Page 46 of Raise 'Em Up

I hold my breath as she does the maneuver, then burst out in a cheer at the end. “Fuck, yeah!”

“Holy shit, I think we actually have a chance.” I clap my hands as the guys place Rylee on her feet. Len and Teo high-five, and Felicia congratulates Rylee.

“Nice to know you didn’t have full confidence in us,” Lennox says, raising a brow.

“Don’t hold it against him.” Donny chuckles. “You know he’s a cheerzilla around this time of year.”

“Vegas, baby, here we come!” Rylee shouts, and the whole room cheers.

I smile, feeling confident in our routine. And with Missi gone, we’ve had little to no fuck-ups since the drama is gone. Well, for the most part. Sometimes we get snippy moments like today, but it could be because we’re all under a lot of pressure to do well. Mostly that is my doing, but still.

“How are you doing, baby?” Rylee asks as we walk out of the gym.

“Good,” I tell her. “Life is good, you know? Mom is getting better, Dean Fuckhead is gone, and while his evil spawn is still here at the school, none of us are forced to deal with her bullshit anymore.”

“Thank God for that. I told myself I’d never be able to take another person’s life. But do you know how many times I’ve thought about finding the nearest sharp object and ramming it into the side of her throat, laughing as she bleeds out?”

I come to a stop and gape at my girlfriend.

“What?” She blinks at me innocently. “Too dark?”

“Just a bit.” I huff out a laugh.

“I might be all cute and shit, but I will stab a bitch.” She grins maniacally.

“Noted.” I nod. “Guys, we can’t ever leave Rylee alone. We will have to bail her out of jail, again.”

“Oh, fuck off.” Rylee laughs, pushing at my arm.

“I still can't believe you got arrested for having sex in a car,” Donny says.

“You're just pissed it wasn’t with you.” Mateo rolls his eyes.

“Well, yes! It was on my bucket list.”

“Do I want to know what else is on there?” I ask, raising a brow.

Donny grins. “Not if you want to keep believing I’m a normal guy.”

“No one thinks you're normal, Donny.” Mateo snorts.

“You're all fucking bullies.” Donny pouts.

“Be nice to my baby,” Rylee scolds us as she slips under Donny’s arm. He pulls her close and grins like he just won the lottery.

They all keep up with the banter, getting each other going as we walk back to the Cheer house. I keep back a few steps and watch, smiling as I look at my best friends and our girl.

There was a point when I didn’t think that this would be possible. With everything we’ve been through, I’m just happy we were given this chance. And I pray with everything in me it stays like this.

I lock the truck after grabbing the bags from the store, then make my way into the Cheer house.

It's weird having so much free time lately. I'm used to fighting almost three nights a week, and not dealing with split knuckles, broken ribs, and cracked cheekbones has been a nice break.

Opening the door, Donny rips the Chinese bag from my hand and I roll my eyes, but don't fight him on it.

He's been struggling lately. Everyone can see it, but he's not ready to open up to us. Which is fine. We will be here when he is ready.

“Did you get the strawberries and the chocolate, and the stuff to make brownies?” he asks, peeking into the bags I set on the counter.

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