The After of Us (Judge Me Not #4)(10)

Sighing, I pick up Lily’s small suitcase and gesture to the house behind the half-closed gates. “You ready to go inside?”

She peers past me at the huge house, eyes wide. “You live in that big house?”

“Yes.” I then correct myself, since kids take things so literally. “Well, I mean my parents live in that house. I’m only staying here one more night. I’m supposed to leave tomorrow for New York City to start a new job.” Sighing, I add, “I guess you’ll be coming with me now.”

Lily nods, all easy-going, and I almost have to laugh at her adult-like contemplative expression. “Okay,” she agrees. “I can go with you.”

Like not going with me was ever an option.

Taking her small hand in mine, I say, “Come on. Let’s go inside.”

In the spacious foyer, I let go of Lily’s hand so I can check the time. Shit. It’s nearly four in the morning. I have to be at the airport by nine at the latest if I’m to make the ten o’clock flight I’m scheduled to be on. There are also some new logistics I need to work out. Like, who’s going to watch Lily while I’m at work? The ad agency already warned me to expect to work way past five every day of the work week.

“Damn you, Cassie,” I mutter, indecipherably, on purpose.

“I can’t hear you,” Lily says.

“It was nothing,” I reply.

I set her suitcase on the marble floor and walk around the room, turning on lights, including the large crystal chandelier directly above Lily. She peers up, awe evident in her expression. She then scans the opulent foyer. Her green eyes, which match mine, just about bulge out of her head.

The house is impressive, surely even to a kid, especially one who’s most likely been living in squalor. Apart from the glittering chandelier, there’s a huge spiral staircase to Lily’s right, pricey paintings on all the walls, and richly toned marble everywhere.

“Your house is so pretty, Daddy,” Lily says with awe.

I wince at the “daddy” part. I don’t even know this kid yet. And though her eyes match mine—and I can’t deny she resembles me in other ways, like the hair—I have every intention of getting a DNA test.

Despite all my internal bluster, I just know she’s mine. “Still,” I whisper.

Lily, losing interest in the impressive foyer, asks, “Hey, do you like to draw?”

Smiling, I reply, “Funny you should ask, but I actually do like to draw.”

Yet another similarity between me and this kid. Shit.

Lily shrugs off her backpack. “You do coloring, too?”

“Eh, that, not so much.”

She places her backpack on the floor, unzips it, and pulls out a coloring book. “You want to color with me?” Peering down at the Disney-themed book, she adds, “You can draw stuff in here too, if you want. I draw in the empty spaces all the time. Mommy calls it dood-da-ling.”

“Aren’t you tired, Lily?” I ask.

Truth is I’m a little stunned this little girl seems not one bit bothered by the late hour.

Lily shakes her head. “No.”

“Does your mommy let you stay up late like this a lot?”

She nods, and I roll my eyes. “Hey,” I begin, “I think maybe we better hold off on coloring till tomorrow, okay?”

“’Kay,” Lily reluctantly agrees, clearly disappointed, as she slides the coloring book back into her backpack.

Sighing, I say, “We need to get some sleep, Lily. It’s really, really late.”

“Uh-huh.”

She still sounds so down, so I try turning this clusterf*ck into something fun. “Oh, and hey, guess what?”

“What?”

“You are about to have the honor of picking out whichever bedroom you want to stay in. Any at all, Lily, and we have lots and lots to choose from.”

Lily says, “Okay,” but it’s uttered with no enthusiasm whatsoever.

I watch as she stares down blankly at the marble floor. This has to be really tough on her, too. She may be accustomed to being shuffled from place to place, but Cassie made it clear those times were always only for a few nights. This situation is going to last for more than a few nights, and Lily knows it. Guess it’s really sinking in now.

Smiling as kindly as I can, I grab up her backpack and take her little hand in mine. I then lead her up the stairs so she can choose a room to sleep in for the night.

Lily ends up picking out a bedroom decorated in loads of purple tones, which she informs me is her favorite color. “I kind of guessed that from your shirt,” I say.

She glances down at her lavender top. “Oh.”

“Come on, Lily.”

I help her settle into bed, and then turn off the light. But before I’m out the door, I hear her whimpering.

Flicking the switch back on, I ask, “Is something wrong?”

“Yes,” she whispers. “I’m scared of the dark.”

“Oh, okay.” I walk back into the room and turn on a small lamp that’s near the bed. “That better?”

“Uh-huh.”

Again, I try to leave, and again I am stopped by a small pleading voice. “I’m scared to be alone, too.”

I sit down on the edge of the bed. “I thought you told me you’re used to staying with other people?”