Pieces Of a Puzzle

Chapter Eleven

Finally! I mentally cheered, plopping my tired body on my plush black couch. To say the day was a hell of an adventure is an understatement.  Isaac and Derrick were worse than bickery teenage girls! They seemed to have permanently carved those glares on their faces with snarky remarks every few minutes, and the best part, we all shared the same classes. Note the sarcasm.

The guys seemed cool with Derrick, all except Isaac that is. Luke had been his usual quiet self, but I noticed him studying each and every one of us all through lunch, his piercing eyes never once staying in place for more than five minutes. I tried not getting caught watching him but he would just send a small smile my way and look away for a few seconds until he knew the coast was clear. I was going to ask him what was up, but maybe he was having one of those moments where he's thankful to have us in his lives. Who knows what he's thinking.

I'm just happy school's over with for the day, the kids are taking a nap and Isaac is off to football practice ( which he seemed to have recently joined). I made sure to finish the chores and put all the clean plates away before I took a little me time. With one last content sigh, I made sure the doors were locked, the kids were sleeping and I joined them in dream land.

~ ~ ~

"Baby, wake up." An angelic voice called out, a light feathery touch landing on my cheek. I groan and rolled to my side, trying to fall back to heavenly sleep. I felt flesh press to my cheek once again but this time followed by a throaty chuckle. Slowly my eyes fluttered open to spot an amused half a dozen guys staring down at me with smirks on their lips. I blinked a few more times to make sure I was dreaming all these handsome fellas in front of me.

"Hey sleeping beauty." Isaac brushed his hand on my cheek, moving a stray hair away from my face. Heat trailed behind his touch, like hot lava burning underneath my skin but his gentle touch.

"Hi." I yawned unattractively sitting up and stretch my stiff arms, every joint popping loudly and quickly relaxing back into place as I sat back on the comfy seat rubbing sleepy away from my eyes.

" I see you couldn't wait to take my clothing." Isaac gaffled, followed suit by the guys. Confused, I look around until I see that I must have gotten up half asleep and stripped of my clothing and grabbed one of his shirts by accident. I feel the redness spread to my face as the guys start settling down. Isaac pulls a pair of black sweats out of his gym bag and hands them over to me. I tilt my head to the side in confusion and just raise an eyebrow at him. His eyes trail down to my bare legs, my shorts well hidden underneath his shirt. To anyone I looked like I was just in this T-shirt. Panicked I look up at him again and blush, hoping the guys don't think that.

"They're clean." Isaac said, reading my mind. I slide them over my legs and cover up. I can feel all the guys watching with amused faces as I stand up now fully covered in oversized clothing.

"So, how was practice?" I ask to no one in general, just wanting to fill the silent void. They all launch into different versions of a story about how some team mate was dared to run around the building naked until a security guard tackled him to the ground face first and had to go to the nurses office before going to the deans. Poor fella. He may have not been smart, but it must have hurt and ruined his chances of having kids in the future.

"Where are the kids?" Luke asked looking around.

Coming from the baby monitor on the coffee table I could hear Drew and Violets light snores hitting my ears.

"Still napping." I wave my hand towards the monitor, giving evidence.

"Is there anything to eat?" Jared whines, rubbing his flat stomach. I seriously wonder how they can be so built if they eat like pigs all the time.

"Don't you have a fridge at your house?" Nick tisks, smacking Jared on the head. In a matter of seconds they began wrestling. But then again when do they not? I silently exit the living room and enter the kitchen looking for something to drink but as I flip the light switch on and utter I a bloody scream.

There underneath my kitchen table is my brother, knocked out on the tile floor.

"What is it?" Isaac calls, bursting into the room with a panicked face. I could hear a set of feet running to the kids room as two other come our way to check out what's going on.

"Isn't that.." Caleb doesn't finish that sentence. A pained groan comes from my brother, but it was muffled since he was face down.

The guys rush over and gently sit him one of wooden chairs closest to him and gently settle him in before helping him sit up and waking him up.His face was all cut up and there were bruises covering every inch of it.

"Tyler? Can you hear me?" I ask.

"He's not deaf Jay." Jared scoffs, waltzing towards us with Drew in his arms followed by Nick with a sleepy Violet in his arms. How they're still asleep is beyond me, I felt like I wailed like a banshee.

"Who did this to you?" Isaac asks, ignoring noob 1 and noob 2.

"Julie, mom's..." Another groan. Luke walks over to the sink and pulls a cup out of the cabinets. He fills it three quarters of the way and hands it over to Tyler , who chugs it down in an instant. How come I didn't hear him come in? I couldn't have been that tired, right? I thought I had locked all the doors?

"Tyler? Can you tell me how you got in here and who did this to you?" Isaac knelt down to be eye to eye level with my brother, who seemed to be coming to his senses finally.

"Julianna. Mom wants Drew." Tyler whispered softly, not meeting my shocked gaze.

No... NO!

"W-what? what do you mean she wants him?" My voice kept breaking, my heart pounding erotically against my ribs.  I must have heard him wrong. First him, now a woman who I thought I had lost a while ago, who didn't even try to find a way to communicate with me or as about her younger son?

"She wants to take him back..." Tyler's gaze trailed to the baby sleeping soundling in Jared's arms. Correction, my baby.

"I wont let her." I hissed, hostility ringing clearly in my voice. Blood was bumping through my veins, adrenaline and determination coursing through me. There was no way I would let her take him away from me, no matter who she was. The woman I called my mother died the day she left us, letting us believe she fell into that river when the truck hit them head on.

"I knew you would say that." Tyler grinned with blood still smeared on his cheek, looking me directly in the eyes with a look a proud father gives his child. His eyes burning with pure determination and fury probably reflecting my own.

"Did she do this to you?" Isaac asked, reaching for the cloth on the counter and putting it underneath the sink to soak it and handed it over to me so I could wash him up. Nodding a thanks, I knelt down and gently started whipping the blood away.

"No, it was her boyfriend and their son." Tyler's voice lowered as he finsihed, whispering the word son as if I wouldn't hear it. I felt my blood run cold at the word, not able to believe it.

"SON?!" I exclaimed jumping to my feet as distaste washed over me.

She cheated on my father? She has a SON?

Who is the women that is my mother?