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F A L L O N

"In your eyes, I know it hurts to smile but you try to, oh you try to. You always try to hide the pain, you always know just what to say. I always look the other way, I'm blind, I'm blind."

. . .

The next morning, I go downstairs with Suzie trailing behind me, asking for a cup of tea.

"What kind of tea do you want, Suzie?" I ask her when we have arrived in the kitchen. I see Stella sitting at the counter, with Nicholas. My throat closes up at the image of them, but I continue my way.

"Good morning," I grin, and Stella returns it. "Good morning," she says cheerily.

I glance behind me and see Suzie struggle to get on one of the stools. Nicholas gets up and takes her tiny body, helping her.

It turns my insides into liquid as I see that, but I focus my attention back on the tea.

"Tea?" Stella voices. Suzie nods. "Since when do you like tea? You've always despised it," Stella chuckles.

"I tried some of Fallon's tea yesterday, and I liked it!" she giggles. I smile down at her, a genuine smile.

"Chamomile tea it is, then," I say, and go to grab two cups from the cupboard. I let the water boil, and grab some sugar.

"Would you like sugar, Suzie?" I ask her. "Sugar is sweet," she says. I look at her.

"Yes," I chuckle. She nods rapidly. "The sweeter the better!" she says.

"Not too much, don't want you to get a sweet tooth, honey," Stella says.

I glance up at her and see her looking at her cousin.

When the water is done boiling, I grab it and pour it into one of the cups. Stella has turned on the radio since she can't stand the silence a lot.

A song that I know comes on to the radio, and I find myself mumbling along with the lyrics.

"You can sing another language!" Suzie exclaims, and I look at her. I chuckle.

"Yes," I laugh and pour my cup with water. "What is it?" she asks and furrows her eyebrows.

"It's Spanish," I answer and hand her one cup. "It's pretty when you speak it," she voices, making me laugh to hide my blush.

"Thank you," I grin and lightly poke her nose, causing her to giggle.

"So, Suzie has warmed up to you," Stella notices, looking happy and relieved about it. I nod. "Yeah, she did. We had a great time, didn't we?" I ask the little girl, who nods frantically.

"I loved it here, so much," she says and holds her arms apart, to showcase how much she liked it.

I giggle at the gesture and take the girl in my arms. "So did I," I grin, meaning it.

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