Page 36 of Somewhere We Belong

I was hard in seconds, my libido was supercharged since I had been back. We had never had this much sex, even when we first started dating.

“Quickie?” I murmured against his lips.

He groaned. “Iris will be here soon.”

He kissed me one more time, pulling away as I pouted. “You're worse than Sol when she doesn’t get her way.” We chuckled, then went silent.

“I miss them,” I whispered my secret.

“Me… me too, Doc.” His cheeks grew pink. “I… I liked having them in the house, it felt?—”

“Like they belonged here.” I finished his sentence.

Theo nodded, not looking at me.

“I’m scared too, big guy,” I said, cupping his cheek.

“What does this mean and why do I feel guilty?” He leaned into my hand.

“We all need to talk,” I said, holding his face in my hands. “If we let this fester, it won’t be good for any of us.”

“You're right, I can’t keep doing this,” he whispered, kissing me softly.

The sound of a car coming up the road reminded us we had company coming. I wasn’t looking forward to being with his sister. Most of Theo’s family was on my shit list and when his parents passed away, so relieved they couldn’t hurt him anymore, he took it hard.

His parents had always treated him like he was a burden because they didn’t understand that he was different. Theo didn’t have an official diagnosis till he was in high school and that broke my heart. He was bullied in school and left to fend for himself, and if it weren't for his brothers, mainly Jude, things would have probably been a whole lot worse for him. His trauma from his parents still lingered with him and his sister still defended them.

Iris had been too young to see what Theo had had to go through, and I understood that she was fed lies and still lived with them when they passed, but she was a grown-ass adult who could have learned the truth. They all suffered at the hands of their parents. No one was left unscathed, and it was hard to see the emotional scars they had left behind on their children.

“I know she doesn’t deserve our kindness, but can we please try and be nice for a bit?” Theo asked.

I would give this man everything and he rarely ever asked for anything. Theo loved his family. No matter what, he yearned to be close to them again.

“Ok, but I’ll be bitter for you.” I pecked his lips.

He shook his head, but I saw a small smile. He got the steaks and broccolini out of the fridge as I whipped the mashed potatoes. Theo went outside before me, and I might have lingered for a bit before I came outside.

“Atlas.” Iris saw me first. “Are you back for a break?”

“No, I’m officially here now,” I said, giving her a hug.

“That’s wonderful.” She gave me a big hug. “I’m sure Theo is excited to have you back.”

When we pulled away, I noticed she was different. Iris was no longer the younger sister she was a year ago, I saw something different in her.

“I’m glad to be back, I miss them,” I said, snuggling up to Colt who wrapped his arm around me.

Iris studied us, looking over at Theo and back to us.

“I’ll be honest, I couldn’t believe Theo and you guys were together.” She smiled. “But how could you not when you see it firsthand. I’m glad he has you guys.”

“Ah, little sis, look at you growing up.” Jude pulled his sister in for a side hug.

“I know I have a lot of growing up to do and I figured, what better way to do it than close to family,” she said, as I looked atTheo who had turned around. “I found a small apartment and a job here.”

“Are you serious?” Jude beamed.

“Yeah, it was either here or Denver and I don’t think I could get used to the city,” she said, looking shy. “I hope that’s alright, I know that we haven’t been too close in the past but I would like to move on from that and?—”

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