Wren's P. O. V.
"Hey Em, what's up?" I asked, answering the phone.
"I have some news," she said softly.
"What's wrong?" I asked getting worried.
"Um, dad is getting released tomorrow."
"What?" my voice cracked.
"He's getting released for good behavior. He called me today. H-he wants to see you Wren."
"No. No way."
"Wren-"
"Em, I never want to see him again."
"He's our dad."
"What he did was unforgivable! I'm not seeing him. I don't think you should either."
"He got help in prison. His therapist said he was doing so much better."
"You and I both know very well that he's a great liar."
"Maybe you should just give him a chance."
"I don't know why you're on his side now. You don't know what he did to me," I struggled to say as tears fell down my face. I heard the curtain open and Jonah walked in. He saw my face and ran towards me.
"Wren just think about it."
"I don't wanna think about him. I have to go."
"I'll call you later."
"Bye." I ended the call and wiped my tears.
"Are you okay?"
"No, but I will be."
"Do you wanna talk about it?" I didn't say anything, I just walked into his arms. He rubbed my back and let me cry into his chest. "Jack's inside, do you wanna go inside?"
"Just give me a few minutes. I don't want my first impression to be me balling my eyes out," I said giving a small smile. Jonah waited for me when I went to the bathroom to fix my makeup. I made myself presentable then followed Jonah into Zach's house.
"There she is!" Jack said taking my hand. He introduced me to his parents and sisters, and I got hugs from all of them. Zach did the same with his family. It was pretty stressful, trying to stay calm and act like I hadn't just been crying. I still got anxious around big groups of people, especially when they're all focused on me, so that didn't help.
"I bet you're all starving, I made some food for you guys," Zach's mom, Myta, announced.
We all went to the kitchen, but Jack held me back.
"Are you okay? Your eyes are a little red."
"I'm fine, but can we talk later?"
"Of course." We walked into the kitchen and filled our plates with the food Myta had cooked.
***
"What's wrong?" Jack asked. That night I had taken him out to the backyard to talk. Zach gave up his room for Jack's mom, so were all stuck on the couches which meant no privacy for Jack and I.
"Em called me earlier. My dad is getting out of prison. He wants to talk to me."
"Are you going to?"
"I can't! I can't get over what he did to me."
"But Em thinks you should see him?" He asked, reading my mind.
"Yeah, she thinks I should think about forgiving him."
"And what do you think?"
"She just doesn't understand. She's not the one who felt the pain. She's not the one who had tears streaming down her face while she screamed at him to stop. She didn't have to tell the story over and over again to her mom and the police. She hasn't been scarred for life, scared to ever be herself again, scared to ever be with someone again, scared to trust anyone ever again."
Tears poured down from my eyes, my makeup streaming down too. My shoulders shook. Jack had the saddest look in his eyes when he looked at me. He sat down in a chair and pulled me onto his lap. I wrapped my arms tightly around him and cried into the crook of his neck.
"I won't let him hurt you again."
"I know."
"I won't let anyone hurt you."
"I know. Thank you." I kissed his jaw line. He hugged me tighter, making me feel so much better.
We stayed there for about ten minutes before I brought my head up and looked into his eyes. I put my hands on Jack's cheeks and leaned in, kissing him slowly and passionately, giving him all of my love.
When we went inside Jonah, Corbyn, Daniel, and Zach were laying across the couches. Ava and Sydnie were on a blowup mattress. Despite Jonah and Ava's complaints, they were watching a scary movie.
Jack and I were left to the love seat by the fireplace that was too small for two people.
"I'll sleep on the floor," Jack suggested.
"No, we'll fit." I pulled him onto the couch. I laid down and Jack rested on me with his head on my chest. He wrapped his arm around me. I draped my arm over his back and ran my other hand through his curls.
My tank top gave Jack an idea. I smiled as he left trails of kisses all over my chest. The movie hadn't ended before we fell asleep, and Jonah woke us both up with his scream.
"What the hell Jonah?" Jack asked with his groggy voice that sounded so hot.
"Sorry bro, you know I hate scary movies," he said hiding behind his pillow.
"Then put on a princess movie, just something that won't make him cry," Jack said earning soft laughs from everyone.
Jack looked up at me and smiled his beautiful, perfect smile before falling back asleep.
*****
