Everlasting Bonds - COMPLETE

Chapter 11

                                                                                    POV: Lark

I'm sure I looked stupid.

I know I looked insane.

I didn't really care though. The smile on my face that the guys brought back felt too good and I didn't mind if the other people on the subway gave me strange glances.

I was surprised they had been okay with me heading back to my apartment alone. Admittedly, it took 30 minutes to get them to agree, and a promise that I would text one of them when I got back safely.

I couldn't deny that there was an instant connection between the five of us. The second I stepped out of their elevator I had felt like I could finally take a breath. God, I missed them so much.

By the time I got back to my apartment, it was dark out and I welcomed the late-night calm. It had been a long day and all I wanted was to put on my sleep clothes and rest. I quickly climbed up the three floors it took to get up to my apartment and stepped inside.

My apartment wasn't much, but it was home. After everything, I had gone through these past years having space that just mine gave me a sense of peace and hope.

I knew the guys were going to be curious about my past. Keeping this from them felt wrong, but I was terrified.

Terrified of what they would think of me.

Terrified they would reject me.

Terrified that my past might catch up to me, and hurt them in the process.

I stripped off my clothes from the day and turned the water on in the shower. Stepping in, I let the hot water cascade over my body. Washing away my fears and worries, if only for a short while.

I grabbed my lavender body wash and thought back on the events of the day. That smile reappeared on my face like a sunrise breaking across the night sky. They were so different now, but also so familiar. I wanted to get to know them all over again.

Those boys... they were as much mine as I was theirs.

Although their girlfriends would probably disagree with me on that. I had noticed the resentful looks they cast my way, but I wasn't sure if any of the guys noticed as well.

The stab of jealousy I felt thinking about Colt and Aiden dating them surprised me. 

I lathered the shampoo in my hear with more force than necessary as if I was trying to remove that feeling.

I had no reason to be jealous. It's not like I was in a relationship with any of them. Before we were separated, I don't think I was anything more than a little sister to them. Someone to tease and cover for you when snuck out of the house.

Meanwhile, I had harbored little crushes on all of them. The butterflies I felt whenever they had called me Lark, or let me in on their secrets was something I cherished. They made me feel special. Whether they meant to or not.