Page 104 of Catch My Fall

“Yes, Mom.” I roll my eyes and she swats me playfully on the ass and I can’t contain my laughter as I make my way upstairs.

God, it’s good to be with my best friends again.

∞∞∞

I must have crashed the second my head hit the pillow because the next thing I know, a warm little body is wriggling beside me and I crack open an eye to find Ivy tucking herself into my bed, shimmying not so carefully under the covers.

“You do realise this isn’t your bed, right?”

She giggles. “Yes, but it’s warm and cosy and you’re in it. Have I told you how much I missed you, Auntie Si?”

“Um, only about a gazillion times since I got here,” I tease, tickling her enough to have her a giggling mess. No matter the situation, Ivy never fails to make me smile. “I missed you too, munchkin.”

“Look Auntie Si, I still have your necklace safe and sound,” she says, twirling the chain around her index finger.

“Thank you, Ives. Why don’t you look after it a little while longer? It suits you.”

“Sure! I’ll take good care of it.” Her wide topaz eyes drift up to mine. “Is Uncle Alec gonna die?”

“Of course not, sweetie. Alec is going to be absolutely fine.” I don’t miss the waver in my voice as I try to not only convince my niece, but myself as well. “Uncle Alec?”

“Uh-huh.” She nods. “Reesie said that one day Alec’s gonna wife you up so that makes him my uncle, right?”

Wife me up?

I smile. “I suppose it does, Ives.”

I shouldn’t entertain the thought of being Alec’s wife so early in our relationship, but how can I not? This thing between us has been brewing long before that kiss on my twenty-first birthday, we were inevitable and it was only a matter of time.

When I picture my future, all I see is Alec.

“Can I stay in here with you for a while? I’m real sleepy.” Ivy releases a yawn.

“Sure you can, munchkin.” I open my arms allowing her closer and she snuggles into me, her head resting on my chest.

With her hair the same colour as mine, it’s hard not to feel a twinge of sadness at the fact that I’ll probably never experience this with my own child. But if my niece and my new baby nephew is the closest to children I’ll ever get, I’m gonna make damn sure I make the most of this while they’re little.

39

The first thing I see when I peel open my eyes is the blinding white light streaming down from above me, the harshness of it burning my eyes.

It takes a second for my mind to catch up and the beeping of the machine beside me tells me I’m in a hospital. For what reason, I have no idea. I have no recollection at all of what put me in here, but whatever it was must have been bad considering the amount of tubes that are currently sticking out of me.

I reach for the oxygen mask over my face, dragging it down, and once the sound of my own breathing is gone and I sound a lot less like Darth Vader, it’s then that the most beautiful sound drifts into my ears.

My eyes follow the sound, and that’s when I see her.

Sierra has her back to me, humming away to a tune only she can hear and my dry, cracked lips stretch into a smile. She’s fiddling about with a string of fairy lights, wrapping them around the curtain pole, like she’s done with the other window beside it. She brushes a tendril of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear while the rest is pulled into a thick messy bun at the back of her head. The hem of her knee-length pastel blue dress swishing around her legs as she sways from side to side, the dress fitting her curves beautifully.

I could lie here all day and watch her, lost in a world of her own, the sweet sound of her voice literally like music to my ears, but I need to see her face.

I need to gaze into those warm hazel eyes I fell for the second mine met hers. I need to see her smile that sets my soul ablaze.

“Is it Christmas already? How long have I been asleep?” My voice comes out croakier than I expected, my throat rough and dry.

Sierra drops the rest of the lights with a clink to the floor as she whirls around, those beautiful eyes wide as she takes me in. For a moment she’s rendered speechless, her mouth gaping open, and once her brain has kicked in to action, she rushes to me.

Her arms go around me, her touch gentle and hesitant as if I’m going to suddenly shatter like glass if she presses too hard. She buries her face in my chest, her shoulders shaking gently. “Oh my God…”