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Settling In
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Safe Afternoon
POV FinnI kissed her. It wasn't a deep, passionate kiss but it wasn't a peck either. She looked surprised as we separated and I smirked."See ya later, Lays" I said as Leo pulled me away"What the hell was that, man?" Leo demanded as we walked outside."Would you rather Gunner keep putting his hands on her?" I asked calmly"Of course not but I'm sure that there was another way besides making out with my sister in the middle of the Worm in front of me" Leo growled"I just helped you out. Now the rest of the Watchmen won't hit on her. She's safe now. Come on, man. You saw how they were all looking at her. If they know that I like her, they'll back off" I explained"Or they'll just see her as a challenge" Tom added and I glared at him"Don't act like you did this to help me. You did this because you like her and you want her and everyone else to know it." Leo spat back."Why can't I have multiple reasons?" I askedLeo glared at me while Tom laughed.Tom and Leo left a few minutes later
Safe Date
POV LaylaAfter we picked up Tom and Sally, we headed over to the other side of town. We pulled up to a huge house and I'm overwhelmed. As we get out of the car, Vander scurried to help me out. He kept ahold of my hand as we walked to the door."Don't worry." Vander whispered to me, "It's just a house, don't be intimidated." I glanced at him and he smiled."Thanks, Van." I said, gratefully and he squeezed my hand. He slowed our pace so that we were behind everyone else."I'm so sorry about having to go to this movie with everyone. Leo is in full on protection mode with me moving back and telling him about Tate. I'm finding it better to pick my battles and compromise for the time being." I said to him."It's ok. I just wanted to spend more time with you, I don't care what we do. I can understand why Leo is so protective. He missed you so much. He talked about you all the time. It was so sad sometimes. Now that you're here, I understand. I would be protective too." Van said and I grinne
Safe Fight
POV LaylaAfter the excitement died down, Vander pulled me aside."Our hour is up. I've got to go, do you want me to drive you home?" he asked.I looked over and saw Leo glaring at Chuck who was sitting at the bar."Hey, bro! Are you ready to go?" I asked him."Not yet. Stay for one more drink, please?" Leo replied and I can tell by his eyes that he really needs me to stay."Sorry Van, I need to stay with Leo. Chuck really gets to him and I can't let him be alone" I said"I understand, walk me out?" he asked and I noddedWe walked outside together and Van stopped at the curb."I had a really nice time tonight, thanks" I said"Me too. Don't get in too much trouble tonight" He said"I won't. Guys like Chuck are usually all talk" I said and he nodded"I'll call you tomorrow" he said and leaned in and kissed me. I kissed him back for a minute and then pulled away."Bye, Layla." he said as he walked away"Drive safe" I called and turned to face an angry Finn just outside the door.POV Finn
Safe Tuesday
POV LaylaMy alarm went off and I groaned. Why did I stay out so late last night? Oh, yeah, Finn. I sighed. I really liked him. It scared me though. I never felt like this about someone and after Tate... I didn't know what to do. And then there was Vander. He was so nice to me and I felt safe with him but if I was honest with myself, there was no spark. If Finn wasn't around, he would be a perfect relationship for me though. I would be comfortable in a relationship with Vander but it wouldn't be fair to him. I would just be using him to feel safe. There was no future in a relationship with Vander.I drug myself out of bed and took a shower and got dressed in cutoff jeans and a dark green tank top. I put my hair up in a messy bun and put on some light makeup. I put on my new earrings, grabbed my coveralls, tool box, purse and phone and left my room."Hi honey, are you ready?" Dad asked as I walked into the kitchen."Yep. Let's go" I said and we walked out to his truck and got in."How
Safe The Other Date
POV Layla"That you tell everyone that you're mine" Finn said with a smirk. I am both equal parts annoyed and turned on. Luckily my annoyed side won."No way. We've already discussed this" I said"Fine. I'll just tell everyone that anyway" he said smugly"We both know that it's true" he added and I glared at him"Do we?" I asked "Didn't you just see me kiss someone else last night?"He growled, "I wouldn't bring that up right now if I were you.""Why not?" I asked innocently"Because I'm trying real hard to be calm not be an asshole right now but if you keep pushing I'll..." he trailed off.I snapped, "You'll what? Hit me? Push me? Force me to be with you? What?!" I yelled at him standing up.He looked shocked. "No! Of course not, I just meant that I might say something mean or at most hit any guy who looks at you for the next week or so." He gently gathered me close and I began to cry."I would never harm you, Lays. No matter what. You're safe with me. I promise." he whispered to me
Safe Wednesday
POV LaylaI smiled when I woke up and saw Eve sleeping peacefully next to me. I carefully crawled out of bed and grabbed my clothes so I wouldn't wake her. As I showered and dressed, I thought of last night. Eve and I had fun after we got to my room. We talked about school and cheerleading. I checked my phone and ignored the large amount of texts and calls from Tate. Right as I was looking at it, I got a text from Finn. I responded and Eve smiled at me."Let me guess, Finn? Or Vander?" She guessed"Finn" I responded"Of course. So are you settled on him then?" She asked"Maybe. I like them both but Vander is too safe and comfortable. Finn is exciting and sweet and thoughtful and kind." I said and Eve laughed"Have you told them?" Eve inquired"Not yet. I was going to try to talk to Finn tomorrow but I'm not going to tell Vander for a bit. I'm still a little gun shy about a relationship" I explainedEve nodded, "That's smart." We crawled into bed and chatted until we fell asleep.I dre
Safe The Meeting
POV LaylaSally showed me around quickly. Luckily it was fairly easy. "Just handle the beer and shot customers. If someone wants something mixed, yell for me. The beers are all $4 and shots are the same and the cash registers fairly easy. If they want to start a tab, they need to leave a credit card, unless it's Finn or Luke. Just take it and attach it to a paper and tally what they buy on the paper. For Luke or Finn, we just write it down so we can keep inventory on it. We aren't serving food tonight so we won't have to worry about that. We divide tips evenly so they all go in the jar by the register. Here's an apron and a bottle opener, which you will end up using about a million times tonight. Just throw any empty bottles in the recycling and glasses in the dirty tub. Clean up any spills and wipe down the bar when you can. Don't let these guys rattle you and take it slow, they can wait. Any questions?" Sally said. I shook my head. "I think I've got it. I hope so, anyways." I said
Safe AfterParty
POV FinnThe bar cleared out soon after that leaving only Sally, Keri, Dad, Layla and I. We did the dishes and wiped down the tables and the bar quickly."We made bank in tips tonight" Sally said as she handed Layla and I a stack of cash. I counted mine and quickly gave half back to her to split with Lays."I only worked half the night" I explained and Sally divided the cash up with Layla and handed it to her.Layla smiled at me with a strange look on her face. Dad came and sat down with us at the bar."I can't believe that we didn't have one single fight tonight. That's never happened on a meeting night" Dad said as he looked at Sally and Layla."If you don't mind, Layla, I'd love to have you here for every meeting night" he added and she nodded. I smiled as I realized that she was the reason we didn't have any fights. She was great at defusing tension yet she never seemed to betray herself or back down."I'd like to give each of you a bonus for working so hard tonight" Dad said as h
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Safe All Good Things (Epilogue)
POV LaylaThe next couple of years had some ups and downs but our friends stuck together through everything. At first, I had to fight with Leo, Van, Jake and even occasionally Finn for my independence and against their natural tendencies for being overprotective asses. Eventually, they got better or at least livable although I still had to punch Leo from time to time.Marissa and her Mom both moved to Porter for a 'fresh start'. It may seem strange to move to the place where your son/brother committed horrible crimes for a new beginning but somehow, it worked. Marissa had a long road to recovery but since she had so much support here, she has remained sober for the last years of high school and graduated with a full ride to a good school back in Chicago. She and Vander dated for a while again but just couldn't make it work. She ended up casually dating Jake for the last year of school and for some reason, they seemed to fit. Vander was happy for them both.Jake and Pam broke up right
Safe The Morning After
POV FinnPeter and I walked back to our house a bit after Layla and Marissa went to bed. To say that I was frustrated was an understatement. I slammed the door closed and threw my hat on the table."It'll be ok, Finn. She's not going to leave. She's just pissed and needs some space." Peter tried to calm me."Space? How am I supposed to give her space when all I want to do is have her with me all the time? My head understands what she needs and wants but the rest of me is violently disagreeing" I storm. Peter nodded."I get that but you are going to have to find a way or you really will lose her" he replied. I sighed."I know. I know." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath."You know her. What should I do?" I asked him."Back off. Let her call you, let her make the first move. Give her some freedom. She's safe. Give her what she's asking for." he suggested."Freedom?" I asked weakly, knowing how dangerous that sounded."You have to risk losing her. She needs to find herself again. If
Safe Pissed
POV LaylaFinn finally parked his bike between Leo and Tom. I quickly took off the helmet and went to hop off when Finn grabbed my hand."Where are you going?" he growled. I glared at him."Inside." I replied, furrowing my eyebrows."Not without me. I meant what I said before. You need to stay with me." he ordered. I scoffed at him."Don't be ridiculous. I'm fine. This is the Den. It's safe!" I argued."No, he's right. The same goes for you, Eve." Leo piped in from behind me."What the hell?" Eve stormed and I looked at her. She looked as pissed as I felt. I was trying to be understanding and all but this was too much."Listen, we aren't some helpless girls that can't take care of ourselves." Eve began but Leo cut her off."That's sure what it seemed like today, am I right, Finn?" he snapped. Finn nodded as he looked at me."Are you fucking kidding right now?" I raged. I slapped Finn and Eve did the same to Leo. Neither of them reacted except to try to grab us. Eve grabbed my hand fir
Safe New Problems
POV Layla"What was that?" Dan shouted."I don't know. Come with me to check it out. Steven come with us. Pam, Suzy, watch them!" Tyler ordered. He pulled out two guns and handed one to Pam and one to Suzy."If they move, shoot them" he finished. He held his gun while both Dan and Steven pulled out theirs as well. The three of them ran up the stairs. I glanced at Jake's hands and saw that he was free as well. He raised his eyebrows at me and I nodded slightly. I started to double over and cried out."What's wrong with her?" Suzy demanded."It's my stomach. I think that I'm going to be sick" I called as Suzy walked over to me. Just as I was about to punch her, she fell at my feet. We all looked up in shock as Pam put her gun away. She had just hit her own cousin on the back of the head and knocked her out cold."I'm so sorry, Layla, Jake. I never wanted to do any of this. My dad and uncle forced me. They said that they would beat me if I didn't help." Pam cried as she went to untie me.
Safe Lucky?
POV Marissa (Remember her? Billy's sister and Layla's best friend from Chicago?)I was so glad to be out of that rehab! Mom was overjoyed that I was out too. She was so happy that I convinced her to let me go visit Layla. I needed to make some things right with her and I knew that I needed to do it in person. I decided to surprise her on the day she and her friends were getting back home. With any luck, I might even run into her at the airport. I hurried off the plane when we landed and went through baggage check. I checked the screens to see when the flight from Florida would be in. Shit, it had already landed a while ago."Guess I'll just have to take a cab to her house." I mumbled to myself as I walked out of the airport. A cab pulled up to be just as a van passed. I looked up to catch a glimpse of Layla and Eve with some other friends in it. They didn't notice me. I smiled."Please follow that van. Some friends are in it and I need to catch up with them." I asked my driver. He loo
Safe Home
POV LaylaAfter we landed, Finn and I got our carry on bags as the rest of our friends did the same. We waited until everyone else had gotten off the plane to leave together. Finn and I followed our friends off the plane and into the airport. Keri led us all to the baggage claim where we wrestled with all the suitcases."I think that's all of them." Hart announced and I sighed at the huge pile of suitcases."Our drivers are over there." Eve gestured to three men all holding signs with her name on it."Why are there three? I thought you ordered two?" Finn asked. Eve shrugged."It's ok. We'll need them." she replied as she nodded toward the luggage."Why don't you girls and Hart all go in the first van while the rest of us help load the luggage?" Tom offered. Finn looked annoyed but he nodded."Ok but Peter and Jake should go with them. Just to be safe." Finn added and I agreed. I wanted to argue that we could take care of ourselves but we shouldn't take chances with Hart's well being.
Safe Traveling Home
POV Layla"Since it's our last full day here, I think that we should enjoy the beach and house today and then go out for a nice dinner tonight." Eve announced at breakfast the next morning. The rest of us agreed."Great! There's a really nice steak and seafood restaurant not too far from here that I already have reservations for at seven." She added and I chuckled. We all went and changed into our swimsuits."Finnie, we should pack up some tonight too." I suggested and he nodded."Let's go to the beach and then come back this afternoon and start packing." he recommended and I smiled."I'm going to miss sharing a room with you" I said and he smirked."I'm going to miss sharing a bed with you." he added suggestively. I rolled my eyes but giggled. We grabbed some towels and headed down to the beach. We laid down between Peter and Eve."It's so cool that your housekeeper washed all our laundry. Now I don't have to take dirty clothes home." Peter was saying to Eve as we settled in."Eve, I
Safe Vacation Fun
POV LaylaThe next day we decided to go sightseeing. Peter seemed in a better mood and loved every second of visiting the sights of the area which were not that exciting to the rest of us but we humored him. To be honest, it was boring but it got us out of the house and walking around. By the end of the day, we were exhausted. We got drive thru for dinner and everyone went straight to bed when we got back to the house.Everyone slept late and we all met up in the kitchen the next day."I don't want to cook. Let's just do fruit and cereal for breakfast" I suggested. The rest agreed and as we munched, we discussed what our plans were for the day."The weather is perfect. Let's have another beach day. We can make a bonfire tonight." Eve suggested."That sounds great." Keri gushed and everyone else nodded.Finn and I changed into our swimsuits and grabbed some towels. We spent the morning splashing in the water and building sandcastles. When we got hungry, we went back to the house and ma
Safe Rainy Day and Shopping
POV FinnLayla and I woke up to the sound of thunder the next day."That was loud" she commented as I got up to shut the window before it rained too much in."Let's get up, I want biscuits and gravy." Layla suggested."You can make that?" I asked, excited when she nodded back.We both took turns in the bathroom and then hurried down to the kitchen. She directed me as what to do and soon, the kitchen smelled wonderful. Van and Jake were surprisingly the first to stumble down the stairs."What are you two making?" Jake demanded as Van got them both some coffee."Lay's making biscuits and gravy and I'm making eggs and sausages to go with it." I answered.They both looked shocked for a moment and then Jake smiled a sly grin."If things don't work out with Finn, I'm here. Just so you know..." Jake faked whispered to Layla."Hey! I'm already signed up to be her rebound!" Van argued.I glared at both of them as Layla shook her head."Nope. She's mine, boys." Peter added as he walked in.He w
