Uncompromising (Age Gap, gxg)

Chapter 28

The best thing about Elizabeth coming over was that she had been kind enough to do some food shopping on the way, and then cooked for us to save my back from the added work. She was truly a lifesaver, and it reminded me to start making the girls learn to cook. She ended up making some delicious grilled chicken kabobs with pineapple, blistered tomatoes, and a great tzatziki dipping sauce. Even better, she left the recipe, and there were a lot of leftovers, so I would be able to have it again for lunch for a few days. It was exactly what I needed to make the evening easier, though that was short lived.

Because when dinner was done, I knew it was time to say goodbye to Hollie and Zee, and that was certainly not easy. As it was, they were going to be lucky to be back on campus by midnight, and I couldn't ask them to miss classes. I wouldn't be alone, because both Gracie and Jashanna would still be there, and I had reinforcements on the way in the form of my friends. Harlow had already booked a flight and would be arriving on Friday to spend the week with me, so that was perfect. Quinn had been visiting her mother in New Orleans but was headed home and would be back on Tuesday morning.

Both of them wanted to kill Elliot and would have fought for the chance to finish him off had they been given the chance. Luckily, that wasn't necessary, though I'd have Quinn help me make some changes around the house to prevent a repeat of what had happened. For instance, I'd already ordered new keypad locks to replace all the locks that used keys, so nobody could look for a hide-a-key again. I could control access easier that way, and giving different people different codes would let me see who was coming and going. Paired with the new security cameras that I'd ordered, it would let me make sure that the people that were in the house were the ones I wanted to be there. No, I wouldn't put any in bedrooms or bathrooms, but I could monitor all the common areas and outdoors as well.

But I'd have to make sure I turned them off if I was doing anything with a certain someone on a couch!

Oh, and I had better warn Gracie and Jashanna not to do that too, because I didn't wanna see anything they were up to.

"I'm going to miss you so much," I murmured to Hollie as I hugged her goodbye in my room. She was sniffling a little, worried about me and my coping. I was too, but I didn't need to tell her that. I'd been alternating icing and heating my back all afternoon, but I had to get up to say goodbye.

"I'll miss you too," she replied. "Are you sure you'll be, okay?"

"Yeah. I'll have Jashanna and Gracie in here tonight to keep me company, and Quinn will be here Tuesday. Harlow is flying here this weekend. Trust me, I have a lot of support, so I'll be good."

"I'm only a phone call away. Zee is too, and I know she'd drive us down in a second if you needed it."

"Honey, you'll be back in just over three weeks for Thanksgiving. Trust me, we can handle it. Just concentrate on your classes." I was sure we could do this, even if it was a little stressful at first. I knew that I'd be back to normal within a few weeks. Right?

"Either way, call if you need anything. Hell, just call to talk and let me know how you're doing. And no phone sex with Zee!"

I snorted, trying not to laugh too much, then pulled her into another hug. "I'll behave, I promise. Can you send her in so I can say goodbye to her too?"

She nodded against my shoulder. "Yeah. Just no locking the door! We have to get on the road."

"No, none of that. I don't think I'll be ready for that for a while. Last night really messed me up. Everything hurts when I move."

She grimaced as she pulled away. "I bet. I'm sorry, mom. You didn't deserve that. I'll get Zee and see you soon."

I sat back down on the edge of the bed in relief, as my back was still too sore to stand for too long and tried not to get too emotional. It had been rough to drop Hollie off at school, and now after last night I would be losing her and Zee again. Yes, I knew it was temporary, and then after Thanksgiving it wouldn't be too long before the Christmas break when they'd be back again. Even better, Zee could potentially be moving into the cellar at that point and maybe things would really be getting better.