Unbreak My Heart (Unbreak My Heart #1)(15)

“Yeah, I just—”

“I’m gonna be late for work,” he cut in, turning back around. “We need to talk tonight when I get back.”

“You have no idea,” I grumbled as he climbed inside his truck and drove away.

Shit, I was tired. I’d been waking up to puke for the last two nights, and the lack of sleep made me feel like I was in a fog half the time. I was a person who needed a solid eight hours, and for the past few days I’d been getting less and less.

I fell onto the couch with a groan and pulled the blanket off the back to cover myself up. I’d just rest for a little while before I had to wake Sage for school.

*



“Auntie Kate! Auntie Kate, wake up. It’s time for school,” Sage called quietly, shaking my shoulder.

“Shit!” I woke with a start and sat straight up.

“Shit!” Gavin called from across the room.

“Shit!” Gunner copied him.

“Don’t say shit!”

“Shit!”

“Shit!”

“Are we late?” I asked Sage as I slid my feet into my flip-flops.

“No, but we have to leave right now,” she answered emphatically, already walking toward the door.

“Wait! Where’s Keller?”

“I think he’s still asleep!”

I ran up the stairs, my stomach churning so badly I had a hard time catching my breath.

“Kell, let’s go, bud,” I called as I picked him up. “Gotta get sis to school.”

He woke up as we made our way back downstairs, and I let him walk barefoot out of the house while I carried Gunner. We didn’t have time for silly things like shoes or Gunner’s increasingly nasty diaper.

“Everyone in their seats!” I called as I lifted Gavin into his seat with one arm. “Go around to the other side, Keller!”

The kids climbed into my car, Keller scrambling over the backseat to get to his place in the third row. God, I was so glad I’d traded in my smaller car for something more along the lines of an SUV last year. They’d all fit, but how the hell was I going to cart five kids around on a daily basis?

My nausea increased as I made sure all the kids were buckled in and hopped into my seat. My hands shook as I pulled the keys out of my pocket, and I took a deep breath as I fit one into the ignition.

There was no need to worry about tomorrow, I warned myself as we drove to Sage’s elementary school. I just needed to worry about now. I just needed to get Sage to school on time and—

“Sage, did you eat breakfast?”

“I had a Pop-Tart.”

“Okay, I forgot to make your lunch so—”

“Can I buy lunch?” she asked excitedly, bouncing in her seat.

Why did the packed-lunch kids always want to buy cafeteria food and the hot-lunch kids always dream of a packed sandwich?

“Yeah.” I dug in the bottom of my purse for a few dollar bills and handed them back between the seats. “Don’t lose that.”

“I won’t,” she promised, stuffing the bills into the front pocket of her backpack.

“I’ll be here to pick you up after school,” I told her for what felt like the millionth time, coming to a stop in front of the sidewalk.

When she’d first started back to school after Rachel died, she’d asked me every day if I’d be there to pick her up. Every single day she’d ask, as if to make sure I wouldn’t forget her. Eventually, it just became our morning routine, and before she could even ask, I’d reassure her that I’d be there.

“Okay! Love you!” she called out as she pushed her way past Gavin’s legs and climbed down.

“Love you, too!”

I waited and watched her go inside the double doors even though the car behind me in the drop-off line was inching closer and closer to my bumper in impatience. They could bump the back of my car and I still wasn’t going to move until I saw that Sage was safely inside.

When we got back to the house, I was sweating a little, and the boys’ yelling and Gunner’s dirty diaper weren’t helping the situation any. I loved Kell and Gavin, but at that moment I wished I could just put on some noise-canceling headphones and zone out for two minutes while I got my stomach under control.

“Don’t feel good?” Gavin asked as I changed Gunner’s diaper on the living room floor.

“I’m okay, baby,” I assured him, gagging. “My tummy just hurts a little.”

“Frow up?”

“Maybe, dude.”

“Gross.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Auntie Kate, I’m hungry,” Keller called from where he was hanging upside down off the couch.

“Keller, why are you always upside down?”

“I like being upside down.”

“Well, I don’t talk to upside-down people, so you’re gonna have to get down or I’m not listening,” I replied calmly, pulling Gunner to his feet.

“I want pancakes,” Keller ordered, coming to stand beside me. “With syrup.”

I turned my head slowly and stared at the little boy, who was quickly becoming a demanding little punk. “What was that?” I asked, one eyebrow raised.

“I want pancakes.” His arms crossed over his chest, and his little chin came jutting out in defiance.