Page 87 of His Treasured Mate

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes. You have a new niece and nephew. Twins, Liam.”

“I heard. Congratulations. How are they? And how are you?”

I broke at his words and sobbed, the kind of sobs that wracked my whole body, but I knew would also cleanse my soul.

He patiently waited for me to be able to talk again.

“Aw, Lil. It's going to be okay.”

“I don't know if it's going to okay or not. He's so tiny and weak, Liam. Meanwhile Terra is growing and thriving. She's more than double his size now. The humans spouted off all these nightmarish scenarios and I'm so scared. I can't lose my baby.”

“That kid is half you, which means he's probably the most stubborn baby on the planet with high levels of determination. He's a fighter, Lil, because I don't think you and Thomas could produce anything less.”

“I wish you could see him. Just in case, you know.”

“I will see him, because he's going to be fine. He just needs a little extra time is all.”

“God, I hope you're right.”

“I'm always right.”

“Are things okay there?” I asked him. I didn't have to go into details, he knew I was talking about Oscar.

“No, but better. Oscar's heading to the ARC next week with a friend for orientation.”

“You're not going with him?”

“No. Things are still a bit strained here and he asked us not to bring that with us. So he's riding up with his friend and then we're driving up at the end of the week with all his stuff to move him in.”

“Liam, you have to fix things with him. Promise me you will fix this. Life is too precious and family is too important to let this drag on. Please promise me you'll at least try.”

“I promise.”

“And when you get some free time, you and the family will visit. I can't stand being angry at you. I see Terra and Tommy together and it just hurts knowing we left things the way we did.”

“Aw, Lily, I'm so sorry. I hate things being off between us too. You're my twin, my best friend. I love you, and I’m so proud of you. You may not think you're strong enough to get through all of this, but I know you can and that you'll do it with grace as a shining example to everyone, because that's who you are.”

“Thanks. I wish I had that much confidence in myself right now.”

“You don't need it because I promise Thomas and I have enough confidence in you to see you through this. I'll talk to Maddie and check my schedule to see if we can squeeze a visit in soon.”

“Thanks. I love you, Liam.”

“Love you too. You sound tired. Why don’t you try to get some sleep.”

I snorted. “You forget what it's like having a newborn. Terra won't hold out much longer before she's ready to nurse again, and then after that I have to pump for Tommy. It's pretty non-stop fun around here.”

I felt better than I had in days just talking to him. We hadn't exactly fixed anything. I still wasn't happy with him over Oscar, but he was there when I needed him most, just as he'd been every second of my life since the moment we were born.

Better? Thomas asked.

Yeah. I guess you heard all that.

I wasn't trying to, but you were projecting pretty hard.

Well, thanks for letting me have my pity party. Now, it's back to work.