Blue
As Artemis predicted Abigail shows up with Alan. Ha, I just noticed all their names start with A. Maybe I should consider changing my name to something with an A then we could be The A Team. When we all load into Artemis’s car, I pull up the search engine on my phone and search Greek god names for women that start with the letter A. There aren’t many but I find one that isn’t so terrible.Aella…it means whirlwind…some how that fits me rather well.“What are you looking at?” Abigail asks before leaning closer to me to get a glimpse.She gives me a confused expression and I shrug. “Why not change my name now that I’m married? It would make me seem more normal, wouldn’t it?”“You are unique Blue, there is no reason to change that because you want to fit in.”I know she’s right but now that I think about it…that name was given to me by a terrible woman. She didn’t even bother to call me by my real name and instead referred me to a color. It’s a terriblBlueBy the end of our shopping trip we have several carts full of stuff and delivery set up for the things we can’t move ourselves. Artemis and I picked everything out to furnish at least three of the bedrooms for kids, and to make our room look a little nicer. It was a big help having Abigail with us though since she seemed to have a good eye for this stuff. When we got to the kitchen section I found a set up that I really liked and we bought everything that they showed in it. Now that we’re done, I’m feeling wiped out and ready to crash. “Did you want to stop at-“Abigail starts to say but I raise a hand to stop her. “No more. I can’t shop anymore.” I give her a pleading look which makes her laugh. “Okay, okay! No more shopping today. Can you tell me though why you guys bought so much stuff for kids’ rooms? Is there something you need to tell me? You can’t be pregnant already!” She starts to sound a little hysterical, so I quickly shake my head. “No, I
ArtemisI had meant to let Blue rest but she’s an addiction and I felt this urge to be inside her the second I saw our bed. She obliged me for about an hour, first in our bed and second in the shower, before I finally let her rest. As soon as her head hit the pillow she was out. As I promised her, I stay in the bed next to her and I don’t bother getting dressed again. Instead, I chose a pair of loose basketball shorts which had Blue looking at me with that look she gets every time she sees me naked. While I let her sleep I decide to check in on my father. Dane has him in a secret location until we undo what he’s done to my company. All current employees have been let go with a healthy severance package to be sure that they do not claim any sort of injustice. Which is more than they are owed after going along with my father’s plans. I also had my lawyers write up NDAs for everyone as well just in case. Only a few people gave us a problem in which we kindly told them the cont
BlueI’m not sure what’s going on with Artemis, but he was on his phone most of the day and long into the night. He didn’t come to bed last night until after midnight. There has also been the few times he’s purposefully stepped out of the room to answer phone calls. Most women would be worried that their new husband might be cheating but that isn’t where my mind goes. The man is emotionally awkward with everyone except me and that’s still a work in progress. No, I don’t think he’s having an affair. It actually makes me laugh because he would be so mean that the woman would be crying for days. So, what is he up to? My curiosity has been festering but he has officially distracted me by telling me that he’s planned for us to visit the girl we saw on the adoption website in person. Since then, I have been silently freaking out next to him as Bryant drives us to the location. “Everything will be fine.” Artemis says, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. “You thi
ArtemisI watch my wife hugging this little girl like they are lost family seeing each other again. The girl tries her best to hug Blue back but her fingers are curled into her palm. From the research I did it’s not uncommon for spinal cord injuries. She may need physical therapy which she will have better access to when we bring her home. The door to the room opens and the woman who will be fired in a couple of days walks in. “So?” Blue stands and moves to block Lilly as if to protect her from the woman. “We would like to adopt her.” I say without hesitation. The woman makes a grunting sound and turns around. “Follow me.” I turn to Blue, but she doesn’t look like she’s ready to move. “I’ll go. You two can talk some more.” She smiles at me and nods. I watch her sit in front of Lilly again and the little girl is looking at my wife like she hangs the moon. “You coming?” The woman yells from the hallway. I grind my teeth with the need to put
Blue“Who are they?” Lilly asks as I push her chair toward the car. “Those are our bodyguards.” Artemis says. “Bodyguards? Why do you have them?” She asks, sounding too grown up for her age. It’s not uncommon for kids like us to grow up a lot faster than we should. When you have to depend on yourself most of the time it comes easy. In my case I had to grow up so that I could help my foster brothers and sisters. I still regret not taking them with me when I left, but after what my foster father did, I couldn’t stay even for them. When I was free, I had called an anonymous tip to the police and hoped it would help get the others placed somewhere else. After what my foster parents did, I guess the police hadn’t listened to me. I told them one day a kid would end up dead and it wouldn’t be an accident because I almost was. “To keep us safe. Artemis is a very important man and sometimes people don’t respect his privacy. This way he can do his job without having to worry about getting
ArtemisEverything is moving fast. Alan and I have finalized the last legal steps to restart our new company, but we have no plans of bringing in any outside works yet. We are going back to working out of my house for now. Our most important clients have agreed to work with us and have cancelled all contracts under the old company. The more we are able to cripple the company while my father is out of commission the harder it will be for him to make a dime. It's a dick move but after what he did, I’m not going to let him hold onto something I worked so hard for a turn it into something of his own. He has too much power over our family and now it’s over. Rhea and Athena have already stepped down from their positions in my father’s companies and cut all links to the business side of our family. They are even talking about taking their husbands’ last names now. That was a condition of my father’s and grandfather, no Rhodes child is ever to give up their name. None of us wa
BlueThe three of us enjoy pizza at the table in our brand-new dining room. Lilly is shy but answers most of our basic questions to get to know her better. By the time we’re done eating she looks exhausted so I help her get ready for bed. She shows me how I can help her, and I pay close attention. I want to be sure to help her as much as she will let me. It kills me to see her struggle to do such small things that most of us see as easy. For years she’s basically taken care of herself, and I understand but I wish I could do more to help her. Still I know I can’t push her, so I will let her tell me when she wants me to step in and help her. It ends up that she needs help being moved to the bed, but she is able to change into her pajamas as soon as she’s settled. Brushing her teeth was a little bit of an odd thing, but it’s because the counter isn’t wheelchair friendly. That’s going to need fixing soon. “Good night Lilly. If you need anything don’t be afraid to call us o
BlueThe next week is amazing. The three of us spend a lot of time eating together and adjusting to this new dynamic of our lives. Artemis is still a little awkward in the father role, but he’s been doing so well with Lilly. He is very protective of her and has even tried to buy her a new wheelchair with all sorts of bells and whistles to make sure she is thoroughly protected. I had to step in and explain to him that adding a button for her to press that release mace is a little too far. We compromised and bought her a motored wheelchair to use when she’s at school and it does have an emergency alarm she can press if she’s in trouble. It will also alert us if she is in trouble and give us her location. We also bought her the watch we looked at so we can keep in contact with her. Artemis has chosen a very exclusive school that VIP people send their kids to because security is intense given the high profiles of the children. She was accepted on sight and will start on Mo
BlueWhat is going on? Here I was expecting some yelling or fighting but got hysterical laughter instead. Are they all high? Well, probably not Iris, but she looks a little confused as well. Same girl, same. “What is so funny?” I yell. They all slowly calm down and it’s Rhea who speaks next. “Blue, I know that this may seem strange, but we’re happy.” Say what now?“What do you mean? You guys would be getting nothing!” I remind them as if it weren’t clear. “We know and that’s the great part. Honestly, it’s a relief. That money is tainted with bad memories for us. It’s a burden, but to someone who’s as kindhearted as you it could be a huge blessing. You’ve come from having so little to having enough money for a hundred lifetimes. You could do anything! We are happy to let that money go and let you decide what to do with it. Once the funeral is over we can finally let that time of our lives die too. It’s the last tie to what our family name used to
ArtemisThis week has been hell. My grandfather and parents did not want to leave this world without one last special, and I’m hating every second of dealing with it. Still for my sisters it means closure even though our relationship with them was strained. Then there’s the whole matter of the will. Honestly, I don’t want to know what my grandfather has left me to deal with. If what’s happened in the last few months are only a piece of what I have to face then I’m going to hate the rest even more. My sisters are happy to let me handle it since they don’t want a thing from my father or grandfather. As much as they feel a sense of loss, they also feel relief. The last die-hard Rhodes are gone and we can all move on. My charity work with blue has been a lot more rewarding than any of the other work I’ve done, and seeing her smile is all the payment I need. Fuck. I haven’t been able to spend much time with her thanks to all this, but as soon as it’s over I am taking the fi
BlueI make it back to the bookstore just as Dane comes in searching for me. “Everything okay?” He asks looking me over for injuries. “Yeah, they didn’t have what I was looking for and I even asked an employee to look, and it took forever just for her to tell me they didn’t have the book. Crazy right?” I laugh weakly and hope he doesn’t notice my discomfort in lying.He doesn’t ask anything, so I guess I did okay, but as we drive home my anxiety hits an all time high. How am I going to look at Artemis and his sisters knowing what I know and not say anything. These people have been rich all their lives and even though they are individually wealthy do they expect more now that their grandfather and parents are dead? I can only imagine the amount of money those three died with and now it’s coming my way. There is so much anxiety and pressure waring inside me that when we get home I rush through the front door and to the nearest bathroom to throw up. No one seems
BlueI need to find a way to get out of here without anyone asking questions. Also, that means leaving the babies and Lilly which I’m not sure anyone will be willing to do with everything else going on, but I need to go to this meeting. There’s no time to debate logistics, so I head back to the living room where I see the Rhodes siblings still discussing something. Artemis’s eyes lift when I walk into the room, and he gives me a confused look. Maybe he sees something in my face that has alarm bells going up, so I try to smile and act like nothing is going on. “I’m sorry but something came up at my office, I need to run in and handle it. Can I leave the kids with you?” I ask him. “Of course. Is everything okay?” He asks standing and stepping around the couch to walk in my direction. I don’t really want him touching me right now. It feels fake now. After what I heard it has me overthinking still and I don’t have time to dig deeper into all those feelings right now.
BlueThe door opens behind me, and Artemis walks inside with Iris next to him. His sisters are on their feet in an instant and rushing over to wrap their little sister in their arms. The three of them start to cry while Artemis stands off to the side watching them. His forehead is creased, and his jaw is tight like he isn’t sure what to do but also like he’s worried. So, I walk over to him and slip my hand in his. “You okay?” I whisper. He sighs. “I’m glad she’s okay.” That’s enough for me. This is all so fresh, so it makes sense that none of them know what to say or do next. “What can I do to help?” I ask him. “We need to wait for the lawyer to the estate contacts us. They will let us know our grandfather’s and parent’s wishes for burial and memorial services. Then we go from there. After the funeral there will be the reading of the will, and we’ll all know where we stand in this family.” He grinds his teeth at that last part. I may not know much a
BlueAfter Artemis leaves, I stand in the hallway and try to figure out the best way to go about this. Rhea is torn up over the news and I want to be there for her, but what can I do? I don’t want to just sit back and have them handle everything while they work through everything emotionally. It’s no secret, things were strained between all of them but that was still Artemis’s parents and that has to be hard for him. Before I can come up with a plan one of the babies starts crying. All of them have a different cry and this one is Eros. I walk into the nursery and pick him up right away. His head turns to my boob as soon as he’s in my arms. Before I take him out to feed, I check on Selene and Damion, but they are still asleep.Those two sleep like the dead when they want to except apparently at night when the smallest sound has them wide awake. In the end all of them end up in bed with me and Artemis to finish off the night. Not that either of us care much, we love cuddling u
ArtemisI hadn’t heard from my grandfather in several weeks and I’m wondering when he will send Iris to us. I’m willing to fly to wherever they are and pick her up myself but any attempts at contacting my grandfather have gone unanswered. That is until Rhea comes stumbling into the house looking as if she’s seen a ghost. “Artemis…” It sounds like saying that much was too much effort. “What?” “Rhea? What’s wrong?” Blue rushes over to my sister and helps her to sit down on the closest chair. “Rhea, what’s going on?” “Just look.” My sister hands her phone to Blue, but I can hear the audio. 'Another tragedy involving the famous Rhodes family. Unfortunately, this accident resulted in the death of three members including the Patriarch of the family, his son and his daughter-in-law. The following information may be upsetting for some. The police and rescue crew discovered the pilot a mile away and the members of the family different distances from the crash. Ou
ArtemisSeeing Blue juggle, the children’s home and motherhood is like watching a bee buzzing around a hive. She has been going non-stop and is trying so hard to make up for the time she lost not being there to help. I know she thinks that she will let someone down if she isn’t giving one hundred percent of herself in everything she does, but I can see her burning out. At night she’s been crashing as soon as her head hits the pillow, but she’s up any time the triplets need to be changed or fed. I try to help as best I can, but she always tells me to sleep, and she will handle things. Only she doesn’t realize that she sleeps through a few of the nightly cries, and I make sure nothing wakes her. Now that she will let the babies in the nursery, I turn off the monitor while I’m in there and switch to getting alerts on my phone. That way she can sleep, and I’ll still be able to hear the babies. She needs the rest. Since the babies came, I’ve been in full dad duty. Not that
BlueThe first few weeks home with the triplets is chaos. Lilly is such a sweet girl and even though she needs a lot of help with things she hasn’t complained once having to share our time. Artemis has made everything so much easier by just being here and helping wherever it’s needed. He was joking about the personal chief either. I mean when does he ever not mean these things? I should know that by now. He also did have a whole medical room set up in the house. There are plans to expand the house even more thanks to all the plans he has. Athena found a house down the street from us and has been so happy with her decision to adopt. She’s an amazing mother and it’s been great having her so close by. Rhea, not wanting to be left out also bought a house on our street and has been stopping by with her kids almost everyday much to Artemis’s displeasure. He’s gotten a lot better with having his sisters around but he’s still his grumpy self with them. Now they just find it fu