It's been a few days since the fight between Damon and Karson. And to say it's been an eventful few days would be an understatement. After the police arrived at the gym, they immediately took Damon and his men into the police station while a few officers stayed back with us.

Jason was announced dead at the scene when one of the officers shot him in the back, right through his heart. It was an insane shot. The officer aimed to where he was careful not to hit me. We talked after everything settled down and he made sure that he shot him in the chest when he noticed my body wasn't directly in front of him. Bullets don't usually go all the way through, but he wanted to be extra cautious just in case.

After the chaos of that night, we all decided to stay at my house just to be safe. I helped Karson clean his busted knuckles while I carefully placed ice on his bruised abdomen. There was a bruise near the right side of his forehead so he placed a small bag of ice there while I helped clean him up.

I was just glad that Jason was officially out of my life. When I saw his lifeless body laying there, I felt nothing. I felt numb. Seeing him lay there as my legs were covered in his blood didn't make me feel anything. I thought something was wrong with me because I didn't feel any remorse that he died. I even broke down in tears, thinking about how bad of a person I was since I wasn't sad that I watched a man die in front of me.

That night, Karson held me in his arms as he told me it was okay to not feel sad. He told me it was okay because after everything he put me through, I shouldn't feel sorrowful. I should feel the pressure fall off my shoulders since I didn't have to worry about him hurting me or my siblings anymore. I wasn't a bad person for not feeling sad about the death of someone who caused me more than enough pain.

I really didn't know what I would do without Karson. I remember saying at the beginning of the year that I couldn't focus on any guys because I still had to figure out how to raise my siblings. I only thought about how I was going to be able to provide for Jace and Liv. At the beginning of the year, I didn't know who I was. I wasn't the Dakota I knew now.

After everything I've been through the past few months, it's helped me realize that I couldn't have done everything on my own. Although I told myself I wouldn't get distracted by any guys, I'm glad I did. They ended up helping me find who I really was, and they helped me find the courage to open up to the people around me. They really saved me, especially Karson.

The day after the fight, Karson decided to make our relationship official. We both knew what we meant to each other and we both knew how much we really loved each other. A label didn't determine our love for each other, but it was finally nice to say that Karson was my boyfriend. Although it took us quite a while to determine who we were to each other, it was all worth it in the end. Our love was powerful.

My siblings, Braxton, and Colton were happy for us when we told them that we really did love each other. They all shook their heads while Braxton handed a twenty dollar bill to Jace. I guess they made a bet a few weeks ago on how long it would take until we got together. Jace guessed less than a month while Braxton guessed two months. Jace got the money. They all were waiting for this moment to happen because they could see way before we even liked each other that something was bound to happen.

When Olivia came home after the fight, we told her about Karson and I. She squealed in excitement and started rambling to Colton about how she knew it was going to happen. She kept saying that she saw the way Karson would look at me when I wasn't looking at him. I was a little uncertain if that was true, but when I looked at Karson and saw a faint blush on his cheeks, I got my answer.

When she calmed down, I also ended up telling her about what happened the night when she was gone. I briefly explained that Jason was out of our lives forever and we no longer had to worry about him or our mother ever again. We were finally safe. When she asked about Karson and I's bruises, we just told her that we ran into some of Jason's men and left it at that. She didn't question it, because I knew if I told her more, she wouldn't quite understand it. When she got older, I'd eventually tell her the whole story, but for right now, she didn't need to know every detail.

I lightly shook my head to clear my thoughts as I felt a warm hand holding mine. I glanced up and was met with beautiful green eyes that I absolutely adored. I will never get tired of staring into his eyes. "Yes?"

"What do you want to eat?" He quietly asked as I briefly glanced at the menu below me. My eyes scanned through the food items until a straw wrapper hit my forehead, causing my vision to falter as I whipped my head up.

"Oops," Braxton smiled as he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. He looked at the straw that was held in his hand before he quickly pushed the straw into my littles sister's fist. She was now holding the straw, her blue eyes studying it as a wash of confusion washed over her face.

To try and get everything back to normal, Colton decided it was a good idea to all go out to eat. His words were 'We are now free so we shall celebrate'. Braxton mentioned something about celebrating Jason's death but I smacked him upside the head before he could finish that sentence.

So right now, Braxton, Colton, Olivia, Jace, Karson, and I were all squished together in a small booth at a diner only a few blocks away from my house. We decided it was a good idea to go out to eat after the police had to question us another time, saying they still needed a few answers before they finally let us go. They mentioned that Damon and his men were in jail while Jason's body was being buried in some cemetery a few towns over. His daughter organized a funeral but no one came.

I tried to shake away my thoughts about Jason and Damon because I didn't want them to ruin this one time. They didn't deserve to have a place in my mind.

I huffed, rolling my eyes as my gaze darted around the table. Colton was on the outer side of the booth as Olivia sat next to him. As we went further into the booth, Braxton was next to Olivia, Jace was next to Braxton, and I was next to Jace. Of course I was sitting next to Karson who was also at the end of the curved booth.

"I don't want this," Olivia whined as she threw the straw at Jace. His body sunk back into the booth as the straw hit his cheek. He glared at our little sister as her breathless giggles filled the diner.

I shook my head as I bit my lower lip to suppress a smile that threatened to break through. I blocked out everyone's voices as I turned to look at Karson once again. He raised one of his eyebrows at me before asking the same question again. "Whatever you're getting is fine."

He nodded his head as his eyes briefly scanned the menu. He held the menu in his hands, his grip tight as I let my eyes discreetly trail up his arms. The tattoos on his arms were somewhat covered under his t-shirt, only peeking through when he raised his arms.

"How are you doing, Ryder?" I carefully asked, my voice low as he gave me a sideways glance. He didn't talk much after the fight against his father, and I wanted to make sure that he was okay.

"Honestly, better than I thought," he whispered only loud enough for me to hear as his grip loosened on the menu. I heard everyone around us talk amongst themselves as we kept our voices down.

"It's weird, isn't it?" I sighed as my body briefly stiffened when I felt someone's hand rest on my upper thigh. I immediately relaxed when I realized it was Karson's hand as his thumb lightly trailed along my inner thigh.

"What's weird?" He asked as he tilted his head down to hear me better.

"This feeling. Everything feels surreal, almost too good to be true," I breathed, my voice small as I glanced at the people around us. We were all lucky. "After everything we've been through, we got our happy ending."

I tilted my head to look at him as his gaze stayed on me. Something flashed through his emerald eyes as he gently squeezed my thigh under the table. "We deserve it, Dakota. This is our new beginning."

"Have I told you that I love you?" I gingerly asked as I raised one of my eyebrows at him. I watched his teeth take in his lower lip as he tried to suppress the small smile that threatened to slip through.

"I think you have, but I'm not sure," he played along as his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "Actually, I don't think you have."

"Really? I swear I have," I playfully frowned as I kept my eyes on him. I could feel my heart beat in my chest as a warm feeling erupted in my stomach. Just looking into those eyes gave me butterflies all over.

"Maybe say it again to see if it rings a bell," he offered as his eyes flickered to my lips for a split second. I choked back a laugh, trying to keep a straight face as I nodded my head.

"I love you," I whispered softly into his ear. I smiled against his ear as I rested my hand on his shoulder to lightly pull him down to where my lips reached his ear.

"Oh, you know what? I think you have said it before. My bad, Anderson," he smirked as I dropped my hand off his shoulder. His contagious smile easily made me smile before we both burst out into laughter.

"What the fuck is wrong with you two?" Braxton asked from across the table. My eyes met his as he fake gagged when his eyes flickered between Karson and I.

"Teen romance," Jace gagged as his finger pointed into his mouth to make it look like he was throwing up. I could hear Olivia's small giggles as her hands lightly pounded against

the table.

"Wait, Jace," Colton cut in as his eyes flickered between every person at this table. "What was that thing you would always say?"

"Don't you fucking dare," I hissed as I narrowed my eyes at my little brother. He gasped as I watched his eyes brighten up, shining with amusement.

"There is a thin line between love and hate!" Braxton and Jace yelled at the same time before their heads snapped to each other. They both burst out into laughter as Braxton clutched his stomach. Jace wiped fake tears from underneath his eyes as I mumbled a few curse words under my breath.

"Assholes," I muttered as they continued to laugh. I could hear Karson's small laughs next to me as my elbow easily connected with his side. He groaned, not expecting the sudden contact as he laughed even harder. Why do I even bother?

"I knew I would be right, sister. It was only a matter of time," Jace romantically sighed as he batted his eyelashes together. I raised my hand from underneath the table, flipping him off as I heard Colton join in on the laughter.

I shook my head in annoyance, but I couldn't fight the small smile that easily broke through around this group of people. We all knew everyone here was joking, since it was an ongoing joke since the very beginning. Ever since Karson and I first admitted we hated each other, that's when it all started.

The waitress eventually came by to take all of our orders as we sobered up. I got the same thing as Karson, just a burger and fries, while Braxton and Jace practically got one of each item off the menu. Colton would continually mutter under his breath about how much of an idiot those two were and I honestly couldn't agree more.

"I can't believe we are all sitting here together," Braxton abruptly said as he gingerly sipped his drink. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion as Jace snickered beside him.

"What the fuck are you going on about?" Karson asked from beside me, my breath hitching when I felt his thumb rub circles further up my thigh. Tease.

"Just think back to the beginning of the year," Braxton began as he moved his hands in a circular motion in the air. "Karson and Dakota fucking hated each other, Nora wasn't a raging bitch, and I was barely friends with Dakota and Jace. It's insane how things change."

"You sound like a dumbass," Colton grunted as he picked at the straw in his plastic cup. Olivia slightly giggled as Colton raised an eyebrow at her. He lightly shook his head before averting his gaze to look at Braxton.

"Ok, and? I'm just saying if someone told me before we moved that in a few months, Karson would fall in love and wouldn't be a dickhead anymore, I would've pissed my pants on the spot from laughing so hard," Braxton snickered, making himself laugh as I heard a scoff come from Karson.

"Very funny," Karson deadpanned as he flipped his best friend off. Braxton just raised his middle finger up and dragged in down his cheek, pretending to wipe the fake tears away.

"Just shut the fuck up," Jace flicked the back of Braxton's head as I shook my head in amusement.

"You know what?" Braxton began as everyone around the table groaned. "I haven't got laid in like-"

"This is why we can't take your ass anywhere," Colton grunted as he threw a crumpled up straw wrapper at Braxton's eye. They both glared at each other as the rest of us burst out into laughter at their banter.

My cheeks hurt from smiling so hard as we watched Colton ignore Braxton before they playfully threw small punches at each other. They were both idiots.

"I love you guys," I chuckled, rolling my eyes as I gently leaned my head against Karson's shoulders. Everyone pitched in an I love you too, but they all said it at one time. I really didn't know what I would do without these losers.

When I think back to the last few months of my life, my mind always wanders to how much things can change in a short period of time. I fell in love with the one person I hated, my mother got arrested, Jason was killed, and I had finally surrounded myself with people who loved me for who I was.

I always thought Nora was going to be the only best friend I would ever have. I thought that she was the only person who would ever love me, and accept me for who I was. I thought she was the only one who wouldn't judge me for how my mother acted and how I was basically a mother at seventeen.

I never thought out of everyone, that she would be the one to betray me in the end. She lied throughout our whole friendship, and practically admitted that she never truly cared about me. I wished I would've saw the annoyance that flashed through her eyes every time I talked about my home life. I wished that I opened my eyes and realized that she wasn't going to be the only person who could ever love me. I wished that I believed in myself.

I always thought I was unlovable. With my mother being a drunk, and with me stepping in to take care of my siblings, I thought no one could ever love someone like me. With Nora lashing out the way she did, it finally made me realize that maybe I wasn't the problem. Maybe it was just the people who I was surrounding myself with. I just needed to open my eyes and realize that the people who actually cared about me were right in front of me.

The three boys that I told myself not to get close to because I had too much on my plate already, ended up being my family. They never looked at me with pity and they never asked questions when they knew I wasn't mentally ready. They were patient with me, just like how I was with them.

We understood each other like no one else has. They never once looked at me like I had too much baggage, or I was too damaged, when I told them everything that's happened to me. They treated me like the same Dakota I've always been, and they never once looked at me differently.

My best friends. My family. They helped not only me, but my siblings to come out of their shell. We knew that each of us had our own problems, and we weren't going to let each other deal with it alone. We all had our share of broken families, and we eventually came together to create our own. Family isn't always blood. It's the people in your life who accept you for who you are and who love you no matter what.

Karson loved me no matter what. He loved me for everything I was. A sister, a girl with a broken past, and even the girl who hated his guts in the very beginning. I remember when my mother told me that I was never capable of being loved, and I easily believed her words. I always thought she was right, but when I met Karson, I realized she was wrong. I was always capable of being loved, I just hadn't met the right person to show me what being loved really felt like in life. Karson showed me the real meaning of love, and helped me realize that what my mother put me through was never real love. And now, I could easily spot the difference between real and fake love.

Over the past few years, I always thought that living in this dreadful world with shitty people was some sort of consequence for me. I thought I had done something to deserve everything I went through. I thought that something had to be my fault. With what my mother had put me through, and with Jason ruining my already shitty life, I thought I would be trapped forever. I thought I wouldn't be able to escape the pain I was put through for years.

I never, in a million years, would've imagined meeting a certain boy who would help me find my purpose in this shitty world. I never would've thought that he would be the one to encourage me to reach out for help. He made me realize that I was more than what my mother and Jason had made me out to be. He made me realize that everything that happened to me in this world wasn't my fault. It wasn't a consequence. I was just a girl who unfortunately ended up in the hands of a woman who wanted to make her children's lives miserable so they could get a taste of how she really felt on the inside.

I've spent the past few years not knowing anything, but because of Karson, I knew everything. It was simply him. He was everything.

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