Kevin's POV It'd been a month since Em and I redecorated my place. I appreciated her help around the house. It was beginning to look more of a house than an office space. I'd convinced her multiple times, to stay over, let us enjoy what we'd created, but one thing or the other always up, and fucked the plan up. Plus I had to travel to multiple places, and I was mostly away for the month I just got back from Melbourne, and I think I had the most romantic gift for her. I'd curated a photo album, a cute little pink one containing all the pictures I ever took when we were working on the house together I also had a box of preserved roses. The old lady tried to force it down my throat, and I felt it was a bit too unnecessary till I discovered what it symbolizes. I had it all arranged in the new Nissan Versa car I'd parked in the garage of the apartment. I told her I was gonna come a day after I actually planned, and I tipped Casey off massively, to reveal that Emma had a little we
Chase's POV “Don't ever think of that.” My dads voice boomed over the phone. “I'm young and still strong.” He boasted . I'd chipped in the possibility of him taking a break from his numerous businesses and just resting. “Why are you so anti-rest?” I asked. Me and the old man were only beginning to really get along. We were still fixing all the cracks in our relationship, carefully skipping over the lost pieces. “It's just not the time.” He groaned. We were on a video call. I saw his face squeezed every single time he had to lift his shot hand. “I've got a lot of stuff to make up to a lot of people.” He said. “You can't do that if you're dead.” I reminded him. “You sound just like your mother.” He smiled, and looked lost for a while, snapping back only when the glass mug I mistakenly knocked off made a loud crashing noise. “Linda's great too.” I said. “She's a good woman.” I chipped. “She is.” He agreed. Every morning I wake up, I bless my creator for giving he
Emma's POV “What do you mean next week?!” I squealed as my mom broke the news to me. She and Mark were gonna be having their first anniversary in a week. “Yeah.” She breathed really deep. . “You don't sound too enthusiastic.” I observed. “Stuff has been going on, Em. Didn't want to bother you.” She replied to me. “Now I'm so bothered.” I replied to her. It's been over a week since Kev and I officially got out of the friendship zone. Kev was explicit with the fact that he wanted more than just to be friends, and I think we'd gone beyond that too. “I shot him.” She said, I felt like a bomb had just exploded in my head. This was the man who rescued us from the allegations in Starry. “What the fuck, mom?” I yelled over the phone. I was home, and currently the only one in my apartment, so I could tell as loudly and freely as I wanted to. Kevin had begun to spend more time over, although for the bulk of it, he was on his work laptop. “Don't use the f word with m
Chase's POV I'd still seriously been considering excuses for not showing up at the anniversary. It was six days to go. I woke up every morning to thoughts of it. Ding! Ding! My phone chimed. My phone was always on DND and only rang or chimed when it was someone on my favorites list messaging me. I still hadn't been able to bring myself to take Emma off the list. ‘Welcome everyone!’, A text on a new group chat read. I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes, and looked at it again. It was just my Dad, Emma, and I. “What is going on?” I asked him. I felt fear, annoyance and excitement. “Why the group?” I asked again. “Is that how you now greet your old man?” He asked. “Come on dad, I'm not having a good morning.” I said. “I need all hands on deck to give Linda the perfect first year anniversary, and you both are gonna help out, whether you like it or not!” He yelled at me. “What if something came up? A laboratory session I can't miss? Or a presentation?” I asked
Patty's POV Emma and Kevin, as she called him, arrived without much fanfare. It'd been a minute since I saw her so happy. She wasn't my favorite person in the house, but I had grown to have a soft spot for her. “How are you, Patty?” She squealed and even threw her arms open. “I'm good.” I smiled. “Meet Kev.” She smiled, “Kev, here's Party. Mark's longest serving home manager.” “Nice to meet you Ma'am. You're in really good shape too.” The boy flashed his million dollar smile at me. He looked so good, the most pretty eye candy I'd seen in a while. “You're welcome, Kevin.” I said. “Everyone's inside.” Mark and Linda have been attending to the event planners that Chase had coming to the house. With his arm still in a sling, there was very little he could do without Linda's help. The air around them was a bit icy, but they made it work. I hoped for both of their sakes that they fix what was between them. At least he wasn't cheating on Linda with her friends like he d
Emma's POV Two days, with Kev and Chase the house wasn't what I thought it would be. Chase was barely available, and when he was, he made sure he was extremely busy. Kevin, too, worked in the room Patty had arranged for him, so they had no reasons to cross paths except dinner time. I had an extensive talk with my mom about Kevin. She still really wasn't feeling him, but she was glad I'd moved on from Chase, it was mixed emotions for her. “This is so good, Mr Norman.” He smiled at the wine Chase's dad asked Patty to get. “This old man knows good things when he sees one.” He looked glaringly at my mom, but she avoided his eyes. The air between them was still a little weird, but they had to put up a show, for the rest of us at least, who had bigger things going on. I'd spent two days feeling like shit for not forcing Casey to come along with me instead of Kevin. In my defense, he said he wanted to meet my mom and properly apologize for all that'd happened in Starry. It seemed l
Emma's POV “Come on, Patty can wait.” Kevin held me closer. I thought I heard someone enter, but Kevi didn't give me headroom, and I didn't want to distract him. “Anything else?” I asked jokingly, even though I really was so keen on getting back to Party. “Yeah, let's hang out a while.” He said. “Kev, today is the D-day, it's what we're here for. I kinda have to be there.” I protested. “Fine then.” He said, taking his arms away from around my waist. “Come on, Kev.” I pulled him back, “you are not and, are you?” I asked. “It just seems like things are a lot different than I felt they would be.” He replied, looking away. “What does that even mean?” I asked It was our first argument, and I didn't like it that it was happening at Mark's house. “Em, you're obviously with your family. I'm second place. I should've expected that. Maybe I'd have rethought traveling all the way here.” Kev smiled. “You don't mean that. Kev, we've literally been together, I only l
Emma's POV. “You were gonna go in.” He said, looking away. “I was.” I replied, unshifting. He no longer had the courage to stare me down, and I no longer had the will to leave, “MIT looks good on you.” He said. “Thank you.” I smiled, “I could say the same for you.” “I see you've made new friends, well old ones,but you know…” He said. I chuckled within myself. Who'd have known that I could make the bad boy Chase unsure about me? “Yeah, I had no choice.” I murmured. “Uhm, how are you?” I asked, just out of courtesy, I told myself. I thought being brave and bold was gonna make me indestructible by him, but I was beginning to come off as antagonistic, and I didn't like it. Deep down, in the corners of my heart I hoped Kevin would never see, Chase occupied it. I wanted for him to close the distance between us like he'd once done. To treat me like his own. I was getting a little teary, so I dug my freshly manicured nail into my palm, I wasn't gonna cry, I could not.
Emma's POV. “You were gonna go in.” He said, looking away. “I was.” I replied, unshifting. He no longer had the courage to stare me down, and I no longer had the will to leave, “MIT looks good on you.” He said. “Thank you.” I smiled, “I could say the same for you.” “I see you've made new friends, well old ones,but you know…” He said. I chuckled within myself. Who'd have known that I could make the bad boy Chase unsure about me? “Yeah, I had no choice.” I murmured. “Uhm, how are you?” I asked, just out of courtesy, I told myself. I thought being brave and bold was gonna make me indestructible by him, but I was beginning to come off as antagonistic, and I didn't like it. Deep down, in the corners of my heart I hoped Kevin would never see, Chase occupied it. I wanted for him to close the distance between us like he'd once done. To treat me like his own. I was getting a little teary, so I dug my freshly manicured nail into my palm, I wasn't gonna cry, I could not.
Emma's POV “Come on, Patty can wait.” Kevin held me closer. I thought I heard someone enter, but Kevi didn't give me headroom, and I didn't want to distract him. “Anything else?” I asked jokingly, even though I really was so keen on getting back to Party. “Yeah, let's hang out a while.” He said. “Kev, today is the D-day, it's what we're here for. I kinda have to be there.” I protested. “Fine then.” He said, taking his arms away from around my waist. “Come on, Kev.” I pulled him back, “you are not and, are you?” I asked. “It just seems like things are a lot different than I felt they would be.” He replied, looking away. “What does that even mean?” I asked It was our first argument, and I didn't like it that it was happening at Mark's house. “Em, you're obviously with your family. I'm second place. I should've expected that. Maybe I'd have rethought traveling all the way here.” Kev smiled. “You don't mean that. Kev, we've literally been together, I only l
Emma's POV Two days, with Kev and Chase the house wasn't what I thought it would be. Chase was barely available, and when he was, he made sure he was extremely busy. Kevin, too, worked in the room Patty had arranged for him, so they had no reasons to cross paths except dinner time. I had an extensive talk with my mom about Kevin. She still really wasn't feeling him, but she was glad I'd moved on from Chase, it was mixed emotions for her. “This is so good, Mr Norman.” He smiled at the wine Chase's dad asked Patty to get. “This old man knows good things when he sees one.” He looked glaringly at my mom, but she avoided his eyes. The air between them was still a little weird, but they had to put up a show, for the rest of us at least, who had bigger things going on. I'd spent two days feeling like shit for not forcing Casey to come along with me instead of Kevin. In my defense, he said he wanted to meet my mom and properly apologize for all that'd happened in Starry. It seemed l
Patty's POV Emma and Kevin, as she called him, arrived without much fanfare. It'd been a minute since I saw her so happy. She wasn't my favorite person in the house, but I had grown to have a soft spot for her. “How are you, Patty?” She squealed and even threw her arms open. “I'm good.” I smiled. “Meet Kev.” She smiled, “Kev, here's Party. Mark's longest serving home manager.” “Nice to meet you Ma'am. You're in really good shape too.” The boy flashed his million dollar smile at me. He looked so good, the most pretty eye candy I'd seen in a while. “You're welcome, Kevin.” I said. “Everyone's inside.” Mark and Linda have been attending to the event planners that Chase had coming to the house. With his arm still in a sling, there was very little he could do without Linda's help. The air around them was a bit icy, but they made it work. I hoped for both of their sakes that they fix what was between them. At least he wasn't cheating on Linda with her friends like he d
Chase's POV I'd still seriously been considering excuses for not showing up at the anniversary. It was six days to go. I woke up every morning to thoughts of it. Ding! Ding! My phone chimed. My phone was always on DND and only rang or chimed when it was someone on my favorites list messaging me. I still hadn't been able to bring myself to take Emma off the list. ‘Welcome everyone!’, A text on a new group chat read. I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes, and looked at it again. It was just my Dad, Emma, and I. “What is going on?” I asked him. I felt fear, annoyance and excitement. “Why the group?” I asked again. “Is that how you now greet your old man?” He asked. “Come on dad, I'm not having a good morning.” I said. “I need all hands on deck to give Linda the perfect first year anniversary, and you both are gonna help out, whether you like it or not!” He yelled at me. “What if something came up? A laboratory session I can't miss? Or a presentation?” I asked
Emma's POV “What do you mean next week?!” I squealed as my mom broke the news to me. She and Mark were gonna be having their first anniversary in a week. “Yeah.” She breathed really deep. . “You don't sound too enthusiastic.” I observed. “Stuff has been going on, Em. Didn't want to bother you.” She replied to me. “Now I'm so bothered.” I replied to her. It's been over a week since Kev and I officially got out of the friendship zone. Kev was explicit with the fact that he wanted more than just to be friends, and I think we'd gone beyond that too. “I shot him.” She said, I felt like a bomb had just exploded in my head. This was the man who rescued us from the allegations in Starry. “What the fuck, mom?” I yelled over the phone. I was home, and currently the only one in my apartment, so I could tell as loudly and freely as I wanted to. Kevin had begun to spend more time over, although for the bulk of it, he was on his work laptop. “Don't use the f word with m
Chase's POV “Don't ever think of that.” My dads voice boomed over the phone. “I'm young and still strong.” He boasted . I'd chipped in the possibility of him taking a break from his numerous businesses and just resting. “Why are you so anti-rest?” I asked. Me and the old man were only beginning to really get along. We were still fixing all the cracks in our relationship, carefully skipping over the lost pieces. “It's just not the time.” He groaned. We were on a video call. I saw his face squeezed every single time he had to lift his shot hand. “I've got a lot of stuff to make up to a lot of people.” He said. “You can't do that if you're dead.” I reminded him. “You sound just like your mother.” He smiled, and looked lost for a while, snapping back only when the glass mug I mistakenly knocked off made a loud crashing noise. “Linda's great too.” I said. “She's a good woman.” I chipped. “She is.” He agreed. Every morning I wake up, I bless my creator for giving he
Kevin's POV It'd been a month since Em and I redecorated my place. I appreciated her help around the house. It was beginning to look more of a house than an office space. I'd convinced her multiple times, to stay over, let us enjoy what we'd created, but one thing or the other always up, and fucked the plan up. Plus I had to travel to multiple places, and I was mostly away for the month I just got back from Melbourne, and I think I had the most romantic gift for her. I'd curated a photo album, a cute little pink one containing all the pictures I ever took when we were working on the house together I also had a box of preserved roses. The old lady tried to force it down my throat, and I felt it was a bit too unnecessary till I discovered what it symbolizes. I had it all arranged in the new Nissan Versa car I'd parked in the garage of the apartment. I told her I was gonna come a day after I actually planned, and I tipped Casey off massively, to reveal that Emma had a little we
Chase's POV “You say this is a smart thing to do?” I asked Kayla. “What do you think?” The poor girl was probably too tired of being in my drama. “Never mind.” I said. “I'll just do it later, I don't want the pressure.” “That means me.” She put a hand on her chest and nodded in understanding. “I get it.” “Don't take it that way.” I said, holding her close, “It'd just be too much for you, and I don't want that.” I said. “I get it.” She said, “I'll see you later then.” Kayla stayed in the dorms, so she wasn't gonna be going out with me. We've kinda restricted ourselves to just school, and sometime, I visited her dorm. She never came to my apartment. Said it was still too raw on her. “Take care.” I said, and let her go. We were done for the day, and it was already almost evening. I decided to stroll back to my place, since there was nothing to rush home to. “What's up?” A bold girl said, looking at me and batting her eyelashes. That was literally the last atten