Bless the Broken Road that Lead Me Straight to You

Chapter 31

Erin reached into her pocket and fished out a ten dollar bill and handed it over the seat to the driver. "Do you mind if we sit here for a couple minutes?"

The driver accepted the bill and nodded his head, "Sure thing," he said into the rear view mirror. "However long you need."

Erin closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the headrest. The heat was blaring from the vents, but it did nothing to stop the shivering.

Calm down, Erin. Just think.

She spent the next five minutes quietly thinking, remembering and reliving the events of the night. When she finally calmed down a little, she opened her eyes.

She had decided where she wanted to go.

She opened the Uber application and typed in the destination. Then she closed her eyes again, and prayed Olivia wasn't home.

00000000000

Jay sat in the car long after he pulled into the parking lot in front of his apartment building. He wasn't ready to go inside and face his apartment alone.

And he certainly wasn't ready to wake the girls, who were sleeping soundly and blissfully in the back seat.

He couldn't transfer the girls from the car to the apartment by himself without waking them.

It was times like this that he hated living in an apartment, and wished he had a house. One with a long driveway and a two-car garage, so he could transfer the girls into the house one at a time. One with a big backyard where he could have a swing set and jungle gym for the girls, and maybe he could set a basketball hoop, too. Because his girls were going to be multi-talented, of course.

And maybe one day, he and Erin would have a son that would play with it, too.

God, he wished he and Erin had a house together. More than anything.

Actually, on second though, he just wished he and Erin had a life together. If Erin lived with him, he wouldn't care if he had a house, or an apartment, or if he lived on the street.

And if she was here, he didn't need a garage. Because if she was here, they could carry the girls together.

He pushed those thoughts deep to the back of his mind as he finally turned off the engine. He quietly stepped out of the drivers seat and opened up the back door.

"Mads," he whispered, gently shaking her leg. Her party dress was completely stained, a mix of ketchup and barbecue sauce and ice cream cake, but her white leggings had actually faired better. "Wake up, pretty girl," he whispered again.

Her eyes fluttered open slowly as she took in her surroundings. She had fallen asleep in the chair at Voight's dinner table, and it took her several moments to realize that she was now right outside her home.

He leaned across Maddie and gently rubbed Grace's knee. "Grace, wake up, princess. We're home."

Grace took longer to wake up, the excitement from the day having drained so much energy out of her. She didn't fully open her eyes until Jay had unbuckled Maddie, closed her door, and walked around the Grace's side.

Maddie was in his arms with her head resting on his shoulder, and her breathing began to even out as he bent down to unbuckle Grace's car seat. He bobbed his hip up and down slowly, "Mads, wake up, baby, I need you to walk." He had the ice cream cake in his car, and he would consider leaving it in lieu of making the girls walk, but he didn't want it to melt all over the seats.

Maddie barely even opened her eyes, before she said, "Can mommy carry me?"

He wasn't sure it was possible for his heart to break more. "No, baby. You have to walk."