Together We Fall

Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three

Trace rushes into his house to pack their bags while I text all of our friends and explain to them why I didn't get the chance to tell them bye.

I tell them about my dad and how Trace and I are going to see him. Within seconds my phone begins blowing up with "Awe I'm so sorry!", "I hope everything is okay!", "Be careful!".

Trace walks out a few minutes later with three bags packed and he tosses them into the backseat before getting in and backing out of the driveway.

"Did you tell the happy couple that we're dropping the kids off with them?" Trace asks, turning onto my road.

I nod before realizing he can't see it due to his concentration towards the road, "Yea, they said they're happy to keep them."

I hear Olivia giggle in the backseat at those kind words and I smile at her.

"You two need to behave for them," Trace says sternly, eyeing them in the mirror.

Dylan laughs, "We're never bad."

Trace rolls his eyes and ignores Dylan's comment, "I'll tell Adalyn all of this but in case she forgets you need to remind them. Olivia," he starts, looking at her in the mirror for a moment before averting his gaze back to the road and speaking, "if they try giving you any butter remember to tell them that it'll make you sick so if you have waffles or anything for breakfast then you'll need coconut oil on it. I have some packed in your bag as a substitute."

He looks at Dylan in the mirror for a moment, "And you need to remember to always put Vaseline calming lotion on your arms every night before bed to help keep your eczema away. I'll call every night to check up and make sure things are going good but if I call too late to remind you, I want to be sure you got it done yourself."

He pulls into my driveway and I jump out of the car while he continues talking to them.

I unlock the door and rush up the stairs.

Sadie follows me up the stairs happily wagging her tail. I pet her for a moment but remember I'm on a tight schedule.

Josephine agreed to come by every day and feed, water and walk her. She said she loves dogs but her dad won't let her get one because his mom is allergic and she comes to visit a lot, or something like that.

The house is so empty feeling without mom.

Coming home to an empty house has never been as empty feeling as it is now. Knowing mom was just on a flight and would be home in a few days or even hours was okay but now that dad is in the hospital this house just feels deserted and cold. Like I'm not worthy to live in a big, happy house if my dad is suffering.

I grab four outfits and four pairs of pajamas, not knowing how long I might be there. My eyes search the room for anything else I might need and I toss it all into my bag before running into the bathroom and grabbing all the essentials.

After putting everything I might need into the bag, I zip it up. The teeth of the zipper squeeze together as I go down the rest, sealing it shut. I throw the heavy bag over my shoulder and stumble a little bit from it's unsuspected weight.

I take one last look around my room and turn off the light. Sadie is outside of my room waiting for me.

Her tail is wagging so fast that I don't have the heart to completely ignore her any longer. I set my bag at the bottom of the stairs and run over to refill her bowl of food and water before sitting in the floor and petting her for a short moment.

After about three minutes of giving her my love, I leave a kiss on her head and grab my bag. I close and lock the door behind me and run down the front porch steps to Trace's truck where he's still telling them stuff.