Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 130673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 523(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 523(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
“Tucker.” I bit down on my lower lip, the inside of my head hot and throbbing. “I could really use some help here. Gravity needs some human interaction. Soon enough, she’s going to figure out her mommy can’t really take care of her properly. It’ll freak her out.”
I was sweating, ice-cold and burning at the same time.
“Aren’t you being a little dramatic?” Tucker asked with faux sympathy. I hated when he did this—cooed at me while saying something really cutting. “It’s just the flu.”
“Know what?” I huffed. “Forge—”
“Fine! I’ll come, I’ll come.” He sounded supremely inconvenienced. “I’ll cancel my date for you.”
Somewhere in this universe, a woman owed me her life for sparing her from this asshole.
“Thanks,” I said tightly. “Your altruism doesn’t go unnoticed.”
“Can I just ask one small thing in return?”
“What?” Words could not describe how much I suffered each time I had to communicate with the bastard.
“I’m a little strapped for cash, and I would love it if your brother could—”
“Goodbye, Tuckwad.” I hung up in his face.
Tucker wasn’t coming.
Nobody was, and things got progressively worse.
I tried to watch some Grey’s Anatomy under the blankets while Grav sat next to me on her iPad, but I couldn’t focus on anything past my state of misery and exhaustion. Grav was completely helpless, and when I accidentally complained that her twitching was making me dizzy, she even almost tried to make me a cup of tea, but I talked her out of it.
At some point, I dragged myself to the bathroom and filled myself a bath, bringing her along with me. I sat her at the foot of the claw bathtub with some toys and made her swear she wouldn’t leave my side. The idea turned out to be one of my worst, though, as I accidentally dozed off in the tub, and I would have slipped under if it weren’t for my daughter screaming at me, “Mommy! Mommy! Wake up.”
“I’m okay.” I somehow managed to crawl out of the lukewarm bath and gently collapsed naked on the floor, unable to gather the energy to pull myself together.
Gravity sat on the other side of the bathroom studying me with her big, frightened eyes, and I hated that I couldn’t give her the most basic thing she needed: a balanced and strong adult to lean on.
“What can I do?” she whispered to me. “Tell me what to do, Mommy.”
Sweetie, I am so sorry. This was a big mistake. I cannot do this alone. As soon as I get better, we’re going to pack our things and move back with Grandma.
The words sat on the tip of my tongue. It took everything in me not to utter them out loud.
“Can you grab my phone from the coffee table in the living room, baby?” I croaked finally. I had to bite the bullet and call Tucker again. I’d figure out the situation with Row. Maybe let my brother turn him down personally so he’d shut up already.
Gravity ran out to the living room, and I fought to keep my eyes open, mainly for her.
“Slowly!”
A few seconds later, she returned, wobbling carefully along the corridor, my phone pressed to her ear. Who was she talking to?
“…yes. And then she took a nap in the tub!” Gravity snorted, covering her pink strawberry mouth with her chubby fist. “Silly Mommy! I had to wake her up.”
The person on the other end of the line was talking. I was anxious it was Tucker. And I was even more anxious he was going to say something idiotic, as he did so often.
“Now? Now she is being sleepy on the floor!” Gravity was at the bathroom door, still pressing the phone—which looked so big in comparison to her—to her ear. “I think she needs a grown-up. Yes, I can give her to you.” She passed me the phone. “It’s Uncle Rhyrand,” she whispered.
Horrified, I put the phone on speaker, too exhausted to hold it. “Hi,” I groaned.
“What’s this shit I’m hearing about you fucking dying and not calling me to come help?” he demanded, enraged.
Okey-dokey, no speaker next time.
“Are you dying?” Gravity cried out in horror. “Mommy, is that true?”
“No,” I whimpered. “No, honey, it’s a figure of speech. Tell her, Rhy.”
“No, little stinker, Mommy isn’t dying. I was being dramatic.” Pause. “But Uncle Rhyland wants to kill her for being so stubborn. I’m on my way now.”
I heard the steady flow of busy conversation and mic announcements in the background and remembered he was at an important work thing.
“Don’t,” I protested desperately. “I’m feeling better. I’m going to take more Tylenol right now.”
“No offense, Cosmos, but your stubbornly self-reliant ass is the reason I have trust issues.”
“Rude.” I tried to laugh, and my ribs screamed with pain.
“Just hang in there. I’m on my way.”
“Rhy, your conference…”
I’d already interfered in his life so much with all the babysitting, I didn’t want to be the reason he lost out on business opportunities too.