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Two Months Later
The first day of school had come and I had no idea what the fuck I was doing. Olivia spent a long time in the bathroom getting ready. She wore a bit of makeup and had to have her hair just right. Small hoops hung from her ears, which Xaiden fussed over and asked if they were appropriate. He showed his age with that. I couldn’t help but laugh at him and ask if he needed more fiber with his diet. I loved screwing with him.
Olivia’s clothes were new, as were her shoes. Her and Cody had both been spoiled over the last two months by us, by Corbin’s and Xaiden’s parents. By our friends. It was absurd, though welcome.
Xaiden tried to convince Olivia to let us drive her to school, but she refused. She said she needed to make new friends here and being on the bus would help.
We’d found out after everything happened and she moved in with Pia, Olivia brought her Chromebook the school had given her. She switched to virtual for the rest of the month so she could finish the year with her class and not fall behind. I couldn’t imagine focusing on school after what she’d been through, but it was probably better than dealing with Pia. The hate I had for that woman was endless. She’d never get Olivia again.
Olivia opened up to us more and more as time went on. Now we had a moody teenager on our hands. Xaiden didn’t know what the hell to do with that. Corbin took it with his usual kindness and ease. I just stared and blinked, unsure of what to say half the time. Cody had stepped in a lot and told Olivia to knock it off or used other colorful words. They fought often like siblings would. What surprised me was how quickly they got over it, like they remembered the hell they’d been through and realized the petty shit wasn’t worth it. They were both still in therapy, making strides with every visit. We were incredibly proud of them.
Cody had been working with Xaiden at the gym. Xaiden drove them every day, though Cody had his parents’ car in the garage. He still hadn’t been able to drive it and we weren’t pushing him to. Cody also decided he wasn’t ready for college yet. We didn’t force that either, choosing to let him figure things out on his own.
We started the walk up the driveway, all five of us. Olivia begged us not to go, but there was no way we were staying back for her first day of school. We would have driven her to the end of the driveway, but it was a nice day. Due to how far apart the houses were here, the bus would stop right at the driveway.
The closer we got to the road, the louder the noise was. Not from us but from others. Our friends to be exact. They were parked at the end of the driveway, Dexen’s white Audi and Peyton’s black Tahoe. They were standing near their vehicles, laughing. They quieted as we approached.
Dominic was the first one to come toward us, smiling big and saying how much he loved Olivia’s outfit and hair. She soaked in the attention, used to our friends and how much they cared about her and Cody.
Greer made certain she knew if anyone fucked with her to let one of us know, and we’d show up at the school to handle it. She knew this already because Xaiden had told her. He was very protective over her and Cody, not that I expected him to be any different.
In his crisp navy suit, Perry was ready to head to work after the bus arrived. “Here,” he said and handed Olivia a rectangular foil package. “I know what Xaiden likes to cook, but this is better.”
Olivia grinned and opened it, revealing the chocolate frosted Pop-Tarts inside. “Thanks!” Fucking Perry. The man wouldn’t know an apple if it hung from a tree in front of his face.
I didn’t miss Xaiden’s sigh. He tried to get Cody and Olivia to eat healthy, but they were young and didn’t give a shit about any of that.
Dexen slung his arm over Olivia’s shoulders, pulling her in for a side hug. JJ came up on her other side and did the same. Everyone took turns talking to her before she turned around and hugged the three of us. I almost cried. I definitely got misty-eyed. It felt monumental that she was heading off to school after the months of being with us. The hugs had gotten more plentiful. We cherished each one. But it was Cody she hugged the longest.
I heard him say, “Like they said, if anyone fucks with you, Livy—”
“I know. You’ll have my back.”
“I always have.”
“Thanks, Code.”
When the bus finally pulled up, I could only imagine how we looked. Ten men and Olivia. Half of us had our arms crossed, looking menacing. The other half smiled warmly. None of the kids on the bus noticed us because their heads were down, faces buried in their phones.
Olivia didn’t look back as she got on the bus. She had been nervous all week, hoping she’d make new friends, sad because she was no longer in school with her other ones, though she saw them often. They’d invite her over or we’d have them out here. We wanted to keep her support system there for her, which included her friends.
“That was fun,” Dominic said with a grin once the bus left. “Are we doing this every day, because if so, I’m going to need to switch my shifts. This getting up early shit sucks.”
“Aww, poor vixen,” Peyton said, pulling Dominic in for a kiss.
Dominic looked his lover in the eye. “How about you and Perry skip work today and come home with me so we can do fun stuff? I’ll wear lace and not much else.”
“You’re very enticing, but Perry has a meeting to get to.”
“Booo.” He turned to the rest of us. “I’m wide awake. Who’s free?”
“I’ve seen you in lace countless times, Dom,” Dexen said. “I don’t need an extra show.”
Dominic shook his ass at Dexen to tease him.
Xaiden’s fingers linked with mine, drawing my attention to him. I saw his eyes were shiny and knew this morning had been a lot for him. It was for Corbin and me too. I squeezed his hand. Xaiden smiled down at me before pressing a kiss to my lips then doing the same to Corbin.
We had a family. While I wished Cody and Olivia’s parents hadn’t been ripped away from them, I was grateful Cody came into Corbin’s life so we could be there when they needed us. Now I couldn’t imagine not having them here.
My life changed the moment I met JJ. It got better from there, but I never expected to fall in love with one, let alone two men like I had. Everything I’d gone through, every hit I’d taken both literally and not, brought me to where I was. If I had to go through it again, I would, because Corbin and Xaiden were everything to me and I’d spend the rest of my life loving the fuck out of them.
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