Chapter Fourteen
Keryth
W hat the hell was I doing? Why had I agreed to this?
“Are you sure Tray will be okay around my girls?” I asked Anton for the hundredth time.
He sent me a soft smile, then glanced over at the teen, who was sitting on the couch in the living room, watching a movie. “He’ll be fine. Because we fed him as soon as he was hungry, his body has already adjusted. The only time fledglings have an issue is when their sire withholds their blood.”
I stared at him, horrified. “People do that?”
He grimaced. “Unfortunately. There are vampires who… want an attack dog, so to speak, so they turn someone and force them into a blood frenzy. But we don’t have to worry about that. Because our fledgling received what he needed right away, his subconscious knows he won’t starve—that we won’t let him starve. Since that’s established, he’ll react to hunger the same way any vampire will, which means it would take days or even weeks before he went into a true frenzy.”
That sounded absolutely horrible. Why were people so gross and hateful?
But still, I didn’t want an accident to happen. Tray would never forgive himself if he hurt someone. I swallowed thickly. “You’re sure?”
He turned to face me fully and grabbed both of my hands in his. “I promise you that I will never put you or your children in danger. I will protect your girls with my life, my darling. I promise you, they’ll be safe here.”
I could feel the warmth radiating from him and through my chest, and I knew he meant every word. So I blew out a slow breath and gave him a nod. “Okay. Okay.”
He sent me a soft smile. “We’re all going to be okay.”
I gave him another nod, and he nodded back.
He’d had a rough time on the phone with Trayben’s parents earlier. They’d been… livid, but not because their son now had to live with a vampire, not because he’d been kidnapped and tortured, not because he’d been turned into a vampire. They were livid because they thought Anton needed to pay them for him. As if we were in some old timey society where parents sold their children to make ends meet.
It was disgusting, and I’d honestly never seen Anton so pissed off before. Tray’s parents were lucky he hadn’t hunted them down and ripped their throats out.
The worst part was that Tray had overheard everything. Anton had tried to keep it quiet, but we were staying close to him, and with Tray’s new vampy senses, he couldn’t help but hear. Anton and I both felt awful. I wished I could’ve shielded him from that.
If they called or harassed Trayben, I was afraid Anton really would go rip their throats out. And honestly, I’d help him hide the bodies. I was sick and tired of their shit. Sick and tired of them making that sweet boy feel bad. I’d been sick of them for years, and I hoped to the Mother of All that we never had to hear from or see them again.
And I prayed that Trayben was able to accept the love I knew Anton and his family were offering, and the love my girls and I offered him too.
Before I could say anything else to Anton, there was a knock on the front door.
Trayben jerked to his feet, looking alarmed for a moment before he blew out a breath and paused the TV. He sent me a sheepish smile as Anton went to answer the door.
“My senses are… high or something,” he murmured.
I nodded. “Makes sense. It’ll probably take a while to get used to them.” I honestly couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to wake up with heightened senses. Smell would probably be the one I liked the least. I imagined how bad the trash can smelled. Blech .
Phaeron, Beshiro, Katja, and Jedediah all came into the living room as well. Jed and Beshiro had been getting some snacks together in the kitchen, and the other two had been giving us space, but they all wanted to greet my kids, apparently.
The door opened, and I heard Remi and Bel’s voices as everyone started talking. I bounced on my toes, tryin’ to see my kids, and then finally, I saw Zellya duck under Anton’s arm and come rushing at me.
I laughed as I knelt down and opened my arms, and she flung herself into them. Wrapping her up tight, I held her firmly as I stuffed my nose in her neck and bit back my tears.
Mother of All, I’d missed my kids.
When I’d been trapped in that cage, I hadn’t thought I’d ever see them again. I shuddered at the thought and tried to press it down. I didn’t need to think about that right now.
To have Zellya here, in my arms, was a miracle. And I wanted to revel in it, not think about what could have been.
I glanced up and looked at Anton, who was speaking with Remi.
It was all thanks to him. If he hadn’t come, I never would’ve seen my girls again.
Saranor threw herself on top of us, and I laughed and grabbed her, holding her just as tightly. Then Gemma and Alsira joined in on the hug, and I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer. I laughed and cried and held each of my kids, giving them hugs and kisses as I thanked the Mother of All for keeping them safe and bringing them back to me.
We stayed that way for a long time before I pushed them back a little and glanced over at Trayben. He was sitting on the back of the couch, watching us with a small but sad smile on his face.
I held out my arm. “Come here, you. You’re a part of this family too.”
He swallowed thickly as his eyes watered. “Are you sure? I don’t want to intru—”
“Of course he’s sure,” Gemma said. “Get over here, Tray.”
I shot her a grateful smile as Trayben joined us. I pulled him into our hug, and the girls engulfed him the same way they did me. I couldn’t believe that only minutes ago, I’d been worried. This was Trayben, one of my kids who needed to be shown love and support.
He was at our apartment so much, he practically lived there already, and the girls loved him. Even the little ones. He was always so sweet with them, and I’d caught him playing dolls or a board game with them a few times when Gemma and Alsira were busy with homework or practice. I wasn’t surprised all four of them loved him so much already.
And I hadn’t even explained everything yet. I hadn’t told them that Trayben was now my… fledgling, and therefore, basically my kid. Just like the four of them.
That was going to be a strange conversation.
After Tray was sufficiently hugged and loved on, we all extracted ourselves from the hug pile, and I stood up with Zellya in my arms. She was too big to hold her like this, but I didn’t care right now. I needed it, and I was pretty sure she did as well.
I turned to Remi and Bel—Oakley was with them too—walked over to them, and gave them each a huge hug without putting Zell down. “Thank you so much for taking care of them. I owe you two.”
Bel said, “You owe us nothing. We loved having them.” He kissed my cheek. “Thank you for trusting us with your kids. I’m so fuckin’ happy you’re okay, cuz.”
I sent him a shaky smile. “Me too.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too.”
Oakley pulled me into a big hug and whispered, “Don’t you ever do that to me again. I was terrified.”
“I’ll do my best.” I squeezed them tighter with one arm since Zell was clinging to me like a monkey—I was clinging to her just as hard.
They released me but kept their hands on my biceps. “Dad said you’re not allowed to scare me again either. I rage-melted a ton of snow over in the west valley.”
My eyebrows rose. “You shifted and blew fire at a meadow?”
They winced. “Um… maybe? I couldn’t help it. No one knew where you were for so long, and when they found you, I couldn’t see you. Then when I found out what happened, I just… lost it.”
“I’m sorry—”
“Don’t apologize. It wasn’t your fault.” Their eyes were watery. “Just… please be careful.”
“I will.” I pulled them back into a hug. “Love ya, Oak, you big scary dragon.”
“I love you too, you little, cute, and not scary at all fae.”
I snorted at that and let them hold me for a few seconds before they finally released me.
Bel swooped in for another hug—I figured this was going to be an ongoing theme today—then he kissed my temple again, and Remi offered a smile. “We’re happy you’re back, but just so you know, we’re offering our babysitting services anytime. They were a pleasure to have in our home.”
That seemed kinda formal, but this was all strange and weird, so I brushed it off and gave him a nod. “Thank you. I might take you up on that… eventually. Pretty sure I’m not letting these four out of my sight for a long time.”
He chuckled. “I don’t blame you.”
To my surprise, Jed said from behind me, “You’re gonna have to fight me on babysitting privileges. I want to babysit my new sisters.”
Remi’s eyes widened, and Bel let out a small gasp of surprise.
I sighed and turned to Jed. “Can we wait until I explain everything to everyone?”
He grinned and winked at me. “Sure thing, Pops.”
For fuck’s sake .
He read my expression and laughed as he headed into the living room, wrapping an arm around Trayben as he went. I checked on the teen, and he seemed flustered but was leaning into Jed’s touch, so I figured he was alright. Jed was tryin’ really hard with him, and it was sweet. And Tray definitely wasn’t panicking or anything like that. I was sure I would feel that through the fledgling bond.
Well, I thought I would. That was the point of the bond, right? To feel if he was hurting or scared or whatever so I could help him? At least I assumed it would work like that. I needed to talk to Anton more about it. With everything else going on, we hadn’t had a chance to sit down and just… chat. About everything. Sigh .
“I’m not waiting out here any longer,” a deep voice said, sounding pissed.
I blinked and turned toward the still-open door, and my eyes widened when Ailin Ellwood walked through, followed by Sebastian Ellwood. What in the world were they doing here?
Remi sighed. “Sorry in advance. My dads wouldn’t stay out of it.”
Bel said, “Come here for a sec, Zell.” Zellya easily went to him, leaving my arms empty.
Ailin’s eyes narrowed in on me, and he rushed forward. For a split-second, a wave of fear rushed through me, and I wasn’t sure what to do. But then I realized this was Ailin, and despite being a big badass scary witch, he was a really good person, and he considered the girls and me a part of his extended family.
So I waited, and sure enough, he wrapped me up in the biggest dad hug I’d ever received. Not that I’d had many in my life, considering I barely knew my own father, but this hug reminded me of my mom. It made me feel safe and cared for in a way I wasn’t used to.
I was always the protector, the provider, the adult.
I was never the child in this kind of situation. Except for now.
Ailin held me and whispered, “I’m so fucking glad you’re okay, kiddo.”
My eyes watered as I hugged him back. “Th-thanks. Me too.”
He held me for a little while before passing me off to his partner, and then I was engulfed in another dad hug from Sebastian. I sank into it, letting the familial love coming from them soothe me.
“Thank fuck you’re okay, Ker. Thank god.”
I gave him an answering squeeze.
When we parted, Ailin said, “Can you tell us everything that’s happened?”
I glanced at my kids and cringed. “Um… maybe later? I don’t want to go into detail when”—I gestured to my kids—“they can hear me.”
“Fair. Can you tell us about your… fledgling then?”
I took a breath. “You heard about that?”
“Yes. Anton’s other fledglings have been keeping us up to date. Can you talk to us about it?”
“Yeah. The girls need to hear this too.”
Anton stepped up beside me and rested his hand on the small of my back. The move settled my nerves, and the vampire said, “Let’s sit in the family room. There’s plenty of space for everyone.”
And there was. He had the biggest sectional couch I’d ever seen running along the walkway between the living room and kitchen, the other half of the L-shape up against one wall. Plus, another big couch along the other wall and several armchairs strewn about. The family room was bigger than my entire apartment, and it was clearly set up for guests.
I found myself sitting on the sectional with Zellya on my lap, Anton close by, and Trayben in between us. Saranor was on my other side with Gemma and Alsira beside her. Ailin, Sebastian, Remi, Bel, and Oakley were on the other large couch and the armchairs beside it, and the other vampires were sitting in the other armchairs around the room.
And everyone was staring at me.
I felt my cheeks heat under the attention.
When I glanced at Anton, he sent me a warm smile, so I took a breath and told everyone about the two of us turning Trayben and now being his sires. My family members all seemed stunned, but no one looked upset, thank goodness.
After everyone had enough time to absorb the information, Ailin cleared his throat and pulled a pouch off his belt, opening it and playing with something inside.
“As you know, we have a few vampires in our coven,” he said. “Years ago, one of my kids and I figured out a spell to protect vampires from the sun. I imbued the spell into different jewelry and whatnot over the years to keep my coven members safe, no matter what. Since Keryth’s a part of my family now, I wanted to extend that same courtesy to his fledgling and his… other vampires.”
Ailin pulled his hand out and opened his palm, showing off several rings. “These will protect the wearer from the sun. It won’t change your instincts, so you probably won’t want to go out in the sun, but it won’t hurt you. I made enough for all of you, plus a few extras because it’s a good idea to wear more than one, just in case some asshole decides to hurt you by stealing your ring or whatever.” He shrugged and gestured to me.
I was in shock, but I slid Zell off my lap, stood, and took the rings, carrying them back to my seat, staring at them in wonder. I could feel the magic, the power, inside of them, and it was great. And terrifying. Ailin Ellwood was a beast when it came to magic, and these small rings and necklaces packed a powerful punch.
“Everyone can have a ring and a necklace. The one necklace with a trombone charm is for Trayben. I heard he plays the trombone?”
Trayben’s eyes were wide as he nodded.
Ailin gave him a smile, and I couldn’t help the rush of affection I felt toward the older man. He truly did care about people, especially those he considered his people. And apparently, I was a part of that, and now, so was Tray.
He cared enough to find out details about the teenager, and then he made sure to find a charm that would mean something to him. That was so incredibly kind.
Tray loved the trombone. His fae nature seemed to lean toward music, just like Bel and Alsira’s did. It was how he and Alsira first became friends.
And now Ailin gave him a trombone necklace.
I wasn’t sure I could ever be more fond of the witch than I was right now.
Ailin said, “It protects against the sun, as well as a few other things that I can go over with you later. Like I said, it’s a good idea to have more than one piece so your enemies can’t thwart you so easily.”
I stared at him with wide eyes. “Thank you, Ailin. Thank you so much. The trombone charm is amazing, and this is going to be so helpful. I… I’ve been so worried about having him outside and even inside with the windows, and I—” I cut myself off, staring at the witch. “Thank you.”
He smiled. “It’s no problem, Ker. You’re a part of the Ellwood coven, and now, so is Trayben.”
That made my eyes watery, and I couldn’t help but say, “Thank you,” again.
Ailin surprised me by standing up, walking over to me, and giving me a hug. “You don’t need to thank me.” When he released me, he gave Trayben’s shoulder a squeeze. “Welcome to the family, kiddo.”
Trayben gasped, then finally whispered, “Thank you. For everything.”
Ailin gave his shoulder another squeeze, then walked back to his seat.
Anton cleared his throat. “This is very thoughtful of you, Ailin, and I greatly appreciate it.”
Ailin stared at him, then cracked a smirk. “But you don’t need it because you’re old as fuck and can go out in the sun already? I’ve heard rumors about things ancient vamps can do, but I’ve never seen it for myself. You’re old as fuck, though. I can feel that in your magic.”
Anton barked out a laugh. “Well, yes. My children—” He cleared his throat. “My four eldest children and I can tolerate the sun already. We don’t necessarily like it, and it can still make us sluggish if we haven’t fed properly, but the sun won’t harm us. But we still appreciate the thoughtful gift. And I very much appreciate you giving Trayben one. That is one less worry I’ll have.”
Ailin shrugged. “No problem, ancient one.”
Anton snorted at that with a grin.
Jedediah said, “I love that. Ancient one. Maybe I should start calling you that.”
“Please don’t.” Anton sounded exasperated, which I noticed he normally did when dealing with Jedediah.
Jed just laughed, then said to Ailin, “Thank you for the gifts and for helping my new baby brother.”
Anton sighed, but Ailin only shrugged. “No problem.” After a few seconds, Ailin gestured with his hand, indicating the whole house. “I felt the wards around your home. I’m glad you allowed Tan to place them there, and I can feel Garrick’s, Remi’s, and Bel’s magics mixed in, which strengthens them exponentially. If Tan hadn’t already added me in, I’m not sure I could’ve broken them to get through. I’d like your permission to add my own and Seb’s magic too. The more magic in the wards, the stronger they’ll become. No one will be able to get through them.”
It was more a statement than a question, and I had a feeling that even if Anton said no, Ailin would do it anyway.
Luckily for everyone, Anton said, “I would appreciate that, Ailin. Thank you again.”
“I need to keep my family safe. Keryth and his girls—and Trayben too—are precious to all of us.”
Anton inclined his head. “They are to us as well.”
“Good.”
The two of them stared at each other for a long moment and seemed to come to an understanding. I was maybe a little offended that I wasn’t included in this whole thing, but then again, this wasn’t my home.
Well, I suppose it was about to be, but Anton had lived here for years—probably a lot longer than I realized—so it made sense for Ailin to speak to him about it.
Remi cleared his throat. “I wanted to give you an update. This is directly from Tan and Garrick. They’ve run the prints they picked up at the site but haven’t gotten any hits yet. They have a whole team dedicated to finding the bastards who helped Ralodove kidnap the fae. So far, in every instance of this person or persons on camera, they’re hiding their faces. But Garrick’s team isn’t going to stop until they find them.”
“So you have no leads?” Phaeron asked, sounding pissed and surprising me. Out of all of the vampires, he seemed the least likely to care about anything to do with Tray and me.
Remi winced. “No new leads, no.”
Phaeron clenched his jaw, looking like he was biting back every curse word he knew. And considering how old he was, that was likely a lot.
I probably shouldn’t have, but I felt kind of… honored that he cared so much. Not that I would say anything to him since he didn’t even like looking at me, but still.
Trayben grabbed my arm, clinging to me, so I turned my gaze to him. He was hunched in on himself, looking upset and possibly a little… scared. I winced. I couldn’t blame him. I didn’t like thinking about the fact that the man who’d actually kidnapped me, the one who’d reached into my car and slammed my face into the steering wheel, was still out there, running free.
Free to come find me and take me again.
I shivered at the thought and grabbed Tray’s hand, holding on tight and leaning into him so he’d know he wasn’t alone.
“We’re safe here,” I whispered.
He nodded but didn’t stop clinging to me.
I clung right back.
I could see and feel how angry Anton was, and I had the feeling he was about to yell at Remi, even though it wasn’t his fault. So I reached behind Trayben and placed my hand on Anton’s bicep. He froze, closed his eyes, and took a few seconds before opening them and staring at my wolf shifter friend. “Thank you for the information. Please keep me posted. As soon as you have a name, I’d like to know.”
“Why? So you can rip out their throat too?” Ailin asked.
I winced because my girls were right fuckin’ here.
Anton inclined his head. “Perhaps. But not until I get some answers first.”
Ailin gave him a sort of nod and shrug, and I had a feeling he approved of that response. If I had to guess, Ailin was happy Anton ripped out Ralodove’s throat. I couldn’t say I was upset about it either.
I went to pull my hand away, but Anton grabbed it with his own and gave my fingers a squeeze. I twisted my hand around to grab his as well, lacing our fingers together and holding it tight while Ailin brought up some case they still needed Anton’s help with in Brinnswick.
When he mentioned entire vampire dens were being slaughtered, I stood and took my girls into a room nearby. I needed to talk to them anyway, and I really didn’t need them having nightmares. Especially since we were about to move into a vampire den, for fuck’s sake.
We found ourselves in a library of sorts—and I couldn’t believe Anton’s house was big enough to have its own library, for cryin’ out loud.
Once the door was shut and we had some relative privacy, I said to my girls, “Soooo… Tray’s my fledgling, as you heard. Um, so that means I have to stay close to him—and Anton—for the next few months at least, so… uh… Anton said we can move in. Here, in this house. With him, Tray, and the other vampires.”
They stared at me for a long moment before Alsira asked in a loud whisper, “Are you telling us that we’re moving into a mansion?”
“Um… yes. He wants us to move in with him. For good. Not just for a few months or whatever. Anton’s children—um, Phaeron, Beshiro, Katja, and Jed—all put together some bedrooms for you guys. Apparently, there are enough rooms for you each to have your own. And Tray, of course.”
“I get my own room?” Gemma asked, looking surprised and excited.
“Yes. If we take him up on his offer. But I want to make sure it’s okay with you guys before I tell him yes.”
“It’s more than okay!” Alsira said, smiling wide. “I get my own room!”
Gemma nodded. “Yes. Definitely okay, Ker.”
I glanced at the little kids, and Saranor offered me a small smile. “That sounds awesome. Bel said Anton has an indoor pool here.”
I nodded. “I haven’t seen it yet, but I heard that too.”
“I want to see my new room!”
I smiled at her and ran my hand through her hair, tucking it behind her ear, before turning my attention to Zellya. “What about you, peanut?”
She bit her lip and glanced at the ground. “If I… uh… if I… need you, can I still…”
I bent down and scooped her up into my arms. “If you need me, you can come find me in my own room. I have a big bed too, so you can come sleep in there if you want to.”
She glanced at me through her hair. “Are you sure?”
“Of course, peanut. You can always come get me if you need me.”
She took a deep breath, then nodded. “Okay.”
“So what do you think?”
She nodded. “This place is pretty. I like it.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yeah.”
I kissed her cheek and hugged her for a moment before setting her on her feet. “Why don’t we find Jed and see if he’ll show us your new rooms?”
I’d taken a peek earlier when Anton showed me a room beside his own that he’d set aside for me. I had mixed feelings about that room. I was grateful for it—I hadn’t had my own room since I was a little kid, before my sisters were born—but I’d thought… I’d thought he’d want me in his own room. It hurt a little knowing that he didn’t.
Or well, I knew that was ridiculous. I knew he wanted me close to him. I even knew he’d given me the room out of respect. He’d given it to me so I wouldn’t feel pressured.
But a part of me wished there weren’t enough bedrooms in this gigantic place so I’d be forced to sleep in his bed. I wanted to be close to him almost as badly as I needed to breathe.
Taking a breath, I pushed those thoughts away and led my troops back into the living room, walked over to Jed, and asked, “Would you mind showing the girls their new rooms?”
He lit up like I’d given him a present. “Of course!” He stood and waved us all on. “Follow me, little sisters. We bought some things for your rooms, but if there’s anything you want to change, just let me know. I love decorating, so we can redo your rooms and make them your own, no problem.”
“Thank you, Jed,” Alsira said, sending him a smile.
Before we left the living room, I glanced back and said, “Tray? Do you want to come with?”
I felt terrible for him. I could tell he was uncomfortable being around so many people he didn’t know very well, even if one of those people was his sire. And I felt bad that I’d taken the girls aside to talk to them without him, likely making him feel like he didn’t have a place here with us either. But that just wasn’t true.
Dammit . I should’ve thought about his feelings and brought him into the library with us. I was an ass.
The teen nodded and walked over, and once he was close, I pulled him into a half-hug, giving him a good squeeze. He sighed and sagged into me for a few seconds before we headed off toward the stairs and a very talkative Jedediah.
Like I knew he would, Jed made a big deal of showing off the girls’ new rooms, and I couldn’t help but smile at their excitement.
I was going to have to figure out how to pack up our apartment and get our things here, and I needed to talk to Anton about paying rent or whatever. I cringed at the thought. Surely, he wouldn’t charge me more than I was already paying for the apartment, right? This house was huge, but we were only renting out the rooms and sharing everything else.
With a sigh, I rubbed my face with my free hand, keeping my other around Trayben, who hadn’t left my side even once during our little tour.
I really needed to speak with Anton.
Hopefully this wasn’t a huge mistake.
Anton’s face went slack. Then I saw a flash of anger move across it before it transformed into something like sadness. The expression was made more defined by how pale and thin he was. Was he getting thinner? Paler? Why? What was going on with him?
When he spoke, his voice was quiet. Careful. “Keryth, I do not want your money.”
My brow furrowed, and I shook off all other thoughts to focus on this. “But I need to pay at least part of the mortgage. My entire family is living here. I need to pay rent.”
We were standing by the front door after everyone else had left. My girls were in the kitchen with Tray and Jed, finding a snack, and I had no idea where the other vampires went. They’d cleared out quickly when the others went home.
Anton sighed, and the sound went on for a long time. “My darling, I paid for this home a very long time ago. I only pay for insurance on the property and house these days, which is not a hardship at all. I’m very old and made investments over my lifetime. Money isn’t something that I need to concern myself with, and now that you’re with me, neither do you.”
I almost snorted. Yeah, that wasn’t happening. What did he think? That I was just going to… start using his money? Yeah, right.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am.”
“Anton, I have to pay you rent. Maybe you don’t have a mortgage anymore, but surely, you pay for utilities.”
“I do, but like I said, money is no longer a worry of mine. I have plenty to go around.”
“But—”
He reached out and took my hands. “My darling, why in the world would I want to take money from you when I don’t need it? Why would I ever want to burden you further? Save your money, spend it on your kids, or do whatever you need to with it, but do not even think about giving it to me. I won’t accept it.”
I stared at him for a long moment before I groaned and pulled my hands away from his so I could rub at my face. “Anton, I can’t just live here for free.”
“You can buy groceries.”
Dropping my hands, I let out a humorless laugh. “But you and your children don’t even eat! The food would be for me and the girls.”
He shrugged. “Like I said, your money’s not good here.”
I groaned in frustration again, turned on my heel, and marched away from him and toward my new apparently rent-free bedroom. For fuck’s sake .
Not paying anything to live here wasn’t going to help me feel like this place was home. Not contributing only made me feel like we were… guests here. Like we were only visiting or something.
Like, not that I wanted to think about it, but what if something happened to Anton? What were we supposed to do then? I obviously couldn’t afford this place on my own, even if it was just the insurance and utilities. We’d be out on our asses with nowhere to go.
At least if I was paying rent, I could ask him to write up some kind of contract or something, something that might hold up if his kids ended up in charge of the property.
But this… this felt like we were just passing through. Like we were only staying for a short while.
I sighed when I shut myself in my room and leaned back against the door.
Was I doing the right thing? Should I really move my kids in here? Should I really trust… all of this?
If I wasn’t paying rent here, then maybe… maybe I should keep the apartment. Just in case. As a backup.
The last thing I wanted was to wind up on the street because I trusted someone I barely knew.
Yeah, he was my viramore. I could feel that. I could admit it, and I wanted to see where this thing between us went.
But… did that automatically mean I could trust him fully? With not only my own well-being, but my kids’?
I wanted to say yes, but… but what if I was wrong?
My instincts told me we were safe here, but… what if Anton changed his mind? Could I really keep my kids’ well-being and safety on his whim alone?
With another sigh, I decided to keep the apartment, just in case.
At least for now.
Maybe… maybe if Anton proved to be true to his word, I’d let it go. But not right now. Not yet.