94

94
One month later, the atmosphere had shifted. It was a new time, a new beginning, and a fresh start, yet the weight of Elena’s absence still lingered heavily in the air. Jaxon and the other two boys had been thinking about her constantly. None of them were truly themselves anymore. Since Elena had left and hadn’t come back, a part of their world felt incomplete. They tried their best to cope with her disappearance, to fill the emptiness she left behind, but no matter how hard they tried, something inside them was missing. They sent her messages regularly, but there was no reply. Had she forgotten them? They couldn’t help but ask themselves the painful question.

That morning, the three boys scrambled to get ready for school. The clock was ticking, and they were running late. Jaxon, who had been attending the same school all along, just wanted to finish strong. Graduation was this month, and he was determined to stay in school so that if Elena ever came back, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to see each other. The thought of her returning kept him grounded.

In the living room, Jack sat on the couch, pulling on his socks. He wrinkled his nose and groaned. “Ugh, your socks stink! Oh my goodness. You want me to wear these?” He held one sock up in front of Jaxon, who was brushing his teeth in the bathroom nearby.

Jaxon spat out the toothpaste foam and rinsed his mouth with water, grinning mischievously. “That’s your smell, not mine. After all, you didn’t wash your socks. Not my fault.”

Jack gave a dramatic sigh. “Whatever. Let’s just go. We’re running late.”

“What time is it?” Rick called out from the kitchen, his voice tinged with frustration.

Jaxon threw on his shoes quickly. “Right now!” he said, already moving. Without Elena around to take charge, the boys had started to take care of themselves. They were cooking breakfast, cleaning up, and managing chores that Elena had always handled before.

Jaxon was packing away plates that Jack had used the day before. “After eating, make sure you pack your plates and wash them,” Jack reminded him, the tone firm but tired.

Rick was washing dishes at the sink. “Do you know where the detergent is?” he asked, looking around.

“The plate you washed has oil on the back,” Jack pointed out, narrowing his eyes at Rick. “Look what you did.”

Rick sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll clean the pots. That’s my job.” He picked up a hamburger from the counter and took a big bite. “Let’s just eat first.”

Jack glanced at the clock anxiously. “We should be faster. Doing all this takes forever. If Elena were here, she’d have finished this in less than a minute. We have to be at school in five minutes.”

Just then, a voice called out from the doorway. “Five minutes is too much. Why don’t we all just start going now? We can do the dishes later.”

The boys froze, turning toward the door. Standing there was no other than Elena herself, dressed in a short, mini skirt and a cardigan. Her long hair was tied back in a ponytail, but a few curly strands framed her face, softening her look. She held her handbag and books with an easy smile that lit up the room.

Jack was the first to break the silence, his face lighting up as he rushed forward. Jaxon’s mouth hung open in shock, and Rick blinked rapidly, as if confirming that what he saw was real.

“Why are you guys acting like I’m a ghost?” Elena teased softly. “I’m home.”

Without another word, the boys surrounded her, pulling her into a tight group hug. Jack was the loudest, practically shouting, “Welcome home! We missed you so much!”

Elena hugged each of them, her smile warm but tinged with something more — relief, perhaps, or a secret she wasn’t ready to share.

“I missed you all too,” she whispered, her voice soft.

Then, turning to Jaxon, she said with a small but genuine smile, “We missed you.”

Jaxon blinked, confusion furrowing his brow. “We? What do you mean by ‘we’?”

Elena’s smile deepened as she looked at him. “Your twin babies. They can’t wait to see you.”

The room fell silent. Jack and Rick stared at Jaxon, mouths slightly open, their expressions a mix of shock and disbelief.

Jaxon’s heart pounded. His mind raced, struggling to comprehend what Elena just said. “Is there something you’re not telling us?” Jack asked cautiously. “Your twin babies? You’re a father?”

Jaxon looked at Elena, searching her eyes for answers. She nodded slowly. “Yes. There’s a lot you don’t know.”

Rick leaned in, eyebrows raised. “Secrets, huh?”

Jaxon swallowed hard. “I told you guys I came here looking for my mate, right? The one I loved so much before, who died… Elena turns out to be the one I’ve been searching for all this time.”

Elena reached out, taking Jaxon’s hand gently. “And together, we had twin babies. I can’t wait for you to meet them.”

Jack’s face broke into a wide grin. “That’s amazing! I’m really happy for you both.”

Rick nodded. “Yeah, same here.”

Jack punched the air triumphantly. “I’m gonna be a new uncle! Even though we’re not actually related, we’re like brothers and best friends.”

The boys laughed, the tension finally breaking as they shouted in unison, “Best friends forever!”

But beneath the laughter, Jaxon’s expression was unreadable. His eyes shimmered with something between hope and fear — the weight of this new revelation pressing down on him, threatening to change everything he thought he knew about his future.

Elena’s hand squeezed his tightly, grounding him. “It’s a lot to take in, I know,” she said quietly. “But I’m here now.”

For the first time in weeks, the boys felt a flicker of warmth returning to their lives. Yet, none of them could shake the feeling that this was only the beginning of a complicated journey — one filled with unexpected challenges, hidden truths, and the fragile hope of a family reunited.

And as they stood there together, the clock ticking toward their final days of school, one thing was clear: nothing would ever be the same again.