Fighting a New World

64

Carter's POV

I sighed as I leaned into Liam's side while Ryder rested his head on my lap. My hands played with his hair at random as animals flashed across the screen. Ryder was nearly asleep at this point but Liam looked like he was five seconds away from dying of boredness.

"We can change the channel," I said after a few more minutes of him glaring at the screen.

We had been watching since sometime yesterday. Bram's outing wasn't terrible by any means but Jax still ended up having a nightmare that night and it was a pretty bad one.

I ended up taking the memory from him but it put me on edge and I haven't fallen asleep since it happened. This channel has been on this whole time and even that didn't really seem to be helping.

"It's okay," Liam brushed off quickly. "I'm just tired is all."

"That didn't sound very convincing," Ryder mumbled as he turned to look up at both of us.

Liam only glared down at him playfully just as Callum walked through the door with a wide smile on his face.

"Who wants to go on a date," he said happily, his eyes softening a bit when they landed on all of us cuddling on the couch but at his words Ryder was immediately up and awake.

"I do!" Ryder said as he jumped off the couch and ran off to the bedroom to get ready.

"I'll go if Carter wants to," Liam shrugged as he wiped his eyes a bit.

All eyes were on me. Callum's eyes went from caring to calculating in a second as he stared at me, trying to detect if I was about to lie or pretend that I wanted to do something that I really didn't.

"Where would we be going?"

"I don't know, I haven't thought that far ahead yet," he admitted. "What do you want to do?"

I thought for a while before sighing.

"I don't want to be around a lot of people. Can you go get us food and we can just go to the park and eat it there?"

"Of course," he said before coming to stand in front of us. He smiled down at me as his lips connected with my forehead. "I love you Carter." His sentence was mumbled against my skin but it still made a smile cover my face.

"I love you too Callum."

He hummed just as Ryder came back into the living room with a new outfit on, which had Jax groaning when he did a quick spin to show off the jean that cupped his ass.

Not long after that, we were all headed out the door. Callum called a local Mexican place and placed our orders as we walked and in only a few minutes we arrived at the park.

Only a few people ran and played in the wide grassy area but the large pond remained vacant and undisturbed. When we settled into the grass, the pond became our entertainment.

Callum sat behind me while my toes dipped into the warm water. Ryder and Liam sat to our left, mimicking our position as we eat in silence.

"This reminds me of our last Town Day," Ryder said after a while. "It's better though, now that we don't have to go back to camp after the sun sets."

"I know it's been quite a few month but honestly, camp feels like it was ages ago," Liam sighs

"I honestly can't believe there was a time when we weren't dating each other. It just feels too right now. I don't know how we managed so long without each other," Callum said as he leaned down to kiss the crown of my head.

"You are such a hopeless romantic," I complained but I didn't bother hiding my small smile.

"You're still dating me so I don't plan on stopping until you do," he teased.

I couldn't help but sigh in contentment as silence wrapped around us while the sun slowly began to set but none of us were ready to leave yet so we just sat there.

Sunset slowly turned into nightfall and the once beautiful pink sunset turned into a black sky with stars sparkling high above.

I melted into Callum's chest as I stared up at the sky. My heart felt like it was on fire but in the best way possible.

"I love you," I said after a while, making all of them look over to me to see which one I was talking to. "I love you all so much."

I don't tell them this but I honestly didn't know what we would have done without them but they don't need me to say it; they already know, I can tell by the smile that reaches each of their eyes.

"I love you too."

By this time last year, Jax and I were convinced our life would only change when we ran away from his dad. We always thought we would constantly be on the run in order to avoid him and that we would never get to have real love.

Now, not even a whole year since we left that life behind, we were here, sitting beside the loves of our lives just wasting time as if it were nothing.

There's not a day that could go by where I wouldn't be thankful for the day we were arrested, because without that day, we would have never fallen in love.

We've lived without love for long enough to know that a life without it just simply wasn't worth living, and thanks to them, we would never have to.

I would always be so grateful for that.

June 23- November 4, 2021

Fighting a New World: Completed.

Sorry if this didn't feel like a good ending but I jsut started writing it and it just felt too perfect to have this as the ended. Sorry if it's rushed but I honestly love it. Thank all of you fo reading this far and I hope to see all of you in my future projects.

For those wondering, Patrick, Jem, and Andrew have their own story on my profile.

If you aren't ready for the story to end you can join my patreon, link in bio, or if you want to talk and hang out with more LTF fans join my insta (emmaroseherondale24), discord (EmmaRose's Fan server link in bio), and Callum's twitter (CallumAndBfs). Thank you all again, I hope you loved my boys as much as I do.

-Emma Rose