Rubble (Riders of Apollo #7)

Chapter Twenty-Five: Juniper Channing

I wake up to my phone vibrating on the bedside table. I am strongly regretting buying the bloody thing, just gives everyone the opportunity to bug me outside of the hours I give them to do so. I don't want to move off of Asa, who sleeps beneath me, his warm chest heating my body and making me feel drowsy even though I've been sleeping for close to thirteen hours.

I force myself to grab the phone and answer it, whispering so I don't wake up Asa. "Come down to the pink room so we can all get ready together." I all Lexie says, sounding content and excited. I look up at Asa and decide that he can do with more rest, he went out of his way for me last night and I can't help but adore him for it.

I gently kiss his cheek before sliding out from his grip and freshening up in the bathroom. I follow Lexie's orders and arrive at the already full pink room. Every woman is in here, including Evangeline but she is fascinated with Miracle and already looks fully ready for the day while the others are in stages of makeup, hair, and dress.

"Finally! Come see here, gorgeous. We figured you'd be tired and in pain from last night so we thought we'd help you get ready." Lexie coaxes me over and I sit on the vanity stool as Marielle flutters around my head to fix my hair and Saviour starts on my makeup. I relax into their hold and trust them to not make me look like an absolute idiot.

I'm so used to doing my own hair and makeup, I was obsessed with it when I was eleven. Nobody else could touch me because no one else would do it right, they'd hurt me or twist me around or choose a look that I just didn't like. But I trust these women, considering how beautiful they look on a daily basis, I can only imagine the wonders they can do.

"You have such nice cheekbones," Saviour comments, making me smile and most likely blush.

"Her hair is beautiful too, feels like silk."

"You've never said that about our hair," Riley says with a frown, most likely mucking around rather than feeling hurt.

"Because your hair doesn't feel like silk."

"Fine, well I was going to tell you all something today but I guess it can wait." Riley crosses her arms petulantly and turns her back on the room.

"Riley... what's that on your hand?" Nova notices it first, being the most observant of us all besides Eva who is still preoccupied with the baby. She hasn't said or heard a thing for the last twenty minutes we've been sat here.

"Miss Riley Everett... is that an engagement ring I see?" Evangeline's first words of the day are uttered as she lowers the baby into the travel cot and advances on Riley, who continues to refuse to acknowledge that we're even here. "Baby, your hair has been like silk since you were a little kid, you remember when it was so long that when I braided it would reach your tailbone." Eva gently strokes her hair to try and coax the answer out of her.

"Yes, it's an engagement ring." Riley's brilliant smile is unreal as she bounces from her chair to hug Eva so tightly you'd think it would cut off circulation. Everyone starts shouting in excitement, moving to surround her as she shows off the new addition to her calloused hands.

It's a beautiful ring with a thin silver band and a large, square-cut, black diamond that is surrounded by smaller diamonds. I'll admit, Boulder has taste. "Holy shit, that man knows you too well," Marielle whispers in awe. She acts like she doesn't have a custom-made Tiffany ring on her hand that's probably worth close to 300K.

"I know, he didn't make a big deal out of it because he knows I hate it. I love that man, I swear."

"Sweetie, that was never in question, you literally have his name tattooed on your skin." Saviour comments and Eva just shakes her head.

"Still can't believe you two did that, you're lucky those men worship you, or I'd give you both a good smack."

"You'll be there for the wedding, right? It won't be a big thing but I don't want to do it without you."

"Of course, I'll be there, honey. I'm still pissed I wasn't invited to that one's wedding."

"If it makes you feel better none of us were," Lexie comments also glaring at the Saviour as she just shrugs defensively.

"I don't like weddings, why on Earth would I want one of my own?"

"Oh Peyton, what happened? When you were fourteen you had a scrapbook cut out of every wedding magazine in London for your wedding. I remember taffeta and pink, a lot of pink." Eva strokes Sav's cheek with a tender look in her eyes. I wish I had her as a substitute mother, mine was never gentle or kind or caring like she is.

I think I misjudged her last night. Every woman I've met that could remotely match her in beauty were raging bitches and I made the assumption based on that. I really need to work on that. "Oh God, please don't remind me. That scrapbook was embarrassing."

"I thought it was beautiful. You should've seen how excited you got when I told you I had signed up for a wedding magazine just so you could spend your evenings hacking the bloody thing up within an inch of its life. You used to come into my room at two am and tell me everything about your future husband... Reign is the man you described, you know?"

"He is?" Saviour looks like she's on the verge of tears, Riley too. Eva moves the both of them to face her so she can look at them both.

"You wanted someone who was strong and kind, dark eyes and dark hair with a lot of muscle. You said that he wouldn't care about money or your past or the fact that you couldn't have children - which you've proved wrong - and you were convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would be American."

"Did I ever talk like this?" Riley chips in as Saviour takes in this new information. I move back to sit down and Marielle continues with my hair but we listen in to the conversation at hand.

"Oh sweetheart, you were never really about boys or girls or relationships. You were always so worried about your mum and your sister that you never had any time to be a teenager but I do remember once... I think we were watching a romance film for some unknown reason and you looked so fascinated with the idea that I asked you about it. You just said that you wanted someone to care and understand."

"That's all I wanted?"

"It's everything you deserve and more. Both of you have been too strong for way too long, you can rely on them to look after you. I get that you want to be independent and you want to carry the entire world on your shoulders but you don't have to anymore, trust them to look after you."

I almost start crying then, I just want someone to tell these things to me. To say that I need to stop worrying, to open myself up to being vulnerable, and to stop hiding behind perfect hair and makeup but I don't have anyone like that. My mother doesn't care, she pushes her insecurities on me and ruined my self-image, they have everything I've ever wanted.

At least I've been given a chance to be a part of this family, I'm not giving it up for anything.