The Help~(Completed♡)

Back To Basics

Ellie's P.O.V.

D gently helped me up from his lap as I sniffled a little,

"I'm sorry."

"I forgive you."

"I-I lied to you."

"About what?"

"Jake already spanked me for cheating." His face fell,

"What!? Elena why would you lie to me about that!?"

"I-I'm sorry.", I whispered, "I-I just- I still felt really bad and-and- I-I don't know." He sighed,

"First off, you don't lie to me. Ever. About anything. Second, you don't let me or anyone else punish you for something that's already been handled Elena! We don't continuously revisit problems unless they recur."

"But... sometimes we get spanked at school and at home."

"That's... different. If you get punished for something at school, which is rare, your being punished by administrators. And they legally can't comfort you afterwards, only talk to you if they even do that. I punish you as your parent and guardian and if Jake is in charge of you at the time and he punishes you, then it's done with. You have a group of guardians and if one of us disciplines you for something, we all forgive you. We're a team, we don't turn around and revisit issues in different ways."

"What if I do something bad and one of you punishes me but not enough?"

"Then we will talk to each other and then talk to you. Normally we communicate with each other enough that we don't have this problem but Jake wasn't allowed to talk to me."

"I know."

"So, you understand that we all forgive you? Across the board?"

"Yes."

"Good." He hugged me tightly, "I'm so sorry-"

"It was my fault. I lied to you."

"I still feel terrible."

"I know. I'm sorry D."

"It's okay."

~~~~

"I... don't think you need me anymore.", Jake laughed a little, smiling even though his eyes were sad.

"W-What? Why not?"

"You're getting good grades in all your classes. You're understanding the material. I think my job is done."

"So-So you're just leaving?"

"I'm sure I'll be around kid. You just don't need me as a tutor anymore."

"I still need you as a friend."

"I know. And I'll still be here for you, I just won't be here everyday for hours or anything."

"Okay."

Damon's P.O.V.

I sighed, calling Jake,

"What's up?", he answered.

"I think we need to rehire you."

"What? She was doing so good."

"I know. And within three weeks, she's dropped at least a letter grade in all of her classes."

"What the fuck? How is that even possible?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe she really did need the help still."

"I'll be over in an hour. I have a feeling that's not the case."

~~~~

Ellie peered at the table,

"I'm sorry."

"That's not what we need to hear.", I said softly.

"I know you're smart Ellie.", Jake said, "You understood everything. You knew how to do this stuff. So what happened? Was it getting out of routine? Did you panic? Did it get harder in the two weeks I wasn't tutoring you? Was-"

"I was scared to lose you.", she muttered.

"What?" She looked up at him sadly,

"I didn't wanna lose you. You were only here to tutor me 'cause you got paid and you're not gonna get paid for being my friend but I still need you around. I-I thought if I did bad in my classes, you'd come back and stay." He got up and walked around the table, crouching next to her,

"Babe, I don't get paid anyways. The program I'm in is a volunteer program. You weren't gonna lose me, we're family at this point. But failing your classes is not the way to go. It will get you into more trouble and can drastically effect your future. No more. I want you to get those grades back up and if you need help, tell me. I'll still help you and if it gets hard again and I need to start tutoring you again, I will. You're my priority. If it makes you feel better, we can make a routine so we still hang out."

"Okay. I'm sorry."

"It's okay kiddo.", he said hugging her tightly.

~~~~

Luke shuffle into our room for the third night this week,

"Dads?"

"Come on.", Ash said softly. He crawled into bed between us, snuggling into the covers,

"I misseded you guys."

"Missed.", I corrected, "And we missed you too baby. So so much."

"But eventually you need to start sleeping in your own bed again.", Ash said, petting his hair.

"Not tonight.", he pouted.

"No, not tonight. But by next week. It's fine that you sleep in here sometimes if you're upset or scared, but you need to know how to stay in your own room too. Okay?" He nodded, yawning.

"We'll figure it out some other time. Go to sleep baby.", I said softly.

Jake's P.O.V.

Bella got on her tippy toes, trying to reach a bowl from the cabinet. I reached over her, getting it easily as her sleeve slipped down, revealing many cuts on her arm. We both froze.

"Don't tell dads.", she whispered, "Please don't tell them Jake." I opened and closed my mouth a few times, not knowing what to say,

"I-I-" I stopped, "I'll be back." I went out the back door as she quickly followed,

"No! Jake please!", she cried, "Please. I'll never forgive you."

"But at least you'd be fucking alive."

"You don't know that." Jaxx came up on the porch, our lab Baxter following,

"What's going on?" Bella swallowed hard,

"Nothing."

"Bella's fucking cutting herself." He slumped a little,

"I-I know."

"You know!?"

"He's known for awhile.", Bella whispered. Jaxx stepped towards her,

"Did you-"

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay Bells."

"Why didn't I know?"

"Because I knew you'd freak out and tell dads. I'm not ready for them to know and you telling them would make everything worse."

"We know you have good intentions but it would have bad outcomes Jake.", Jaxx said softly. I let out a deep breath,

"O-Okay. But you have to talk to me and be honest."

"I will. I am with Jaxx."

"Good. I can't lose you."

"I know bubba."