He nodded, yawning again, then padded back toward the bedroom to get dressed.
***
I pushed the cart forward, mentally checking off everything I needed and making sure it actually made itintothe cart that time.
Water.
Gatorade for Kyrin.
His favorite oatmeal.
His “must-have” Saturday cereal.
Some other random food items.
Oh… and a Celsius energy drink for me.
I needed those to keep my brain functioning. The way my life was set up, caffeine was my second bloodstream.
As I reached for the cereal box, my phone alerted me of a notification. It was a text from Marcos.
Marcos:I’ll be back in town later this evening. We need to meet, but it won’t be at the warehouse. I’ll send a different location.
Me:Okay. Cool.
Marcos had been gone for almost a month. Despite that, we still talked almost every day. But meeting somewhereotherthan the warehouse? Yeah… that was unusual.
My anxiety rose instantly, whispering,What if I messed up something? What if this is a “Boss needs to talk to you” situation?
Before I could spiral, Kyrin’s voice pulled me back. “Jo?”
I blinked repeatedly. “Huh?”
He shifted his weight, suddenly shy. “A lot of kids at my school have iPads. I… I wanna know if maybe I could get one for Christmas? I understand if you don’t have the money.”
That hit me right in the chest.
He shouldn’t have had to say it like wanting something made him a burden.
I crouched down to his level. “Yeah, you can get one, sport. Look at it as an early Christmas present.”
“Yes!” he exclaimed in excitement. “Oh! Can I getonemore thing?” he added, in a timid tone.
Kyrin gave methat lookwith the little lip pout, head tilt, and big innocent eyes that he knew I always fell for.
Manipulative as hell… in the cutest way possible.
I raised an eyebrow. “What’s the ‘one more’ thing?”
“Um… I’ll have to show you,” he said, twisting the strap of his hoodie.
I sighed dramatically. “Well, come on.”
He grinned, satisfied, already planning whatever he was about to add to the cart.
I didn’t even care what it cost. His happiness was priceless and worth more to me than any dollar amount I’d ever hustled for.
***