Roxy drove to a mall two hours away because she said that’s where the best deals are. During those two hours, I caught up with my sister and realized just how much I missed her. She told me all about college and how she had changed her major from education to medical. I was proud of her. She was smart and I knew she’d be a doctor. She was excited about Cain and Asher’s arrival. She said it had been too long since she had seen her nephews. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot of the mall, she parked her car and dragged me to the entrance.
“Come on. You don’t have many clothes and we need to make you look hot for tonight. We need to show Cayden just what he missed out on,” she said as she pulled me into the biggest store at the mall.
“Wait, what? Tonight’s about having fun, not making anybody jealous,” I protested as she started pulling clothes off the racks and shoving them in my arms as we passed them.
“We will have fun, but we also have to show Cayden that he made a major mistake when he cheated on you,” she said, pushing me into the dressing room.
“Rox, what is all this? Did you even look at any of this before you shoved it in my arms?” I asked, picking up some of the articles of clothing.
“I know what I’m doing, little sis. Have faith in your big sister. Just try the stuff on and let me see,” she said with a laugh.
The next half an hour was spent trying on all the clothes that she shoved in my arms. Surprisingly, most of them fit perfectly and looked awesome on me. When I made it through the pile, Rox took the clothes I didn’t want and then handed me another giant pile. Laughing, I took the clothes from her to try them on. I had forgotten how good my sister was at finding clothes that looked amazing on people and I was grateful that she was with me. I was getting tired of having to borrow clothes from Tegan since most of my clothes were still in Phoenix.
“Okay Rox, I think I have enough clothes now. Let’s find some for you,” I said, coming out of the dressing room with my arms loaded down. I could just barely see over the top of the pile.
“I have clothes. This was just for you,” she said simply, taking some of the clothes to ease my burden.
“Rox, we didn’t come all this way just for me. We are at least finding you something to wear for tonight,” I said firmly, making her smile.
“Okay, let’s pay for this stuff and take it to the car, then we’ll come back and find me something. Oh! And we need shoes. You have all these new clothes, now you need shoes to match. I could use some new shoes as well,” she said, laying her pile on the counter and motioning for me to do the same.
After all the clothes were rung up, Rox handed the lady her credit card. It’s a good thing Dad’s company is doing so good and we have a very healthy checking limit or else I wouldn’t have been able to get all the stuff. We walked out to her car with our arms full of bags, laughing and joking like old times. When the bags were safely in the trunk, we walked back in to continue our shopping.
“Hey Kenz, what about these?” Rox asked, holding up a cute pair of black ankle boots.
“Those are adorable!” I exclaimed, jumping up to grab them from her.
I sat back down to put them on, noticing Rox was off finding other shoes. I stood up when I had them and walked around, instantly knowing they were perfect for me. I had just taken them off when Rox handed me a pair boots that reached my calf. The problem was, the heel was eight inch stiletto.
“No way Rox, not happening,” I protested, shaking my head back and forth.
“Yes way baby sister. You’re at least trying them on,” Rox demanded, pushing me down into my seat and pushing the boots into my hands.
“Rox, I’m a mom, I have twin sons. The last thing I need is to wear those and hurt myself, leaving my sons without a mother,” I tried to reason.
“Oh come on Kenzi. You’ve worn heels higher than this and have been fine. Come on, this is your last night to have fun without worrying about the boys,” she countered.
“Fine. I’ll wear them,” I gave in, slipping my feet into the boots.
“Yes!” she exclaimed, doing her little happy dance.
“This just means I get to pick out a pair of shoes for you that you have to wear,” I said, laughing at her.
“Deal,” she said, zooming off to find more shoes.
Three hours later, we were adding the new bags to what was already in the trunk. Looking at the time, I saw that we had about four hours before we were supposed to be at Tristan’s parent’s house, where he was having the party. His parents were in New York, doing something for the company so we were using their house. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to be back there. The last time I was there was when I had caught Cayden cheating.
“Hey Rox, have you told Tristan about Cain and Asher?” I asked, suddenly realizing that he might not know about his nephews.
“No, I haven’t. I figured that was a job for either you or Cayden,” she answered.
I nodded, leaning my head back against the head rest.
“Kenzi. Kenzi, wake up. Kenzi!” Roxy yelled, shaking me.
I bolted straight up, my head moving frantically, taking in my surroundings. Realizing we were at Mom and Dad’s house, I calmed down. I stepped out of the car and went to the trunk, helping Rox with all the bags.
“Sorry for falling asleep on you,” I apologized as we walked up the stairs to her room.
“It’s no problem. You looked tired,” she answered, dropping the bags and heading down the stairs for more.
“I am. The storm kept me up last night,” I said as I followed her.
“I was going to call you to make sure you to make sure you were okay and then I remembered where you were and figured you were fine.”
“Yeah, I made Cayden sleep in the bed with me. I woke him up when I couldn’t handle the thunder alone anymore.”
“Just be careful sweetie. I don’t want to see you hurt again.”
“I will be. I don’t think I could handle getting hurt again. Not by him.”
“I know sweetie, I know. Now why don’t we stop with the depressing thoughts and get ready for the party?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
The next hour and a half was spent getting ready. I took a shower and blow dried my hair, letting my hair fall in its natural waves. While Rox took a shower, I did my makeup, making sure to keep it light. I had never really liked the feeling of too much makeup. After that was done, I walked over to the bags and started going through them, trying to decide what to wear. I had the contents of the bag sprawled across my sister’s bed by time she walked back in.
“What in the world are you doing?” she asked with a laugh.
“Trying to decide what to wear. We bought all these amazing clothes and I’m having a hard time deciding what to choose,” I answered.
“Here, I’ll help,” she said, coming to stand beside me.
“Thank you,” I said gratefully as she rummaged through the clothes.
“No problem. Here, wear this,” she said, handing me a black dress and the boots she picked out for me.
I gave her a quick hug before going into the bathroom to change. I pulled the dress on and instantly loved it. It was one of the articles of clothing that Rox hadn’t let me see earlier, instead telling me to trust her. The black dress was strapless and came to about mid-thigh. It clung to my body, outlining my curves. I slipped the boots on and opened the door, walking out to see my sister.
“Oh wow. The guys will be all over you tonight. Sit down so we can do your hair,” she said with a smile, pushing me onto her vanity chair after turning it to face away from the mirror.
I laughed, letting her take control. I could feel her pull and tug at my hair and I kept trying to see what she was doing, causing her to laugh at my attempts. Grumbling, I stopped my antics and decided to wait for her to be done. When she was, she stepped back and motioned for me to turn around, which I did. I gasped as I saw what she had done. My hair was up in a neat bun with ringlets framing my face. It was a look that I hadn’t used in a while and it looked great. A smile grew on my face and I whirled around to hug my sister.
“Thank you so much Rox!” I exclaimed.
“No problem Kenz. Now where are these shoes that you picked out for me? I promised I’d wear them tonight,” she asked, holding her hand out for them.
I gave her a mischievous smile before walking to the bag by the door. I pulled out the box and walked across the room before handing it to her. She gave me a weary look before opening the box. Her jaw dropped when she saw what I had picked out. They were six inch white heels that laced up her leg. It wouldn’t be so bad except for the fact that they laced all the way up to the top of her thigh.
“Seriously?” she asked, looking at me as if I was insane.
“Yup. You can pull it off sis,” I said, giving her a smile.
“Well, a deal’s a deal,” she said, turning away to pick out clothes.
Ten minutes later, Rox was dressed in spaghetti strapped white dress that was tight at the top and then flowed out just under the bust, stopping right above her knees. I had to admit it looked really good on her. The shoes that I had picked out went with the dress, and her long straight hair and light makeup completed the look. I gave her a smile, which she returned before we headed out the door to her car so we can go to Tristan’s party.
“Makenzi Elizabeth Fox, you are in big trouble!” Tristan’s voice boomed as I stepped out of Roxy’s car.
My head snapped up to see Tristan standing on the porch with his arms crossed over his chest. If I had doubted the seriousness of his words, the look on his face told me I was indeed in trouble with him. I shot Rox a look before turning to the guy that’s been my surrogate brother from the day I was born.
“What did I do Tristan?” I asked, inching my way to him.
“It’s not what you did. It’s what you didn’t do. How could you not tell me I was an uncle?” he asked, the angry expression melting into one of confusion and hurt.
I stopped in my tracks, guilt overcoming me. My whole life I had been going to Tristan for help and advice. If there was something going on that I needed advice from someone older on, I’d usually go to him or Easton. It was for this reason that I was dreading telling him about the boys. I knew he would take it hard.
“Tristan, I don’t know what to say,” I admitted, slowly walking towards him.
“Why don’t you start by explaining why you didn’t tell me?” he asked, the expression still in his face.
“I didn’t tell you for the same reason I didn’t tell Liam. I couldn’t have Cayden find out and I knew you wouldn’t tell him but I didn’t want to put you in that situation. I didn’t want you to have to question your loyalties and have to decide between me and Cayden. I wanted to tell you, I really did, but I couldn’t do that to you. Please understand that,” I slightly pleaded, coming to a stop in front of him.
“So you were protecting me in your own warped way?” he questioned, his expression starting to melt off his face.
“Yes. I’m sorry Trist,” I said, looking down at my feet.
I heard him sigh and then felt his finger under my chin, lifting my face up. He looked at me for a minute before he pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me. I slid my arms around his waist and rested my head against his chest.
“I don’t like that I haven’t known about my nephews, but I understand why you didn’t tell me. You’re right. That would have put me in a difficult situation,” he said after a minute, stepping away.
I gave him a timid smile, which he returned with his beaming one.
“But, you owe me. Cayden tells me they’ll be here tomorrow. I get to go with you to the airport to get them,” he bargained, causing my smile to grow.
“Deal. Is Cayden here? I still have to ask him if he wants to go with me,” I asked.
“Yeah he’s inside,” he said.
I started to walk past him to the inside, but turned back instead. Tristan’s back was to me and I jumped onto his back, wrapping my arms around his shoulders, something I used to do all the time when I was younger. He grabbed onto my arms, laughing.
“Happy birthday Tristan,” I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you Kenzi Bear. By the way, you look beautiful,” he said, turning his head to give me a smile.
“Thank you,” I replied before jumping down and walking into the house.
Inside, people were rushing around, getting everything ready. I could see them taking all the breakable items and walking upstairs with them, probably to Emily and Trent’s room. That’s what we used to do. I saw some familiar faces, but I was on a mission to find Cayden.
“Kenzi? Is that you?” a voice asked from beside me.
I turned towards the voice and saw Brendon. We’ve been friends for a while but have never been that close. Most of my time was spent with Liam, Tegan, and Cayden, which didn’t leave much time for any other close friendships.
“Hey Brendon. Yeah it’s me,” I said, giving him a smile.
“Wow, you look beautiful Kenzi. I heard you were back but I haven’t seen you so I thought they were all lying,” he said.
“No, I came home when I found out about Dad,” I explained.
“Sorry about that. I know how hard that must be for you,” he said with a sympathetic smile.
“Thanks.”
“So where have you been?” he asked, as we walked through the house. I was keeping an eye out for Cayden. I wanted to ask him now if he wanted to go to the airport with me so I didn’t forget later.
“I’ve been living in Phoenix with my aunt and my sons,” I answered.
He stared at me in shock, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. I knew I’d get that reaction from him and I had to laugh. Now that Cayden knew and the boys would be here the next day, I didn’t see the point of hiding it anymore. People would find out anyway.
“You’re a mom?” Brendon asked incredulous.
“Yes I am. I have two beautiful boys, Cain and Asher. They’ll be here tomorrow,” I answered.
“Wow. You look too good to be a mom,” he said, starting to get over his shock.
“Thanks Bren. Hey, I’ll talk to you later. There’s something I have to do now,” I said having spotted Cayden in the backyard through the window.
I stepped through the back door to see Cayden sitting on one of the chairs around the pool, talking to Liam, Adam and Clark, a couple guys we grew up with. They seemed to be having fun, if the smiles on their faces were any indication. I made my way towards them with a smile of my own. I was a few feet away when Adam looked up and his jaw dropped.
“Holy shit! Kenzi!” he yelled, jumping up and running to me, gathering me in his arms and spinning me around.
“Well hey there Adam,” I said with a laugh.
“I heard you were home but I didn’t believe them. Wow, you look great!” he said, setting me down only to have Clark pick me up and give me a bone crushing hug.
“Hey Clark! I’d like to breath, you know,” I said with a laugh.
“Sorry, it’s just great to see you,” he said, loosening his grip.
“It’s great seeing you guys too,” I answered, walking over to give Liam and Cayden a hug.
“Adam’s right Kenz, you look great,” Liam said.
“Thank you guys. I actually came over to ask you a question Cay,” I said, noticing Cayden’s eyes rake my body. The look in his eyes was one I had seen many times while we were dating.
We laughed as Cayden’s eyes continued to rake my body, taking no notice to the fact that I said I had a question for him.
“Cay! My eyes are up here,” I said, making him snap out of his trance and look up at me.
“What?” he asked, still slightly in a daze.
“I’m pretty sure I know the answer to this, but I’m going to ask anyway. Do you want to go with me to the airport tomorrow?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said and I could see the truth of his words in his eyes.
Before I could say anything, my phone started ringing. I knew from the song that it was a video call from James. A grin appeared on my face as I pulled my phone out of my bra and pressed the answer button. Instantly, the screen was filled with the image of my beautiful baby boys. They were looking at something behind the phone, probably James, but then their eyes looked to the phone and smiles grew on their faces.
“Mommy!” they yelled, making everyone around me look at me.
“Hey babies. How are my boys doing?” I asked.
“Good. Today was fun Mommy,” Cain answered.
“Really? What did you do?” I asked.
“We played in water,” Asher answered.
“Wow! That does sound fun. Mommy misses you guys. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow,” I said, tears starting to gather in my eyes as I realized just how much I missed my boys.
“We miss you too,” Asher said.
I smiled at them before a though occurred to me. I looked up and my eyes focused on Cayden, whose eyes were trained on my phone. A smile was growing on his face at the sound of his sons’ voices.
“Hey babies, I want you to say hi to someone,” I said before walking over to Cayden’s side and turning the phone so Cayden’s face appeared on the screen for the twins to see.
“Daddy!” they screamed, making the smile on Cayden’s face grow.
“Hi,” Cay said after a minute, sounding like he was close to tears.
I watched with a smile stretched across my face as Cayden talked to his sons. I knew the twins were excited about finally talking to Cayden and I could tell Cayden was happy too. After a few minutes, they said bye to each other and I took the phone back.
“Okay babies, I have to go but I’ll see you tomorrow. Mommy loves you,” I said.
“Love you too,” they answered, waving at me.
I gave them one last smile before ending the call and putting my phone back in my bra. When that was done, I turned to Cayden, who was staring at me in amazement.
“Those were my sons,” he said in wonderment.
“Yes they are,” I answered.
Cayden didn’t say anything. Instead, he gathered me in a hug. I hugged him back, knowing what was going through his head.
“Kenzi! I need your help!” Tegan yelled from the doorway.
I pulled away from Cayden and walked over to Tegan, who was giving me a questioning look.
“Cayden was just talking to Cain and Asher,” I answered her unspoken question.
Her eyes lit up and she smiled, causing my smile to grow.
“So what do you need?” I asked.
“Tristan wants us to go get ice,” she answered.
“Then let’s go,” I said, looping my arm through hers and walking to the front door.
Two hours and twelve shots later, I was feeling pretty good. The music was booming, causing everyone to move to the beat. Tegan and I had been dancing for the better part of the two hours and I was having a blast. I was on the makeshift dance floor, swaying my hips to the beat when I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist. Turning my head, I saw Brendon behind me, looking at me with a drunken smile.
“Hey there,” I said, my movements not pausing.
“Hi,” he said as he started to move his hips in time with mine.
I brought my arms up to wrap them around Brendon’s neck behind me. His hands moved to my hips, pulling me tighter against him. I titled my head back to rest on his chest. I was relishing in my newfound freedom, although I knew it was only going to last the night. I hadn’t partied since before I left home and I was realizing how much I had missed it.
When the song ended, I pulled away from Brendon and made my way to the kitchen for something to drink. I had just passed through the doorway when a hand enclosed around my wrist, pulling me down a side hallway. I gave a short cry before I was pulled into a room that I recognized as Trent’s study. When the door shut and my wrist was released, I whirled around to see Cayden leaning against the door.
“What the hell are you doing?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at him.
“I could ask you the same thing. I saw you with Brendon and I saw you with Clark earlier. What in the world do you think you’re doing?” he retorted, looking at me angrily.
“It’s called dancing Cayden and I don’t see how it’s any of your business,” I responded.
“It didn’t look like just dancing to me,” he said, jealousy evident in his eyes.
“Listen to me and listen to me good Cayden. What I do or who I dance with is none of your business or concern. You look all rights to those three years ago when you decided to cheat on me. This whole thing is your own fault and you have no one to blame but yourself. Now move so I can continue to have fun,” I demanded, pushing him aside and walking back towards the kitchen.
“Well, well, well. Look who we have here. I figured you wouldn’t show your face again after you left town like a little baby,” a voice sneered from behind me as I grabbed a bottle from the fridge.
I closed my eyes for a second before turning around to become face to face with Ashley Connors. She was dressed in a dress that didn’t completely cover her ass and her boobs were spilling over the top. I know my dress was kind of short, but everything was covered. She was sneering at me, waiting for to respond to her bait.
“What do you want Ashley?” I asked, opening my bottle and taking a drink.
“Nothing. I was just wondering why you’d come home. It’s obvious Cayden doesn’t want you, after all he did cheat on you,” she responded.
Her words probably would have hurt if I was sober and if I didn’t have the anger from the confrontation with Cayden running through me. Instead, her words made me laugh, causing her to become angry.
“I don’t see what there is to laugh at,” Ashley sneered, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
“I’m sure you don’t. I, however, see plenty to laugh at. For example, you and your childish antics are a great reason to laugh. You see, you think that you ruined my life by sleeping with Cayden and if you had asked me three years ago, I would have agreed with you. Now, however, I know better. You didn’t ruin my life, you made it better,” I explained.
“You’re just trying to make yourself feel better since Cayden chose me over you,” she said and you could tell she was starting to lose her composure.
“Ashley, get it through your head that this isn’t about Cayden. Not completely at least. I thought Cayden was all I’d ever need in my life. I thought that with him, everything would be okay. You sleeping with Cayden taught me that I need to rely and depend on myself before I depend on someone else. So I want to say thank you,” I said.
“Thank you? What for?” she asked incredulously.
“For helping me prove to myself that I can live my life without depending on other people. I will admit that I still love Cayden and I wish we had been able to continue in our relationship, but that didn’t work out. And it was because of this that I finished senior year of high school and all four years of college in three years while juggling a job and twin sons. It’s because of you that I discovered that I can accomplish so much more than I ever thought possible,” I answered, downing the contents of the bottle in my hand.
“Wait, you have twin sons?”
“Yeah. I found out about ten minutes before I found you and Cayden.”
“Are you sure they’re Cayden’s? I mean, you’ve always been pretty popular with the guys around here. Are you sure the brats aren’t one of theirs?” she taunted, causing my blood to boil when she called my sons brats.
“That’s enough,” a voice commanded from the doorway.
Ashley and I both looked to the doorway to see Cayden standing there with a murderous expression on his face. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was slowly advancing on Ashley. His left eye was twitching, something that only happens when he gets so mad that he finds it hard to control himself. I put the empty bottle on the counter behind me, preparing myself to intervene if Cayden couldn’t control himself.
“Cayden! Baby, I was just-,“ Ashley started to say, trying to redeem herself.
“Save it bitch. And don’t ‘baby’ me. I’m not your baby and I never will be. You and I were a one-time thing and nothing more, no matter how hard your pathetic ass tried to turn it into something more. You’re pathetic and I don’t see how any guy would ever want to be with you. Oh, and trying to make other people out to be a slut doesn’t make you any less of one. You accusing Kenzi of sleeping with every guy here doesn’t make up for the fact that that’s exactly what you’ve done. Those boys are mine and I’m not going to let anyone, especially the pathetic likes of you, to tell me otherwise. Those boys are not brats. I haven’t even met them yet and I know they’re better people than you can ever dream of being,” Cayden explained, advancing on Ashley until she was backed against the wall and he was standing in front of her looking like he wanted to kill her.
“Cayden-,” Ashley started to say, tears running down her face but Cayden cut her off.
“Don’t bother; I won’t listen to a word you say. You need to leave. You are not welcome here and I’m giving you ten seconds to get out of my sight before I find someone who would be more than happy to kick your ass,” Cayden advised, stepping back.
Ashley looked at Cayden for a second before scurrying out of the room, throwing me a dirty look over her shoulder.
“Thank you Cay, for standing up for me and the boys. It means a lot,” I said after a minute.
Cayden turned to me and I could see that he was still pissed off. Despite that, he managed to give me a small smile.
“Kenzi, I-“ he started but I cut him off.
“Look Cayden, I appreciate what you just did. I really do. But this is a party and I’ve had enough seriousness. The boys get here tomorrow and I have to go back into complete Mommy Mode, where I put my wants and needs on the back burner and make sure their needs and wants are met. We have the rest of our lives to talk. Right now, I’m going to go have fun with my friends,” I said, starting to walk away.
When I reached the doorway, I threw him a smile over my shoulder so he’d know this is something I had to do to maintain my sanity. He gave me a smile and a small wave before turning around and heading to the backyard, where people were playing beer pong.
“Hey! Where have you been? You disappeared,” Tegan asked, seeming to materialize at my side.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll fill you in tomorrow. Right now, let’s have some fun,” I answered, grabbing her hand and leading her to the dance floor.
The night continued with drinking and dancing. I danced with pretty much every guy there, but it was fun. Tegan was dancing with just as many people as I was. Liam laughed as he watched his girlfriend dancing with all of our friends. When we’d get tired of dancing, we’d go out back and play beer pong. Throughout the night, I felt Cayden’s eyes watching my every move, jealousy burning in his eyes. I smiled and enjoyed my time before I had to wake up the next morning and handle my responsibilities. It was a night of fun and friends and I loved every minute of it.
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Well, here you go! Here's chapter 11. I hope it all makes sense, but if it doesn't, let me know and I'll be sure to fix it. I hope you all like it. Next one is when the twins show up! I can't wait. I'm extremely excited for the next chapter. Well, comment, vote, fan but only of you want to. I love you all!