✔︎ | Part of Me (Trilogy)

41 | let me forget

41 | let me forget 

He doesn't look at me, but I can't pull my eyes from his face

I'm not sure why, but when I rouse from a deep sleep, I feel eyes on me. When I peek out of mine, and a little figure stands at the side of my bed, peering at me with big brown eyes, I know exactly why. 

"Good morning," she says cheerfully. "Wake up." 

"Grab a brush and put on a little makeup," Will sings as he passes my room to the washroom. 

I chuckle. "Jems. Babe. What's up?" 

She rests her chubby face on her hands. "Time for school, Avi."

"You're going to school already?" I ask, confused. 

"No," she snorts, "you are." 

I laugh, welcoming her into my bed, and the toddler, in her new Frozen pyjamas that my parents bought for her, crawls under my warm sheets and snuggles into my body. I hug her, and she reminds me of daisies and sunshine and makes everything okay, even when everything is obviously not okay. 

"Why are you up so early then?" I ask her, tapping her nose. 

She scrunches it and sighs loudly. "I wanted to see Axe." 

I bite my lip, and I hope she doesn't notice my sudden tenseness. "Where is he?"

"You tell me," Will appears at my door, flossing his teeth. "You guys went out last night and he didn't come back after you did." He frowns slightly, a concerned look in his blue eyes. "Did something happen?" 

I frown. "No," I say too quickly. "Did you text him?" 

He nods. "He said he had something to take care of. He was supposed to come back though." 

"He could have just went home," I mumble, not meeting Will's eyes, but when I glance down at the child in my arms, her eyes are big and questioning. She wants her brother. 

I look back to Will and he's glaring at me. "Avi," he mutters, "Axel doesn't have a home. He's staying with us. What's wrong with you?"

I gulp. "I thought," I open my mouth to apologize, but it doesn't work. "I thought only Jem was staying here. Don't get so defensive. No one told me. I assumed because he's eighteen, he was getting his own place." 

Will rubs his eyes. "Sorry, I'm tired," he mumbles, "He is getting his own place. Mom and Dad offered for him to stay here but he doesn't want to." He chucks his floss into the garbage can and sits down on my bed. Ruffling Jem's hair, he tells her, "I'll see Axel at school, little one. I'll tell him you said hi. And tonight we'll have a party, okay?"

Jem's little eager gasp is adorable. "A party?"

"Yeah!" Will booms enthusiastically, holding his arms out to her. "We're going to celebrate you being part of our family. And help Axel find a place to rent!"