Page 112 of Shine For Me

She laughs then River is stepping into my place to hug her. I walk over to Ash and clap him on the shoulder. “I’m really proud of you.”

“Stop,” he groans. “I really don’t want to start my first day with swollen crying eyes.”

“Too bad.” I tug him closer and wrap my arms around him. “You know you can call me if you need anything, right?”

“I know.”

“No matter where I am or what I’m doing. I’m never too busy to take your calls. And I won’t even tell Mom and Dad.”

He snorts out a laugh but then his arms tighten. “I’ll deny this if you tell anyone, but I’m kind of scared.”

“It’s normal to be scared. I bet the rest of them are scared, too.” I tighten my hold. “But you’re going to be okay, Ash. I promise. Hell, you’ll be better than okay. You’re going to be amazing.”

“You think so?”

“I know it.”

Over the course of the last week, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to thank my lucky stars that I have June in my life. But I don’t think I’ve ever been more grateful than I am when my parents drive away with the twins. I don’t want to think about how much worse this would be without her here to hold onto.

“You probably think we’re so silly,” Rose says to June, wiping at her streaming eyes. “Making this much of a fuss.”

“I don’t think you’re silly at all,” June says, her voice very serious. June knows, better than anyone here, how lucky we are to have people we love so much. I wrap an arm around her and hold her tight.

“You mind if we stick around here for a while?”

She gives me a soft smile. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

A while turns into the entire day. None of my cousins seem to feel like leaving, either, so we order take-out and hang out in Reed and Paige’s backyard. We’re still there a few hours later when they come back. I’m actually surprised by how well my dad is holding up. But he does insist on holding either Poppy or Harrison for most of the evening. We have an impromptu bonfire and grill hotdogs for dinner. For once, our dads don’t get out their guitars. Instead we all listen while Lyric, Nix, Silas, and Presley play.

Around nine o’clock, all of our phones ding in unison. A message on the group thread, from the Littles.

Vega:We’re at our very first college mixer!

Cece:Watch out world, the Fierce Five have arrived.

Then a picture comes through. It’s the five of them, their faces all crowded together in the shot. Something about that photo has the tightness in my chest loosening. The fact that they’re all together tonight, their first night away from home, makes me feel better than I have all day. And when I look around the fire, I know everyone else is thinking the same thing.

I pull June into my lap and hold her tight. “You thinking big thoughts back there?” she asks, leaning into my chest.

“Just thinking about the last time you and I were in this backyard together.”

“The graduation party?”

I rest my chin on her shoulder as I gaze at the fire. “Yeah. I spent most of that day feeling pretty off. I kept thinking about how much had changed since I went off to make my first movie. It felt like the whole family was moving on and I was missing it.”

She tugs my arms a little tighter around her. “Do you still feel like that?”

I think about the beginning of the summer, and how different everything was. Before June and I went to North Carolina, I never would have imagined we’d end up here, together.

“It feels like things have changed even more since then,” I tell her. “But it doesn’t feel like I’m missing it anymore. It feels like I’m moving forward just the same as everyone else.” I kiss the side of her neck. “I’m glad I get to move forward with you.”

She sighs happily. “Me too, Fox. Me too.”