Billie's POV
No cameras. No screaming. No spilled juice or glitter or tears.
Just sunlight pouring through the windows, the soft hum of music playing low in the background, and the sound of Mackenzie's quiet little laugh as she made her dolls "argue" about who got to wear the sparkly dress.
It was one of those rare, golden mornings that didn't feel like work. It felt... normal.
The kind of morning I never knew I wanted.
Skylar was on the floor beside me, coloring in one of those huge picture books with thick lines and animals dressed like people.
She was focused, tongue between her teeth, coloring inside the lines with this serious little expression on her face like the world might fall apart if the duck's hat turned out crooked.
I was just sitting there, watching them, sipping coffee that was actually still hot and for the first time since this whole thing started, I wasn't thinking about how many days were left.
I was thinking about what would happen when time ran out.
Because if someone showed up tomorrow and said, "Okay, time's up, they're leaving," I'm pretty sure I'd lose my mind.
Mackenzie climbed into my lap mid-argument between her dolls and looked up at me with these giant brown eyes.
"You smell like coffee and soap," she said proudly, like it was the nicest compliment she could think of.
Skylar looked up too. "You smell like Billie."
I laughed softly. "What does that even mean?"
Skylar shrugged and went back to coloring. "It just smells like home."
And there it was.
That word.
Home.
I didn't cry. Not this time. But I felt it hit, hard, like a punch in the chest the good kind. The kind that reminds you you're alive.
We spent the rest of the day in pajamas. I made mac and cheese the way they liked it dinosaur shapes for Mackenzie, stars for Skylar.
We watched a movie they'd already seen a hundred times. I let them braid my hair until it hurt.
And when they both fell asleep that night on either side of me on the couch,
heads heavy on my shoulders, arms tangled around mine like they'd always belonged there... I didn't move.
I just sat there, still as a statue, and thought
If this is what "real" feels like, I don't ever want to go back to fake.
YOU ARE READING
Unexpected Family
AdventureBillie Eilish doesn't do kids. She doesn't like them, doesn't understand them, and definitely never wanted any of her own. But when her management team sets up a temporary foster care publicity stunt two toddlers, a camera crew, and a whole lot of c...
