Page 266 of Sincerely, Butterfly

I pay them no mind, my full attention on my Lotus Flower. She’s a bubble of pure joy and excitement as she gives me a full rundown of all the butterflies they have here. Nothing of what she’s telling me clicks; I just enjoy listening to her talk and watching her light up over something she’s passionate about.

When she’s not looking, I snap a few photos of her as she holds some of the butterflies.

It’s moments like this that you’d never guess that she has a dark side. She’s two sides of the same coin.

After we spend a few hours here, we head home.

“Thanks for everything,” Nola says when the bike is parked in the garage. She hands me the helmet, and Ihang it off the handlebars. “I’m not sure how I’ve lived here my whole life and have never been there. I’m going to have to go back again soon. It was so beautiful."

“Just let me know when you want to go again, and I’ll take you,” I mutter. “You hungry?"

“Starving,” she groans.

We head inside the house, and we’re immediately hit with the smell of homemade pizza. Wesley is oddly a good cook. So is Sylas. Guess when your parents don’t give two shits about you, learning to fend for yourself is something you gotta do.

It makes me appreciate my parents even more.

“What’s going on in here?” Nola asks, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “Did you make pizza?”

Wesley turns to look at her over his shoulder. “We did,” he says.

“Mushroom and onion to be exact,” Sylas chimes in. “Well, for you because that shit is nasty.”

“Is not,” she laughs. “Oh my god, it smells amazing. Is it ready?”

“Yup. Just fresh out of the oven, but it’s hot.”

She does this adorable happy dance, she does every time she gets to eat one of her favorite foods.

We all watch her in awe, unable to not be obsessed with everything this woman does.

“I’ll make you a plate, and we can take this into the movie room.”

“Movie room?” Nola looks between us. “We’re watching a movie?” she asks hopefully.

“You wanted to seeReady Or Not 2, right?” I ask her.

“Yes!” She claps her hands. “Ah, I’m so happy.” She rushes over and gives each of us a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.” She grins up at me, her smile so wide I can’t help but return one myself.

“You’re welcome, Lotus Flower.” I grip her chin, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her lips, loving the way she melts into me.

We all settle on the couch and start the movie.

I never used to think I was capable of having a regular relationship before, I always thought that we were too damaged and fucked in the head for anyone to be with, for Nola specifically to be with.

Then moments like this prove me wrong.

She’s exactly what we all needed, the little bit of humanity in all of us.

We’re not going to be Prince Charmings, or hopeless romantics, but as long as we do the small things like this, I think we’ll be alright.

We spent so long worried that we wouldn’t be able to give her a normal life, a life she deserved, but all along, this was exactly what she wanted.

Our normal looks different, but it works for us.

CHAPTER

FORTY-TWO