"Where do you want this one?" I asked Lincoln, appearing in the doorway of his new bedroom.

Setting down an identical cardboard box he turned, "What does it say on it?"

"Um," I hummed, peering down at the black permanent marker scribbled on top. "I don't know, you tell me."

Lincoln joined me in laughing. Moving away from the stack of unopened boxes he closed the distance between us. His shaggy hair whisked over his forehead, dusting the skin as he gazed down at what I was holding.

I admired the new length but it just didn't feel like it belonged on Lincoln's head. His old locks tousled easier. This new length made his hair heavy and fall into a neater style. Now that there was a little more room to breathe I would have to remind him to book an appointment. Lately, all of us had been so busy. Poor Lincoln didn't even have the time for a proper hair cut. But in the end it was well worth it.

"Why did we let Andrew label these again?" Lincoln questioned, scoping the heavy object from my grasp. The load felt good being lifted from my arms. The box was a third of my size and a nightmare to carry up the treacherous flight of stairs.

"We didn't," I reminded, "you did."

After placing the new addition with the rest of his belongings he straightened out. "Yeah, well remind me to never do that again."

With a wide grin I nodded, "Will do."

A box lay open on the unmade single bed. I guess Lincoln was already trying to unpack. However, the folded piece of paper laying on top is what caught my attention. It wasn't just your ordinary printer paper. It was a thicker parchment, ornamented with a definitive texture.

"Did you make your decision yet?" I wondered as Lincoln approached me.

"Sorta, maybe."

The feeling of his hands sliding across my back, along with his use of words, caused me to arch a brow. "Sorta, maybe?"

"Yeah." He confirmed, landing a quick peck on my nose.

"You know, you'll still be able to live at home if you attend York, right?"

"Yeah." Pulling me closer, he laid his chin on the top of my hair

Unable to tilt my head like I wanted to I continued, "Then what's the hold up, bub?"

He lifted his head back to it's original height, allowing me to look up at him. When he failed to answer I shook my head.

"You're so overprotective. They'll be fine. You weren't home every hour of the day when you went to high school. It will be no different now that you're going to university."

Lincoln knew I was right. Heaving a sigh, he released me and returned to his position next to his bed. "I know. It's just so hard to let go and forget about everything that's happened."

"You don't have to worry about him ever again." I promised, coming up in front of him. "He's going away — for a very long time."

"You're right." Lincoln stated, relieved. "The bastard deserves every year he gets."

Usually, I would disapprove of the vulgarity of his language, but, to be honest, I couldn't agree more. Claudio DeLuca had a long list of charges being pressed on him. From home invasion to kidnapping, and assault to destruction of private property, the man was guaranteed prison time until Sadie was well into college.

The funnier thing was, it was Silva's father fighting Lincoln's mother's case. Apparently news travelled fast in the world of the law. Once he caught whiff of the charges, Amelia received a very remorseful phone call. Lincoln wasn't too impressed with the man and was, obviously, instantly suspicious. Despite their heated past, Silva's father insisted the offer was genuine. He was proving himself worthy, promising a minimum of 20 years for the life of misery Claudio bestowed on his family.

None of us really understood the change of heart. As usual I always tried to see the best in people, thinking that maybe he wanted to make up for almost sending Lincoln away all those years ago. Lincoln on the other hand wasn't so convinced by my theory. Instead he thought Silva's father received an ultimatum from the owner of The Pit. Lincoln Pierce was a big name down in those depts. Maybe this was Jack's way of saying thank you for all the years of business.

To this day, Lincoln was still suspicious. But as long as Mr. Silva landed his father behind bars, he was all for the unsuspecting exchange.

"Of course I'm right. So what's stopping you?"

Silently, Lincoln locked eyes with me. He was doing that thing he normally did, turning my legs to jelly. It was a smouldering gaze. A look that caused me to look for support in his unmade bed. He didn't have to say anything with a stare like that. I heard him loud and clear.

"Nothing."

"Then you have two more weeks to accept." I mused, tiptoeing to plant a kiss on his lips. "Then we can carpool."

"You'll be doing most of the driving." Lincoln said with a sad smile. "I still haven't figured out the car situation yet."

"Well, now that your father's going to be put away, won't Vikki be fine?"

"Probably. But she's too high maintenance." Lincoln stated, pulling some items from the box on his bed. "I don't have the money to support her."

I watched as he dug through it all. "That doesn't have to be a bad thing." I reminded him. "I think right now is the perfect time for some change. You don't have to be afraid of it."

"I'm not." He assured me, removing the box from the bed and adding it to the others. "Trust me, I'm welcoming it."

Lifting myself onto the springy mattress I took in the disaster that was Lincoln's bedroom. Considering this place was about half the size of the garage below it was a relatively decent space for a family of three. I'm not going to lie. It needed a lot of work. And the noise from downstairs caused me to want to invest in a pair of earplugs at times. But for now it was affordable. And more importantly, a fresh start.

"How about that?" I nodded towards the worn out gym bag that resided near the city of boxes.

Lincoln paused cutting through the tape that sealed another container. "What about it?"

"Are you..."

"Done?" Lincoln finished for me, not turning away from the task at hand. "Yeah. There's no need for it anymore. The Pit was there for me when I had no other choice. But," He paused to pop the lid open. "I have a choice now."

"And here I thought you were going to be fighting until you were old and wrinkly. Just think of all that excess skin flopping over your shorts. Yummy." I joked causing him to grin at the mental image I was painting.

"Well," Lincoln started while moving the box of clothes closer to his dresser. "that was the plan originally. I'm not very good at anything else, really. But I got this tutor, yeah? She made me seem smarter than I actually am, she's a real miracle worker."

"Sounds like she's a keeper." I grinned, still swinging my legs.

"Oh, I'm never letting her go now." He said, causing my heart to flutter. "Whether she likes it or not she's stuck with me."

"I think she likes it."

Forgetting about unpacking all together Lincoln closed the distance between us. It was another one of those toe curling kisses, like the unexpected moment we shared in his kitchen. It felt so nice to finally feel like we'd conquered it all. No more alcoholic father, no more psychotic rival, no more underground fight club.

No more high school.

"Lincoln!" Sadie's high pitched voice had Lincoln's lips disappearing from mine in seconds. "Come see my room!"

"I've already seen your room, Sade."

"Come see it again!" She gushed, rushing out the open door, her blonde tresses flowing after her.

"You think she'd have a jacuzzi or something in there." Lincoln laughed, pecking me with a brief kiss before shadowing his sister.

Taking a couple of moments to relish in the taste of him on my lips I slipped down from the mattress. The cozy apartment was still busy with the hustle and bustle of moving. Amelia was preoccupied in the kitchen, keeping Felix and a couple of Phil's staff away from her fine chine.

"Is that everything?" Harper asked upon entering. In her hands she held two boxes, the tower tall enough to obstruct her vision. Knowing there was no one else with a spare pair of hands I removed the top box from her cargo. "Thank you Cali. Ella was designated to take this one but the women went incognito."

"You know how Ella is," I said, keeping the front door open for the rest of Phil's men. "Anything requiring manual labour has her running to the nearest salon. She's only here for moral support."

After setting her own box down near the coffee table she reached out for mine. "I suppose you're right."

"Okay!" Phil clapped, "Just the couch now and we're done."

"I wanna help!" Sadie called racing from her room.

"Whoaaa there, little one!" Felix bellowed, sweeping Sadie off her feet. The four year old's laughter rang clear throughout the apartment as Felix swung her around. "I don't know how useful you'd be carrying an eight-hundred pound couch up here."

Felix continued to spin Sadie around, passing her off to Reggie who did the same thing. The moment little Sadie stepped foot in the shop she had all the men wrapped around her pinkie finger. They took an instant liking to her and even took turns playing with her, and showing her around the shop while Amelia and Phil were talking business.

That's another basis for why Lincoln had no reason to worry. In a way Sadie had a whole new family here at the shop. The little girl was going to be treated better than a Queen.

"We'll get the couch. Reggie, you're on Sadie watch." Phil ordered as he walked through the front door.

"Ay, ay Captain." Reggie said with a mock salute. Sadie copied his gesture from the perch of his arm. I never witnessed anything cuter.

"Alright men, move out!" Harper lead the small group, including Felix, Phil, Lincoln and I. Moving down the steep flight of steps I began dreading the mission to get that couch upstairs. There was no guarantee we'd be able to push it through the narrow stairwell, anyways.

"It's just the couch, right? No more boxes?" I pondered as we made our way towards the rented moving van. Maybe I could get away with something a little lighter.

"Just the couch as far as I know." Phil replied. "The other truck should be empty."

The single glass door swung shut behind me. Skipping over the concrete slab that founded the garage, I followed the rest of the crew into the front parking lot. As we approached one of the two rented vans Felix made an odd discovery.

"Hey," Felix called out, "who closed the back?"

A chorus of responses replied.

"I don't know."

"Wasn't me."

"Ask Reggie, he was down here last."

"Who's got the keys?" Felix continued, pivoting around to address us all.

"I do." Phil responded, dangling the item in question. "It shouldn't be locked, man."

Standing in the back with Lincoln I watched on as Felix went to lift the back door. To my unsuspecting eyes it wasn't just the couch laying in the back of the truck. Blinking rapidly, my mind attempted to make sense of the scene in front of me.

"You guys just had to use my couch, didn't you?" Lincoln asked our friends as they separated, mid make-out session.

"Just breaking it in for you buddy." Andrew explained, completely unashamed.

Lincoln marched into the back of the trunk, only to swing Andrew out. "It's not new. You didn't need to break it in."

"You and Cali already got to it first, eh?" Andrew joked, over the hurdles of laughter.

"You sly dog, you." Felix cheered as Andrew emerged from the back. They exchanged a quick high-five before Andrew turned back to the open door of the van. A light blush powdered Ella's cheeks as Andrew helped her down. As soon as she made contact with the pavement she fluffed her hair and fixed her top.

Who would have thought Andrew had it in him.

Ella rushed over to me, giving me a thrilled expression. I guess everything really was falling into place.

It took a good forty-five minutes to cram the heavyset piece of furniture all the way up the narrow stairwell. Ella and I were situated at each doorway, ensuring they were opened wide enough to stuff the couch through. Harper ran the show, commanding different angles and positions when the thick structure of the furniture got stuck.

The rest of the Sunday afternoon was met with unpacking the necessities followed by a nice make-shift lunch provided by Amelia. The new space was starting to feel like home already and I wasn't even the one living here.

"Hey, Lincoln. One last thing," Phil said, whipping his hands as he rose from the table. "there's just a couple more lamps I left in the front of one of the vans — completely forgot. Wanna lend a hand?"

Having finished eating about ten minutes prior Lincoln agreed, following Phil out the door.

A minute or so of silence later and Felix was rising to his feet as well. "You all are going to want to see this." The excitement Felix was emitting was contagious. Mimicking his actions the rest of us abandoned the table, heading down the stairs yet again.

Phil had been stalling Lincoln on the sidewalk when we emerged from the building. Confusion was etched into Lincoln's features the second he took notice of us.

"What's—" he started. But before he could finish his sentence the revving of an engine could be heard from the side of the shop.

The growling increased in volume, the vehicle getting closer and closer before it pivoted around the corner and drifted right in front of Lincoln and Phil. I personally didn't know very much about cars. What I did know was that the vehicle, with the sleek midnight blue paint job, was an exact replica — but newer — model of Vikki.

"Vikki 2.0." Andrew announced, stepping out from behind the tinted windows.

When Lincoln lacked the gift of speech Phil attempted nudging him from his daze. "Consider this a late birthday and graduation present."

"No way," Lincoln muttered, throwing himself into a man hug with Phil. "No fucking way."

"We'd been working on it for a few months now — knew we had to send you off to college in style." Phil explained as they released each other.

Lincoln shook his head, still not able to wrap his mind around it. "You didn't have to do any of this."

"We wanted to. You're a special kid, Link." Phil stated, messing with the teenager's unruly hair.

A round of congratulations, and stray tears from Amelia, made there way around the group. Lincoln was mesmerized by his new baby. He spent five minutes just sitting in the front seat, hands on the wheel.

"I guess now you'll be driving me around for once." I said, coming up beside the open driver side door.

Lincoln displayed his pearly whites, "Anywhere you want to go."

"Anywhere?" I mused, leaning my arm across the top. "What happened to being chained to this 'shitty town' of yours?"

With a playful grin he replied, "Maybe I don't think it's so shitty anymore."

"And who managed to change your mind?" I questioned with a tilt of my head.

"My pain in the ass tutor."

"I don't know what you're complaining about." I huffed, throwing my hair over my shoulder. "She seems amazing."

"She's weird - only wanted to be paid in chocolate."

"Well," I countered while he continued to laugh, "I doubt you were a very easy person to tutor."

"I wasn't." He admitted, pulling me into his new car. I bounced a bit, landing in his lap. "But she just couldn't back away from the challenge."

"And why couldn't she?" I asked, curious about what he had to say. It's not like I was going much of anywhere. My right side was being pressed into the hard leather steering wheel.

"Because my nosy little tutor knew something." He teased, skimming his soft lips against my cheek.

Despite my breath hitching a smile crawled its way onto my face. "What did she know, eh?" I managed to make out before his lips landed briefly on mine.

"That she was my last hope."

The End.