Of course, Reese knew what he was up to in high school. Just not how serious it was or what Sophia did.
“I knew I didn’t like that woman when she first showed up at my house.” Don shook his head. “I’m sorry, Clay. I can’t and don’t want to imagine your pain.” He frowned, looking from my sister holding their son to me holding their daughter. “And I’m sure it’s a pain that won’t just go away. But maybe with some therapy, you’ll work past it. And I can say when your post haunts you and the pain your blood inflicted on you hurts so bad you want to cut yourself off from the world, having someone at your side always makes it better.” Don nodded in Xenia’s direction. Xenia blushed a little. “I… that’s implying there is more to us than there probably is.” She shook her head. It hurt hearing that. I can’t exactly fault Xenia for it. It’s not like either of us has said what this is. Sure we’ve shared our secret pains, but that doesn’t mean we are something more than two hurt people finding an escape in sex together. “So true, Don.” Reese nodded. “And Xenia, everyone at this table knows you two
If you’d told me two weeks ago that the guy I fell into a pond with would be my boyfriend and that I’d be moving in with him, I’d say you were nuts. I’d have thought it as believable as having to go to court later to give testimony against my now former neighbor. Yet here I am, taping shut the last box of my belongings. My family decided they ALL had to drive up from Jersey to help. It’s not like I had much stuff or was taking any furniture. Do you know that saying that too many cooks in the kitchen will burn the soup? Too many Rosarios in a tiny apartment cause headaches for all. I need some extra strength Tylenol after this. Clay is lucky he had to work this morning, so he is missing out on the headache. Though it’s probably good, he isn’t here. There wouldn’t be enough room for anyone else to come in and out of the apartment with boxes, as he’d take up half the space. Shit, maybe he should have come. Then I’d have a reason to tell my family just to let us handle it. Instead, I hav
I wasn’t sure what worried me the most about today. Meeting Xenia’s family, her moving in with me, or having to go to court. All had me on edge for different reasons. Each had pros and cons. Meeting her family was concerning because I’d never been introduced to a girl’s family. Meeting family meant being involved, and I didn't get involved in the years between Yenifer and Xenia. I wasn’t raised without manners. I know how to act around people. Even if Sophia hadn’t been a tyrant about such etiquette growing up, dad and mamãe wouldn’t have let me grow up as a disrespectful shithead. But I wasn’t sure how her family would feel about me dating her or us moving in together already. Which was another thing. Having Xenia move in was a HUGE step. Outside of family, I have never lived with someone else. Sure, Xenia has been staying here since the Trevor incident. And her moving in was an out-of-left-field thought. I knew she didn’t want to keep living in that closet apartment even if Trevor
My stomach churned, just having to remember that night. I had wanted to stand up and shout that Trevor was a delusional asshole when he claimed I was his girlfriend and that attacking me was part of consensual role play. I don’t know what triggered his mental breakdown, but neither of those is true. And I have no rape fantasies. I won’t knock anyone that does because to each their own but fuck no, that shit isn’t for me. Having to get on the stand was nerve-wracking. Even more so when I had to go into details about what happened that night, the only reason I could get through it was by looking at Clay. I got through Mrs. Durvo’s questioning, but now the part I dreaded. Trevor gets to ask me questions. “Xenia…” Trevor smiled that smarmy smile that made me sick to my stomach. “May I call you that?” He asked. “No,” I answered adamantly. I could tell it riled him, but he smoothed his ill-fitting suit jacket down as he stood. “Very well, Miss Rosario. Is it not true that we’ve gone on d
Was I happy that Trevor was sent to jail and fined for what he did? You bet. Fuck I’m ecstatic about it. But two shadows were hanging over this victory. The first is the lingering unease that Sophia invited so many of the Frost family. I mean, what is her end game? Did she know that Trevor would dig up that shit about Alden? Did she help him in the end? Did Sophia want to make somehow Xenia look bad in front of the family? Because don’t think for a moment that I didn’t notice some of the holler-than-thou members of the Frost family giving Xenia dirty looks while she was on the stand. Either way, I will handle that bitch. I may not be able to hit her, but I’ll find a way to deal with her. But the more immediate concern is Xenia’s family. I was the first person she’d told about the Alden incident, which sidelined her family. They didn’t start bombarding her with questions there in the courtroom. No, they waited till we got back to the apartment. “So, how’d it go?” Alan asked as we wa
Would it be weird to kiss Makayla? Yeah, it probably would. But legit, this woman is a Goddess! She’s cutthroat. And while Clay is right, she’s an evil fucking genius, and I’m glad she’s an evil genius on our side. I’d hate to be on her bad side. Just look at what she did to Sophia. I would almost… ALMOST feel bad for the woman. But Sophia knew what she was doing when she bribed judges, so whatever happened, she deserved it. “Okay, okay. I know I’m fucking awesome. Now put me down, Jolly Green.” Makayla rolled her eyes. The minute Clay set her down, Reese had her in the air again with a similar hug. “UGH! This is what I get for having giants for cousins.” Makayla jokingly lamented as Reese set her down. “Well, given the circumstances, I think we ought to celebrate. Clay, how stocked is your kitchen?” Dionysia clapped her hands together as she looked at her son. “We went grocery shopping yesterday since Xenia’s family would be here. So we already had kebabs prepped for the grill, yo
Sophia didn’t end up going to jail for what she did. But she was quietly disbarred and forced into early retirement from the firm. As much as Grandpa Aiden felt she should face the total weight of her actions, he did what he could to save the firm’s image. The few judges involved quietly stepped down to avoid becoming a public disgrace. At most, we may cross paths with her at a Frost family function. But even then, Grandpa Aiden has assured us she will keep her distance and not speak to us. He said if she approached us, we could walk away, and if she was persistent, we should find him or Grandma Lilith. But that’s enough time spent lingering on witches and negative shit. We’ve taken the last few weeks to settle into our new routine. It’s been a difficult adjustment for everyone but Zeus and Tinkerbell. Those two are happy and content to be living together. Not that Xenia and I aren’t glad to be living together. But we’ve both been living on our own for so long to suddenly having to s
Tinkerbell: I’m so happy we stopped living in that tiny place. I’m even happier that we will never see that mean man again. I didn’t fully understand everything that happened. But I knew, based on what Zeus and I would overhear our humans say, the mean man tried to hurt my human and was punished by the human catchers. I felt terrible that I wasn’t with Xenia to protect her from that evil man, but Clay was, so it was okay. And now we all live together. Zeus has been a great help to my anxiety. With him around, I’m never alone; if I start to feel anxious, he’s there to nuzzle me and remind me I’m safe. Alan, our dog sitter, is excellent too. He’s learned how to handle my anxiety, always brings us yummy treats, and takes us on long walks. I should miss my doggie daycare, but I don’t. There were always so many other dogs and humans that it would be hard on me. Living with Zeus, I’ve gotten better at handling things that used to scare me. Like small humans. When our humans took us on a l