I caught up to them just before they entered the door. "Okay listen to me, she's in a really bad way, I need you to prepare yourselves, no don't cry Dani if you cry I won't let you in there and I need you in there."
I willed her with my eyes on hers to suck it up. I saw the struggle the two of them had as they fought back emotions. I'd forgotten how close they all were, that even though I'd been shutting her out, she was already a part of our family in her own small way because she knew the girls.
That too had changed in the twinkling of an eye. Now she had an even greater claim to us, to our home, she was mine. No longer just a friend, an outsider, but one of the fold.
"We straight?" they both nodded and I studied them to make sure they weren't bullshitting me before opening the door and leading them inside. "Baby I'm back, I brought the girls to take care of you."