Finding Fate

Chapter 27

I looked up at the house that I parked in front of. Four years ago seemed like forever since that night I spent in Kota's room. A knock on my window had me jumping slightly. I looked out the window to look into North's dark eyes. He gazed at me, making my heart beat faster. Slowly I opened the door and stepped from my car. I smiled up at him, and he gave me a small smile. He nodded towards the house, and I stepped towards the house.

North led me through the house into the kitchen where a woman who looked to be in her late forties and a younger girl with glasses stood with the rest of the boys surrounding them. The woman's eyes were green like Kota's and her brown hair was tied into a bun at the back of her head. There were soft wrinkles at her eyes. She was almost my height. The girl was almost exactly like her mother, except shorter and with much lighter hair. Her expression was placid and she wore pink rimmed glasses.

The older woman spotted me first and stood up, reaching out a hand. "Hi, I'm Erica. This is my daughter Jessica."

She spotted to the girl who smiled shyly and waved. I gave her a nod in return. I started to sign, faltering slightly when confusion showed on her face. I only continued when Kota caught my eyes and encouraged me to continue. He translated. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Rose."

Erica nodded in understanding. "Ah, nice to meet you too. How did you meet my son and his friends?"

Luke answered for me. I gave him a grateful smile. "We met her today in line for registration when this rude fella pushed her." he winked at me as he was pointing at North.

Gabriel stood up, "You did fu-" He looked at Jessica and Erica who was giving him a look. "I mean, you did what?!"

North shrugged his shoulders. "It was crowded. Some of the guys on the football team were pushing me."

Gabriel waved a hand. "Those fuc- fudgers are idiots. Are you and Silas going to join the team again?"

North and Silas shared a look. North sighed, crossing his arms and looking angrier. "Don't know. Maybe."

Erica smiled, "Well, I am going upstairs for a much need nap." She looked at the guys. "Now what's the rule?"

Several voices spoke at the same time. "No burning down the house again."

"Good. Nice to meet you, Rose." Erica smiled as she walked out of the room. Jessica soon followed with a handful of cookies.

I gaped at them. They burned down the house?! Kota must have seen my horrified expression and gave me an embarrassed smile. "I might have accidentally left something cooking and it caught on fire."

I couldn't help my giggles from bursting from my lips. I couldn't imagine a smart guy like him being forgetful. Kota came over to where I stood and gave me a frown. He wasn't serious because I saw his lips twitching from the effort not to smile. Everytime I looked to his face, I burst out in giggles. I looked around, my laughter suddenly drying our when I saw that everyone was staring at me. Heat crawled up my face, and the next thing I knew was that I was burying my face in Kota's chest. I had done this several times as Sang and didn't think of how Kota would react with Rose.

I froze, noticing that Kota was frozen too. Slowly Kota wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into him. Kota's chest rumbled as he spoke, "Guys, stop it. You are making her feel self-conscious."

Silas chuckled. "Rhoda, don't be shy. We like your laugh."

I opened my eyes to look into playful brown eyes. Luke smiled when he saw me looking at him. "Hey, Sugar. Want to come out?"

I shook my head, but I had to come out from Kota's embrace when my phone went off. I pulled away and looked at my phone, thinking it was one of the guys. I froze when I saw the message. Kota noticed my situation but before he could look at my phone, I hid it against my chest. Motioning for them to give me a minute alone, I walked out the door and looked at my phone.

Unknown: You need to leave them.

Me: Who are you?

Unknown: A friend. Volto knows where you are

I gasped. Who was this person? Why won't he tell me who he is? How does he know of Volto?

Me: How do you know Volto?

Unknown: I've been protecting you. Leave now or they will pay the price

Me: How could you say that while saying that you are protecting me?

Unknown: I am protecting both you and your friends. Once Volto knows that you are with them, he will go after them

I knew that he was right but they were Academy, too. The Academy has known of Volto's obsession with me and have yet to catch him. Volto has slipped through the Academy's fingers too many times and always seem to find me. Should I trust this nameless stranger? But I also have a mission to do with this team. Because I have to work with them, I will protect them, all of them.

"Rose?" A voice made me jump in surprise. Turning around with my hand over my heart, I came face to face with Nathan. His red hair seemed to glow in the sun, and his serious blue eyes stared at me with worry. "Are you ok?"

I nodded, forcing a smile on my face to cover my worries. He seemed to know that I was faking. He reached out with his hand and lightly touched my arm. "Hey, I won't pressure you into talking with me. This might seem an odd thing to say, but all of us are broken. We know that something is going on with you, and we will wait for you to come to us. I just want you to know that we are here for you."

Tears welled up in my eyes. Of course, it would be the Blackbourne team to try to comfort me. Owen and Sean did a great job with their family. I knew that I wanted to express my thanks but a text didn't seem appropriate. I licked my lips, opening my mouth to speak. "Thanks."

His eyes widened at my voice. I wanted to cringe at the sound of my voice. It was scratchy and hoarse. Once I spoke, my throat was sore. Nathan knew what it meant for me to speak despite my condition. His features softened when a smile came to his face. "Come on. The others are getting restless. What would you like to do? We can watch movies, play games?"

I place my phone back in my bra as we walked into the living room where most of the boys were on the couch while Kota and Gabriel were looking at a shelf of videos. They looked up when I came in. Silas patted a spot on the couch between him and North. I looked up at Nathan who nodded at me to take the seat. I made my way towards the two. Once I sat down, I felt the heat emitting from the two. Their scents of Silas' ocean cologne and North's musk was comforting and made me sleepy.

Silas must have seen the sleepy look on my face and chuckled. With a gentle move of his arm, he motioned for me to lean on his side. "It's okay, Rhoda. Rest. I will wake you up in an hour."

Within moments, I fell into a comfortable sleep. It was the first restful nap I have had for seven years. Ever since nightmares plagued my dreams. Ever since I left Owen and Sean.