First

Chapter 32

Jace ended up moving in with us, much to the annoyance of Levi and oddly enough my mother. He never did tell me what had transpired during this talk with my dad but somehow my dad had come to the conclusion that it was safer if Jace stayed with us. I didn't object; everything was falling into place creating a picture we had never expected. But still, I embraced it; it was better than the alternative and I think the three of us knew that.

As Jace and I lay in bed that night, the raised voices of my parents drifted under the door and into our ears.

"I don't know why you agreed to let him stay without even talking to me first. We should be making this decision together. This isn't something we can take lightly, Jacob," my mother cried.

Jace pulled me tighter to his side. "Just ignore them."

I buried my head into his shoulder to block out the harsh whispers that were slowly fading. "I hate that they're arguing over this. Over you. Can't she see that this is bigger than just her?"

"She's worried about you," Jace shrugged. "It's no big deal. I'm used to it."

That made me that much sadder.

After my cousin and aunt left, my dad took Jace to get his things from his house. As much as I begged, Jace wouldn't take me with him, saying it was too dangerous. "I'm not willing to risk it, so no, you're not going. You're staying here, end of," and his tone told me there would be no arguing; he had made up his mind. But he did take my dad with him so that made me feel a little better. I waited anxiously, each second they were gone feeling like a year, until they returned. I was terrified that Jace's dad would be waiting for him. The thought made me sick to my stomach.

When they walked through the door and both Jace and my dad were unscathed, I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. I walked towards him and wrapped my arms around his neck as he held me to his chest.

"Where's your stuff?" I asked, realizing he was empty handed. My heart caught in my throat, fearing the worst.

Jace's hands trailed over my back in soothing motions. "It's all in the truck," he reassured. "I'm staying." I blew out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. "Come on, let's go to the kitchen. Your dad's calling a family meeting." He pulled away and I let him lead me into the kitchen. We sat down at the table and were soon joined by the rest of my family. Jace held my hand tightly between both of his and worried at his lip. He was nervous. I was curious what this was all about but I didn't have too long to wait.

"So," my dad began, blowing out a puff of air. "I called a family meeting—"

"Then why is he here?" Levi blurted, his face screwing up in annoyance as he glared at Jace.

My dad sighed. "Levi, don't even start. Jason is here because this concerns him; he's part of this family now too." Levi shot a disgusted look in Jace's direction and I was tempted to kick him under the table. Thankfully my dad got right to the chase. "Jason will be moving in here until further notice."

Raegan squealed in delight and surprising all of us, got up from the table and ran around to throw herself at Jace. "I've always wanted another big brother," she cried. It wasn't until that moment that I realized Jace was already a part of this family. This was his home. It always had been.

My eyes widened and focused on Jace. I didn't miss the tears that built in his eyes. I smiled at him and lay my head on his shoulder. His arm came up and wrapped around my shoulders, resting his lips against my hair.

"But," my dad continued, drawing our attention. "There are going to be some ground rules, obviously."

Jace and I nodded in understanding, knowing that all of those rules were going to apply to us. "Jace will sleep in the spare bedroom downstairs. The whole sharing a bedroom thing stops tonight. We will get everything set up and you'll move in there." I had expected this but it was going to be a hard transition to make after spending the last few nights together, especially considering what we had shared. And I didn't like him being so far away from me in case he had another nightmare. "Also, from now on, there will be an open door policy; doors will stay open until curfew."

"There's a fucking curfew now? Because of these two!" Levi cried in outrage.

"Language, Levi. And yes a curfew. 10pm, you are in your respective rooms and the doors can be closed. But before then, doors are open. I don't care if you're in one another's room before that but at curfew you're in your own room." My dad looked around at the two of us. "Is that understood?" he asked. "I think it's fair considering the situation."

Jace and I nodded in agreement; my dad could have imposed a lot harder restrictions on us and I was thankful for that. Jace looked around at the table. "Thank you, for giving me a place to stay." He and my dad shared a secret look and my dad nodded in understanding of whatever that was.

My dad looked around the table at all of us and nodded. "Okay, I think that's it. Meeting adjourned."

With that, Jace and I stood up, heading for his room. I could hear Levi grumbling behind us about "the injustice of it all." He was obviously upset but he would just have to get over it. Jace wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. I walked into Jace's room as he headed out to his truck to get his stuff. While he was out there, I decided to put fresh sheets on the bed. I was surprised how few belongings he had when he only came in with two loads.

"Is that it?" I asked when he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Yep, not much to put away. I didn't want to take anything besides what I absolutely needed," he shrugged.

I sat down beside him and rested my forehead against his shoulder. "You okay?"

Jace played with his fingers. "Not really," he admitted, his voice wavering. When I looked up I saw tears in his eyes and my heart broke for him. "What am I supposed to do now?" he asked, his question directed at no one in particular. "Where am I supposed to even go from here?"

I sighed. "You take it one day at a time; that's all you really can do."

"I mean, I can't go home, my mom won't let me see the twins..." He continued as if I hadn't even spoken. "My whole life has been turned on its head in a matter of days. Fuck," he groaned, falling back onto the bed. I stared at him for a moment before collapsing beside him.

I looked down at our hands and twined them together. "This is your home now and this is your life. I know you're in turmoil right now, but you've got us."

Jace rolled towards me. "I know and I'm so grateful because things are going to get a whole lot worse. Dad's already told Mom he's going to take her to court and fight for custody... of all of us."

My free hand came up and covered my mouth in horror. Why would his dad even want custody of Jace if he hated him so much? Was he just trying to prove a point or did he want to have Jace so that he would have someone to hate? "No. He can't win, we can't let him," I said, horrified.

Jace pulled me to his side and dropped a kiss to my head. "We won't let him," he promised as silent tears leaked down my face.