Summer never has visitors. She scrambles out of her chair and pulls the door open, blinking up at Toni. “Toni?” Immediately she can tell something’s wrong. “What is it? Come in, come in.” She gestures him in, shuts the door. “What’s going on?”
She strokes his hair. “Don’t say that. Don’t say that, Toni, you don’t know that. Sometimes you can’t have what you want; things just don’t allow for it. I’m sure, I’m so sure, you were wanted, you were loved, just like you are now.” She cups his cheek, smoothing away the tearmarks.
Toni leans into the touch, reaching up to gently grip her wrist. “I wonder if they’re happy,” he mutters, tucking his head back into her neck. “I don’t …Summer …” Trailing off with a hitch in his breath he moves himself closer, trying to see if he can get that feeling of home again. “Summer …I can’t.”
“Shhh,” she murmurs, kissing his hair. “I’m here. It’s okay. You don’t need to do anything, just be here with me. Let it go.” She rocks a little, and barely brushes him with her empathy, easing away the worst of the ache bit by bit.