Claire had been prepared for this, but nothing could have prepared her for the rawness of the questions. Nothing could have prepared her for the heartbreak in Lily’s voice as she asked about the years they had lost.
“Mom,” Lily said, looking up from her workbook with a hesitant expression. “Why didn’t you come for us? Why didn’t you try to find us?”
Claire’s heart ached. She didn’t want to answer. She wanted to protect her little girl from this knowledge, to shield her from the pain of the truth. But she knew she couldn’t.
“I tried, sweetheart,” Claire said, her voice soft, her hand brushing Lily’s hair back from her face. “I tried to find you. But I didn’t know where you were. I didn’t know what happened.”
Lily bit her lip, her small brow furrowing in confusion. “But you didn’t know I was… alive? You thought… we were… gone?”
Claire nodded, swallowing hard against the lump in her throat. “Yes. I thought I lost you. I thought you were gone.”
Lily didn’t say anything else, but her eyes were full of questions that Claire couldn’t answer just yet. She wanted to tell her everything. She wanted to explain the pain of those years, the grief of losing her daughters, and the overwhelming relief she felt when she realized they had been alive all along. But the words wouldn’t come. Not yet.
“Mom?” June’s voice broke through the silence, and Claire looked up to see her standing in the doorway, her arms wrapped around a stuffed rabbit. “Can I… can I sleep with you tonight?”
Claire smiled softly, her heart breaking as she saw the uncertainty in June’s wide eyes. “Of course, baby. You can sleep with us.”
June’s face softened into a smile, and she rushed to the couch, her small hands reaching for Claire. As Claire pulled her into her arms, she could feel the warmth of her daughters, their trust, their love, and the fragile bond they were slowly building together.
