"Can we go off on our own?" Carter asked with a hopeful expression.
I immediately wanted to say no because the thought scared me but Colby was here and watching out for them.
With how quickly he came to my aid I actually trusted him with their lives.
"Just be careful...and watch your surroundings. I'm serious." I said as their faces lit up. "Really?!" Sam asked as I nodded.
"I'll keep an eye on you from afar." I said with a sigh.
"Works for me." Carter said as he and Sam ran off to go do whatever.
I sighed then went to the ball pit where Colby and Juniper were hanging out.
I found myself looking around a lot, trying to keep an eye out for the boys.
It made me nervous that they were off on their own but we were in a Chuck E Cheese, the chances of them being put in danger was small.
"Hey, I didn't mean to cause any issues." The guy from before said as I nodded.
"He's protective." I said, keeping my eyes on Colby. He was watching Juniper as she jumped up and down happily.
"Yeah, well I just think you're gorgeous but since you have a boyfriend I guess I'll leave you alone." The guy said as I nodded.
"Thank you, I appreciate the compliment though." I said and shifted uncomfortably as Colby looked up at me. His face went hard as I shook my head, trying to show him that it was okay.
"It was nice to meet you. I have to go now though." I said then started to walk away. The last thing I wanted was for there to be a fight in the middle of this place.
When I got to the edge of the ball pit Colby looked up at me.
"Are you okay?" He asked as I nodded. "I'm fine." I said then looked at Juniper.
"You having fun, kid?" I asked as she nodded and giggled.
It made me so happy that we took the step to come here.
We ended up staying there for a while before Juniper started to get tired and cranky. "Jenna texted for me to pick her up." Colby said as I nodded.
"We can swing by on the way home." I said and got Juniper situated in her car seat.
"Did you guys have fun?" Colby asked as Sam and Carter nodded.
"Yeah, we gotta go to an arcade for older kids next time." Carter said as I nodded. "Yeah, fourteen is a little old for Chuck E Cheese but you are such a good sport." I said then got in the car.
"Juniper deserves it." Carter said with a shrug.
I loved how much my siblings loved eachother. Sure, they would fight and argue from time to time but they've been through so much trauma and change together that their bond was unbreakable.
They all looked out for eachother as best as they could.
When we got to the movie theater I looked over at Colby. "You should go get her." I said as he shook his head.
"She'll come out." He said and looked at the front door of the building.
After only a couple seconds of waiting, Jenna and some scrawny boy came out.
I watched as they shared an awkward hug then Jenna made her way over to the car.
As soon as she saw me her cheeks went flush and she looked away before getting in the car.
"Ugh. I didn't know you were gonna bring them all." She grumbled and got in. "Sorry, kid. We were out and decided to just swing by and get you." Colby said as I nodded.
"I didn't see the totally awkward hug you just shared." I said with a small laugh as Jenna groaned.
"Stop!" She groaned causing Juniper to wake up. "SISSY I'M SLEEPING." Juniper said angrily causing me to laugh.
"Go back to bed, love. Jenna won't wake you up again." I said as Colby started driving us home.
Juniper was a sweet little girl, but when you disrupted her slumber, she was not a happy camper.
When we got home, I brought Juniper up to bed and tucked her in.
It was a weekend so the older three could really stay up as long as they wanted as long as they were quiet so I didn't have to really check on them.
I did however want to check on Jenna to see how her date was.
"Knock knock." I said and pushed her door open slightly since it was cracked.
"Hey." She said, looking up from her book. "How'd it go? You don't have to go into detail, I just wanted to know." I said with a small smile.
"It went well. I think I really like him." She said causing me to smile. "Good. You deserve it. Unless he makes you uncomfortable, then I'll suck Colby on him." I said causing her to laugh.
"He's fine for now. Thanks for letting me go." She said as I walked over and ruffled her hair. "Of course. Glad you had fun. Love you." I said then kissed her head.
"Love you too, Jules." She said as I turned to leave.
When I got to the bedroom, Colby was sitting on the bed, playing on his phone.
"What are you up to?" I asked and went to sit on his lap. "Just scrolling." He said with a sigh then wrapped his arm around me.
"I wish you could talk to Sam." I said quietly. "I miss him. I just can't put you in danger by talking to him. Maybe after a year or two it'll feel more safe. He understands." He said as I brushed his hair back from his forehead.
"Just because he understands doesn't mean it's okay." I said quietly. "I guess." He said, not looking at me.
I could tell something was bothering him but I really didn't want to pry. He was clearly upset that his life had flipped and I couldn't blame him.
It must have been unbelievably hard to go through what he has been, but I didn't know how to help unless he opened up to me.
That's where our relationship struggled.
Life felt so peaceful with a hint of stress, but we hardly opened up to eachother. Colby knew my feelings most of the time but I never knew his.
It felt like I was trying to break a wall down that didn't want to be broken to begin with.
It was something we needed to work on.
