The next couple days were a whirlwind.
Colby and I were trying to get everything situated since we only had a couple of days to move out of state.
I had no idea where we were headed and I honestly didn't even care at this point.
I trusted Colby with my life and I knew he was going to plan everything out.
"What are you doing?" Jenna asked as I sighed. "Packing." I said simply as I put the rest of my clothes in a box. "Why?" She asked with confusion.
I haven't told the kids what we were doing yet, because I didn't know how to explain it.
I didn't know how I would say that we would never be able to come back to the state we grew up in.
I couldn't explain to them that Colby was a crime lord and that he just made the biggest decision of his life to bring us together.
It was all so complicated.
"Because we're moving." I said with a small smile. "I like this house though." Jenna said and crossed her arms.
"I know. I do too, but we need to move on." I said then taped the box up. "Can you do me a huge favor?" I asked and looked up at her.
There was a melancholy look on her face which broke my heart. I knew this transition might be a little hard for them but once we were settled I had a feeling they would be so happy.
Once we all adjusted there would maybe be a little normalcy.
"Yeah?" Jenna asked as I sighed. "Will you help me pack up Juniper's room? I know she's going to be so distracting." I said as she nodded.
"Yeah. When are we leaving?" Jenna asked as I chewed my lip.
"Tomorrow." I said as her eyes widened. "What?!" Jenna yelled causing Colby to poke his head into the room. "Everything okay?" He asked as I nodded.
"I just told Jenna." I said with a sigh. "You can't do this to us, Jules! Are you kidding?!" Jenna yelled, crossing her arms.
"Jenna-" I started but couldn't finish before she was storming out of the room.
"That went well." I mumbled and put my head in my hands. "I'll go talk to her." Colby said then left the room.
I frowned then turned to finish packing up my room.
We were going to just bring our possessions and not any furniture since Colby was going to get a fully furnished house for us.
I already had a plan in my head to get the kids whatever they wanted for their rooms.
If I was going to drag them to a different state with me, the least I could do was make sure they had anything they wanted.
Colby was gone for a while before he finally came back into the room. "How did that go?" I asked and looked up at him.
"It went. Jenna was the most upset but is now cool with it, Juniper is adorable and doesn't understand what is going on. The boys are excited." Colby said then sat next to me.
"How the hell did you do it?" I asked and leaned my head on his shoulder. "How do I do what?" He asked with a laugh.
"Jenna was about to rip my head off but you talk to her and she's cool with it?" I questioned as he nodded.
"Yeah, I'm charming." He said with a laugh. "You're an asshole, that's what you are." I said then sat up straight.
"An asshole that found a house already." He said causing me to perk up slightly. "Where are we moving?" I asked as he pulled his phone out.
"Austin, Texas." He said and showed me his phone. "There's a great school district and it's far away enough that nobody will know who I am." Colby said as I sighed.
"Shouldn't we change our names?" I asked as he nodded. "We'll deal with all of that later." He said as I frowned.
"I like my name though." I said causing him to grin. "You'll still be yourself in private. It's just not safe to be trackable." He said as I nodded. "I understand." I said with a sigh.
I knew getting out of the crime world was mostly impossible so the fact that one of the most well known people on the west coast was attempting it was a little nerve-racking.
I trusted Colby though.
We spent the rest of the day packing everything up before we helped the kids get everything together.
"Sissy, why are we moving?" Juniper asked as I packed up all of her stuffed animals. "Because we are starting fresh." I said with a smile.
"Are you gonna be with us?" She asked as I nodded. "Yes, of course." I said then smoothed her hair down.
It was hard to wrap my head around that we were actually doing this but I wasn't shocked that Colby would do this for me.
It made my heart melt that he was willing to turn his entire life upside down for me.
We all packed all day long until we finally finished at two in the morning.
I didn't know what time we were exactly leaving but I knew that the kids needed to get some sleep.
"Hey, Jen?" I asked and poked my head into her room. "Yes?" She asked and looked up from her book.
"I'm sorry about all of this." I said as she shook her head. "It's not your fault, Jule. I know I reacted really poorly but Colby really made it seem fun." She said as I nodded.
"He has that effect." I said with a laugh. "I think he's really good for you." She said quietly. "Yeah?" I asked as she nodded.
"If he breaks your heart again I'll beat him up." She said causing me to laugh.
"I bet you will, Jen." I said then turned to leave the room. "Goodnight. I'll see you in the morning." I said then left the room.
"Carter." I said then poked my head into his room. "Hey, Jule." He said and looked up at me.
"Hey, how are you feeling about all of this?" I asked and sat on his bed. "I feel fine. This is gonna be fun I think." He said as I nodded.
"Yeah, it's gonna be different, but we're gonna get through it all together." I said and patted his leg.
"Get some rest though. We have a long day tomorrow." I said as he nodded. "You got it, Jule." He said then put his notepad away.
"I'll see you in the morning." I said then left the room. I went to go check on Sam but saw him fast asleep on top of his covers.
I grinned then went over and draped a blanket over him.
"Goodnight, Sam." I whispered then quietly left the room again.
I was so happy to have my siblings back with me. They were distracting me from the trauma I had endured.
They were the lifeline I needed all along.
When I got back to my bedroom, Colby was laying in bed already.
"Everyone happy?" He asked as I nodded and crawled into bed with him. "Yeah. It's all so bittersweet." I said and laid my head on his chest.
"I know. I'm proud of you though." He said and kissed my head. "I'm proud of you." I said and looked up at him. "You didn't need to do this for me." I said as he grinned and brushed his thumb along my cheek.
"But I did. I can't keep pulling you along on this dangerous journey and I refuse to live without you." He said then kissed me gently.
When we pulled away I took a good look at Colby's tired features. "Let's get some rest." I whispered as he nodded.
"We have a long driving day tomorrow." He said as I nodded. "Are we getting a moving truck?" I asked as he nodded.
"In the morning." He said then pulled me close. "Perfect. Goodnight." I said as he kissed my head. "Goodnight." He whispered as I closed my eyes.
When I woke up, Colby wasn't in bed with me anymore. I noticed the boxes that were once plaguing our room were now gone.
"Colby?" I asked and sat up. When I got no response I got out of bed and made my way downstairs where I heard giggling.
"Sissy!" Juniper squealed as Colby carried her around in a cardboard box. "What is happening down here?" I asked with a laugh.
"Colby's packing me!" Juniper said with a loud giggle.
"Well that's good. We want to bring you along." I said with a grin. "Colby, the last box is in!" Carter said as he and Sam came into the house again.
"Great. We're ready to go then." Colby said and set the box down then scooped Juniper into his arms.
"Hold on, I still have to get ready." I said as Jenna came into the room. "You have five minutes. Colby promised us donuts." Jenna said as I laughed. "Okay, I'll hurry." I said then went back upstairs.
I got myself ready then packed up the rest of my stuff. Once I was done with that I went around the house, making sure nobody forgot anything.
"Alright, I'm ready." I said as I walked down the stairs. "Took you long enough." Sam teased and took my bag from me. "Well nobody woke me up!" I said and looked around the room.
"I wanted you to rest. You're driving my car." Colby said as I nodded. "You're driving the truck?" I asked as he nodded. "Can I ride with Colby?" Sam asked with excitement. "Sure." I said as Colby nodded.
"Works for me. Let's get going." He said then opened the front door causing the kids to file out of the house.
"See you on the other side, sweetheart." Colby said then leaned in and kissed me gently. "Drive safe. I love you." I said as he handed Juniper off to me.
"I love you, too." He said with a wink then went to go to the moving truck with Sam.
I turned towards Colby's car then strapped Juniper into her car seat. Once all the kids were in the car I got in and started it.
"Ready?" I asked and looked at Jenna, Carter, and Juniper.
"Ready!" They all shouted as I nodded. "Let's go then." I mumbled then put the car in reverse.
Before I pulled out of the driveway I looked up at the house that helped me so much.
It housed my siblings and I after a long while of being separated.
This house meant a lot to me because it was the place I was the most independent I've ever been.
It was bittersweet because I was ready to start a new chapter with my family and with the love of my life.
Knowing that we were leaving the crime world was like seeing a light at the end of a tunnel. We were leaving all of the trauma and stress behind.
This new life would be the aftermath after all of the chaos.
The End.
A/N: Welp, we did it again! Thanks so much for reading, I love you all so much...
I'm thinking a third book might be necessary for this series? Is that gonna be overkill? ð
Let me know.
I love you.
-B.