𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕦𝕟 𝕚𝕤 𝔾𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕃𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣- completed but editing

Chapter 90 | кровать и завтрак (Bed and Breakfast)

"Dad, you left a bag up here!" I called down the stairs. "Do you want me to grab it?"

My dad poked his head around the corner. "Sure, thanks, Leah."

I grinned. Ever since I told him about my adventures in high school, he had started calling me Leah. It felt right and I liked it but it made me miss Peter.

I grabbed the last suitcase and lugged it down the stairs. Danny was sitting in the entry hall, coloring on a sheet of construction paper with a big red crayon. "Is this everything, Dad?" I asked as I approached the car.

My dad was headfirst in the truck. "That's everything."

"I'm going to miss you. I still don't see why you can't stay here." I took his hand and we walked back into the house.

He smiled and shook his head. "This is a chapter of your life that I can't be in."

I scope up Danny and he protested, waving his crayon in the air. "Time for breakfast, buddy." I turned back to my dad. "Dad, it's like you've been missing for thirty-nine chapters of my life."

"I'm still here," he put a hand on my shoulder as we headed for the kitchen. "But I know you, Li Anne. You won't need me as much as you think."

A tear ran down my cheek. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," he reached forward and pulled me into a hug, sandwiching Danny between us. "You've got this, Leah."

I wiped off another tear. "I hope so."

"It feels like just yesterday I found you and we fought in New York," he took Danny from me and bounced him on his hip.

"How has it been? Since you found me?"

"You were eleven."

I gasped. "Dad! I'm twenty! That was nine years ago!"

"You've grown up, Annie. You aren't the little girl I found covered in dust in the remains of a lab."

I hugged him tightly. "I love you, Dad."

"And I love you, Li Anne."

We hugged for a minute before he kissed his grandson on the head and headed out to the car. One last wave and was gone.

I turned to the little boy on my hip. "Well, Danny, it's just you and me."

"Ohh an meh," he gurgled.

I smiled and hugged him tightly. "Let's eat some breakfast, buddy."

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Our feet pounded along the well beaten trail around the lake. We had run this path everyday for over a month.

"How are you still standing upright?" Steve panted from next to me.

I looked over at him. "I've got the stroller to hold me up." Danny was in the jogging stroller I was pushing, happily playing with a toy car.

"I want a turn!" He slowed slightly.

I laughed. "You want to push the stroller?"

"Yeah, move aside, Annie."

I relinquished my hold of the stroller and let Steve take over. He had been a big help ever since my dad left for California. Some nights, he didn't go home, but stayed in one of the guest rooms. Even though I appreciated the help, I knew that he wasn't just there for me. He had been on the run with two other people for two years. Before that, he had lived in the Compound. Being alone, truly alone, wasn't something he was used to.