I threw on the first thing my hands reached for in Celine's closet. A pair of black jeans and a white knitted sweater that I did not remember giving her as a gift. It was chilly out, a little windy, it had even rained a few days ago. It was one of those few days in a year when California pretended to have seasons."You're shaking Christine," Celie said as I walked through the bedroom door, "Jesus calm down she's not going to hurt them."I wanted to tell her that it was the second time she attempted to take the kids, "Just go get dressed,"While Celine threw on some clothes, I made the order for the uber to take us to Lucas's parent's mansion. It was quite a journey, completely out of town and maybe it would take a few hours. Maybe before we arrived she would have taken th
I sat with my back on the headboard while Aiden and Abby lay on either side of me, with their heads leaning against me as I told them as much as I could remember from one of the bedtime stories Celine and I were usually forced to sit through back at the foster home. We always found it boring and would be among the first kids to do off before she even read two lines from the story, the other kids would fall closely behind, it was that dreadful. But tonight, the kids found my old, half-complete, gap-filled story fascinating enough to listen to as I tried to lull them to sleep.After today, they needed the assuring warmth from someone they could trust and I did not mind providing just that for them.The door creaked open and Lucas's large form filled the doorway. He had gone with dad and Rob to the nearby police
Lucas stood behind me as he ushered me into his bedroom. The right choice, since I could not trust myself to not make a run for it the moment I got the chance.I paused to take in the sight of the room. I could easily tell it was his room as a teen because well it still looked like a teenage boy's room, a few things had probably been replaced, like the bar in the corner of the room and the bed that was now much larger than what a teen's bed would look like and the expensive looking rug at the foot of the bed, but the posters of famous celebrities and a long sheet of paper hanging off the wall that said "Lucas's to-do list," made it retain the charm of teenagehood.It felt good to be in here getting even the slightest glimpse at what his life looked like as a boy. Countless trophies hung off the shelf on the w
Lucas kissed my forehead with his arms wrapped possessively around me. I lay on the mattress next to him, savoring the chance to breathe his spicy scent in after what felt like ages. Okay, it was only a few days, but I missed him anyway, terribly. And I did not realize the fact until now.Lucas missed me too, I could tell that much from the way he clung to me, unwilling to let go since we laid out our issues.A part of me screamed how wrong it was to let Lucas off so easily, and maybe I was foolish for doing so, but I was not without my faults in this. Lucas and I had been fighting longer than we had actually been dating. I was tired of the ups and downs and I was not about to toss my chance at fixing our relationship in the garbage.He would not hurt me again, I was sure of it.We had agreed though, that it was better to hold off the more intimate parts of our relationship for a while. In clearer terms, I was not ready yet to
"Are you still upset?" I asked Celine as we got ready to head downstairs the next morning.We had both gotten up pretty early this morning, my reason being that I could not get any sleep after our fight last night and C, probably for the same reason, or something else, I could not tell.There were only ever rare times when I and my best friend had serious disagreements like this, and it had never been over a dick. That was my cue to fix this. As much as I loved Lucas, I would never give up my relationship with my longest friend and favorite person in the universe for any reason.She did not look at me as she spoke, "Alex will be here to pick me up in an hour, you coming?" she did not answer my question directly either, and I got my answer from that.
Lucas's idea of holding Sarah for longer was to get Emma to confess Sarah's involvement with her and get them both arrested. It had been decided that the best way to have that done was to make them believe one betrayed the other. Alexander picked Chris up an hour after breakfast, after which the rest of the family spent all morning thinking of how to make Lucas's plan work. We had to come up with a way to get Sarah and Emma in the same place, where we could make a recording of their confessions.Mia finally came up with an idea that sounded like it would work.The plan was simple.Lucas would send Emma a message stating she had to come home because according to him, there would be a change of plan, the kids would be back home, so she had to cut off her time
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Lucas asked for the gazillionth time."You're right here, what could possibly go wrong?" I asked, not bothering to add a million possibilities of what really could go wrong with this plan. I was already shit scared, I did not need Lucas to know that though, he would not let me go through if he got even a whiff of doubt or uncertainty from me. "besides, you are only about a few inches away, if Sarah does anything, you'll be right here for me, right?" I tilted my head to meet his eyes."You know I will," he drew me closer and smashed his lips into mine. "If she tries to attack you, do not hesitate to leave a fist on her face, it's her one weakness.""Her face is her weakness?" one of the cops in the room asked, shocked.
"I cannot believe you just had all the fun alone," Celine pouted from where she stood next to the dressing mirror, watching me pack my bags for the trip. Trust Celine to find an exercise with her fist kissing someone's face the best form of fun. All morning she had remained by the mirror, staring at something in her belly. Sometimes I would ever have to snap my fingers to draw her attention. If I did not know my best friend well enough, I would say she had been crying, but that was too far-fetched. C never cried."It was really no fun," I said with enough dryness to make my voice croaky. My hands still hurt from clawing at Sarah even after days had passed."You got a chance to teach that witch a lesson in her own game, that's everyone's dream." she cried like she was trying to explain to me why veggies were g
Mia got married at the Terranea Resort. It was one of those places in California I had heard of but never so much as dreamt of being in. The ceremony took place by the beach cove overlooking the rolling mountains that gave way to a panoramic view of the sea. I was even more awed to see how they had turned it into the fairytale every girl dreamed of.The four pillar altar was decorated in red roses all around the roof—a befitting color for the month—with green branches curling around each pillar to the root. Red rose petals arranged in large cursive hearts littered the aisle leading to the altar, and golden candle lanterns were lit on either side. Even the seats were dressed in pink fabrics and red bows attached behind. It was like an early valentine's day, only more magical.The day became even more magical when Mia arrived in a carriage, yes a frigging carriage. As I got to my feet along with everyone else in attendance, I watched with the same awe and fascination with which I had wa
Christmas had never been anything special for me. I had spent my last two Christmas' before this working an all-day shift at work, wiping vomit off tables and getting yelled at by unhappy customers taking their anger and frustrations on me. Afterward, C and I would spend the morning drinking on a rooftop and dancing to Fuck Christmas by Eric Idle. It was not exactly like I was the grinch or that I forbade the holiday spirit, there really was just nothing to celebrate or be happy for. After spending most of my childhood holidays hoping I would escape some beating or screaming from the matron on duty at the foster care that day who would rather be drinking her guts out on her day off, it was not exactly my favorite time of the year, so I said a big fuck you to it every year.This year though, it was a whole different story. Like I had stepped into this perfect, in your dreams life belonging to someone else. And for the first time in my life, the reality was the more preferable option. T
Where do I begin? From our awkward first meeting to having bad guys and crazy exes thrown in jail, Lucas and I had been through one hell of a journey. The longest one I had ever been through my adulthood, I would dare to say. It was amazing to think how much my life had changed in the months I had known Lucas and the twins. I had gone from independent and never needing anyone besides my best friend to this woman who could not even do so much as breathe without them."Are you okay?" Celine asked, tilting her face to meet mine in the mirror."Nervous," I said, going for honesty as I tugged on the hem of the white fitted dress clinging to my body."'Oh bess," she cooed, adjusting my veil, "you have every right to be, it's your big day."I smiled sheepishly at the thought, staring down at the ring on my finger that would be joined by another in a few minutes, "It is my big day. Oh my God, I'm getting married bess." The words slammed a fresh dose of unrestrained happiness against my heart
Every story I'd hard about the afterlife was a big fat lie. There were no angels in white robes, no opera waiting to usher me into the gates of heaven but then again who said I was going to heaven. The pain shooting up my body felt everything like hell, or at least I knew the one coming would. I clamp my eyes closed tighter as I lay on the floor in what I know is my pool of blood, waiting for the pain I hope to come. She succeeded and I let her win, I let Sarah shoot me. There was no longer going to be the amazing sex with Lucas, no spending afternoons with the kids, no harmless gossips disguised as Sunday lunch dates with my best friend. No more of Lucas's family, all of that was now simply gone, just gone.The thought left a hot burning scar on my throat and I gasped, fighting to take in the air that was not coming. This really was it, I had lost and she had won. But the arms suddenly wrapping me in a warm embrace felt too familiar to be related to the icy feeling of dying."Chris?!
You know that feeling when you wake up to a day that just feels off right from the moment you open your eyes? It could be the harsh rays of the sun nearly blinding and forcing you to wake up early on a Saturday morning or the annoying sound of your alarm reminding you that it's a Monday Morning again after you spent Sunday evening drinking your guts out. That small, seemingly unimportant detail in your morning that makes sure you have a bad rest of your day. I was having one of those mornings, but unlike most, I knew exactly why it was going to be a bad day.After laying motionless in the same spot for what felt like an eternity, body unwilling to move and mind refusing to come alive, I finally found a reason to get up, thanks to my pressing bladder. I walked back into the room after finishing my business and realized for the first time this morning, that Lucas was not here and the kids had not come to barge down my door in search of me.I knew Lucas would leave early for what he had
It was sweet effing relief. After almost two months here, we were finally making the trip back home. While there were less than relieving reasons involved, it still brought a wide grin to my face when the sound of the wheels scraping the runway of Lindbergh field reached my ears.Martha and Calvin were the first to welcome us home, with Calvin giving the usual manly hugs and pats on the back to his two sons and Martha going through a long streak of teary hugs and sobbing her thanks that her grandbabies were okay. She had insisted all three of them rode in their car with them as we came home from the airport. I realized it had probably been a wise choice to keep them oblivious to my pregnancy. Martha, for one, would have thrown a fit if her hopes of having a new grandchild were suddenly crushed by my miscarriage.After almost two months away, I had almost forgotten what it felt like to be normal. My usual routine, the one I had when my life was still a simple cycle of getting Abby and
What happened to the curious cat again? Ah yes, she got her neck snapped by her fiance's supposed best friend because she would not simply stay out of trouble. I was fairly sure, no most certainly positive that was what Adrian would do to me as his eyes bored into me with something that looked rather far from the friendliness I had seen when we first met. Maybe my body would be found in a nearby dumpster in a week or more.And then it hit me. Lucas had told me he was coming here to check on security hours ago and as I stood there scanning the room briefly, he was absolutely nowhere in sight. Oh, my God! Maybe he hurt Lucas and was now taking out whatever anger was left in him on Baron. I thought they were supposed to be best friends.The thought had not completely settled in my mind when a familiar figure stepped out of the shadows, wiping his hand on a towel stained in crimson. It was Lucas. He halted in his steps as his eyes landed on me, shock and a slightly less version of anger f
It was hard to tell how long we lay there, with me half-naked and asleep in Lucas' arms. But when I woke up to the light scruff of grass against my knee, the red-orange of the sky told me we had been there in that position for quite a while."I'm sorry," Lucas rasped, and I realized we had shifted from the position we were in when I fell asleep. Lucas sat with his back against the wall of the maze, holding me to himself. It was the closest we had been to each other, with the obvious exemption of how intimate we had been before I drifted asleep. "I didn't mean to wake you up,""How long did I sleep?" I asked, with quite an idea in mind."Not long enough, you needed the rest." he stroked my head as he spoke."You should have woken me," I gave a brief chuckle, followed by a wince at the numbness in my hands as I attempted to pull myself away from him and sit up.Lucas held on to me tighter though, tutting and shaking his head as he did. "I don't want you to leave just yet, stay here in m
I had not realized just how much I needed to breathe fresh air that was not sullied by a mixture of stale air, pills from the doctor, and a large dose of my sadness. For what first like the first time in forever, the sight of food did not make my stomach churn, or at least it did in the right way. The scent of freshly made orange juice and blueberry danishes set out on the picnic table only made my mouth water and my empty stomach growl. I turned to my best friend the closest thing I had to a sister with a smile. "You planned this?" Of course, she did. I had to be the luckiest human on the planet to have everyone I had in my life now. She rounded the table, taking her seat with a knowing smile. "I was hopeful that today would be a good day." I tilted my head, a fresh wave of guilt pulling at my chest. I had been so drowned in my sadness that I had completely neglected everyone, myself included. "I'm so sorry for shutting you out too, Bess." She shook her head tersely, "Nope, we ar