In Too Deep

Thirty Two

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A knock came from the door.

"Coming!" Nova called, feet padding across the floor as she reached the front door to open it. Tiny arms embraced her legs. She grinned and laid her hand against Mal's back, looking down at her. "Hi, little monster."

Mal giggled in answer.

"Thank you so much for doing this, Nova," Jess said as she handed over Mal's bag to her. "The hospital's a little tight right now, and I couldn't find anyone to cover my shift."

"Stop acting like I don't love having Mal here. We're going to have so much fun, aren't we?" Nova squatted down and smiled, poking at her belly button.

Mal squealed out, "Yes, yes, yes!"

Jess looked like she wants to object, which she did, stating in a broken whisper, "But it's your day off. I shouldn't be intruding or getting you to babysit her. You're always working."

True, but there was a difference between working and spending time with her friends. She rolled her eyes and shushed her, "Go before you get late." If I didn't chase her away, Jess was never going to leave, and she would end up wasting both her time and Nova's. Sometimes, Jess forgot she didn't need to ask her for anything.

"Okay. Call me if there's any trouble. She needs to brush her teeth before she goes to bed, and she likes to sleep with the night lamp on. Mal loves being tucked."

"Jess," Nova dragged her name out. "You do know that I'm aware of all these things, right? This isn't the first time Mal slept over for F-U-C-K sake. You suffer a temporary memory loss whenever you're stressed."

Jess laughed and glared at her, then bent to kiss her daughter on the cheek. "Bye, sweetie. Be good to Aunt Nova, alright?" She hugged her, then untangled herself, looked at Nova, and smiled gratefully.

"Bye, mummy," Mal called, and Nova shut the front door after she was gone.

She turned and faced Mal. "So, what do you want to do?"

Mal told her she was tired, so Nova took her to her room to take a nap. When she woke up, she ordered them pizza. After dinner, she poured FroYo and took it to the living room, where they watched Toy Story and kept themselves entertained. Four o'clock came and went. Mal got comfortable near the window, counting every person that walked down the street. When she got tired, she came back to the couch, and they watched Toy Story 2.

After they finished, she got comfortable sitting with Nova on the carpeted floor, crossing their legs together. Mal would occasionally open her mouth and close it, then look down to play with her fingers. When Nove realised that there was something on her mind, she turned Mal's head in her direction.

"What's wrong?" She frowned. Mal opened her mouth again and then closed it, gaze darting to the necklace around Nova's neck before she looked down again. "This?" Nova fingered the moon on her necklace.

Mal nodded. She removed it from her neck to place it in her hand. "This was my mum's," Nova told her with a smile. "She gave it to me a while ago, and I have been holding on to it."

Mal tilted her head and frowned. "Your boyfriend didn't give it to you?"

Nova chuckled and shook her head. "No, he didn't. Why do you ask?"

She shrugged, in a totally different way, looking away with a little sigh. Maybe Nova was reading too much into it, but the sagging shoulders and the sad face had a story to tell. She poked at Mal's side, catching a giggle from her.