The Act of Forgiveness

24

I sighed wearily as Jasper held out his hand, palm up. Three small pills, burnt orange, were resting expectantly. I placed my hand on top of his, pulling my fingers in to transfer the small pills into my grip. Sitting up, I took the water from him and threw the pills into the back of my throat.

"I wish you felt better." Jasper hummed, pushing a stray chunk of hair behind my ear. I leaned into his touch, nodding in agreement.

"I don't know why I can't shake this migraine." I whispered, closing my eyes once again. The thudding in my head had been constant for the past week since we've been home. I couldn't put my finger on it as I had stayed hydrated, slept more than I was awake, and Jasper even massaged my neck and shoulders to make sure my muscles weren't too tight.

"I'm sorry." He murmured, kissing my forehead and guiding me back down to a laying position on the bed.

"Why don't you and Kai do something with Evelyn?" I suggested, knowing that she had to be going stir crazy without leaving the house for a couple of days. "Go to the park or the zoo."

"Maybe she'd like the zoo." He agreed, smiling softly.

We had both woken up before Evelyn did, which was rare, but I was pretty sure she was hitting a growth spurt because she was also eating so much more than normal. This happened every couple of months, so she was due for one soon anyway.

"Send Jensen over?" I pleaded as he stood and headed towards the bathroom.

"Yeah, I'll text Kai and ask if they're free." Jasper smiled as he closed the door slightly to get in the shower.

I never fully fell asleep again as he showered, but I dozed on and off. When he opened the door once again, I peeled my eyes open, sending a soft smile his way.

"I'm gonna wake Evelyn up so she doesn't sleep all day." He laughed as he left our room to go across the hall. It was past 9:30 and she was normally up by 8, maybe 9 if she was up late the night before.

A couple of moments later, Jasper walked back into our room with Evelyn leaning against him and her eyes half closed. Her hair was standing straight up and her pajamas were crooked across her chest. Sleep lines were imprinted on her left cheek and she had her thumb tucked into her mouth.

"Hello sleepy head." I laughed as I reached forward and pulled her into my chest. I pressed a kiss to her forehead as she tried to fall back asleep in my warm bed. "No, were gonna go get dressed."

No matter how bad I was feeling or how much the light hurt my eyes, I always put Evelyn first. I stood with a flinch on the hardwood floor and headed into her room. She whined in annoyance and stayed slumped against me as Jasper flicked through her closet. A couple of days ago we had sat down and cleaned out her clothes, replacing the hangers with the newer clothes that we knew would fit her.

"This is perfect!" Jasper announced, turning around with a small shirt and skirt in his hands. The top had a giraffe portrait printed on the white long sleeve and the skirt was all giraffe print. It was super cute and one of my favorite outfits.

"Here." I smiled, passing Evelyn to him so he could change her. As he changed her diaper I ran my hand along her face, helping her wake up as she seemed to be having a hard time. "So sleepy baby."

Once Jasper had her dressed, I took his spot and pulled her hair into two small ponytails, a light brown bow on either side. She finally looked like she was waking up, so we let her walk into the kitchen for breakfast.

I sat on one of the barstools as Evelyn busied herself with a toy in the family room. Jasper poured a simple bowl of Cheerios for Evelyn and peeled himself a banana.