II.

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"Eden!"

Avery's voice came out strained and exhausted as she ran after the little figure that went scrambling around the house.

Eden Blake had just learned to walk and she was putting her newfound skill to great use-and this exhausted her mother.

Realistically, Avery should have expected Eden to be such a little menace. After all, she was her father's daughter.

Blowing a piece of stray hair out of her face, Avery placed her hands on her hip and turned toward the kitchen table. "John, you're supposed to be helping me."

John Murphy glanced up from the plate of food he was eating, giving Avery a sheepish look. "Sorry, Collins. I just needed a break."

"Tell me about it." Avery muttered, quickly reaching out to scoop Eden into her arms as the little girl attempted to run by her.

Shifting her daughter onto hip, Avery let out an exhausted sigh "How many days ago did they leave?"

About a week ago, it was decided that more food and more supplies needed to be gathered. Thus, a team consisting of Bellamy, Miller, Levitt, Echo and Indra had set out on a trip to gather all that would be needed. They were venturing further than usual, meaning they would be gone for a number of days.

Avery felt their absence the most. It was blatantly obvious that Eden was a daddy's girl, and she was driving that point home even harder upon his absence. Without her husband, Avery felt like she was drowning. 

Murphy stood up, taking Eden from Avery's arm as the little girl let out a string of excited babbles. "They'll be back tomorrow." he assured, giving his best friend a comforting look.

A large sigh fell from the brunette girl's lips as she flopped into the chair that had just been left vacant by Murphy. "For something so cute, she sure is evil."

Eden didn't understand what her mother said, but somehow it seemed she did as she let out another loud giggle.

"I think she's taunting me." Avery mumbled, dropping her head into her hands.

Murphy grinned, pressing a quick kiss to the top of Eden's head. "She's an angel, Collins."

"Yeah, right."

The door flying open caused the two adults-and Eden- to turn toward the front of the house where Octavia Blake was marching in, laundry basket in hand.

"Laundry's done!" she announced, setting it on the couch before turning to Avery with an accomplished smile.

Avery looked at her sister-in-law, her longtime best friend and started to cry. "Thank you, Tavia."

Murphy wore a confused look as he looked between the two of them, not understanding why in the world Avery was crying. "What—"

"You can go now, Murphy." Octavia asserted, taking Eden from his arms and lightly shoving him toward the door. "I've got this."

"But it's my night!"

"Go."

During Bellamy's absence, the rest of the remaining group had taken turns helping Avery manage. Sure, she could have done it on her own, but none of them wanted to let her. She was eternally grateful for that.

She had dropped her head into her hands, only briefly looking up when Murphy had pressed a quick kiss to her head as a parting gesture. "You know where to find me if you need me, Collins."

She smiled, wiping the tears. "Thanks, John. Really."

Once he was gone, Octavia took a seat next to her best friend, bobbing Eden on her lap to keep the little one occupied. "I'm staying the night." she asserted, not leaving any room for debate.

𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍─𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞²Where stories live. Discover now