Tethered (Book Two of The Invisible String Series)

Thanksgiving: Part One

The blonde gives me a sad smile as she pulls onto our street, the mood within the car successfully shifted. "Just don't make me do it again, okay?"

"I hadn't planned on it."

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out to see a few texts from Olivia.

Liv: r u on ur way?
Am I supposed 2 dress up nice?
I have 0 nice shirts
????

I chuckle at the teen's messages, quickly typing out a reply.

Me: Yes we're on our way. Stop freaking out. Just wear whatever.
Liv: easy 4 u 2 say
U always look good

Rolling my eyes, I put my phone away, kinda understanding where the girl was coming from. I'd been in her shoes before, not so long ago, meeting all these famous people and wanting to make a good first impression. But I have no doubt in my mind that everyone will love her. It's kind of hard not to.

"Was that the kid?"

"Yeah. She's a little nervous about meeting everyone, I think."

Scarlett nods, giving me a smirk as she glances over at m.e "I remember when that was you."

I roll my eyes again, settling myself in my seat. "I didn't tell her you were coming to pick her up, though. I'm sure that'll be a nice surprise."

The blonde laughs. "I'm sure it will. She sounds like a great kid. But can I ask you why you're so focused on this kid?"

Chewing on my bottom lip, I hesitate for a few seconds, trying to decide how much of Olivia's story that I want to tell. We've kinda given everyone the run down on why the teen will be there, just so they know not to bring anything up at dinner, and I know a lot of them have questions. But Lizzie and I have barely discussed the whole fostering thing, and I don't know if I should tell Scarlett about it if it somehow doesn't work out, which is a very real possibility. "How did you know you were ready to be a mom?"

Scarlett, obviously surprised by my lack of answer and the nature of the question, glances away from the road and over at me for a split second. "Uhm, I didn't really know that I wanted it, I guess? Not until Rose was born and I realized that no award or accolade could compare to being her mom. What does that have to do with the teenager?"

"When I met Olivia, she told me some things about her home life that didn't sit right with me. And she reminds me so much of myself when I was younger. I don't really know how to explain it, other than this overwhelming need to just...protect her. She deserves so much more than what life has given her so far, and I've talked to Lizzie about it a little and we still have a lot more to discuss, but I think I want us to foster her. Does that sound crazy?"

For a moment my best friend is silent and I'm briefly worried what her response is going to be (because I literally just dropped a huge bomb on her there), until I realize that she's smiling. I frown at that, unsure if I'm supposed to take that as my answer or not. "Why are you smiling?"

"I'm smiling because the idea of you taking in a kid sounds exactly like something you'd do. You have a big heart, Y/N and it's a good heart. If something is telling you that you need to be in this kid's life then by all means, do it. You know Collin and I will support you in any way that we can."

My heart sores at my best friend's words, and not for the first time since the attack, I feel this sudden intense wave of emotion fall over me for the woman. It's been happening a lot, like it just suddenly hits me that I have all these amazing people in my life. Lizzie has made sure to up my sessions with my therapist, and she says that what I'm experiencing is my brain reminding me of the precariousness and fragility of life, and that a near death experience can strip away the layers of psychological suppression that shield us from uncomfortable thoughts of existential oblivion. Which just means that I've been looking at life in a different light because it's become very obvious to me that I could lose all of this in the blink of an eye, so for a while or until my brain isn't firing off neurons at such a high rate, I have to deal with these moments where my emotions and reactions are a little heightened.