I've slept curled up in this man's arms countless times before and it's always felt safe but I don't think it's ever felt quite this peaceful.

He knows it all now. He knows every hidden part of me, inside out and backwards, and he still holds me like I'm made up of the finest things this life has to offer.

During my explanation, he cried with me and for me. Silent tears that he didn't try to hide or suppress. I went on to tell him Cal's news and how I had dropped the ball and called Justin and then Adam. He seemed stunned by all the information but he didn't get upset. He just calmly walked me to the house next door and let us inside.

Without waking up Cal and April, we took our post on the couch with the plan to discuss Adam's knowledge about Cal with them in the morning. In the meantime, I held on to the hope that Adam meant what he said when he claimed he would never hurt Cal.

I dozed on and off, sleeping lightly and knowing that I would hear the door open if anyone tried to sneak in. Even Theo, who has proven to sleep like a rock in the past, stirred at every one of my movements to make sure all was well.

But even with keeping watch, I felt at peace. I felt safe and whole and loved. I felt like everything was going to work out even though just a few hours ago—for most of my life, really—it had felt like everything was falling apart.

I stretch as my alarm starts beeping, and Theo groans before roaming his hands down my body to find which pocket holds my cellphone.

"It's on the floor," I explain in a quiet murmur.

"I know," he answers as his hands slip into the back pockets of my jeans.

I giggle while pressing my face into his chest, and Theo lightly squeezes my backside before removing one of his hands from my pocket to reach over me for my phone on the floor.

The beeping stops and he rests the phone on my hip before placing his hand on my cheek and giving me a sweet kiss. "Am I allowed to call in for you this time or is it going to piss you off again?"

"You had no right," I tell him with a small frown but it's hard to be annoyed with him about it now. "How do you know I was pissed off anyway?"

"Heidi called me. Wanted to know why I told her you wouldn't be in only to have you showing up and stomping around like an angry bull on a mission. I'm sorry, Princess. I should have known you'd want to tough it out instead of staying at home. I was just trying to find a way to take care of my woman even if she didn't want me around her.

"I wanted you around. I just..." I'm not sure how to explain myself, and my tired eyes begin to well up as I'm reminded of how difficult it was to stay away from him when it was truly the last thing I wanted.

"I know. It's okay. We're past that now, right?" He gives me another kiss and then smiles at me. "And I know you're so tough, Milia, but you are also so tired, and we have a lot going on." His gentle smile turns into a little smirk after he brushes away the single tear off my face that managed to escape—clear evidence of my exhausted and emotional state. "Stay home with me today?"

I nod because I know he has a point but then I sigh. "I'm going to lose my job."

"No, don't worry about that. You let me talk to her and I'll make her understand. And if she doesn't and wants to let you go, so be it. We'll find you another job once this all settles, okay? You don't always need to tough it out. Even if you are tough as nails."

"Hmm..." I smooth a hand down his chest, following the movement with my eyes before I peer up at him through my lashes. "Isn't it your job to pound nails?"

My flirty teasing catches him off guard and he looks mildly thrown before his loud, boyish laughter escapes him. The sound is music to my ears. I giggle with amusement while I snuggle closer to his body and press my cheek against him. "Call Heidi, big guy. I want to sleep with you before the others wake up. And yes, I do actually mean sleep, though I can hardly believe it myself."

My request makes him laugh some more. He squeezes me closer and kisses the top of my head once he's pulled himself back together, and I can't keep the smile off of my face due to the warm, fuzzy feelings that are buzzing through my veins. It feels so good to be laughing together in our over-tired and stressed out condition. It's incredible how just being in his arms can bring me so much joy when life is still as messy and complicated as it was when he was gone.

He lifts my phone from my hip and hands it to me to unlock while explaining, "I left mine in the truck."

When I hand it back to him, he makes the call, keeping my body tucked close to his with his free arm.

"Emilia?" Heidi's voice comes through the phone after two rings. "Is everything alright?'

"Hey, Heids. It's—"

"Oh! Hi, Theo! I guess everything's more than alright then, eh?"

I blush when Theo's eyes meet mine. We both know exactly where Heidi's mind has gone.

"Uh," he murmurs awkwardly, unsure about whether or not he should correct her assumption. "Things are good with us, yeah." His fingers lightly stroke my arm. "But we do have some family stuff that—"

"Emilia needs the day off again?"

"Please."

Her sigh sounds through the phone, and I cringe, sure I'm about to get canned, but then she says, "You're lucky I'm a sucker for love, Theo. And Emilia's a drag without you around. Don't let her come back here until she's ready to smile and doesn't want to fight Ruthie anymore."

"Thanks, Heidi. I owe you big time."

"Yeah, yeah. You keep saying that. I'm just waiting for Tony to agree on the new house I want and then I plan to call in the favour."

"You guys buy the lumber and I'll get building as soon as I have an opening in my schedule."

"And when will that be, 2054?"

He laughs and nods along. "Yeah, something like that. Plenty of time for you to convince Tone."

Heidi laughs too and says her goodbyes, and Theo hangs up the phone and then cocks his eyebrow at me.

"What?" I question, wondering why he's giving me a look.

"You want to tell me why you were wanting to fight a sweet old lady?"

I giggle at the baffled look he's giving me and cover my face. I'd rather not share my less-than-stellar moment with Ruthie from the other day but we hear footsteps coming down the stairs before Theo can question me about it any further.

"Hey," Cal greets, looking beyond pleased to see the two of us cuddled up together. "What are you two lovebirds doing here? Tell me you didn't defile my couch."

Theo begins to sit up, and I move my arms from around him to give him some space while I sit up too.

Cal begins to walk towards us but then hesitates when he sees the look on Theo's face. "Don't start with me, man. I'm not changing my mind."

Theo sighs and strokes his beard. It looks like he has a lot to say but he just shakes his head slowly and glances at me before turning back to Cal. "I do want to talk to you about it all, Cal, but there's something more important we need to handle first."

Cal frowns and looks back and forth between us. He must know that it's serious if Theo is willing to bypass the fact that he plans to leave his sister and niece when there's a new baby on the way. "I'm listening..."

I bite my lip and look down at the floor but then Theo squeezes my hand it gives me the courage I need to speak up. "I called Adam, Cal. I told him. I'm so sorry. I was drunk and mad and I'm such an idiot and —"

"He told her he wouldn't hurt you," Theo cuts me off, releasing my hand only to put his arm over my shoulders to pull me into his side in a comforting gesture. "The question is, do you believe him or do we need to get the police involved now?"

A gasp sounds through the room and the three of us turn to find April frozen on the staircase.

"Ape." Cal moves in her direction quickly. "Don't worry, love, it's okay. Adam's a solid guy. I believe him. It's okay."

My guilt grows as April starts crying, and Theo kisses the side of my head as if he can feel the guilt seeping out of me. "I think we should all stick together for the next couple of days," he explains. "Keep Emily home from school today, we all stay home from work. It's better to be safe than sorry, and I think we'll all feel a little more at ease if we're all in the same house."

"No," Cal starts with a frown. "It's okay, guys. Let's just—"

"Calvin," April firmly cuts him off, but her features soften when Cal blinks at her in surprise. She kisses his cheek and then rubs his back while she turns to Theo. "I'm so glad you're home."

"Glad to be here, sis. You could have called me."

April shrugs and looks at me with the smallest smirk on her face that reminds me so much of her brother. "I was pretty hopeful that I wouldn't have to."

I smile at her while leaning into Theo's side and feel ashamed all over again for what I said to her last night. "April, about what I said..." I drift off when she holds up a hand and shakes her head.

"It's fine, Emilia. Really." I don't miss the subtle nod towards Cal that she gives me, and I know that she has a point. It will be better for everyone if Cal doesn't find out what I said to her. "So, it's settled. We're all staying here today. Why don't we head to the kitchen? You all look like you need coffee."

Theo helps me off the couch, and April takes Cal's hand to begin walking with him. Her steps slow to a stop and she glares at him when he starts talking.

"I was going to go for a ru-uh-nevermind." His last two words stick together in an awkward mumble before he gestures to the kitchen with his free hand. "Okay, no morning run. Got it. Dang, where are the handcuffs? You'd think I was in prison already."

I cringe, and Theo stiffens up next to me. We both wait anxiously for April's reaction as her eyes widen but then are surprised when she starts giggling uncontrollably and tucks her face into the crook of Cal's neck.

He grins when he sees the expression on our faces and wraps his arm around April's neck in a loving headlock while saying in a stage whisper, "Shh. Relax, babe. They don't know about the cuffs..."

"Ah, Cal, why? Why?" Theo's face scrunches with disgust while April shrieks with another giggle.

Somehow, the four of us all have smiles on our faces when we enter the kitchen.

----------

After a day of board games and Disney movies, it's decided that we'll once again be ordering pizza. Though this time it's stuffed crust.

There's a knock at the door while Cal and Emily are head to head in an intense card game of War at the kitchen table. April begins to stand from her chair but Theo places his hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"I got it." He stands up and pats his back pocket. "Crap, where's my wallet?"

"You left it upstairs when we were wrestling," Emily explains as she flips her next card face up.

Cal turns over the same card and slaps his hand down while exclaiming, "War!" and Emily giggles with excitement as if it's the first time it's happened all night even though it's occurred multiple times over the span of five minutes.

"I'll get the door while you get your wallet," I offer and get up from my chair.

We walk together to the living room and Theo takes a moment to brush his hand across my lower back before heading for the staircase.

I'm still smiling from the brief touch as I open the front door but the good feeling is snatched away when I find myself standing directly in front of Adam.

"Hi, Emil—"

A scream rips out of me, and Adam quickly steps forward to catch the door before I can slam it in his face. He's met by a fist in his face instead from over my shoulder where Theo has come to stand behind me.

He staggers back while bringing up a hand to hold his nose, and Theo advances forward to stand in between us.

"Wait," Adam pleads, holding his hands up in self-defense. "I'm not here to cause trouble. Just give me a minute!"

Theo pulls back his fist which is already drawn for another swing and glances back at me for a decision.

"C'mon, Emilia. You fucking know me," Adam reasons, and the fact that he looks worn out and miserable instead of angry and ready to fight makes my decision easy.

"It's okay, Theo." I grip onto the back of his shirt in case he decides to ignore me but he quickly drops his confrontational stance and steps back to stand beside me.

"Let him in," Cal's voice sounds behind us.

I step back to clear the doorway but Theo takes his time. His eyes size up Adam, wordlessly giving him a warning, and Adam dips his chin in a subtle nod to convey that the warning has been noted.

"What are you doing here?" I demand to know once Theo has shut the door. He circles Adam to come and stand next to me again.

"When you called last night, I was trying to tell you something..." Adam explains. He looks at Cal before he brings his eyes back to me. "Can we sit down?" He glances at Theo with an irritated grimace. "I just got sucker punched in the face, and... I think this would be better if we all sat down."

It's my turn to look at Cal, who glances back over his shoulder to where April is hovering in the doorway.

"Could you sub in for me in the game, love?" he asks with a gentle smile, really meaning, keep Emily busy.

April hesitates, worrying her lip between her teeth, and Cal gestures behind her. "Go on. We're okay here. Right, Adam?"

"Yeah. I just need to talk to you two." He looks from Cal to me and then reaches up to rub his sore face. "It won't take long and then I'll be out of here again if that's what you want. I know you guys have no reason to trust me anymore but..." He drifts off when there's another knock on the door.

The sound makes me flinch and Theo stands up straighter next to me while reaching for my hand.

"It's the pizza," Cal explains in a pull-yourselves-together type of voice.

Adam, being closest to the door, pulls it open. "Hey, man," he greets the teenage boy as if he's answered the door here a hundred times.

The boy gawks at the black eye that is already taking shape on the face of the massive man in front of him, and Adam reaches into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet. He hands the delivery boy a couple of bills. "You should have seen the other guy," he jokes with a slight smirk as he takes the boxes of pizza from the boy who's still too stunned to utter a word. "Keep the change." He closes the door with the toe of his boot and turns back to face us.

There's a brief moment of silence and then Cal speaks up. "Since you bought the pizza, I hope you realize you have to help us eat it."

Adam looks surprised and a little flustered. He holds the boxes of pizza out in Theo's direction, but Theo makes no move to take them off his hands. "Um, no, I don't want to impose. I just... I kind of think we should get this over with."

"Yah? Well, I kind of think we should eat pizza, and you're in my house, so..." Cal shrugs and points over his shoulder with his thumb. "Kitchen's this way."

Adam still hesitates but then his eyes land on me. He stares in my direction, glances at Theo and slowly nods. "You're right. You guys should eat first. I... I'll just wait out here while—"

"Fuck off, Adam," Cal cuts him off. "You're eating with us." He turns around to head for the kitchen, fully expecting the rest of us to follow after him.

We all slowly fall into step behind him, and Cal calls back over his shoulder, "But hey, after you meet my wife and realize she's too good for me, please don't lie to me later and tell me she's left, 'kay? As you've heard, I'm basically leaving her already anyway, so there'd really be no point."

Adam laughs awkwardly and shakes his head with an embarrassed amusement before glancing in my direction again. "Yeah, no worries. I learned my lesson after the first time. No more lying."