Everlasting Bonds - COMPLETE

Prologue

New Haven, CT

POV: Emilia

I felt the soft caress of a hand on my cheek as I slowly woke from another fitful rest. I never slept well when the temperature got too hot. I loved the cold and sleeping in piles of blankets. My eyes fluttered open and the blurry shape in front of me came into focus. Colt's face looked down at me. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes and I could tell he was worried by the crease on his forehead. Colt was only four years older than me, but he always seemed like he was carrying burden's more familiar to someone twice his age.

"Morning, Lark". His voice was hushed and low. Colt and the guys almost always called me Lark or Mia. They rarely called me by my given name, Emelia. Everyone else usually called me Emmy. I sat up and looked at the alarm clock that sat on the nightside table David and Maria bought me years ago. The time read 6:45 AM. David and Maria took me in about six years ago, but I had been in the foster care system for as long as I can remember. Most of the guys were brought up the same way. It was only by luck that we all came to live with our current foster family. Colt and Greyson were already here when they brought me home, and Aidan and Luka came a few months after I did. I don't think any of us would have guessed how important to each other we all would become. They weren't my brothers, but they were my family.

"Go away Colt", I grumbled sleepily. He chuckled at me and tucked some of my wayward bedhead behind my ear.

"I just came to tell you that I can't give you guys a ride to school this morning. Aidan and I are going in early to get a workout in with some of the guys". Aidan and Colt had decided to play football this year, and they sometimes went in early to do workouts with their team. Even though it had only been a couple of months, I could see the effects of their involvement in a contact sport setting in. They both had begun to fill out and lose some of their baby fat.

"Is David able to take Luka, Grey, and I to school or do I need to get them up earlier so we have time to catch the bus?" I was beginning to fully wake up and I realized I could hear the sounds of my household doing the same. My room was directly above the kitchen and my air conditioning vent often carried sounds into my room. The sound of my foster parent's voices was drifting through the vent. Even though I couldn't make out what they were saying, it was nice to hear the familiar lilt of their voices. Colt shifted farther down the bed and gave me more space to stretch and fully wake up.

"David said he can take you. He even offered to stop at Dunkin Donuts to get breakfast sandwiches if you and the guys can get ready in enough time." Colt definitely knew what to say to get me out of bed and rushing to get ready. Dunkin Donuts breakfast sandwiches were my morning kryptonite. I wasn't a big fan of donuts or their coffee, but if you offered me a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel I could never walk away.

"I'll go wake up Luka and Grey!", I called back as I rushed out of the room. Leaving Colt laughing and shaking his head as he got up from my bed. Luka and Grey were the closest to me in age. They were a year older but we still ended up in the same grade. Truth be told I don't think I could handle the seventh grade without them. In my rush to get to their room, I didn't see Aidan coming out of the bathroom in time and ended up colliding with him. Aidan let out a whoosh of breath and managed to stabilize both of us before I toppled over. Aidan wasn't as tall as Colt, but he still managed to tower over me.

"Where's the fire, Mia? I thought your normal morning routine was to wake up at the last possible minute?" Aidan's trademark smirk was plastered on his face even at 7:00 AM. Of all the guys, Aidan was the one it took me the most time to feel comfortable around. I know he didn't have a good home life before coming to live with David and Maria, and the walls he built around himself were airtight. At least to everyone except the guys and me. I opened my mouth to respond when Colt cut me off.