"Hey, hey, kiddos," I greeted, smiling as Charlie and Thomas climbed up into my truck.

"Your truck is tall, Mr. Jo!" Thomas said, buckling up.

I chuckled, looking back at the pair before I drove off. I waved at the principal from the pickup line, driving away from the school.

"Did you guys have good days?" I asked.

"Yes, sir," Charlie proudly admitted, "we've never been picked up before! We've always ridden the bus."

"Yeah, I worked out a deal with the principal," I said, "he's a buddy of mine. My babies went here, so we spent a lot of time together. Hero was always a troublemaker."

Charlie giggled, looking out the window with a child-like sense of wonder as to where he was going, even though he already knew.

"Hey, I got you guys something," I said, "neither of you are lactose intolerant, are you?"

"We don't know what that means," Thomas giggled, making me chuckle and shrug.

"We'll just hope you're not," I said, "milkshakes for my buddies."

I handed them their milkshakes, making them gasp.

"Thank you, Mr. Jo!" Charlie exclaimed.

"Of course, my man," I said, smiling at them through the rear view.

"Hey, Mr. Jo," Thomas began, wiping his mouth, "did you get a milkshake?"

"Oh, no, I didn't. They mess up my tummy."

"Oh, that must suck. This is, like, the best thing I've ever had."

I smiled. I was in a constant state of heartbreak when it came to the three of the Baker children- they had gone through things and experienced a life that no child deserved to experience.

"My bed is so comfy," Charlie said, his eyes meeting mine through the rear view, "my mom puts, like, bags of things under my mattress at our house. It makes it all lumpy and hard to sleep on."

"Bags of things?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Mm hmm. White stuff. She has small and big bags of it."

I kept my eyes locked on him, clenching my jaw. I'd never met their mother, and frankly, I didn't have to to know how unworthy she was of holding the title of a mother.

I cleared my throat and forced a smile, nodding. "Well, I'm glad you like your bed."

The rest of the drive was relatively silent, just the two exchanging a few words. I pulled into my driveway, keying in the code to open the gate.

"I wonder if this is what the White House looks like," Thomas said, "the White House probably isn't as cool as your house."

I chuckled, pulling into my usual parking spot. I turned off the truck, smiling back at them. "Alright, let's go inside."

I got out of my truck and rubbed Thomas's head as he ran by. The three of us walked inside, and Lena turned around.

"Hi," she greeted, "what's that?"

"Mr. Jo got us milkshakes!" Charlie beamed, wrapping his arms around her hips.

"Well, how nice of him. You know, Mr. Jo has a very toxic relationship with milkshakes. They make him be really loud in the bathroom."

Thomas and Charlie both bursted out into laughter, making me smile and shrug. "I told you guys, they mess up my tummy."

"I bet it stinks," Thomas giggled out.

I chuckled, grabbing his shoulders. "Put your milkshake on the counter and go upstairs and wash all the nasty school off of you."

"Okay!"

Charlie followed after him, making Lena smile. "Little boys. I forgot what they were like."

I smiled and grabbed her face, pulling her lips to mine.

"Hi," she giggled as soon as I pulled away, trailing her fingertips down my abdomen.

"You're such a good mom," I whispered.

She knitted her eyebrows together, looking up at me. "Thank you, baby."

I pulled away from her when the door opened, seeing Hero walk inside.

"Hey, momma," he greeted.

"Hi, sweet boy," she said.

"Yeah, Dad's invisible," I muttered.

He chuckled and walked past us, rubbing Lena's arm as he did so. Hero was undoubtedly a mama's boy- the definition of one, at that.

"You beat us, by, like, a millisecond," Fran giggled, and I watched her and Brian walk inside.

"Hey, Mr. and Mrs. King," he greeted, "are the boys home?"

"Yeah," I said, "I picked them up, didn't make them ride the bus or anything. I knew it would've taken them back home, so."

He nodded, smiling a tight smile. "Thank you."

"Of course," I said, nodding.

Fran smiled up at him and rubbed his arm, pressing a kiss to his cheek. I could see Hero watching from the corner of my eye, his jaw taut. Hero was still the protective older brother, no matter how much Brian had proven himself.

"I-I'm gonna, um," he began, and it was obvious Fran's affection had tripped him up, "I'm gonna run to the pool house and work on some homework."

Hero watched his every move, biting into an apple as he braced his elbows on the counter. "So we're moving the boyfriend in, huh?"

"Oh, would you like us to move your baby mama in? Would that be more fair to you?" I asked, looking over at him.

He chuckled, standing upright. "Good one."

I clenched my jaw as he brushed past me, making Lena look up at me. "Jo."

"What?" I asked, "it was partially a joke."

"You know, you making those jokes is not helping the current state of the union," she deadpanned.

Hero and I butted heads, simply put. Dad and I butted heads, and Dad and Abuelo Val butted heads until they couldn't anymore. It was a recurring theme — the King men rarely got along with one another.

"He knows I'm still not happy with him, but things are better. We do this, we get into it for a quick second and we go back to normal. It's just how it is."

She looked up at me, sighing. "Right."

~*~

I leaned against the doorframe of the pool house, smiling at the sight of Brian sprawled out on the couch doing homework.

"Hey," I said, making him look over at me and pull out his headphones.

"Hi," he said, sitting upright. He placed his laptop on the table in front of him, bracing his elbows on his thighs.

"Dinner's ready," I said, smiling as I pointed back at the house.

"Cool," he said, standing up, "l-let me turn off everything-"

I watched as he turned off the TV and every light he had on, smiling. "What's that about?"

"Mom used to fuss at us about leaving lights and the TV on longer than, like, fifteen minutes. It's habit."

I bit down on my lip, grabbing his hand. "Oh."

I pressed a kiss to his arm as we walked towards the house, and when we walked inside, he deeply inhaled and let out a contented sigh.

"That smells amazing, Mrs. King," he said, "wow."

She giggled, placing everyone's food on the table. "You think so? This is my first time making this. I hope I didn't butcher it."

"This is, like, real food," Charlie said, gawking at the plate in front of him.

"Hey, my mom is the best cook ever," Hero said, nudging Charlie's arm.

"Your mom's the best!" Charlie exclaimed, making Hero smile a broad smile.

"Isn't she?" He asked.

Mom grinned and pressed a kiss to Hero's head, sitting next to Thomas.

"Our mom's always too coked out to cook," Thomas proudly admitted, making everyone's eyes go round.

"Thomas," Brian firmly said, his eyebrows knitted together, "don't say that."

"All the older kids at school say that about her."

I could see the defeat in Brian's eyes- Brian had attempted to shield Thomas and Charlie from his mother, but no matter how hard he tried, it was impossible to hide that from them.

Dad cleared his throat, grabbing Thomas's hand. "Hey, buddy, don't say that, alright? Don't talk about your mom that way."

Thomas knitted his eyebrows together. "It's true."

"Well-"

"Thomas, sweetie," Mom softly said, watching as Thomas stood up and stormed upstairs.

Brian leaned back and sighed, rubbing his hands down his face. "I'm sorry. He's-he's not used to much discipline. I'll go get-"

Brian's phone began to ring and vibrate the entire table, making him look down at it. He and I both froze at the caller — Mom.

He stared at his phone for a solid two seconds, his jaw taut. I figured after a few more seconds, his teeth would break out of his skull.

He angrily picked up his phone, walking away from the table. I quickly followed him outside, just wanting to make sure he was okay.

"What, Mom?" He angrily asked, as soon as he answered the phone.

"Don't yell at me, Brian!" She screamed, "God, what is wrong with you? You're your father's son after all, aren't you?"

"I didn't yell at you," he said, "what do you want?"

"I-I want you and the boys to come home," she said, and it was obvious she wasn't okay.

"You want us to come home?" He asked, his jaw taut as he looked over at me.

"Yes," she said, "I mean, I came back today, and you guys are gone. What-what's up with that?"

"Alright," he said, angrily nodding, "yeah, I'll come home, Mom. I'll come home right now."

"Brian," I said, running after him.

He hung up on his mom and walked inside, grabbing his keys.

"Hey, Brian, wait," Dad said, standing up.

"Just please attempt to calm Thomas down until I'm back," he said, "I'll handle it-"

"Brian, please breathe," I softly said, placing my hands on his arms.

"I'll be back," he whispered, grabbing the back of my head. He pressed a kiss to my forehead, making me grab his hand.

"I'm going with you," I whimpered, looking up at him.

"I do not want you to see that-"

"You're not going alone," I said.

He looked back at Dad, making Dad softly nod. "Be careful."

The drive to Brian's apartment was short, and quiet. I'd never really seen Brian mad, but I could tell that he was fuming, and just didn't want to show it.

We got to his apartment, making him shake his head and turn off his car. "I don't even think it's worth it."

"It is," I said, "I promise you, I'm right here."

He opened his door and walked around to my side, opening my door for me. He kept me glued to him as we walked to his apartment, never letting go of me for even a split second.

He wrapped his hand around the door handle, looking down at it. He twisted it and the door creaked open, and it was like a film of smoke over the entire room.

His Mom looked up from her cigarette, dropping it on the table. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Where the hell have you been?" He angrily asked, pointing at her.

"Brian, I have had business to take care of-"

"Bullshit!" He yelled, making me slightly jump. I'd never heard Brian yell.

"Yell at me again!" She yelled, standing up from her table, "I can't even look at you right now. You're so much like your dad."

"Stop saying that," he said, through gritted teeth.

"Don't like the truth?" She asked, getting in his face.

"I can't tell if you're more drunk or more high right now," he sneered, "that's disgusting, Mom."

"Where are my kids?" She firmly asked.

"I'm not ever telling you that. Not like this," he said, shaking his head.

"Brian," she said, grabbing her burning cigarette, holding it up to him, "where are my fucking kids?"

He turned his face away from her, his jaw taut.

"Brian-"

"Don't touch him," I said, stepping between the pair.

"Sorry?" His mom asked, her eyes wide.

"I said don't touch him."

"He's my son, I can do what I want-"

"I don't give a shit what he is," I said, shaking my head, "don't touch him."

His mom placed a hand over her heart, laughing. "Oh. How sweet. You know, I would've done the same thing for his father. I'll go ahead and warn you, they will never care. You're going to end up hurt, just like me."

Brian grabbed my shoulders and moved me away from him, walking towards her.

"You left them," he seethed, "you left them here, by themselves, with the door unlocked."

"I-I was coming back-"

"Three days later?" He laughed out, "Mom, Thomas called me in tears. You know, you can proudly admit that you're the only thing that's ever made that kid cry."

"I was coming back," she firmly said.

"Three days later, Mom!" He yelled, "can you even hear anything I'm saying to you?"

"You're making my head hurt, Brian," she said, rubbing her temples.

"You left them, Mom. Knowing the shithole you make us live in. With these fucking junkies."

"And your point?"

"A junkie will do anything for drugs," he said, "you should know that best. Right, Mom?"

She looked up at him, shaking her head. "Don't speak to me like that. I am your mother."

He shook his head, his jaw taut. He sniffed and blinked back tears, clearing his throat.

"They're not coming back here," he said, wiping a tear from his cheek.

"Brian, you cannot keep them from me-"

"If it protects them," he said, nodding, "yeah, I'll keep them from you. They don't ever have to see you again."

"Brian!" She yelled, tears clouding her eyes.

"I'm done with this, Mom," he said, his hands over his eyes, "they don't deserve it. I don't deserve it. And the worst part is that you don't know that. You don't understand that."

"Brian, I swear to God, if you try to keep them from me-"

"What, Mom?" He asked, "you can't stand for more than five minutes at a time, because you are so drunk and high. Maybe we can talk when you're sober. But I don't think that's going to be a state you're in anytime soon."

He walked into his room and I followed, looking up at him. "Brian."

He kept his hands over his eyes, pacing. "I can't even be in here, Fran. I don't want any of this shit."

"Okay," I softly said, "let's go."

"Yeah, let's go," he whispered, sniffling.

He walked out of his room, looking over at his mom.

"I'm leaving now," he said, and I could tell that it was hurting him. Even though his mother deserved everything he'd said to her, it still hurt him.

"I'm leaving now," he firmly said, looking over at her.

"Okay," she said, "door's right there."

He clenched his jaw and nodded, tears clouding his eyes. "Alright."

He ripped the door open, slamming it shut behind us. We walked to his car and he opened my door, making me slide inside and keep my eyes on him as he walked around to his side.

He opened his door and slid inside, and we sat in silence for a second.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He bit down on his lip, shaking his head. "No."

I climbed over the center console and wrapped my arms around his neck, making him pull me into his lap and bury his face in my neck.

"I promise, Brian, you're safe with us," I said, rubbing his hair, "I promise. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

He sobbed into my neck, making me bite down on my lip and blink back my own tears.

"Let's go home," I softly said.

"Yeah," he said, nodding.

He pulled away from me and turned his head away from me, but I gently grabbed his jaw and angled his face towards mine. I gently wiped the tears from his face, pressing a kiss to his cheekbone.

"I love you."

He looked at me. "I love you more."

~*~

"That girl's checking you out, Hero," Eros said, watching the girl from under his eyelashes.

"Well, just in case she starts checking you out," Josie said, climbing into his lap.

He chuckled, patting her hip. "Right."

"Mm hmm," she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

I clenched my jaw and leaned back, keeping my eyes locked on the girl. She was talking to her friends, but her eyes were locked on me.

"Yeah, she's totally into you," Josie said, nudging my shoulder.

I clenched my jaw and broke our eye contact, looking over at Henry. He was waiting in line for cookies for all of us, currently.

"But too bad you and Amelia are basically committed."

"Yeah, a kid'll do that to you."

Josie snorted, making me look over at her.

"Sorry," she said, smiling.

"So what's the deal with that?" Eros asked, looking over at me.

"She was going to get rid of it, decided against it. So now we're having a whole child."

"I figured it'd only be half of one," Josie deadpanned.

"Jo," I said, rubbing my forehead.

"I'm kidding, Hero," she said, rubbing my shoulder, "just pulling your leg. I know you're stressed about it."

"Yeah," I said.

"And what lesson is this, kids? The wrap it before you tap it lesson," Eros said.

"I know for a fact you two had to go get a plan B a week ago," I said.

"I could've lived my entire life without knowing that," Henry grimaced, dropping Eros and Josie's cookies i her lap.

"Thanks, twinnie," she said, smiling up at him as she bit into it.

"Is Uncle Jo still pissed?" Henry asked.

I shrugged. "Not as bad as before."

The four of us — this is how it'd always been. Fran was currently missing from our mall outing, but this was it for us. Of course, we had friends outside of each other, but we were the ones that were constantly there for one another.

"How are things going?" I asked, looking over at Henry.

"With Zach?" He asked, looking over at me as he took a huge chunk out of his cookie.

"Mm hmm," I said, pulling mine out of the bag.

I still found myself looking at food, wondering how many calories were in it.

"Hey, this cookie's huge, does someone want half?" I uncomfortably asked.

"No, you eat all of it," Josie warningly said, climbing off of Eros's lap and spreading her legs out across the three of us.

"Things are going good," he said, bracing his elbows on his thighs, "I spent most of the day with him the other day. Well, him and his mom."

"I've heard he's got a nice looking mom," Eros said, choosing his words carefully, as Josie was sitting right next to him and he was within punching distance.

"He does," I said, leaning back, "she's beautiful. I saw her at a soccer game once, thought I was gonna fuck her at the age of sixteen."

"That doesn't surprise me," Josie said, "but yeah, she's super involved with the cheer team. She's hot."

"Yeah, I thought she was a bitch at first," Henry flat-out said, "but she's actually really nice. She was making conversation with me about anything she could."

"Lucky man. Can I join in on one of those dates?" I asked.

Henry chuckled, making me look over at him. "For real, things are going good? No one's giving you shit?"

"No," he said, "things are going good."

I smiled and held up my hand, and we did our handshake we'd been doing literally for forever.

I leaned back and spread my legs, leaning my head back. "I need head."

"Bro," Eros chuckled out, rubbing Josie's legs.

"I just shaved, stop," she said, swatting at his hand a few times.

"That girl right over there would you give you some in a heartbeat," Eros said.

"Mm," I muttered, but the only person I was even halfway interested in fucking, or doing anything remotely sexual with, currently was Amelia.