Page 138 of Eleanor & Grey
She hurried over to him and locked pinkies with her father and with her sister, making a small circle. “What about Eleanor, Daddy?” she asked, glancing my way.
Everyone turned to me, and I stepped back, feeling fully out of place. That was their family moment, and in a way, I was intruding just by being there. “Oh, no, Lorelai. I think it’s just a family pinky promise.”
Karla gave me a halfway grin and slightly shrugged as she dropped her hand from Lorelai’s and held her pinky out toward me. My emotions began building up from the small gesture, and Karla sighed. “I swear to God, Eleanor, if you start crying, I’m taking my pinky back,” she warned.
“Sorry.” I laughed, wiping at my eyes and hurrying over to the circle. I linked my pinkies with Lorelai and Karla, and we all held on as Greyson spoke.
“From this point on, we work as a unit, OK? We’re a team, and we are there for each other all the time. Through thick and thin. If we fall, we fall together. If we break, we shatter as one. That’s who we are. That’s our promise. Promise?” he asked.
“Promise,” Lorelai replied.
“Promise,” Karla echoed.
Greyson looked toward me with those eyes that healed me, and I released a quiet sigh. “Promise.”
* * *
That night after I put Lorelai back to bed, I stopped by Karla’s room, just to check in on her. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, scrubbing her hair dry with such a somber look on her face.
“Hey, you OK?” I asked, knocking lightly on her door and making her look up.
“You’d be surprised at how hard it is to get the smell of fish out of your hair,” she grumbled.
“Karla, what those kids did to you was beyond disturbing. I know your father is going to speak to the principal come morning, but is there anything I can do right now? Anything I can do for you?”
She hesitated a minute before shaking her head. “No. I’m fine.”
“OK, well, if you need anything, just let me know. You have my number, and you can wake me up at any time. I’m here for you.”
Her bottom lip twitched a little. “Thanks, Eleanor.”
“Always.”
“You’re not just faking it because it’s your job, are you? You actually really care about us, huh?”
I laughed. “More than you know. Try to get some sleep.”
“Will do. And Eleanor?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you,” she said, running her hand through her hair. “You know, for bringing my dad with you to pick me up. I really needed him there. I needed you both.”
My eyes welled up. “Can I give you a hug?”
“No, probably not,” she flatly replied.
Oh, well, then.
That seemed about right.
* * *
“Hey, how are you doing?” I asked, checking in on the final member of the family.
Greyson was sitting on his bed with his hands wrapped tightly around the edge of his mattress. His foot was tapping repeatedly as he stared at the carpeted floor.
He looked up to me with so much emotion in his eyes. “She’s lonely,” he whispered before looking back down at the floor. “She’s lonely, Ellie.”
