One Day at a Time

chapter 3

"I feel like you're trying to kidnap us" said Hailey as she groaned into the seat.

"No my house is literally around the corner" I made the left and was met with the tall black gates that guarded my house. I put in the code and we made our way in.

"Ok now I really think you're kidnapping me"

"shut up" I said as I pulled into the driveway. The rest followed closely behind and they pulled all their cars into the driveway. Hailey and I watched as the guys tumbled out of their cars with Naomi and Skylar following close behind.

"so Im going to assume nobody is home" said Elijah. To him this seemed like an innocent question, but it was the one I was dreading the most.

"nope, we have the whole house to ourselves" I said smiling to disguise my panic. Nobody asked anymore questions so I very relieved and opened the garage to let everyone in. We stepped into the garage and it was pretty empty with the exception of a fridge in the corner and my surf boards. I searched through my keys and unlocked the door letting everyone upstairs. The basement stairs opened up into the living room and kitchen. Naomi, Skylar, and Hailey made their way to the couch while Elijah and Isaiah raced each other to the kitchen. 

Why am I not surprised?

Before I could make any moves into the house my nose was filled with the scent of crisp mint cologne. 

"Nice house" Xavier whispered in my ear from behind me before following the rest of the group into the living room. Tingles were sent down my neck and arms from the very small interaction. What the fuck is happening? I was standing in the doorway in shock and Haileys eyes met mine and she laughed. I sat myself on the  couch where Elijah and Isaiah soon returned with pizza.

Elijah had made the dangerous choice to lay himself on top of me across the couch. I grunted as he came crashing down on my very small self. After shoving some pizza into his mouth he had the nerve to look up at me while being crushed by his weight.

"How ya doin" he said chuckling in fear. He had no clue how strong I was so it would make what Im about to do that much better. I took advantage of my legs using them to pull myself to standing. Elijah rolled off of me and hit the ground with a loud thud.

"much better, thanks for asking" I said with and innocent smile walking to the other couch with no room for Elijah. I sat down only to realize that I was in between Isaiah and Xavier.

I can never win

We sat and finished the pizza while arguments and laughter filled the room. Although the girls and guys were not friends before I came along they fit together perfectly. It was almost like being home with my family (not by blood of course). I felt at home and for the first time I relaxed and felt at peace with my current situation.

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Empty pizza boxes littered the floor and the pointless arguments had been settled. It was now about 5:30 and the sun would soon set leaving me alone in the dark. My friends had began to roam the house and give themselves their own tour around. 

I stepped onto the back deck that overlooked my private beach and inhaled the sweet flavor of mango. I felt that feeling that was all too familiar that someone was behind me. None other than mister Xavier King. He walked over to join me leaning on the railing.

"Please tell me they haven't destroyed my house" worried about specifically Elijah and Isaiah roaming my house. They might as well be children.

"no, not yet at least" he said shaking his head. We sat in a comfortable silence for a minute before he looked back to me. "so this whole beach is yours?"