She sits on the grass, and I sit on one side of her, Knox taking a seat on the other. Neither of us says anything, we let her dictate the conversation.
“She is the first girl born in our family who won’t be abused. Once they are dead, I want to find her a good family. People who will love and protect her. I want that for her. Something I never had.”
She pulls a wildflower from the ground and mindlessly removes the petals one at a time.
“Do you think that even exists?”
“Good people?” Knox asks, and she nods.
“Yes. I’m scared someone will hurt her.”
“Good people exist, Tesoro. You are one of them. Have you considered keeping her?”
Her eyes fill with unshed tears as she shakes her head.
“I want her to be surrounded by good. That’s not me. I’m evil. I just melted a man’s eyeballs and feel no remorse. No, she deserves better than me.”
Stroking my thumb over the back of her neck, I sigh softly, hating how she talks about herself.
“I’m not trying to convince you to keep the baby. I don’t know if any of us are ready to take that on, but if it’s what you want, we will support you and figure it out. You are not evil. You’re inherently good. Making those who harmed you pay for their crimes does not make you a bad person. Your heart is pure, Little Heathen. And if you decide to keep her, she’ll be the luckiest little girl in the world.”
Laying her head on my shoulder, she breathes, “Thank you.”
“After Bones gets here, we are going to a house he set up for us. And you will relax for forty-eight hours before phase two. I don’t want any arguments.”
Surprising me, she glances at me with a small smile.
“That sounds really nice.”
Bones, Reaper and Raven arrive quicker than I expected.
“I’ve sent the address to your phone. We are in the house next door.” Bones says while glancing over at Grave.
“How’s the baby?” Heather asks, and I know she’s been worried about her since she handed her over to Bones.
“Perfect. Athena and Bella are doting on her around the clock. We had her checked out by Dr. Knight. Everything was fine. She estimates that she’s only around six weeks old. She’s a little underweight at only nine pounds but thinks she’ll gain weight now that she’s being fed regularly.”
The expression on Heather's face mimics what I’m sure we are all feeling with this information.
“My sister wasn’t taking care of her?”
He shrugs his shoulders as he glances at me.
“We don’t know what her birthweight was but she should be closer to ten pounds. A little over. When Athena got her-“
He runs a hand through his hair as he stares at her, eyes filled with pain as he thinks about it.
“I’m sorry, Heather. I know this is difficult, but she was very hungry. The doctor thinks she hadn’t been fed for a few days. She was also dehydrated, but she’s doing much better now.”
Heather nods her understanding.
“Thank you. I’d like to see her later, if that’s okay.”
“Of course. You’re family. Our home here or in New York is always open to you.”
Psycho and Reaper stop in front of Grave, with their heads tilted, eyes fascinated as they stare at him in amazement.
Reaper rubs his hands together excitedly as we all approach what’s left of Grave.