Overexposed

Ch. 24 Surprises

Yay! New update! FINALLY!
Thank you so much for sticking with me!
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"Owie," Evie's voice whispered, a little finger reaching out to poke at her father's face. "Daddy has an owie."

Angela gently grabbed her daughter's wrist before her finger hit the dark purple bruise on Juice's cheek. She didn't know what it was about her daughter, but the little girl loved to poke at bruises. Often times, Angela didn't realize she had one until she felt the girl's little finger digging into one. "Don't touch, Evie-doll. It'll hurt him."

"How he get that?" she asked, settling between Angela's legs. Angela had been up reading on her iPad for awhile now, monitoring Juice's breathing, tempted not to wake him up. She knew he might have a concussion, and she'd driven him crazy during the night poking and prodding him every two hours to make sure he was still conscious. Now that she was awake, she let him sleep unbothered. That was until Evie came into the room wanting snuggles. Angela had picked her up and set her down in the bed happy to snuggle with her first born while she still could.

"Daddy fought a bad guy yesterday," she explained, cringing at her own explanation; she had to think of a better way to explain shit like this to Evie, or she was going to be in serious trouble when the girl was older and thought fighting with fists was acceptable.

Evie's dark eyes grew wide. "A bad guy?" she gasped. "He win?"

"Uh-huh, but we don't fight bad guys with fists, right?"

"No, we use our words unless they hit us first!" she stated matter-of-factly. She leaned her head back against her Mom's chest.

Angela smirked, kissing her daughter's cheek. "Damn straight."

"I play games?" she asked, nodding towards the big screen in Angela's lap.

She nodded, going to one of the educational games she'd downloaded for her daughter and giving the device to her. Evie eagerly got to work, playing the learning games with a serious expression on her face. Angela watched with pride as she blasted through the games, answering every question right. Her daughter was a genius, she was sure of it. Slowly she raked her hands through Evie's thick hair, gently weaving the strands over and under each other. Evie played on without a care in the world; she liked it when people played with her hair.

Juice stirred a bit rolling to his back, the sheet slipping down a bit to reveal some of his bare torso. Bruises were visible just underneath his pec. Dark purple and probably very painful, the sight alone made her stomach clench; she hated seeing him in any kind of pain. What had he been thinking getting into the ring with Chibs? Was this going to be a normal occurrence if they moved to closer to Charming? God, she hoped not. She'd gotten too use to their normal little life in Texas. She wasn't used to the fighting and violence any more. What were they thinking moving right back into it?

"We go see Nana Lena today?" Evie asked, leaning back to look up at her again.

"Sure, baby girl. I think she'd like that," she answered, knowing that was the answer to her thoughts. They were moving back, so she could be with her family again. So her daughter could know her Mom and her Aunt. Happy too. Despite the violence, she loved the idea of her kids growing up with her family nearby. Love that it meant she got to keep working at the funeral home instead of the mundane work of an office assistant. She shook her head, letting out a long breath. One thing at a time, she told herself.

Juice shifted again on the bed, rolling towards them. She was aware of his eyes on them, a look of pure adoration on his bruised and battered face. Evie turned to look at him; giving him the smile she'd inherited from him. She set the iPad down, crawling closer to him, and pressing her little fingers against a particularly large bruise on his cheek. "Owie, Daddy," she said, a very concerned look on her face.