Oh Brothers

Chapter 31

Ara's P.O.V.

Waking up early without a lot of sleep was irritating to say the least. I trudged through my usual morning routine and got ready for school. Suddenly, everything from last night with Lucy hit me and I felt an electric jolt burst through my body. Kids.

I set off to find Lucy and walk my way towards the kid's room. I find Lucy and Will in the hallway, Lucy carrying the sleeping little girl, gently rocking her back and forth.

"Will and I aren't going to school today," Lucy whispers. I nod my head.

"Okay, neither am I," I say and drop my backpack to the ground with a yawn.

"Ara -" Lucy begins to protest.

"No," I shut her off, "you need help and you're more important to me than school so I'll stay and help you figure things out."

Lucy studies me for a second before realizing I'm not going to budge. She sighs and smiles, "alright, Ara."

Jason has a class in the afternoon so he heads out to the college to talk to a professor or something. My brothers all get ready for school, apart from Carter who stays behind along with Cole. Together, we get the kids, whose names and ages I learn quickly, ready for school. Will and Carter head to drop the boys off and Cole disappears into his art studio. Lucy and I take Emily to the kitchen for breakfast. Marcus has become more comfortable with us so he sits down to eat with us, but my other two bodyguards are stiff and rigid and stand firmly behind us.

"How are you holding up?" I ask her, concerned.

"I'm fine," she dismisses with a wave of her hand, "the real question is how are you?"

I skeptically raise my eyebrow and cross my arms over my chest.

"What? It's the truth," she insists. She sighs then begins to clarify, "for the first time in a long time, I'm truly happy. Will and I are together and are 'in it for the long haul' as he likes to say. The kids and I are all safe. Will and I said we love each other, I get
to miss school, I'm going to eat my favorite Belgium waffles for breakfast, you know things are great."

I nod my head along with her list but stop once she gets to the big L, "seriously? You guys love each other? Already?"

Lucy nods her head and smiles, lost in her thoughts as she answers, "I've loved him my whole life and I'll love him my whole life, and I know he feels the same way. It may seem fast to some people but it doesn't to us, sometimes you just know when you've found the one person you can't live without. Besides, who cares what other people think."

I nod my head, "well if you're sure, then I'm totally happy for you two."

"Thanks, Ara, that means a lot," Lucy smiles. Her smile suddenly drops and her face is once again riddled with concern, "but how are you? With everything going on. How are you feeling?"

I sigh, "I'm trying not to think about the whole," I clear my throat, "um... thing. It just makes it harder to breathe and sometimes I feel like I'm going to slip back into a panic attack if I think about it too long. Anyways, right now I need to focus on the main task ahead."

"And what would that be?" Lu asks.

"Jason's birthday! I need to give him something meaningful, he deserves the world for raising us, you know? I just need to get him a birthday present that he'll like and use. He's more of a sentimental kind of guy, so maybe I should make him something, you know?"

The door to the kitchen bursts open and Grandpa strides in, "good morning my flower."

Grandpa lean in and kisses me on the head.