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My back hurt.

And I was pretty sure I still smelled like hospital even though I’d washed my hands and arms about forty times throughout the day.

The house was quiet, which was the first good thing I’d experienced in hours.

The living room looked like shit.

Blanket hanging halfway off the couch. One of Michael’s little cars in the middle of the floor. Serenity’s bouncer pushed crooked beside the coffee table. Two cups sitting on the end table when the kitchen was literally ten fucking steps away.

I stared at them.

“Xavier,” I mumbled.

What the fuck did I expect?

At least all four kids were alive and the house was still standing.

I dropped my work bag by the stairs and went to check on everybody before I did anything else.

Zion and Michael shared a room.

I cracked their door first.

Zion was knocked out sideways across his bed, one leg hanging from underneath the blanket.

Michael’s bed was empty.

Of course.

That meant his little ass was probably in Amari’s room.

I walked across the hall and opened her door.

Sure enough.

Amari was asleep in her twin bed underneath her pink comforter.

Michael was on the fucking floor beside her bed with his little blanket balled underneath his head like a pillow.

“Boy.”

I stepped inside and bent down.

He didn’t even move when I picked him up.

Dead weight.

I kissed the side of his head and put him right in Amari’s bed beside her. There was enough room for both of them.

Amari shifted.

“Mommy?”

“Go back to sleep, princess.”

“Okay.”

Gone.