Spring [Completed]

THIRTY-FOUR

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HER

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grat•i•tude
noun
1. the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
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Josh has been gone for an hour, and I don't want to waste anymore time. With a plan in motion, I zip up my last suitcase and bring it into living room.

"Cara! Demi! Come out here please," I call into the expanse of our large house.

Moments later, Cara comes out of her room in a towel, hair dripping water. Soon after, Demi barrels down the stairs with a suspicious grin on her face.

"Hey, girls," I frown slightly, looking to the both of them. "Sorry, I know you're busy, I just need to talk to you all real quick..."

"It's okay, I was just watching Netflix, Mom..." Demi says, glancing over my shoulder at my suitcases. "Hmm, are you going on a trip?"

"You alright, Mom?" Cara asks, seeing straight through the smile on my face.

My face falls only for a moment. "I-I'm fine. Everything is fine..." I wipe my palms on my jeans and take a deep breath. "I just need both of you to pack a suitcase—"

"Cool! Where are we going!" Demi asks, nudging Cara slightly in excitement.

Cara rolls her eyes, inching away from Demi and readjusting her towel. Turning to me, Cara's expression morphs into one of concern. "Mom, can I talk to you for a second?"

I open my mouth to speak but Demi beats me to it. "Secrets don't make friends, Cara."

"Fine," Cara says, crossing her arms over her chest. "All this secrecy, the urgency in your voice...The fact that we didn't know about this 'trip' in advance..."

"Cara, don't," I say, glancing briefly at Demi. She watches the two of us carefully as we have a silent conversation with one another.

Thankfully, Cara backs down, narrowing her eyes at me briefly before sighing and turning back to her room. "Give me thirty minutes and I'll be ready to go."

I frown as Cara slams her door shut.

"Mom?" Demi asks, and I turn my attention back to her.

I put my hands on my thighs and crouch in front of her. "Yes, baby?"

"Where are we going?" Her brown eyes glance up at me with a glimmer of suspicion.

"We're going to my friend's house—"

"Is Daddy coming?"

"No," I say too quickly, letting some of my pent up anger slip out. I sigh, crinkling my nose a bit. "Daddy's going to stay and take care of the house."

"Oh, okay..." Demi says, pulling her phone out of her back pocket.

"Demi," I say, furrowing my brows in panic. "What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna text Dad and tell him to feed my hamster while we're gone—"

"No!" I snatch Demi's phone from her hand, my heart beating heavily in my chest as I delete the text and shove her phone in my pocket.

Demi stares at me with wide eyes as realization hits her. "Daddy can't know can he?" She frowns as tears well up in her eyes.

My heart shatters. "Honey, I'm so sorry," I say, pulling her into a tight hug. "But no, Daddy can't know...He can't know, okay?" I pull away to look at her and she nods, her expression grim. "Oh, baby, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm so sorry." I kiss her cheek and run my hands along her arms.

Demi ducks her head and doesn't speak for a while. "It's because he hurts you isn't it..." she says, her voice small and shaky as she looks up at me with glassy brown eyes.

"What?" I ask, my voice just above a whisper, tears prick my eyes as I shake my head profusely. "No, baby, no that's not it—"

"You don't have to fib, Mom, I know..." she says placing her small hand on my shoulder. "I can hear you guys arguing sometimes...and...and I try to stay out of grown folks business like you tell me to, but..." She glances down at her feet once more as she fiddles with her fingers. "I don't want to stay if he's gonna hurt you."

I can't help the tears that fall silently from my eyes as my daughter wraps her arms around my neck. I cradle her head in my hand and hold her close to me for what feels like forever, absolutely astounded at how wonderful my children have turned out despite everything they've had to endure.

"I love you so much, Dem," I say, wiping my eyes and letting her go.

She nods, looking slightly lost in thought. "I love you too."

I press my lips into a firm line. "What's on your mind, sweetheart?"

"Nothing," Demi quickly shakes her head. "It's stupid."

I sigh, leaning back on my heels. "I know you won't stop worrying until you ask, so just ask, Dem."

"Okay, fine. Am I..." She rocks back on her heels as she stuffs her hands in her back pockets. "Am I going to miss school because of this?"

I can't help the smile that pulls at my lips as I shake my head. "No, baby, of course not. I'm going to try and keep our routine as normal as possible. We're just not going to be staying here for a while..." I bite my bottom lip and try to gauge her reaction.

Her eyes search mine for a moment before she nods, smiling softly to herself. "Okay, good. I-I'm going to go get ready now so we can leave."

"Thank you baby," I say, swallowing the strangled sob that tries to escape my lips. I wipe my eyes and hold it together just long enough for Demi to disappear up the stairs.

Tears stream down my face as Cara emerges from her room, suitcase in tow.

Leaving her suitcase in the hall, she frowns softly before wrapping me in a much needed hug. It takes all of me to not fall apart in her arms, and when she pulls away she wipes my cheeks with the gentle swipe of her thumb. "I'm so proud of you," she whispers as her light brown eyes water as well. "So proud..." She clears her throat, letting me go and turning away from me.

I watch as Cara grabs her suitcase and wipes her eyes feverishly. She doesn't glance at me again, instead, she wheels her suitcase towards the front door. She clears her throat. "I'm uh, I'm gonna start loading the truck," she says and I nod, even though she can't see me.

"Thank you," I say as I wipe my eyes once more, meaning it in more ways than one.

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A/N: Y'all Halloween is tomorrow and I'm so excited!
I love Halloween so much and I'm so excited for my costume. Do y'all have any plans for Halloween? Lmk

Also I hope y'all are staying safe out there and I hope you all are having a great day!

Until next time,

—Kay♡