Chapter 42 What We Keep
Chapter 42 What We Keep
POV: Valeria Cruz
The house is loud again.
Not chaotic.
Just… full.
The kind of noise that fills every corner because no one is holding anything back.
“Those are mine!”
“No, they’re not!”
“I literally bought them!”
“With my money!”
“With my help!”
I don’t even have to look to know what’s happening.
“Mateo,” I call from the kitchen. “If you eat all the snacks before we even leave, you’re not getting more.”
“I’m not eating all of them!” he shouts back.
A pause.
“…just most of them.”
Sofia groans.
“You’re impossible.”
“You love me.”
“That’s not the point.”
I shake my head, trying not to laugh as I finish packing the last of the groceries into the bags.
This—
this is what normal sounds like.
Not silence.
Not tension.
Just noise.
Annoying.
Comforting.
Ours.
“You’re smiling,” Rafe says quietly behind me.
I turn slightly.
He’s leaning against the counter, watching me.
Of course he is.
“I do that sometimes,” I say.
“Not like that.”
I raise an eyebrow.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re not waiting for it to disappear.”
That—
that lands.
Because he’s right.
For once—
I’m not.
“I’m getting used to it,” I admit.
“Good.”
He pushes off the counter and grabs a couple of the bags before I can argue.
“I can carry—”
“I know.”
He doesn’t even look at me when he says it.
Like that’s not the point.
Like helping doesn’t mean I can’t.
Just means I don’t have to.
I let it go.
Because I’m learning.
Because I don’t have to do everything alone anymore.
The twins are sitting on the floor in the living room when we walk in.
Surrounded by open snack boxes like they’ve declared war on everything we just bought.
“Seriously?” I ask.
Mateo looks up.
“What?”
“You just got those.”
“So?”
“So you weren’t supposed to open them yet.”
“They needed to be tested.”
“For what?”
“For quality control.”
I stare at him.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“You love me.”
I exhale slowly.
“I do.”
That answer comes easier now.
Faster.
Like it’s always been true and I just didn’t know how to say it before.
Sofia stands up, brushing crumbs off her hands.
“Are we going or not?” she asks.
“Where?” Mateo cuts in.
“The store,” she says.
“We just came back from the store.”
“That was for essentials,” she argues.
“These are essentials.”
“No, these are your essentials.”
“They’re the same thing.”
Rafe snorts.
I don’t even try to hide my smile.
“Shoes,” I say, grabbing my keys. “Both of you.”
They scramble immediately.
Running in opposite directions.
Yelling over each other about who’s taking longer.
About who’s slower.
About who always takes too long.
It echoes through the house.
Loud.
Alive.
And I just stand there for a second.
Taking it in.
Because this—
this is what I almost didn’t have.
This is what almost got taken from me before I even knew how much it mattered.
“You good?” Rafe asks quietly beside me.
I nod.
“Yeah.”
More than that.
Better than that.
The drive is short.
Loud the entire way.
Mateo in the front seat talking over everyone.
Sofia correcting him every five seconds.
Me trying to keep up.
Rafe just listening.
Like he always does.
Like he doesn’t need to be the loudest one in the room to be part of it.
We pull into the parking lot and before I can even turn the car off—
“Candy aisle,” Mateo says.
“No,” Sofia says immediately.
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Maybe,” I say.
They both turn to me.
“Maybe?” Mateo repeats.
“Don’t get excited,” I add quickly. “That depends on behavior.”
“I’m always well behaved.”
“That’s a lie,” Sofia says.
“Unproven.”
Rafe opens his door.
“This should be fun.”
“It won’t be,” I say.
“It will for me.”
Of course it will.
Inside, it’s chaos.
Not the bad kind.
Just the kind that comes from two kids who suddenly have options.
“Can we get this?”
“No.”
“What about this?”
“No.”
“This one?”
“Still no.”
“Why did we even come here?” Mateo groans.
“For essentials,” Sofia says smugly.
He glares at her.
“You’re the worst.”
“I’m the best.”
“You’re the worst.”
“I’m the best.”
Rafe leans down slightly next to me.
“Five minutes,” he murmurs. “Before you lose control.”
“I already lost control.”
“You’re doing great.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
He smiles slightly.
“I think it is.”
I shake my head, but I’m smiling.
Because this—
this is what it’s supposed to feel like.
Not perfect.
Not quiet.
Just real.
We make it out of the store with more than we planned.
Less than they wanted.
And somehow—
everyone’s still happy.
That feels like a win.
Back at the house, the twins disappear into their room again, already arguing about what movie they’re going to watch later.
I lean against the kitchen counter, exhaling slowly.
“That was a lot,” I admit.
“Yeah.”
“But a good lot.”
He nods.
“Yeah.”
I glance down the hallway.
At the closed door.
At the life behind it.
“They’re going to be okay,” I say quietly.
It’s not a question.
Not really.
But I need to hear it anyway.
Rafe steps closer.
“They already are.”
I look at him.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
That—
that settles something deep in me.
Because he’s right.
They’re safe.
They’re loved.
They’re not going anywhere.
And neither am I.
Not really.
Not in the ways that matter.
I take a breath.
Let it out slowly.
“I used to think I had to choose,” I admit.
“Between what?” he asks.
“Between my future… and them.”
His expression shifts.
Softens.
“You don’t.”
“I know that now.”
Because people stepped in.
Because I’m not alone anymore.
Because family doesn’t have to be something you’re born into.
It can be something you build.
Something you fight for.
Something you keep.
I look down the hallway again.
Then back at him.
“We’re going to be okay,” I say.
This time—
I mean all of us.
He nods once.
“Yeah.”
And for the first time—
it doesn’t feel like something I’m hoping for.
It feels like something I know.