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Chapter Five

"I want to ask you something. I only want the truth from you. I know you only give me the truth but I'm being serious here Pierce. I need to ask you this and have you not just blurt out the first thing that comes to your head." He nodded for me to ask what I needed to ask. "How do you love Ally?"

"I've only ever loved her as a best friend but I thought that was enough to be with her and be happy if I never got you. I need her like you need Grayson. We can't just have each other. I know this. You know this. We need other people around us to ground us and keep us from closing ourselves off from the world. We are good at that." A smile spread slowly across his face.

"Too good." I laughed a little bringing a fuller smile to his lips.

"So, what do you say Baker? Let me hold your hand until I fix what I have broken for the both of us?" He held his hands out to me. As much as I told myself I needed space, I needed time to myself, I needed to not latch back onto Pierce, I couldn't stop myself from reaching my hands out to grab his.

"Deal." Pierce pulled me into his arms holding me tighter than he had in the past. I felt safe again. Like nothing in the world could ever break me.

We stood there just embracing each other, like we were catching up with all the lost time that we had. Our conversation truly ended there. We made a meal for the little ones in pretty much silence. But it was a needed silence. Pierce and I had always been good at communicating without actual words. Little touches or glances could fill our minds with complete conversations alone.

"Mama Charlee?" Ryatt said filling her mouth with the macaroni and cheese Pierce and I whipped up in a short few minutes.

"Yes Ry." I looked at her copying her actions.

"You love P?" She pointed at Pierce before she propped her elbows on the table, placing her head in her hands, staring back and forth between the two of us adoringly.

"Where did this come from?" I gave Pierce a warning glance as if he were the one to put her up to this. He shrugged his shoulders at me like he had no idea.

"P says he loves you." I knew it. "I heard him telling mommy."

"So, you were eavesdropping?"  I raised my eyebrows at her trying to hold back my laughter.

"What's-" she paused trying to figure out what I said, "that?" She finally gave up trying to wrap her head around the word I had used.

"It's when you listen to things you're not supposed to." I mirrored her position placing my elbows on the table, resting my head in my hands.

"No, I don't do that!" Ryatt sat up shaking her finger at me. "Nope!" She placed her hands on her hips as she sat up on her knees raising her head higher above the table.

"She does." Ryder chimed in for the first time all day. He has barely spoken to me at all since reentering my life. But he had barely spoken to me at all since being born so this was normal.

"Ryder!" Ryatt looked at her older brother with a scowl. Yup, she was just like me.

"We're they always like this?" Pierce said with a chuckle behind his words.

"Always. Ryder has always called out people when they lie. It's part of who he is. And I love him for it because he will always tell me the truth." Ryder nodded his head at my words.

"The boys seem to be the quiet ones in your family."

I nodded my head. "Us girls are too sassy to over power. The boys just like playing outside and getting dirty. The Baker girls have mouths because it's all we got." I smiled.

"You didn't answer me." Ryatt butted her mouth into Pierce and I's conversation.

"I do love Pierce."

"Mama Charlee and P get married like mommy and daddy?" I loved how my young siblings instantly started calling their new parents' mom and dad. I was the only parent they ever knew. They didn't call our biological parents' mom and dad because I wouldn't even let the kids near them. I was the only parent they knew of.

"I don't know about that." I laughed and Pierce did as well. "I'm not thinking about marrying anyone right now Ryatt. I'm too young for that. Now I think you should focus on finishing the amazing food that we made for you."

"It's okay." Ryder said as he lifted a fork full of food to his mouth.

"Just okay?" I frowned.

"Yup." He smiled as he swallowed down the rest of his food.

I missed having Ryder's cool tone around. He centered me back to reality. He was wise beyond his years. He knew when things were wrong back when we lived with our biological parents. Everyone else was oblivious, but he always knew. Ryder would always hold me just that little bit tighter after a beating or day of abuse. Maybe he was just good at reading me, but I felt deep down he was like this with everyone.

It seemed as though Ryder had taken a huge liking to Pierce as well. In the short time I spent in a room with the two of them, Ryder always looked at Pierce for approval of whatever he did or said. I was happy that he finally had someone who he connected with on a deeper level, from what I could see. 

After dinner we went back to their playroom for a little bit before heading to the bathroom to have their nightly bath. Pierce sat with me while I gave my youngest siblings a bath. He helped me get them dressed and into bed before we ended up alone again in the living room of his sister's house.