"You're safe, Selene."
What?
"Remember your breaths, Selene," the voice said. "In…and out…and in…and out."
Breaths? Right…breathing. I needed to breathe. I made myself try it. Did I even remember how to breathe? Isn't it supposed to be the first thing you know how to do when you're born? What about when you're resurrected?
"Very good," the voice complimented. "Now, when you're ready, you can try opening your eyes."
I felt something wet on my temples, like some type of oil that was causing a cooling sensation in my head. A sharp breath escaped me as my eyes shot open. A hand landed on my shoulder as I tried to sit up on whatever I was laying on. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," another voice drawled. It was a familiar drawl. "Don't do too much too soon, darlin'."
Darlin'? I knew that voice. It was dark, but when a bright light was let in from the outside, Travis was the first person I made eye contact with. "Trav," I tried. It came out incredibly croaky and resulted in me coughing from how dry my throat was.
"Welcome back!" a third voice boomed. I winced at the volume. "Oops, sorry, little lady."
"Try to sit up," Travis said, "slowly."
He and a pair of disjointed hands placed themselves on either side of me and got me in an upright position on a cot. A soft glowing light illuminated from the corner and I was able to see all three faces more clearly. In front of me, Eric had a warm smile spreading across his face as he realized that I was really alive; Nick was standing right behind him with wide eyes. To my left, Sage looked proud and triumphant, cleaning her hands with a towel. And Travis—my friend—to my right, tears in his eyes. Eric turned to Nick, "Go tell everyone she's awake," he said.
Nick turned quickly and halted when I said, "Wait…" I coughed again. "Please…not…yet…"
"Here, Hadley, try some water," Travis said. He reached behind him and held out a glass of water to me. With shaky hands, I lifted the cup to my lips to take a sip. And like a flash, the cold of the water flooded my mind with the moments before I died. My lungs on fire, my ears ringing, my heart squeezing. Gasping, I dropped the glass inadvertently and it spilled all over me. "Oh shoot…" Travis mumbled, "are you alright?"
"I'm sorry," I whispered. He handed me a towel and I started to wipe myself down. I cleared my throat. "Where am I?"
"Back in Idaho," Eric answered. It was still strange to see Matthew's face, but Eric had made it so much easier to associate that face with a friendly aura. "You fell out of the sky, if you can believe it."
I sighed, "I believe it." I squeezed my eyes shut for a second to orient myself. Then I looked at Eric. "Wait, really?"
He nodded. "You shot down like a meteor in the middle of the night; we almost thought the world was ending. Sage found you just outside of camp and brought you here."
When I looked at Sage, she winked at me. "I may have had a little hunch that you were returning to us," she said. I realized in that moment how much this woman had been connected to my ancestors, to me. They were the ones that had given her the prophecy all of those years ago and they had probably told her that I was coming back. "Eric was kind enough to let us house you here for the past couple of days."
"Days?" I repeated.
"It took a while for you to come to," Travis explained to me. "We've gotten in touch with your family, Lee. Someone should be here for you soon."
My head was reeling a bit. "What are you doing here?"
He didn't answer; he just threw his arms around me. My entire body tensed for a second at the surge of electricity that passed between the two of us. And then I relaxed when I felt the warmth of my friend. "I can't believe it's really you," he sighed.
An alarm sounded around us, causing me to cover my ears as quickly as I could. It rattled me. Nick ran out of the tent as Eric said, "That should be our guests."
Sage put a gentle hand on the small of my back. "How are you feeling?" she asked me.
I didn't know how to answer that question. How was I supposed to be feeling? I was breathing again. I was feeling everything all at once. And I was fucking terrified.
"Do you want to try water again?" Sage asked.
"No," I said quickly. I swung my feet over the side of the cot to try to stand, but as soon as I got up, I got dizzy and landed right back on my butt. "Whoa…"
Travis shot up to help me. "Take it easy," he advised. "Let's try it again."
I felt like a baby deer learning how to walk. There was something about the way the weight of my body felt on my feet that was tripping me out. I could feel every single part of my existence; the way my heart was thudding in my chest, the way the air felt on my skin, that tingly feeling of moving my body parts. It was just surreal. I don't think I've ever felt this sensitive before. Yeah…that's the word, I guess: sensitive.
When we exited the hut, people started to crowd the Idaho village. But it wasn't just Eric's pack and their families; I recognized a couple of people from Sage's pack, from the Ontario pack, from Meridian. They all looked on in awe as Travis and Sage acted as two pillars to hold me upright as I adjusted to walking again. "Something amazing happened after the war," Sage said quietly in my ear. "We all found homes with each other. There's no more isolation, no more separation between species. You helped create unity, Selene."
People started to cheer and clap. Some people bowed. But they mostly just clapped as they all witnessed my resurrection. And then I felt a tug right in my stomach that I hadn't felt in so long. There was a break in the crowd and then all of a sudden, I was locked eyes with my brother. Will's face slacked as he realized he was looking at me. He reached me in five paces and threw his arms around me, immediately. And right behind him was August. August's face broke out in a wide grin before he backed out of the crowd.
Will hugged me tighter and tighter I almost couldn't breathe. But I didn't care. My eyes fluttered shut as I relaxed into my brother, pressing my face into his shoulder and inhaling his familiar scent. He held me out at arm's length and studied my face with his hazel eyes. I took his face in my hands as the tears started to sting in my eyes. He looked older, worn, tired. His facial hair was prickly on my palms, but I didn't care. "I can't believe it…" he whispered.
No, it's really her this time! Tell everyone! I heard in my head. How weird to hear people in my head again.
My lip quivered as I choked out, "I'm so sorry," and pulled my brother to me once more.
"It's ok," he assured me, petting my hair. "It's alright. It's over now."
"Let's get you guys back inside," Sage advised as she led me by the small of my back into the hut again.
August rushed back and was following closely behind. He hugged me as soon as we were inside. "Holy shit," he laughed in disbelief. "They really brought you back."
"Hey, Aug," I grinned, running a hand through his curls. He looked just like Wyatt. I glanced back at Will, who wouldn't stop looking at me for even a second. "I'm so happy you're both here."
"We would have been here sooner, but…" Will trailed off.
"We've gotten so many false calls since you…died," August said with a somber look on his face. "After a while, we just stopped believing they would send you back."
I landed back on the cot next to my brother in a bit of disbelief. "I don't…I wasn't…I couldn't have been gone for that long."
"Hadley, you've been gone for a year," Will stated. "We've gotten 83 calls since you died. All false alarms. Some people think they saw human you, shifter you, or just someone with dark hair who looked lost. And every single time, it was like a punch to the gut when it wasn't you."
A year…
That information sent me into a spiral; I covered my eyes as the room started to spin around me. Will put a hand on my shoulders. "It's alright, Lee," he tried to soothe me. "Count your breaths."
"A year—how is that possible? I thought…" I thought maybe a month or two tops. How in the world could I have been gone for a year's time? I lifted my head to Travis to see if it was true. He nodded quietly. I let out a shaky breath.
"The time doesn't matter," Will said. "Because we're going to take you home."
"I already let Hunter and Gabriel know that you're coming home," August said with a wide smile. His eyes were twinkling in that way they had his whole life. He always found the positive spin on life. That was August. Always and forever.
And Will. My brother—the person who had never shown me more than 5 minutes of affection at a time in his whole life—hadn't let go of my hand the entire time. Every minute, he would squeeze it as if he couldn't believe it was really me. As if he was afraid I would blow away in the wind.
"She will need to rest for just a bit more before she's able to travel," Sage told the boys. "We kept her as hydrated as we could, but she's still very weak."
"That's ok," Will nodded then looked at me. "We can stay all night, if we have to."
XXXXXXXXX
"So what was it like?" Will whispered. We were lying head to feet on the tiny cot because I didn't want to be by myself. August was snoozing soundly in the other one. It was 3 in the morning.
I didn't know how to answer. My feelings about experiencing life after death were very complicated. And I didn't know how to put it in words yet. All I knew was that I was happy to be lying here with my baby brother and to be breathing and blinking and feeling the real world. "I met Grandpa Harry and Grandma Sarah," I told him instead. I felt a small smile grace my face. "Sarah was exactly the way Dad always told us about her. She was just so beautiful and full of grace. We used to get ice cream together a lot."
"Yeah?" I could hear the smile in his voice. "And Grandpa Harry?"
I sat up in the cot; Will following suit. I ran a hand through my hair and hummed, happily. "Grandpa Harry gives the best hugs ever. He's so warm and gentle. And he still tells dad jokes even in the afterlife," I said and we both laughed quietly. "And he couldn't stop gushing about how grown up you and Mel are and how proud he was of all of us. I would have 'breakfast'" I put breakfast in quotes because, you know…we didn't need to eat; we just liked to, "with him every day before I would go to the garden with Kaya. And we would tell me all of the stories from when Mom and Dad were kids and how he met Grandma and how he was right there in the room when all three of us were born.
I paused. "They really are always with us, Will. Even now, I can feel something—someone—here, and we just had no idea how close they are to us every day."
Will was quiet. My brother could be hard for other people to read, but, to me, his face was a map to his thoughts. So, when he asked, "Why didn't you come down to see us?" I wasn't the least bit surprised.
I reached out to brush his wavy hair from his face. "I did," I admitted. He looked surprised. "I wasn't supposed to; Kaya always said it was too soon, but you know me. The only time I could bear to come down was when you two were sleeping. Whenever I tried to bring myself to come down here, it felt so…scary. Like, if I let you see me like that, it would make it too real. But you and Mel brought me so much peace. I would sit next to you and just…"
"You were humming the melody of the song Mama always sang to us when we were kids," he realized with teary eyes. I nodded. "I thought that was a dream."
We sat quietly for a second. The only noise was August rolling over in his sleep. "I never thanked you for what you did before we went to battle," I whispered. "Actually, I haven't thanked you for a lot of things. I hope you know how much I appreciate and love you, Will. And, if you don't, I will spend so much of my second chance at life making sure that you understand that."
"I do, H," he assured me, grabbing both of my hands. "You're my sister. You spent your whole life stepping up where I refused to. You've always taken care of me and Mel, even when you didn't realize you were. I just wish I hadn't waited so late to realize that I needed to show you that I understood how much you protected me—protected all of us."
"Only because I love you more than anything in the world," I told my brother.
"I love you too, Hadley." He leaned over to hug me and, for the first time since I started breathing again, I felt like I was at home. When he let me go, he tried to discreetly wipe the tears from his face. "You should get some rest though. It's a long way home tomorrow."
I caught a tear on his cheek with my thumb as I shrugged, "One would argue I've gotten more than enough sleep," I tried to joke. Will glared at me, an eyebrow raised. I pursed my lips. "Too soon?"
"Don't make jokes like that."
"I'm sorry," I laughed a little. "I won't do it again."
XXXXXXXXX
We left at sunrise. Eric, Nick, Sage, and Travis were all waiting by the entrance to the village patiently. Over a year ago, I was entering this very village to ask for help and I still couldn't wrap my mind around that, not only had that help worked to save our people, but that I could comfortably call upon these people to be more than allies. They were my friends. They took care of me at my most vulnerable.
August had the most casual arm slung around my shoulders as we approached. Will was on the other side of me, yawning and rubbing his eyes. "Dude, I don't know how you're tired. I slept great last night," Aug quipped.
"Shut up," Will yawned again loudly. He swept his hair into a bun on top of his head and sighed. "Alright, let's get this show on the road."
Sage checked me carefully. "How are you feeling, Selene?"
"I think I'm feeling good," I answered as honestly as I could. Truthfully, I was nervous about phasing for the first time. Or if I'd even be able to do it. I pulled Sage into a warm embrace. "Thank you so much for everything."
"It's the least I could do," she said. "We'll be in touch soon, I'm sure. But for now, be safe," she smiled at me, "and welcome back."
I said goodbye to Eric and Nick, giving them my most sincere gratitude for their help. "It's been quite an honor to get to work alongside you, Hadley Black," Eric said, a look of pride in his eyes. "It takes a special type of person to do what you've done. The Quileute Descendant is just a reputation—it's just a petty title. What you've created for all of us has exceeded any arbitrary prophecy that's been running through the rumor mill all of these years. I am so incredibly impressed by you."
My throat constricted a little as I held back tears. He rubbed up and down my arms affectionately. "I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me."
"And much more to come," he winked, "in due time."
When I stepped in front of Travis, he looked so happy but so tired. My friend. He yanked me into a full hug and squeezed me until I couldn't breathe. The electrical currents passed through us stronger than ever. "I'll miss you," I told him. He let me go and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. "Will you come back to La Push?"
"Of course," he said. "I'll be there in a week's time to check on you and the girls."
"And then what?"
He took a deep breath as he looked around. "Well…I was thinking of going back to school," he said coolly. "It's not too late for me to have the future I've always wanted."
"Dr. Calloway," I tried out. "Saver of animals, saver of friends."
"That's the goal anyway," he said. When he caught a tear from my cheek, I realized I was crying. "Don't be sad, darlin'. You can't get rid of me that easy. We'll still see each other all the time."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
I stepped back from my special team of people and took a deep breath. "If you need anything," I started, "call me. I wasn't brought back just to get soft. Your battles are our battles now."
Sage beamed at me. "Spoken like a true leader."
Will put a hand on my shoulder, signaling that it was time to go. Nick told us that it would be best to wait until we're off the grounds to phase because any supernatural being triggers the alarms. And then we were off. Back to the world, my real world. Back home.
It turns out, though, that my wolf was feeling mighty shy in my resurrected state. She was cowering harder than I'd ever felt before. Every time I'd try to coax her to the front, she refused. She was scared. I got it. The last time she was out, we drowned. "You can just ride with me," August said. "We'll take it nice and slow."
I resigned, feeling a little disappointed that I couldn't just run back myself. But I was still so appreciative of the fact that these two were here with me to take me home.
It was a smooth ride back to La Push; the sun shined on us the whole way there. Will was getting me caught up on everything that happened over the past year while August was singing in his head to keep himself entertained. After the battle—after my incident—Grandma Sue and Charlie Swan moved back onto the reservation full time so they could spend more time with my mom and Uncle Seth. She didn't want to be too far in case something happened. Dad quit the garage for the same reason—to not miss any time with his living kids and his wife. Cassie went on her Italy trip, but it took a lot of convincing. She and Reese were working things out; they felt like they needed that trip to have time apart just to be sure that what they wanted was truly what they needed. Will says that they're splitting their time between La Push and Meridian. And Nate and Montana fell right into the love bubble as I knew they would. The two of them were living together in our old house, and everyone on the reservation loves Montana.
No one mentioned Wyatt though.
As we approached the treaty line, Will threw his head back and let out a lupine howl, signaling our return. I felt myself grip August's fur a little tighter as the nerves built up. They're going to lose their minds when they see you, August was so excited.
People tentatively peaked out of their doors as we ran to the center of the reservation. I could hear their murmurings and then full on chattering as they realized that it really was me. I climbed off of August and gave him a tender kiss between his eyes. And then I heard my name. When I turned around, Melody was running toward me at full speed. She collided with my body, wrapping her arms around me. "Oh my god, it's you! It's really you!" she said, her voice muffled from her face being buried in my chest.
My entire body relaxed as I put my nose to her hair and breathed deep. My baby sister smelled as she always had, of coconut shampoo and salt water. She started crying. "Oh, I missed you so much," I whispered. My family started to crowd around us as August and Will slipped out to phase back. I kept hugging my sister, rocking her back and forth.
"Holy shit," I heard.
"How is this possible?"
"I didn't believe it when August projected, but…"
Then I heard, "Hadley?"
I looked up and my mom was walking toward me slowly in disbelief. Dad followed closely behind, his eyes so wide and teary. When I let go of Mel, it was like all of the world fell back right where it was supposed to be. Mama and I stood exactly two feet from each other, just looking. And there was no other noise around us. She reached out to touch my face, but couldn't bring herself to connect. So I put my own hand on the back of hers and laced our fingers together, then placed her palm onto my cheek. Her hazel eyes welled up immediately as she let out a shaky breath. I pulled her hand until our bodies collapsed into one another. She just kept whispering 'thank you' over and over and over again as she gripped me harder. Then I felt my father's arms wrap around both of us. I pivoted my body so I could embrace both of them and I buried my face in my father's chest.
"Alright, let's give them some space," I heard my uncle Paul say. Their love washed over me in its most pure form and I never wanted to stop feeling that. Like, if I died again right here, I'd be happy. When we parted, I think I had finally run out of tears. Happy tears, of course. And…sad tears. I was hurting so much that they had hurt for me for a year, but I couldn't be happier that I was back with them.
Mama couldn't take her eyes off of me for a second as I made the rounds to all of my aunts and uncles and cousins. Uncle Paul's face was a mix between pride, relief, and a little smugness. "I knew a legend like you couldn't stay down for long," he said, ruffling my hair.
Bebe and Uncle Embry hugged me together. "God, I didn't believe it when I heard, but you're here. You're actually home," Bebe said between tears. "You know you're never leaving our sight ever again, right?"
"I wouldn't dream of it," I smiled at her. One by one, everyone was telling me how much they missed me, how different things were, how hard it was when I died. It was really difficult to hear, but I braved through it.
I, somehow, found Cass in the mass of people; she was walking toward the crowd from the Call house with a confused look on her face, and she just crumbled like a cookie when she saw me. Her knees gave out and I was right there to catch her. She sobbed as she looked up at me, cradling my face in her hands. "Please tell me this isn't a dream," she cried.
"It's not, Cass, I'm home," I told her. I got her to stand and she wrapped her arms around herself. I smiled at her before placing a kiss on her forehead. She was shell-shocked.
And then I looked behind me; there stood a pale faced Nathaniel with his imprint peering around him. Montana's face lit up like a Christmas tree and she started jumping up and down behind Nate. She pushed past him to hug me. "Oh my god oh my god oh my god!" I laughed as she squeezed me tighter. "How is this possible?" she asked. Montana twirled me around before waving Nathaniel over. "Nathan! It's really her! Come here!"
Nate was frozen to his spot. Montana dragged me by the arm over to him. We stood there, staring at each other for what felt like a lifetime. "Hi Nathan," I said meekly.
His mouth opened like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out. So I just wrapped my arms around his waist and waited. And waited. And waited. And then his entire body jolted like he came out of shock and he threw both arms around my shoulders. "Holy shit…" he whispered. "Tell me this is for good. Tell me it's not just a visit."
"I'm not going anywhere," I told him. "I'm here for good."
"Thank god," he murmured. He let me go and tried to quickly wipe the tears away before I could see. But it was too late. I reached up and caught the last tear as I smiled up at him. "How did this even happen?" he asked as he caught my hand. He touched my palm to feel for the second crescent shaped scar that would have come from our failed Bond. By some miracle, it was still there. He had one too. I held my hand up for him and he met it in the air and finally smiled for me. My brother. My guardian angel.
"We'll all get some time with Hadley," Mama announced to the whole group. "Let's give her a chance to rest and we'll have everyone over at the house later tonight."
"Wait, where's Wy—?" I started to ask Nathan before I got swept up into my father's arms and away from the center of the reservation.
XXXXXXXXX
It turns out that having a house full of people who are solely there for you is an overwhelming experience that I was not ready to have. I didn't realize that I had gotten used to not feeling everyone's emotions all at once. And they were all feeling the same things—relief and overjoy.
So I found myself slipping upstairs to take a little break from the overwhelming energy. The door to my bedroom was closed; I imagined Mama shutting it after she realized that I really wasn't coming home. I cracked it open, half expecting it to be empty. Like maybe, just maybe, they decided that it would be too hard to keep my bedroom as it was. Maybe they needed a fresh start. I wouldn't blame them.
To my relief, it was exactly as it has always been. My bedsheets were a little rustled, but, other than that, it was literally the same. I felt a presence behind me as I stood in the doorway. "Melody used to sneak in here to sleep in your bed," Dad said behind me. I didn't know that. I would stay with her not long after she would fall asleep in her own bed and then I would go see Will. I didn't know that she was sleeping in my bed. "She thinks we don't know, but…it's the only way she got any sleep."
The room did smell like my little sister. The way that her fresh scent and my lingering scent mixed together was comforting somehow. I sat on the bed and ran my hand over the comforter without a word.
"This is a lot for you, isn't it?" Dad asked. "Too many people downstairs?"
I looked up at him. He looked worried, wringing his hands in front of him. "No, of course not, Dad. This has been…" I couldn't find the word.
"Overwhelming," he finished for me. He came over and sat next to me. Dad reached out to touch my hair and then stopped short. Then he cupped my cheek. "I kept having dreams last week that this would happen. But that's all I thought they were. Just dreams. But…now that you're actually here, I think they may have been visions. I think they were trying to tell me that they were sending you home."
I felt a warmth run all over my body. "I'm happy to be back with my family," I told him. "I think I'll just need a little time getting used to…feeling everything again. I'm sorry."
His eyebrows scrunched. "Why are you apologizing?"
"All of these people are here for me," I explained. "I've been gone for so long, I feel like I need to—"
"You don't need to do anything other than be here in the moment, bug," Dad said tenderly. "We've wished for this for over a year now. All you have to do is live."
He kissed me on the forehead before standing up to give me some space. As he was heading out the door, I called out to him. He turned around. "Where's Wyatt?" I asked.
Dad sighed heavily. "He doesn't really come out these days. Only for pack meetings and patrols. He just stays in the house he built; we don't see him very often."
My heart jumped. "He finished the house?"
Dad nodded. "He did. For you."
He left, leaving me to sit with my thoughts. And just out of habit, I sat in the middle of my bed and crossed my legs to see if I could channel Wyatt's energy. And I was met with big fat nothing. He was that closed off. And if I couldn't feel him…he couldn't feel me.
I went back downstairs and I think the house was even fuller than it was 5 or 10 minutes ago. Rolling through the door? My grandpa Billy. "Where is she?" he asked, looking all over the room. And then he saw me. He looked so tired, but as soon as he laid eyes on him, his entire body relaxed. Grandpa took his cowboy hat off and clutched it to his chest. He let out a disbelieving chuckle before he held out his arms. "You come here right now, little girl."
Everyone stayed as long as they could, but eventually I think they started to realize that we all needed a bit of rest. As people were shuffling out of the house, Bebe was squeezing me so tight, I thought I might pop. "You let us know if you need absolutely anything, alright?"
"Thanks, Bebe," I gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm alright for now though."
"We've got her, B," Mama said as she came up behind me. She put a tender hand on my back. Bebe nodded at her before pinching my cheeks one more time and shuffling out the door. Uncle Embry followed suit, kissing my forehead before he left. And then it was just me and my family left. Mama looked at me with glittering eyes as she had all night and said, "I know you need your rest; I just…can't stop looking at you. I thought I'd never…"
"I heard you that night, Mama," I reminded her. "Remember, you told me we wouldn't be apart forever. I used to think of you saying that every single day I was up there. It kept me going."
Her face crumbled a little before she blinked her tears away. She held my face in her hands and just stroked my cheek with her thumb. "I don't think I believed it when I said it, but I feel so much better knowing you were there with me that night, lovebug."
Dad came up to us with Will and Melody not too far behind. "The ancestors have yet to fail us," he commented. "But I can't think of a greater gift than all five of us getting to be here right now."
I couldn't agree more.
XXXXXXXXX
There was no way in the world that I would have been able to get actual rest without mending one very important bridge first. I tossed and turned in bed for a couple of hours before throwing the covers off of me and getting dressed. I wrote a quick note to my family for them to find in the morning, if I was still gone. And I left.
It's amazing how muscle memory works. I remembered every single tree marker, every stump, every turn. Until I saw it. The house from Wyatt's vision. The one that kept me comforted for the entirety of my afterlife. The porch light was off, but there was a noticeable glow coming from what I assume was the living room. Why was he up at 3 in the morning? From the sounds of it, he was watching old episodes of Friends. We used to do that together.
I carefully walked up the few porch stairs and just stared at the door. I lifted my hand and knocked three soft times. Nothing. Three more times, a little harder. "Whoever it is, go home!" I heard from inside.
I rolled my eyes and knocked again.
"Nate, I swear to god, if you don't leave me alone," he huffed. "I said I didn't want to see anyone."
My throat all of a sudden felt very dry. "It's not Nate," I managed. It was all of a sudden very, very quiet. The TV muted and there wasn't a hint of movement. I tried again, "Wyatt?"
Heavy footsteps made their way to the door, but he didn't open it. I could hear him breathing. "If this is a joke…" he whispered.
I placed a hand on the door and just waited. I stood there for what felt like a lifetime before nodding in resignation. I started to turn around to go back to my parents' house when I heard the faint click of a lock unlatching. The man in front of me looked so worn, almost like a shell of himself. His beard had grown in full, his hair was long, unruly, and curly, and there were small bags under his eyes. But he was still Wyatt. My Wyatt.
We stood a foot apart. Just gazing. Not a word was said aloud. There was nothing that I could have said at that moment that could sum up everything I needed him to know. And I think he was just too much in shock to say anything. But I heard every word.
