That was why she packed up everything she had to move back to Magnolia Sound. It would be too much to put Haley through such a significant upheaval. The only time she seemed okay was when she was in her own room and surrounded by her own things.
At twelve, she was already a mess of pre-teen emotion and old enough to understand everything that was going on. Losing her parents was devastating, and that was after having to move away from all of her friends in Georgia only months before. So if it meant moving her life around to help her niece adjust better, that’s what Sydney would do.
It’s what she knew her sister would want her to do.
At the familiar sting of tears, Sydney turned away from her parents and pretended to busy herself with folding the afghan that lay over the sofa. “We’ve talked about this,” she said, proud of the fact that her voice was steady. “Haley and I are going to be fine. This is like a little adventure and we’re going to get through it.” She smoothed the blanket out. “Besides, your bungalow hardly has enough room for all of us.”
“At the time, we were excited to downsize,” her mother said, fluffing one of the sofa cushions. “And it really is the perfect size for just the two of us. We didn’t think about the possibility of anyone moving back in with us.”
“No one’s moving in with you,” Sydney replied wearily. Seriously, they’d had this discussion so many times, she could practically recite it. “The community has been wonderful and Haley and I are going to be just fine.” She paused. “There are going to be days when it’s harder than others, but…we’ll make it work.”
“I spoke to Pastor Steve,” her father said. “And he said that if there are times when the work here is too much, he can always make arrangements for you and Haley to stay with some people from the church.”
She smiled and tried to remember that he thought he was being helpful. “Dad, I’m hardly a stranger here. I grew up in this town and still have a lot of friends who live here. I’m telling you, it’s going to be fine.”
And maybe if she kept saying it out loud, she’d eventually believe it.
“Still, if you can’t find a place to stay with a friend in a pinch, don’t forget to call the church,” he commented.
Rather than argue how it wasn’t going to be necessary, she simply nodded. “I won’t forget. Thanks, Dad.” Reaching over, she hugged him. All around them, lights came back on and appliances began to hum. “Oh, thank God.” Pulling back, she smiled. “See that? One thing fixed!”
“Sydney, it’s not just the power…”
But she wasn’t willing to listen to another lecture. “If we don’t get moving, you’re going to miss your flight. Is everything in the car?”
Within minutes, she was standing in the driveway with her arm around her niece and waving goodbye. Haley rested her head on her shoulder and she could hear her sniffling. She cried as her grandparents got into the car and said goodbye. Sydney had been expecting it. Doing everything she could to comfort Haley, she let her cry, and it nearly killed her to see her parents crying as well. The whole damn situation wasn’t fair, and unfortunately, there wasn’t anything any of them could do to change it. Hell, most days Sydney either woke up and cried or would cry herself to sleep. It was all she could do, and she prayed that one day it would start to get better.
But clearly today wasn’t that day.
“Hey,” she said softly. “How about we go inside and have some lunch?”
“I’m not hungry,” Haley murmured before turning and running back inside, slamming the door behind her.
Turning toward the house, Sydney looked up at it and sighed. This was her life now. This was her home. It wasn’t a place she would have chosen, but…she would stay here for at least a couple of years and make it the kind of place Tracy wanted for her daughter. It was the least she could do.
She made it all of two steps before the electrician came out and told her he was done for the day and all the work was completed. Thanking him, she walked up the front steps and paused.
One down, one to go…
Walking inside, she found Haley sitting on the couch, staring at her phone. Pasting