5

Evan's POV:

After being parked by the curb for about ten minutes, Lexi finally shows her face.

She hustles over to the car and pulls the door open, sighing. "Sorry, I was doing something."

I cut my eyes at her and get the tiniest glimpse of a purple mark just below her jaw.

"Was that something your girlfriend? Because you have a nice little hickey." I say, grinning to myself as I begin the drive to the school.

She faces me quickly, "what?!" She gasps, immediately checking the mirror. "Oh my god, fuck!" She yells.

I grin, "for future reference... being a teacher also means pretending your sex life does not exist. So keep the hickies in covered areas." I smart off, enjoying her panic a little too much.

Lexi spends the rest of the ride to school swearing and shifting her hair around, trying hard to find a way to cover the penny-sized mark.

I park in my usual spot and finally offer her some assistance once I feel she has suffered enough. "Would you like for me to help you?"

She looks at me and nods quickly, "yes, Evan. Duh. Please help me."

I nod and fish some make-up out of my purse and grab Lexi's chin, tilting her head upward.

"Look up. Don't move." I demand, using concealer to cover the mark.

"Why do you know how to do this so well?" She asks me.

I laugh a bit, "you can take a guess." I pat the spot carefully with powder and close the container, "there. You're good to go... just don't rub it off!"

"Thank you, Ev. You saved my ass." She takes a breath of relief.

"The teeth marks were a little much but..." I tease. Lexi cuts her eyes at me and I wink at her. "Come on. Don't wanna be late."

I gather my things and Lexi does too, and we make our way into the school side-by-side.

"What are you drinking?" I ask her, noticing the cup.

"Coffee." She informs me.

I furrow my brows, "seriously? Never took you for the morning coffee type."

"I'm really not... Mia is. It's kind of a habit now." Lexi explains.

I nod, "thank you for letting me intrude on your dinner last night. I know that wasn't the most comfortable thing for either of us... but I'm glad I was able to sit down with you and talk to Mia a little more. She's a sweet girl, really." I say to Lexi's soft-smiling face.

"I'm kinda glad too... maybe now she'll stop being so concerned with me making new friends. And yeah, she is sweet. I care about her a lot." Lexi admits to me, nodding.

I give a gentle smile, happy to know that. "I'll see you this afternoon. I leave at three thirty."

Her brows raise, "uh, okay?"

"I assume you'll need a ride?" I snicker, realizing she probably hadn't thought that far ahead.

A switch flips in her head, "oh, right. Yeah, um- I'll see you... at your car I guess."

I wink and giggle, "make it a good day, Lex."

* * *

4:00pm

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I got caught up with another teacher who wouldn't shut up." Lexi gushes as she gets into my car, half an hour later than she was supposed to.

"Funny how I'm always waiting on you. How was your day?" I ask her.

She lets out a dramatic sigh, "a day."

I furrow my brows, recognizing the tone in her voice. "What's wrong?"

She shakes her head and avoids looking at me, focusing her eyes out the window.

"Lex." I mutter and look at her side profile. "You can't ignore me and lie to me about it. I know you." I remind her.

"You knew me, it's been like five years." She scoffs. "People change."

I narrow my eyes and reach across the console to grab her arm, "you haven't changed all that much. Look at me."

She reluctantly turns her head and sighs once again, "what?"

"Why are you stressed? What's going on?" I ask her, genuinely concerned for her.

I figure after being through all Lexi has, she'd have a higher tolerance for stress. So whatever is bothering her, really is getting to her.

"I just- I don't know, Ev." She growls, clearly fighting with herself about telling me.

"You do know. What is it?"

"I don't know if I'm made for this." She restates her earlier concerns. Why is she so freaked over this job?

"Lex, come on. You're a new, first-year teacher. No one said this was an easy job, but you'll figure it out! Just give it some time. You're young and you're beautiful, so students are guaranteed to like you. The only thing that is challenging with possessing those qualities is getting them to respect you." I explain. "I've seen you... you might not be the best teacher in the building, but you will be one day if you keep working at it."

"How are you so good?" Lexi asks me, shrugging.

I laugh a little, "I'm not. I'm just confident in the classroom setting. You can't let them bulldoze over you."

Her eyes roll, "that's a lie. You are good. Everyone used to say that about you, I'm sure they still do."

I sigh and shake my head, "don't be so worried about being better than everyone else, or even being like anyone else. Just worry about being the best that you can be and it'll fall into place, Lex. I promise you it'll get easier and more comfortable."

She reluctantly nods her head and I bite my cheek. She is stubborn, that fact hasn't changed a bit.

I shuttle Lexi to her apartment and stop the car, "hey." I mutter before she shuts the door. Her brows raise, still irritated. "For the sake of that sweet and oh-so-loving girlfriend of yours, don't take your bad days home with you." I suggest.

She bites her cheek and eyes me for a silent moment. Her head slowly nods, "thank you. Have a good weekend, Ev. Hug the kids a little tighter for me."

I leave Lexi at that, watching her disappear from my view as she walks into the building.

If there is one thing I learned from my years as a teacher and my years as both a happily and unhappily married woman... it is that bringing in the weight of the workday into the home will fuck everything up. Lexi doesn't need that, she deserves to be happy and in a stable relationship, and after talking to Mia I have no doubt that she will provide Lexi with that.

* * *

"Mom!" Ava yells and runs into my arms at full speed, her sister following behind her.

I smile wide and hug them both, leaning over to kiss their foreheads. "I missed you both!"

I swear I still see them as the six-year-old twins, when in reality they're eleven going on thirty and gaining height on me faster than I could have imagined.

"Us too. Dad's been gone all week for work. He left us with Lanie." Grace informs me, her eyes rolling.

I fight every urge I have to roll mine. I hate that my kids spend more time with their evil stepmother than they do with me or Scott. It's ridiculous. The kids don't even like her!

I bite my tongue and avoid bad-mouthing their father or his new wife. "Well, now you get to spend an entire weekend with me." I smile.

"Mama!" Mason yells, his eyes getting huge at the sight of me.

I smile and ruffle my hand through his hair, "hey kiddo."

I stand there with the three of them and smile, listening to them ramble on about their lives since the last time I saw them.

"Ah, Evan's here. I was wondering where you girls went." Scott's wife says as she walks out the door and lays eyes on me and my kids in her driveway.

"Yep, here to take them off your hands for the weekend." I mumble, my arms hanging around Grace's shoulders.

"I'm gonna get in the car." Grace mumbles, rolling her eyes as she does.

"Me too." Ava follows her sister's lead, leaving me with Mason and the witch herself.

"How's the year going so far?" Lanie asks me.

I nod, "it's going. Seems like it'll be a good year." Rather than forcing the conversation, I gently push Mason into the backseat. "I'd love to chat, but we've got to get going."

"Of course. Have to make the most of the weekends you get with the kids." She grins, not meaning it in a friendly way. She doesn't like me and we both know it. I can only imagine the things Scott has told her.

I roll my eyes once I'm in the car and out of her line of sight, and immediately change my attitude for the sake of my kids.

"Alright, what are we thinking for dinner?" I ask, starting the nearly two hour drive back to my house from Scott's.

"Umm, pizza!" Ava insists, smiling big. "Lanie only lets us have healthy stuff. And she's all hung up on trying to be vegan, it sucks."

I raise my brows, "sucks is not a nice word to use, Ava. Come on now."

"Well, it's true, mom!" Grace chimes in. "She's really-"

"Hey, ease up on the gossip. I know you guys don't love her, but she is your step mother and that isn't changing... right now at least. Your daddy married her and complaining about her won't change a thing!" I remind them. "In the meantime, let's go home and put on a movie and I'll make pizza like we used to, okay?" I smile, making sure to look all three kids in the eyes when I speak.

I get three nods and two full smiles, Mason hardly pays attention.

Seeing my kids like this and hearing them complain is hard, and it makes me all that more determined to get them back into my custody for more than just every other weekend.

Scott clearly has other priorities, mine on the other hand... they have never changed.