Only Human

Returning Home

I stared at the gray two story house.

I remembered being excited to move here, knowing it would be a fresh start.

My feet slowly made their way up the driveway and off to the side, studying the car in the driveway and trying to summon up the last of my courage to go in. I'd put on a brave front for the boys and I knew that they knew it was a brave front.

After the week at camp and the emotional roller coaster I'd been on the last 24 hours, I'd like nothing more to just curl up in bed and have a few of my boys around me to cuddle with and just ...

Just ... Be.

I'd missed them so much. In a way, I was still upset that they let me be hijacked by Taylor's team at the beginning of camp. Maybe I wouldn't have been so up and down if I'd been able to have my nights to myself and spending time at their campsite instead of meekly going along with all the plans that had me just with girls.

A tiny shred of me wished I'd been as outspoken and firm as Kayli had been. I'd found her rude and unreasonable at the time.

But guess who got to spend her entire week surrounded by the guys who knew her best.

Not me.

I hoped it worked out for them. I didn't want to scare Marc away from the plan idea. But she didn't really seem to be the kind of girl that would go for that plan. I hadn't really met all of the rest of his team so I wouldn't judge. He seemed like a nice enough guy when I wasn't pulling nails out of his leg.

Nails. New Team member. My eyes widened as I stared at the house. It was Kaylie that shot the nail into his knee. I'd have to tease him later about it. Now it didn't seem so impossible that someone would do that. She did seem a bit on the angry side.

I stared at the house some more as the door opened and Marie came out and called my name.

This house had started out to be a good thing but after everything that had happened to me here, the best thing about the house had been walking away from it. I glanced over my shoulder, finding Kota motioning to me but I couldn't tell if it was a hurry up move or a come back move. But Marie was next to me by that point and hurrying me into the house.

"Why's he back?" I hissed at Marie, wrenching my arm away from her.

She gave me a look. "You'll see." She muttered.

My eyes narrowed at her. "Why didn't you tell me before I left that he was coming? I know you knew, I saw you cleaning the day I left."

"I was going to." She said softly. "But... you gave me a gift and I didn't have one for you. I was just waiting for the day after Christmas so I could go get you something and then you were gone and Mrs. Lee said you wouldn't be back. I'm sorry."

My eyes remained narrow. "You could have texted when you first found out. I know you have a phone now." She shrugged as we went into the living room. I recoiled slightly when he came over and tried to hug me. "Dad..." I said flatly, side stepping his attempt and crossing my arms to stare at him.

"Don't be like that." He said.

"Like what?" I asked, giving him a blank look. If I listened hard, I could hear the window slide up in my bedroom and I relaxed slightly, knowing that someone was up in my bedroom. Knowing they had my back. Then again, the phone at the base of my spine had been recording the moment I walked in. I straightened up and stopped leaning on the wall.

"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year." He said. "I came to celebrate with my girls."

I caught the way Marie rolled her eyes and I didn't doubt that he probably put a huge damper on her New Year's Eve plans last night. She stayed silent. I raised my chin and looked him in the eye. "Nice of you to remember we exist." I said. "Was there more to this happy little homecoming or can I go up to my room and go to bed now?"