Her Obsession (by Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 140

We’re Going Home Now.

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76

Diego

The car smells like warm chips and sunshine. My tummy is rumbling because everything smells so good, and the box in my lap has a picture of a chicken on it. It’s my box. Sissy said so. I pick up one of the nuggets and it’s still hot, but not too hot, and when I bite it, it’s soft and crunchy all at once. I’ve never had food that crunches like that before. I take another big bite and the crumbs fall on my pants, but nobody yells at me. Connor just looks back from the front seat and smiles, and that makes my tummy feel even warmer than the food does. Naomi who says shes my best friend now, passes me a sauce thing and says, “Dip it in that. It’s even better.”

I dip it, and she’s right, it is better. It’s sweet and salty, and it makes my tongue happy.

I wiggle the dinosaur on my lap, the green one that breathes real–life smoke. Sissy helped me fill him with more water, and now he sits beside my nuggets like a guard. I press the button and the mist comes out again–pfffff!-and it makes everyone laugh. The dinosaur’s my best friend already. I named him Mr Chomp.

Outside the window, everything goes by so fast, the trees, the lights, the buildings. The car moves smooth, like a boat floating on clouds. I press my hand to the glass and whisper, “Wow.”

The glass is cold. The world is big. Sometimes Sissy catches me staring and smiles at me like she knows a big secret. Maybe she will tell me what it is and I’ll keep it safe with a pinky promise.

Connor hands me something white and soft and swirly. “Ice cream,” he says.

I hold it carefully. It’s cold and it’s dripping already, and I don’t even care when it melts on my fingers. I take a lick. It’s sweet! My eyes go wide. “It’s cold!” I say, and everyone laughs.

Connor laughs the loudest. He has a nice laugh, its big and warm. I think he’s happy. I think maybe we all are.

Sissy leans over and wipes the drip off my chin with her thumb. “Messy monster,” she teases. Her voice is soft, not mean like the voices I remember from before. I like her voice. I finish the nuggets and the chips and I still have the toy dinosaur. He’s sitting in the cup holder now, watching out the window like he’s guarding us from dragons. The car purrs like a sleepy cat as we drive. The seats are soft, the air smells like fries, and my eyes feel heavy. I hear Sissy and Naomi talking, and Connor humming something quietly in the front. I think about my old room, how the light never came through the window right, how the air always felt cold even when it wasn’t. This car feels nothing like that. This car feels safe. I curl my fingers around Mr Chomp, close my eyes, and whisper, “We’re going home now.”

Sage

Diego’s head starts to nod as he finishes the last of his ice cream, the cone still clutched loosely in his sticky little hand. His eyelids flutter once, twice, and then they stay closed. The smallest sigh leaves his lips, like he’s finally run out of worry.

I smile, heart tugging at the sight. Gently, I reach over and brush a strand of hair off his forehead. “Hey, buddy,” I whisper. “You can sleep. We’re almost there.”

He mumbles something that sounds like ‘Mr Chomp‘ and I have to bite back a laugh. I shift closer, sliding my arm around him so his head can rest against my shoulder. He’s so small, so warm, and it hits me how fragile he feels, like one wrong move could shatter him, or maybe me. Naomi passes me a napkin so I can clean the smudge of ice cream from his chin. She doesn’t say anything, just gives me that quiet smile she always does when she’s reading me too well. I recline in the seat a little so he doesn’t flop around as Connor turns down the winding road. My hand stays firm on his chest, steadying him with each soft rise and fall of his breathing. It’s slow, peaceful, and it makes something tight inside me finally unclench. I can feel every little heartbeat under my palm, fast, alive, safe. He is safe.

When I look up, I catch Connor watching us through the rearview mirror. His expression isn’t his usual cool, unbothered mask. It’s softer.

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12:42 Thu, Oct 23 A…

We’re Going Home Now.

76

There’s something like wonder in it, something that makes my stomach flutter before I can stop it. He smiles, just a little, just enough to undo me and I can feel my face warm instantly. I glance down quickly, pretending to fuss with Diego’s blanket that Naomi tucked around him, but I can still feel that look lingering. We pull up to the airstrip a few minutes later. The low hum of the engine quiets as Connor slows the car, headlights flashing over the private plane waiting in the distance. The air outside looks still and silvery under the hangar lights, like the whole world’s holding its breath.

Diego shifts in his sleep, pressing his cheek a little closer to my shoulder, and I tighten my arm around him, whispering, “It’s okay, I’ve got you.”

Connor glances back once more before shutting off the ignition. That same small smile touches his mouth, and it feels like the start of something dangerous and tender all at once. For the first time ever, I don’t feel like I’m running or hiding. I just feel…here. With him. With them. With this strange, beautiful little piece of peace, we somehow found on the way to the next storm.

The cool air brushes against my skin as Connor opens the back door. He’s quiet, careful, every movement deliberate as he leans in and slides his arms beneath Diego. The boy stirs only a little, a soft sound leaving his lips before he settles again, cheek pressed against Connor’s chest. Connor holds him close, one hand supporting his small back, the other steady beneath his legs, like he’s something precious. I step out and follow him toward the waiting plane. The tarmac lights catch in Connor’s hair, turning the edges gold, and for a moment I see something in him I haven’t before, a kind of gentleness that shouldn’t exist in a man who’s seen so much darkness. Naomi trails behind us with the bags, whisper–yelling at me to ‘help her with the shit‘, and I laugh before doubling back and grabbing some things.

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