You Stayed With Us

Tucked In & Tangled Up

Jennie's POV

It had been a few days since the great "back-to-school supplies invasion," and the house still had a faint smell of fresh notebooks, sharpened pencils, and whatever mysterious scent those brand-new lunchboxes gave off. Tomorrow was the big day—the twins' and Ella's first day back at school—and even though I wasn't the one starting classes, I felt like I had a pit in my stomach.

Nighttime in our house was always a little unpredictable. Sometimes it was peaceful, quiet, almost cinematic. Other times, it was more like herding caffeinated squirrels. Tonight was somewhere in between.

Lisa and I started with Scarlett. Our sweet, stubborn little Scarlett, who had already made it her life's mission to avoid bedtime at all costs. She was curled up in her bed, clutching her favorite stuffed bunny, wide-eyed like she had just downed an espresso shot.

"Scar, it's bedtime," I whispered, leaning over to fix her blanket.

She shook her head slowly, eyes locked on me, and mumbled in her half-toddler language, "No sleep... I want to play."

Lisa chuckled, crouching down beside me. "Nice try, little miss. You've been yawning for the past ten minutes."

Scarlett responded by turning her face dramatically into her bunny, like that would make her invisible. But a few minutes of quiet humming from Lisa and soft back rubs from me eventually did the trick. Her breathing slowed, her little hand loosened its grip on the bunny, and finally—she was asleep.

I lingered for just a moment, brushing her hair back from her forehead. "Goodnight, baby," I whispered.

Next was the twins' room, which was already glowing with the warm light of their little bedside lamps. Noah and Nathan were in bed, but from the energy in their eyes, you'd think it was 10 in the morning.

"Guess what I'm gonna show my classmates tomorrow?" Nathan blurted before we even reached their beds. "My new dinosaur water bottle!"

"And I'm gonna tell everyone I have the fastest eraser in the world," Noah added proudly, as if erasers came with speed stats.

Lisa sat on the edge of Noah's bed, ruffling his hair. "Fastest eraser, huh? What's it gonna do, race down the hallway?"

Noah grinned. "Maybe."

I took a seat next to Nathan, smoothing out his blanket. "You two are going to have so much fun tomorrow, but you also have to remember the important stuff."

"Like what?" Nathan asked, eyes big.

"Like... making new friends, sharing your snacks, and not challenging your teacher to an eraser race," I teased.

That got a giggle from both of them. The conversation drifted into a soft, sleepy tone after a few more minutes—about who they wanted to sit next to, what games they hoped to play at recess, and how they were both a tiny bit nervous. Lisa and I listened, chiming in with little reassurances until the words came slower and their eyelids heavier.

We each hugged one twin, kissed their foreheads, and whispered, "Goodnight."

Finally, it was Ella's turn.

Her room was dim, the soft fairy lights on her wall casting a gentle glow, and she was already in bed—though the faint bluish light on her face told me she was still on her phone.

"Ella," I said gently, raising an eyebrow.

She froze like she'd just been caught committing a crime. "I was just—"

"You know the rules," I reminded her softly.

"Weeknights, no phone after bedtime."

She sighed, but there wasn't any real fight in it. "Okay..." She handed me the phone, almost reluctantly, and I set it on her desk.