has his eyes closed now, he is nuzzled into his blanket into the crook of my elbow, and I say softly, ¡°All for them.¡± ¡°All for them,¡± agrees Dad quietly. ¡°All for a family.¡± I look up at him, and then I look at Ava. The sight of her, cradling a baby in her arms, sends something through me, again, another something that I don¡¯t know what it is, and she looks up at me too, when she feels my eyes on her. She smiles, shakes her hair out of her eyes, and nods. ¡°All for family.¡± epilogue When the summer is hot and the air feels heavy, sometimes we go down to the beach. Kian likes to go into the water. Olivia likes to walk on the jetty. Finn likes to build sand castles. Xavier likes to lie in the sun. Owen and I like to bury each other in the sand. I almost buried him all the way once, until our uncle Aber noticed and got worried and told me to dig him up. He was disappointed, he told me later that he was pretending to be a crab, but Uncle Aber only tells us to do things in that tone of voice when he is worried about us, he said, ¡°Aiden, don¡¯t do that, don¡¯t pour sand on your brother¡¯s head, dig him out of there,¡± so I listened. That was a few years ago. We¡¯ve buried each other up to the necks since then, but not over the head. We tried to bury Xavier once, but he kicked the sand off of him and ran away. Olivia wouldn¡¯t even let us put a grain of sand on her, she is too prim and proper for the beach. That¡¯s what Uncle Nua said once, but I don¡¯t think I was supposed to hear it, because he smiled but put his finger against his lips when he looked over and saw that I had heard. Today, though, even though the sun is hot and there¡¯s not even a slight breeze to cool us down, we are in the backyard instead of down on the beach. That is because our aunt Ava wants to lie on a pool chair. She is supposed to be watching us, but she lets us run around and around and around, as long as we don¡¯t crush the flowers. Gramma and Grampa used to not even let us play on the fountain, they didn¡¯t want us to fall in, but now we¡¯re old enough, they¡¯ve stopped being so bossy about that. Kian and Olivia are in the pool, and I am sitting with my feet in the water, because we were supposed to play a game, but they are arguing again. They always argue over who gets to be in charge, even when Finn and Xavier and Owen and I are all waiting waiting waiting to start a game. ¡°I¡¯m in charge,¡± says Kian, ¡°because I¡¯m the oldest.¡± ¡°No,¡± says Olivia. ¡°I¡¯m the girl.¡± ¡°Kids,¡± says Aunt Ava in her loud scolding voice. She is lying on her pool chair with sunglasses on, and Uncle Aber is lying next to her with his head on her shoulder, but he looks up and over at us when Aunt Ava yells. ¡°I¡¯m in charge, actually, and I say play nice.¡± Uncle Aber grins, especially when Olivia rolls her eyes and Kian makes a frustrated noise. Aunt Ava likes to say she¡¯s in charge, but we all know that Gramma and Grampa are in charge. Even Aunt Ava knows it, but she still says she¡¯s in charge anyway. Gramma and Grampa are Uncle Aber¡¯s parents, and our mom¡¯s parents, he told us once. He hardly ever talks about our mom. Our mom is his sister. He is married to Aunt Ava, who is also married to Uncle Nua. Uncle Penny is Aunt Ava¡¯s brother. And Bayan does not like it when we call him Uncle Bayan, so we just call him Bayan. He¡¯s the one that makes us food every night. Xavier gets along well with Uncle Nua, because they are both quiet and like to read. Uncle Nua likes to talk to him about books. Sometimes Aunt Ava says he¡¯s too young for the books Uncle Nua wants him to read but Uncle Nua always insists he¡¯s got a schedule. Uncle Aber rolls his eyes and says sounds like fun, but Xavier seems to like it. Uncle Penny is the really fun one, though. He¡¯s always ready to play with us, in the pool and with our toys and then to tuck us in at night. Me and Owen share a room, just because of space, Aunt Ava always says, Kian and Finn and Xavier get their own rooms, but they are smaller than ours. Olivia gets her own room too because she¡¯s a girl. There is an extra bedroom, but it is closed, always. Uncle Aber told me once, because I asked why I could not have the other bedroom instead of sharing, one of the few times that he¡¯s talked to me about his sister my mom, that they¡¯re keeping it in case my mom ever comes back here. It seems like she has been away for a long time, and she will keep being away for even longer. Finn and Xavier and Kian are going away this week, too. Xavier and Kian have the same father, so they¡¯re more brothers to each other than they are to the rest of us, but Uncle Aber says that doesn¡¯t matter. Still, Xavier and Kian¡¯s dad likes to see them every so often, so about once a month Grampa takes them to stay with him for a few days. Finn will visit his dad, too. The rest of us, me and Olivia and Owen, we don¡¯t know who our dads are. We know our mom is Uncle Aber¡¯s sister, but I think I heard Aunt Ava tell him once that our dads didn¡¯t want to see us. I don¡¯t know if I heard that right, so I never asked them about it, I didn¡¯t want them to know I was eavesdropping. But if it is true it would make me a bit sad. Olivia didn¡¯t believe it when I told her; she says any father would like to know his daughter. Sometimes she is a bit annoying about the fact that she is the only girl. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. But Gramma and Grampa and Uncle Aber and Aunt Ava never let her get away with it for too long. We all have to act fair, they say. They don¡¯t let Kian get away with being the oldest for too long, either. We¡¯re all only a month apart, and it really doesn¡¯t matter that much. We all celebrate our birthdays on the same day, November fifteenth, because that is the day that nine years ago Gramma and Grampa and Aunt Ava and the uncles brought us all home from the hospital to the house on the beach. Our eleventh birthday is coming up soon, well, three months, maybe, Bayan makes three giant cakes for it because Kian and Xander like yellow and Olivia likes strawberry because it¡¯s pink and Owen and Finn and I like chocolate. Finn¡¯s dad and Kian and Xavier¡¯s dad both come over for the day, too. It¡¯s the only time they come over to our house instead of Finn and Kian and Xavier going to stay with them. I think it¡¯s because we only have nine bedrooms and we have to save one for Mom, if she ever comes home. We have met Mom three times. She lives in a big apartment building that she is not allowed to leave, so we have to go to her. The first time we met her was on our fifth birthday. The second time was on our seventh birthday, and the third was last year, not on our birthday but hers, hers and Uncle Aber¡¯s, February 28th. It was cold that time, even in the apartment building that she lived in, we wore our coats inside but she let us run around the special visiting room and play with the toys and games they have in there for us, as she talked to her brother and her parents, and then she came and talked to us. We tell her about school and about the beach house and Kian and Xavier and Finn tell her about their dads, too, and she always seems a bit sad when they tell her about their dads, but she always asks questions about them. I have asked Aunt Ava and Uncle Aber and even Uncle Penny why our mom has to live in her own building, why she can¡¯t live with us, we even have a bedroom ready and waiting for her. Aunt Ava and Uncle Aber always say the same thing, they say maybe soon, she might move in to live with us soon, but they have been saying that for years. Uncle Penny told me the truth, a little while ago, when he said I was old enough to hear at least part of it. He told me not to tell my brothers and sister, but he grabbed me around the waist and picked me up and said, ¡°Stop wiggling, Aiden, or else I won¡¯t tell you,¡± and then he put me down and sat down next to me and he said that our mom had done a bad thing, a long time ago, and she was still trying to make it right. That¡¯s why she could not live with us. I asked what kind of bad thing, and Uncle Penny smiled a little, and said I wasn¡¯t old enough for that part yet. I wonder if he¡¯s told the rest of them, too, and just told us not to tell each other. I have often wondered why our mom does not live with us, but Kian and Olivia and Xavier and Finn and Owen often wonder why we all live together. There are way too many people here, Finn said once on our birthday when we were trying to figure out how to fit another chair around the dining room table for his dad. ¡°Why do so many people live here?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s a big house,¡± answered Aunt Ava. She pulled Uncle Nua¡¯s chair around to be next to her so they would both be at the head of the table, and Gramma and Grampa did the same at the other end. It is a big house, but there are still so many people. But other than it being a big house, Uncle Aber has told me why we all live here, he says it is because we are a family. Kian and Olivia and Xavier and Finn and Owen and my¡¯s last name is Ahman, and so is Gramma and Grampa¡¯s, and so is our mom¡¯s. But Aunt Ava and Uncle Penny and Uncle Nua¡¯s last name is LeGatte, so at first it might seem like we are two different families. But then there¡¯s Uncle Aber. He has two last names, stuck together with a line, his name is Aberworth Ahman-LeGatte. He sticks us together. As long as he¡¯s there he connects the two sides of us because he has both last names and so he is part of both families and so we all come together into one big family. And then there¡¯s Bayan. His last name is Haldar. But he stays with Uncle Penny, so that¡¯s fine too. It¡¯s just what you do for your family, Uncle Aber says. He¡¯s the sticky stuff between the Ahmans and the LeGattes, and everything he does is to keep us stuck together. Bringing Kian and Xander and Finn to see their dads, and bringing all of us to see our mom, and how Gramma and Grampa help Aunt Ava with her job in the city and how Uncle Penny helps Bayan cook dinner for us, and how Uncle Nua shares his books with Xavier and with all of us, really, and how Uncle Aber makes sure he comes around to tuck us all in, every night. It¡¯s what you do for your family. That¡¯s what the Ahmans and the LeGattes and the Ahman-LeGattes do. It¡¯s all for family.