Every buzz of the phones and smile in the room made the spike of anxiety in Livie's chest loosen up a little bit. Alan was okay with it. Constantine's answer she didn't understand.

She squinted a little bit as she looked around the room again, even as she could feel her heart in her chest growing three sizes, like she was the Grinch at the end of the book.


"Did people already think I was part of the family?" she asked. "Like, people here?"

Constantine's answer was pretty clear on that one. "I never was, like, expecting that." Her words came a little bit faster, the way that they tended to do when she was emotional.

"But I'm glad to be here now. Like, really really glad."

Something was welling up in her chest, and if she wasn't careful, she might end up crying like Luke.

"Okay, can we talk about this barbecue?"


Seiana_ZI
Can maybe fin soon?
Amasis