*Chapter 9*
A/N: Text are in bold. Internal thoughts in Italic.
I was too drained to leave the apartment after this morning's breakdown and spent the day curled up on the couch clutching a throw pillow. Les stopped by surprising me with a family album he borrowed from his Tia. It was sweet seeing Carlos as a child, and we both burst out laughing when we came upon the picture of Carols making his own flan at Thanksgiving.
"Thank you, Les. This was perfect."
"I thought you would like a visual to go along with the story." He laughed as he wiped his eyes.
Later, Hal dropped by with meatball subs and made sure to point he had extra provolone added to mine. The day passed much the same way. Every couple of hours a different Rangeman would stop by to keep me company for a bit. It surprised me when Woody stopped back by around 10 PM.
"I wanted to see if you were alright after this morning. Do you want Les or me to sleep on the couch tonight?"
They really do take great care of me. Carlos would be proud of them.
"I'm alright. I spent the day surrounded by my family. Everyone has been so wonderful. I'll be alright tonight."
He nodded and left me to my thoughts. Thank God for them.
I smiled thinking how they had been there for me. My phone buzzed and I debated even looking at it. I gave in and saw that Joe had called earlier, but the latest text was from grandma.
"I love you."
I smiled while scrolling through her past texts. Everyday she had sent a small message.
"I'm here."
"Need a hug?"
"Want to talk?"
"Let's get drunk!"
"Miss you."
I missed her, too. "It's time." I told myself. "I need to see my family."
Thanks for reading!