To Have It All(33)

“I’m . . .” he paused, his chin tilting up, as if searching for his next words. “I don’t know what to do,” he finally managed. “I swear this isn’t me trying to be a dick to you.” When his gaze met mine again, I could see it; he really was conflicted. About what? I wasn’t sure. “I just can’t sign those papers right now, Waverly.”

My body shuddered as I held back the sobs I so desperately wanted to let out. I wanted to lash out, rage at him, but I knew it wouldn’t matter. My plan hadn’t worked, and now I was unraveling. I had to get out of there. Placing my hands on my hips, inhaling deeply, I informed him, “We’ll be leaving now. I will not be bringing her back.”

Widening his eyes slightly, he almost looked disappointed. Then, running a hand through his hair, he exhaled with a groan. Kneeling in front of Pim, he picked her up and stood, his mouth quirking in humor when she babbled something incoherently.

“It’s time to go home with Mommy, little sweetheart.” Taking the phone from her, he tossed it on the couch before giving her forehead a long kiss, as if silently, he was saying goodbye to her. “I’ve had a lot of fun.”

Pim looked up at him and placed her hands on his cheeks. Max quickly jerked his head and pretended like he was going to eat them, making her bellow with laughter. They did it a few more times until I couldn’t take it anymore. Watching them play somehow angered me and broke my heart all at once.

“Come to Mommy,” I sang as I held my hands out to her. Reluctantly, she came to me, and I popped her up on my hip before bending down and grabbing the handle of the wagon.

“I’ll . . . uh . . . get the door for you,” Max stuttered before making his way to the exit. After I had navigated the wagon through the doorway, I didn’t turn back. I went straight to the elevator.

As I hit the call button, Max said, “Waverly.”

Spinning around, I met his stare from where he stood at his door. “For what it’s worth, you’ve done an amazing job with Pim. She’s a great kid.”

“I know,” I replied just as the elevator doors slid open. Pulling the wagon inside, I hit the button for the lobby. As the doors slid closed again, Max held one hand up in goodbye.

As the elevator moved down, Pim gurgled, “Li-ham.”

“What was that, baby?” I asked, not sure what I’d heard her say.

“Li-ham,” she said again.

Was she saying Liam?





The next morning, I was running late as hell. I had class in an hour and was already late, and we hadn’t even left the house yet. Normally Matt would save me, but he and Alice had left the day before for their European excursion. He didn’t even say goodbye to me, but texted me a video of him telling Pim how much he loved her and would miss her. Pimberly had been cranky all evening, continuously babbling vroom vroom and Li-ham over and over as she cried. She barely ate her dinner and shunned my attempts to play with her.

By the time I got her to bed, I still had to study. So on top of a craptastic evening, I barely got any sleep, and my alarm didn’t go off because I forgot to set it when I finally slumped into bed at 2 a.m.

When I burst through the door at Ms. Patty’s like a bat out of hell, in my haste I didn’t see the kid’s blanket wadded up on the floor before I tripped over it. I stumbled as I tried to regain my balance, but it was no use—Pim and I crashed to the floor.

“Shittttt,” I wailed as I felt my ankle twist, the pain splintering up my leg. Pimberly screamed, the fall scaring her more than hurting her. Even with the immense pain, I grabbed Pim and checked her over, making sure she was all in one piece.

“Oh my Lord, are you two okay?” Ms. Patty fretted as she picked up Pim and checked her over as well. When I tried to stand, the pain ricocheted everywhere causing me to thump back to the floor.

“My ankle,” I moaned through gritted teeth. “I think I broke it.”



“Weeks?” I griped, my lip trembling, as I stared teary-eyed at the doctor.

“Worst case. You’ve got a bad sprain. At the very least, you won’t be able to put any weight on it for a few days. You’ll need to keep any pressure off it for a while.”

“A while?” I whined.

The doctor gave a small shrug. “Like I said, it could be days or weeks.”

“I . . . I have a little girl,” I stuttered. For as dramatic as I was being, the doctor must have thought I was crazy. I mean, at least I didn’t break it, but a sprain still limited me. “How am I supposed to care for her when I can’t even walk without crutches?”

“Do you have family that can help you?” My heart sunk. I did have family that could help me, but they were an ocean away. I also wasn’t Matt’s favorite person at that moment, and even though I knew if I called them he’d come home to care for his niece, I wasn’t sure I could do it. My pride would choke me for it. Besides, I couldn’t ruin this trip for them. They needed it. I’d secretly prayed Matt would propose to Alice while they were there. Calling them would be an absolute last resort.

“Sure,” I lied as the nurse helped me stand long enough to move me to a wheel chair.

While they processed my discharge papers, I called anyone I knew that might be able to help. I didn’t have many friends that I was close to; school and motherhood dominating my life had kept me from seeing my friends regularly, and the few I had kept in contact with as often as I could, all had busy lives as well.