Leah
Morning came whether I was ready for it or not.
I hadn’t made it back to the hospital the night before. By the time Bella was asleep and Olivia had gone, I was too wrung out to drive anywhere safely.
I hated that.
I also knew it was true.
Bella came into the kitchen wearing one sock, a backwards cardigan, and the paper tooth crown from yesterday.
“Mommy,” she said, climbing onto the chair. “My crown survived the night.”
“That is impressive.”
“I know,” Bella said. “I slept very still like a statue with dreams.”
I poured cereal into her bowl.
She watched me for a second too long.
“Do you still have hard grown-up face?” she asked.
“A little.”
“Is it because of the too-many-words person?”
I looked at her.
The too-many-words person.
Liam Callaghan.
My brother.
The man who
