Colby's POV
Blending into normal life felt much harder than I thought it would be.
I was trying to stay positive for Julia's sake.
Even though I didn't know how to mold myself into a normal life or career, I didn't regret my choice.
Seeing Julia safe and sound with her siblings around was enough for me. The way she treated them with so much love and respect warmed my heart and made it all worth it.
Julia wanted nothing but the best for the four kids who had a hard life.
I wished that Julia would take that kindness and consideration and put some of it towards herself though.
She was trying to stay as positive as possible but I could see the pain buried deep behind her blue eyes.
She didn't know that I would hear her crying in the middle of the night. She didn't notice that I could see her forcing smiles sometimes.
I didn't know what I could do for her though. I knew that only 8 months ago, she was in a literal brothel ran by her father.
I had to be more patient and hope one day she would open up to me.
"Have you made any decision for dinner?" I asked as I drove down the road.
"She wants Chinese!" Jenna said with a laugh as I shook my head. "Not surprised but is that really what you want?" I asked and glanced over at Julia.
"Yeah. I just wanna wear some sweatpants and cuddle on the couch. I'm not hungry now though so can we just go home and order in?" She said causing me to grin.
"We can do that." I said with a nod. "You guys are so gross." Carter said from the back seat. "Get used to it." Julia said with a laugh as I kissed her hand.
"I think it's cuuuuuute." Juniper sang as I pulled into the driveway. "You think everything is cute." Sam retorted. "She's five. Everything IS cute." Jenna said as I laughed.
"Oh to be five again." Julia hummed as I parked the car. "Alright, homework time. Then we can have Chinese and a movie night." Julia said as we all got out of the car. "Can't we do homework after?" Sam groaned.
"Nope, homework first always." Julia said and pulled Juniper out of her car seat, setting her on her feet.
"Faster you get to it, the faster it gets done." She said as I chuckled. "That's what she said." I mumbled causing Julia to smack my arm. "Stop it." She said with a giggle then went to go into the house.
When we got inside, Julia brought Juniper to the kitchen and the older kids went to their rooms to do homework, except for one.
"Hey, Colby?" Jenna asked awkwardly, causing me to turn towards her. "What's up?" I asked as she shifted uncomfortably.
Seeing Jenna like that reminded me a lot of Julia. The two girls had very similar features and mannerisms which made sense since they were literally sisters.
Jenna was usually much more sure of herself though, so seeing her this awkward and uncomfortable was strange.
"Uh...how do you like...date?" She said awkwardly causing me to chuckle. "Ah...okay." I said with a nod. "Don't tell Julia I'm asking this..she's gonna make it weird and might not even let it happen." Jenna said quickly.
"Don't know if I can do that, but tell me the whole situation." I said then sat on the couch. "Colby, please don't tell her." Jenna begged causing me to laugh.
"Okay, well the first step to dating is not keeping secrets. So, if you're putting yourself in a situation that's not safe then I have to tell her." I said with a shrug.
