My eyes fluttered open. I felt the familiar sensation of Daveed's strong arms around me as I shifted positions to look at him.

   He was already up. In fact, he was staring at me with those beautiful brown eyes of his.

   "Stalker," I mumbled jokingly, smirking.

   Daveed shrugged. "Well, it's worth being labeled as a stalker if I can look at you." He pulled me closer to him, which I didn't think was possible.

   I smiled, cuddling against him. The sound of his deep breathing began to lull me into another sleep.

   I was woken by Sadie crying.

   "Ugh," I groaned, sitting up (Daveed pet out a sigh of disappointment because of that). His arms still around me, I said to Daveed, "We should probably go calm her down."

   "Do we have to?" Daveed whined, letting go of me and sitting up also. "I'm tired. And I want cuddles."

   I rolled my eyes. "I have no time for your neediness. Sadie is crying, and it's our job to soothe her."

   Daveed groaned. "Fine. But I expect you to repay me with more cuddles later."

   Knowing that we were both probably gonna forget about that, I said, "I will. Now, let's go help our offspring."

  We both stood up and made our way to the nursery. We expected Rafa to have left a note saying that he left or something, but nope. Rafa was still there, cradling our baby and whispering lullabies to her.

   "Rafa?" I said in shock. (This isn't the startling discovery, don't worry. My life isn't that dull.)

   Rafa looked up at me tiredly. "Oh. Hey, (Y/N). You're right. Sadie's a real piece of work."

   "You're telling me?" I said with a chuckle, taking Sadie from Rafa. "Go home. You didn't have to stay this long."

   "But I wanted to!" Rafa said with a weary smile. "This is probably the first good sleep you've had in a while. And I didn't wanna cut that short."

   I looked at the time.

   10:00.

   I chuckled. "Rafa, it's 10:00. It wouldn't have been the end of the world if Sadie woke us up."

   Daveed nodded in agreement.

   Rafa sighed. "I guess you're right." He looked at me. "I hope you enjoyed your sleep."

   I smiled. "I did. And Daveed did too."

  Rafa smiled back. "That's good."

   That's when I heard my phone ding from the table it was on.

   I picked it up, Sadie still in one hand. She curiously looked down at the device I was holding, confused at what it was. I turned it on and gasped quietly.

   "What is it?" Daveed asked, peering over my shoulder.

   "A-a text f-from Luca," I stammered.

   Daveed gulped. "What does he want?"

   I shrugged, opening the text. (I always like to open it before reading it, just in case there's something I missed.) My eyes scanned the message, and boy, was it something.

   It said,

   Luca: Hey, (Y/N). I don't know how to segway into this, so I'm just gonna say it. I miss you. I want you back. I'm willing to forgive the whole thing with Daveed if you take me back. If you're with him, the offer still stands. Wouldn't you rather be with me than with him? I'm sorry for how I acted. But I'll definitely make it up to you if you just take me back.

   Daveed's eyes darkened when he finished reading. "That son of a bitch!" he growled. "Why would he even ask that after all the damage he caused you?"

   "I dunno..," I mumbled. "What do I say? If I say no...what if he threatens to hurt me? And what if he actually does? Hurt me, I mean?"

   "He won't," Daveed assured, wrapping an arm around me. "I won't let that happen."

   Sadie looked so confused at what was happening before her. But she knew it wasn't good, because she let out some sort of growl.

   I noticed that Rafa was being very silent throughout the situation. Apparently Daveed did too, because we both turned to look at him at the same time.

   Rafa looked like he was steaming with anger. "Motherfucker..," he grumbled. "I see what his plan is! You're gonna say no, and then he's gonna threaten you, and you'll have to say yes! Or else terrible things will happen!"

   That only made me more nervous. I looked down, tears filling my eyes.

   "No, no!" Daveed said, glaring at Rafa. "That won't happen, (Y/N)! You hear me? It won't!"

   "How do you know?" I asked, tears actually falling down my face now.

   Daveed said, "I can't guarantee that he won't attempt to threaten you, but I can guarantee that you will not have to say yes. I'll protect you if he tries anything."

   That soothed me a little. "Thank you..," I said quietly. "So...do I say no..?"

   Daveed nodded.

   I began to type a response, then sent it. The response was,

   Me: I appreciate the offer, Luca, but I think I'll pass. I'm sorry.

   I decided to keep the response short without giving away any information.

   I got a response almost immediately.

   It said,

   Luca: Why? I'm far better than any man you've ever dated!

   I said back,

   Me: I'm taking a break from dating for a while. You're right, though. You are better than any man I've ever dated.

   Noticing Daveed's heartbroken expression, I clarified, "Don't worry, Dav. This text is 100% bullshit."

   Daveed sighed with relief. "Good. For a second, I thought..." he trailed off, shaking his head.

   I knew what he meant, despite him not finishing his sentence. "Are you kidding? You're a million times better than he is!"

   Daveed blushed. "...I wouldn't go that far..."

   "Oh, shut up," I giggled.

   Luca then came back with a response, which was,

   Luca: Then why won't you take me back? That's it. I'm coming over to convince you to take me back. Where are you staying? I'm assuming Daveed's house. I'll be over in a few minutes. See you then, darling.

   My heart dropped to my feet. "No..."

   Even Daveed looked scared. "(Y/N)...it's okay..."

   "No, it's not!" I said. "He's gonna see Sadie...and...we're gonna be done for!"

   Daveed took Sadie from me and said, "We'll hide her. Don't worry, we're not gonna be done for."

   "And he seemed all cool about the possibility of us being together over text, but if he figures that out in person, he could still go off on us!" I said, tears falling down my face once more.

   "We could just say that we're still friends!" Daveed said. "And that we decided to just forget about the incident!"

   I thought about that for a minute. "Okay. Are you two good liars?" I asked Rafa and Daveed.

   Both Rafa and Daveed nodded.

   "Then it's time to use your skills," I said to them. "Daveed, go lock Sadie in the nursery."

   Daveed nodded and did as he was told.

   "And Rafa..," I began. I then realized I didn't have a job for him. "...just sit there."

   Rafa shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

   That's when Luca knocked on the door, and when I realized that there was a possibility that Sadie would cry, and our lies would be figure out.

   But that wouldn't happen.

...

   Right..?

Thanks for 900+ reads!!