Hiraeth [GxG]

Chapter 9

Emma's POV:

Mila had fallen asleep on me, so I carried her up to our room. I know when she wakes up tomorrow, the effects of her taking away not only Asha's pain but also mine will be catastrophic. I already let Lance know I may not come to work today and instead do work from home. I needed to be there for Mila today.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was already three in the morning. I'm

debating on if I should even try to sleep. But, when I looked over at Mila shaking in her sleep, I already knew my answer. I would be staying in bed with her till I needed to get up and get breakfast ready and the kids to school.

I stealthily made my way under the covers and over to Mila. I wrapped my arm around her and brought her as close as I could get her to me. As soon as her back hit my chest and we fit the mold of each other perfectly, her shaking had stopped. Her whole body finally relaxed, and that made me feel better, knowing that me being here with her today will help her immensely.

I woke up to a tiny poke on my back. I looked over my shoulder to find Alyx already dressed, staring at me. I looked at the clock beside the bed, six in the morning. Why so early? I don't know where they got it from because neither Mila nor I like waking up early.

"Okay, sweetie, give me five minutes, and I'll be downstairs," I whispered. She gave me a thumbs up and tiptoed out of the room.

I carefully unwrapped myself from Mila and got out of bed. I stood there for a few seconds watching her to make sure she was doing okay. When she didn't show any signs of distress, I quickly got ready. I just threw on some comfy joggers and a plain t-shirt, then put my hair into a messy bun. I shrugged at my appearance in the mirror; I looked just fine. I didn't need to impress anyone anyway.

"Alright, my little larks, what do you want for breakfast?" Aleksey looked at me like I was crazy.

"You're calling us birds? Also, we'd like waffles, please." I laughed at the tone of his voice.

"No, I'm not calling you a bird. I mean, larks are a type of bird, but when you call someone a lark, it means that the person is a morning person. You know, really energetic people in the morning? Like you two." I pointed to the twins. I then looked over to Asha, and she looked like she was about to fall back asleep.

"I feel your pain, Asha. They, too, wake me up extremely early all the time." She looks up at me, barely able to hold her head upright. I wanted to giggle, but I refrained.

"They're crazy, Mrs. Emma." Emma finally put her head on the island, and I could tell she was already starting to fall back asleep. Alyx lightly rubbed her back while giggling at her sleeping friend. Aleksey propped his head on his hand while staring at me with a bored expression. I just shook my head and made the rest of their breakfast.

"Alright, let's start heading out. I'm just going to leave this note on the bedside table, so momma doesn't freak out when she wakes up, and we aren't here." I hurriedly made my way up to the bedroom, tiptoed as quickly and quietly as I could, and placed the note on her bedside table. I gave her a small kiss on her forehead then made my way back downstairs.

"Mommy, we should have left earlier. Now we only have five minutes to get to our new classroom and get to our seats." I looked into the rearview mirror, making eye contact with Alyx.

"Mommy is very sorry, sweetie. I'm not used to this routine; I'll do better tomorrow." I saw Asha pat Alyx on the shoulder.

"It'll be okay. I'll get you and Aleksey there super quick. You're in the same classroom as me. So we can all sit together." Alyx smiled at this and seemed to be less stressed now.