“Trying to be impulsive for once?” I jested back at Riley while rubbing the palms of my hands on my jeans in an attempt to distract myself from the pain.

“While I admire the gumption, this isn’t quite what I expected from your glorious return” Riley looked at me while shaking her head. “When I said you needed to break out of your shell, I didn’t expect you to take it so literally.”

Rylee awoke to Fiona lightly rubbing her shoulder; she slowly opened her eyes and beheld a view of her own hand, bathed in morning light as her face resided in a puddle of drool she’d made during the light. With a small moan, she managed to flip over onto her back and look up into Fiona’s eyes; she was rewarded with a brief smile and a shoulder pat as Fiona adjusted her position to make herself a bit more comfortable.

CHAPTER 12
That next morning will always be special to me. I woke to bright sunlight shining around the edges of the curtains and filtering through the material, Caro still burbling away in her sleep, the room ripe with the smell of our demonstration of parental intent the night before. I felt embarrassed as I imagined what the cleaners would make of the state of our bedding.