Rose petals

Chapter 21

"First day kinda nervous." She said the second she answered the phone. "I'm the newbie so I'm guessing they'll all absolutely hate me and bully the heck out of me, and I'm not snitch so I can't tell anyone right? Unless they threaten my life, maybe? Maybe if I threaten their life first they won't threaten mine? Do you think that'll work? Do you think they'll snitch? Do you think I'll get kick out of the country?" She gasped as I bit back a laugh and glanced at the twins whispering to themselves in the backseat of the car. Thank god for AirPods.

"No one will hate you and they won't bully you either. They're all grown ass adults that will be busy with patients and doctor shit. And the last thing they'll do is threaten your life so you don't need to worry about threatening theirs." I laughed as she sighed on the other end.

"Bad words daddy." Elle and Emerson said from the back as I rolled my eyes in amusement and silently apologised.

"If anyones super duper mean, then you can be super duper scooper mean back!" Elle yelled from the backseat, not knowing who was on the other end of the phone.

"Okay, you're right. That's the best advice I've heard all day, thanks Ellie bear." She laughed as a sad smile made its way to my face. If only we were the ones dropping her off to work. If only she could have face to face conversations with them.

Parking my car in my usual spot, I got out of the car and pulled open the door to the backseat to see the twins already out of their car seats. They both climbed out and took my hands in theirs, leading me to the large glass doors. Another take your kids to work day.

"Ben's here, I should get going. Have fun at work and squeeze the life out of your kids for me." She said, I can practically see the grin on her face.

"I will, call me or text me throughout the day whenever you can. I can't wait to hear all about your first day." I said as the three of us waiting for the elevator to come down.

"I will, bye." She quickly said before hanging up.

"Who's that daddy?" Elle asked, innocently looking up at me just as the doors to the elevator split open.

"A friend, my love." I said as I gently pushed them in and pressed the button to our floor.

Crouching down in front of them, I pulled them to my chest and squeezed them as tight as I could without popping their lungs. They burst into a fit of giggles as they tried wiggling out of my grip, but they went nowhere with how tight I was holding them.

"What was that for daddy?" Emerson giggled as I kissed their cheeks and pulled away.

"That was from mum." I smiled as they smiles only widened.

"She told you to hug us?" Elle asked as I nodded and kissed the top of her head. Unable to contain her excitement as she squealed and wrapped her arms around my neck soon followed by Emerson.

Randomly throughout the day, for the last four years, I've always hugged them and kissed them letting them know it's from their mum. Every single time they get just as excited and have the biggest smiles on their faces. They believe that every time I've done that, she's in some way told me to do it. It's funny how this hug was genuinely from her. She had actually told me to do it.

Running into my office, they made themselves comfortable on the couch in the corner while I set their things down on the coffee table in front of them. They instantly unzipped their art set and got to work on their unfinished project of something that looked like a purple lion with six tails eating a minion on Jupiter while it rained pickles. Don't ask.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and tapped on Hayden's contact name. The boys haven't spoken to anyone since I told them about the whole...situation. They locked their room door and hadn't responded to anyone who went to check up on them. I don't blame them, it's a reaction I had definitely expected but that doesn't mean I don't feel like shit about it. Everly Rose was a role model for those boys. She was their older sister more than she was an aunt and she's been the one constant thing in their lives. The one person who had always put them first no matter what. They went to her for anything and everything no matter how big or small it was, and she never once made them feel as though they couldn't confide in her.