Saving Mel by Rye Hart

Excerpt:“Uncle Evan sing song?” “What song would you like me to sing, Liam?” “Alphabet!” “You want the alphabet song as your bedtime song?” I asked. “Yeah!” “Okay. Let me go put your sister down, then I’ll come back and sing you the alphabet song,” I said. “Okay. Kisses for Hawy?” “Let me go get her, and you can give Hadley some kisses,” I said. With my nanny out sick, it was just me and the kids. I thought this situation would’ve gotten easier by now, but it hadn’t even started feeling normal. Going from living a secluded life in the woods to becoming a legal guardian for two very young kids had been bumpy.

I loved my niece and nephew – but these last three years of my life had become a deep-fried pile of bullshit, served up and ready for me on a silver fucking platter. It seemed that with every passing day, it was getting harder and harder to choke down. “Come here, Hadley-bear,” I said. “Brother wants to give you a kiss.” Scooping the seven-month-old up in my arms, she started babbling and blowing bubbles. Every single time I looked at her I saw my sister-in-law.