Chapter 43

Shaw

       I couldn't have been happier the past couple days now that the kids were staying with me and Holden most of the time. I kind of felt hypocrtical since I didn't want the kids taken away from me but that was exactly what I did to Kendra. Holden kept assuring me that it wasn't the same thing.

       I knew he was right but it was kind of hard not feeling guilty whenever I was at work where Hugh and Kendra would come in just to glare at me.

       As you could see, they were handling it very maturly.

       I got home from another exhausting day of work, flopping down on the chair in the living room. Holden, Mercy, and Lucian were playing a video game, and Castiel was sitting at the coffee table colouring on a piece of paper.

       And they didn't even acknowledge I came home.

       "I love this welcoming," I said. "So warm."

       Castiel was the only one to pay attention. He dropped the crayon on the table before going over to me and giving me a huge hug. "I missed you, Dad," he said. "Everyone is being mean to me."

       "What? Really?" I asked.

       "Yes," Castiel said. "They won't let me play the game because I'm too young."

       "Okay, and the truth?" I asked, knowing my six-year-old son too well.

       "I lost and threw the controller so Holden said I couldn't play for a while."

       I chuckled. "Of course you did. It's okay, colouring is a lot more fun. What are you drawing?"

       "A robot dog eating an elephant."

       "Uh, wow, very... creative."

       "I know, right!" Castiel went back to the coffee table to continue colouring.

       Finally, everyone else acknowledged that I came home, but that was only because they finished the game they were playing. And Mercy got mad because she lost so she threw the controller.

       "Mercedes," I said in a warning tone. "I've told you and your brothers not to throw the controllers if you lose the game."

       "Then tell that to your husband," Mercy said.

       I looked at Holden with a raised eyebrow. "I did not," Holden said. "I just... slightly tossed it onto the couch because I was not impressed that an eight year old beat me so bad that I was on the verge of tears."

       "Awe, doesn't that suck?" I asked. "But I would get used to Lucian beating you. He has some serious skills for an eight year old."

       "I am pretty good, aren't I?" Lucian said.

       "But there's no need to brag," I said.

       "There is if I'm so good I beat you and Holden and Mercy and Castiel," Lucian said. "But it's easy beating Castiel because he's a little baby."

       "I am not!" Castiel said. "You're mean!"

       "And you're a baby!"

       "Dad, tell Lucian to stop being a meanie!"

       "As long as he tells you to stop being a baby!"

       "Alright, Lucian, that's enough," I said. "Apologize to your brother."

       Lucian scowled. "Sorry, you're a baby, Castiel."

       "Are you asking to not play video games for the rest of the day?" I asked.

       Lucian's eyes widened before he gave Castiel a hug. "I am so sorry, Castiel! You are not a baby at all!"

       Castiel's only reply was to gently pushing his brother off of him before going back to colouring.

       And as dramatic as my kids were, I couldn't help but smile. This was what I missed with them being around because it was a never dull moment here.

       Holden got up from the couch. "Well, I'm going to get started on dinner and if I burn down the house, I apologize. Just someone make sure I don't forget I have something on the stove, and scream if you smell smoke."

       "Will do, step-father," Mercy said, giving Holden a thumbs up as he walked to the kitchen.

       "And I will sit here until dinner because I'm exhausted from working," I said. "In fact, I'll probably eat dinner here as well."

       "Okay, but if I do burn down the house, you're going to have to move," Holden said.

       "We'll see," I said.

       It was highly unlikely I would move though. Hugh and Kendra's glares while I was at work were exhausting.

       My cell phone started ringing so I pulled it out of my pocket. Kendra's name was on the caller ID and I did debate answering it. I really didn't like the way she was treating my the past few weeks and tried stopping me from seeing my kids but...

       She was still my best friend.

       I should see what she wanted.

       I answered it before holding it up to my ear. "Hello?"

       There wasn't even a voice on the other line. Well, there was but everything was too muffled for me to hear it.

       "Hello?" I said again. "Are you there? Why call me if you're not going to say anything?"

       Still nothing except for the muffled voices. I couldn't really make out any words. Just a few here and there.

       I sighed and hung up the phone, but didn't have the best feeling about the phone call so I got up from the chair. "Holden?!" I called. "I have to step out for a bit! Can you keep an eye on the kids?!"

       "Multitasking?! Yeah, totally!" Holden called back. "Don't be surprised if you come back to a burnt down house!"

      I chuckled and looked at Mercy. "Keep an eye on your step-dad, okay?"

      "Yes, sir," Mercy said.

      I left the house and headed to Kendra's house. I knocked on the door but didn't get a reply. "Kendra?!" I called. "Are you in there?!"

       A few moments later, Kendra opened the door and I immediately knew something was wrong. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice both hesitant and quiet.

       As if she didn't want someone to hear our conversation.

       "I've been trying to call you," I said. "Castiel forgot his teddy bear here and he's now sulking and refuses to leave the couch."

       "Oh, sorry," Kendra said. "The back door has a broken lock so I've been trying fix it. I guess I didn't hear my phone ring. I actually think the teddy bear is at my dad's house. I'll get him to drop it off."

       "Okay, thanks," I said.

       Kendra didn't say anything else before closing the front door. And thankfully, I caught the hint she was telling me, so I went around the house and to the back door. I now knew why Kendra did that weird call earlier.

       Roman was in the house, clearly threatening her.

       I didn't waste any time to get into the house and push Roman away from Kendra. "You really need to stop this stupid vendetta you have against me," I said. "Or if you want to keep it, then leave everyone else out of it. Don't bring my husband, my children, or my best friend into it."

       "Then you should have thought about that before you killed my sister!" Roman said.

       "She was pointing a gun at me," I said. "She was going to kill me. Would you have the same mindset if she killed me and one of my family members went after her?"

       "That's different," Roman said.

       "How is that different?" I asked. "Are you really that stupid?"

       Roman immediately glared at me. "Say that one more time."

       "Why? Too complex for you to understand?"

       Roman completely lost his anger then and pushed me up against the wall. "I've been nice to you so far," Roman said. "I could have completely destroyed you from the minute I found you. Things would have been a lot easier for me. And now, I am finally going to finish you off."

       Roman reached into his pocket, pulling out a knife and holding it up to my neck. "So, where should I start?" he asked.

       Kendra grabs Roman's arm, trying to get him to pull away. "Please just get off of him."

       Roman still had every bit of anger inside of him, so he did pull away from me for a bit and punched Kendra across the face.

       Seeing him punch my best friend brought out all the anger inside of me; the anger I had pushed away for as long as I could.

       And that anger caused me to push Roman was hard as I could, causing him to lose his balance and hit his head on the coffee table, immediately going unconscious.

       I took a few deep breahts before going over to Kendra. "Hey, are you okay?"

       "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, though a bruise was starting to form under her eye. "It just hurts a bit."

       "I'll get you some ice," I said, going over to the fridge in the kitchen. I pulled out an ice pack and wrapped it in a tea towel before heading back to Kendra, who was now sitting on the couch.

       I handed her the ice pack and she held it over the bruise. "Thanks," she said. "And thanks for coming. I'm glad you understood the call."

       The front door opened and Hugh walked inside, looking extremely confused when he saw the scene in front of him. "What happened?"

       "The man on the floor, Roman, broke in," Kendra said. "Threatened me. Shaw got here just in time."

       "Did he hurt you?" Hugh asked, hurrying over to Kendra.

       "Yeah, but I'm fine," Kendra said. "Just a little bruise."

       "I swear, when he wakes up, I'm going to kill him," Hugh said before going over to Roman to examine him. "Ouch, that's gonna leave some mark. Looks like he bumped his head on the coffee table pretty bad."

       "Yet another reason for him to hate me," I said.

       Kendra gave me a sympathetic smile before rubbing my bad. "It's okay."

       "Uh... I can't find a pulse," Hugh said.

       "What?" I asked.

       "Roman has no pulse," Hugh said. "He's dead."

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oof

lol i need to stop binging shows because it only distracts me. and it's almost 2 am but i might write another chapter oops. don't expect one because i might not but i might so you can expect one if you want