Tethered (Book Two of The Invisible String Series)

Family

When Lizzie doesn't respond, I turn my attention towards my girlfriend, who's frowning down at the counter she's been leaning against for the entirety of our conversation. I can practically feel her stress and anxiety from all the way across the kitchen and silently move closer to her, lightly bumping her shoulder with my own once I'm close enough to try and pull her out of her thoughts. "What's going through your head right now, babe?"

When the brunette's gaze meets mine I'm slightly confused by the worry I can see in them, unsure of what could be bothering her so much as I watch her try to gather her thoughts. "What if I suck at this?"

Those words slice through my heart, forcing me to quickly shake my head as I grasp Lizzie's shoulders and turn her so she's facing me directly. "Lizzie, if anyone is capable of doing this, it's you. You're the most caring and loving person I know, and that's all Liv needs from us. We're not going to be perfect at this, I would never ask that of you. We're gonna make mistakes, and that's gonna be okay. But I have no doubt in my mind that you will be amazing at this."

Lizzie lets out a shaky breath before sliding her arms around my waist and pulling me against her. I let one of my own arms wrap around her back, using my free hand to weave into her brown locks as I place a kiss to the top of her head. We've gone into great length about this entire thing before, and pretty early on we decided that we weren't going to push for Olivia to think of us as her parents if she didn't feel comfortable enough to do that. We would simply be whatever she wanted us to be to her, but we were still technically stepping into that role. And as much as I love Olivia and want nothing more to ensure that she's cared for and safe, I'm just as terrified as Lizzie is. I'm still learning to be responsible for myself, and pretty soon I'll be adding a child into the mix. It's a little daunting to think about, but I'm trying to focus on the knowledge that this whole thing is a learning process. We'll take it one day at a time and grow into this newfound thing together.

Eventually Lizzie pulls away, moving to put a few pancakes on plates for the both of us. I know she's still feeling a bit anxious when she pulls me over towards the kitchen table and decides to sit sideways on my lap as we eat, but I don't dare to complain and eat my breakfast with one hand. If touch is what she needs today, then I am more than willing to give it to her.

I glance up halfway through my stack of pancakes to see Olivia shuffling into the kitchen, the teenager letting out a large yawn and looking still half-asleep. She meets my gaze for a second, giving me a half-hearted smile that doesn't quite live up to its usual standards before quickly looking away, causing me to frown. "Morning, kiddo. Lizzie made pancakes if you want some."

Without a word, Liv grabs her own food and settles at the seat at the table across from us and digs in. None of us say anything the entire time we eat, and I can practically hear the gears turning in the teenager's head from all the way over here. I'm not entirely sure how to start the conversation, but eventually we all run out of food and I realize that we can't just keep beating around the bush.

"Hey, Liv?"

The teenager slowly glances up from where she'd been staring at her empty plate, her expression unreadable. "Do we have to talk about last night?"

I let my arm rest across Lizzie's legs as I nod, giving the younger brunette a reassuring smile as her face falls. "Yeah, we need to talk about it, kiddo. We know you were upset, and you had every right to be, but it wasn't okay that you left the group home in the middle of the night and ignored everyone for a whole day. We were really worried about you, kid."

Olivia lets out a loud sigh before slumping back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest as she mumbles something under her breath. No doubt thinking that it was quiet enough that we wouldn't hear what she said, but I'd heard the "like you guys really care" loud and clear, and it physically hurt my heart to hear that she thinks we don't really care about her and her safety.