Chapter 32

“Bri, you don’t even know how strong you are. I can’t even imagine what you went through.” I let out another sob and she looked hurt.

“C-C-Can I have an h-h-hug?” I asked her between sobs. She immediately pulled me into her arms. I wrapped my arms around her neck and stuffed my head into her shoulder. I sobbed on her and she just rubbed my back. It felt like hours before I calmed down. I pulled away and wiped my tears. “You remind me of my mother. Thank you.”

“Oh, honey.” She pulled me into her again and gave me a squeeze. I pulled away again and sat back down on my bed. I heard a cough from the doorway and saw Ethan and dad standing there. They both had tears streaming down their faces. I looked back at Paige and she smiled at them. She then turned to me and smiled again. “Thank you for today Bri. You did so well. I will be seeing you at least once a week.” She stood up and walked out of the room. Ethan was the first to come over to me. He pushed me over on the bed and wrapped me in his arms. Dad finally came over and sat where Paige sat. He put his hand on my leg and drew circles to calm me down.

“You amaze me Bri. Thank you for giving this a try.” I smiled at him and grabbed his hand.

“It felt so good. Thank you. I do want to talk to you about me being here.” He smiled at me and was about to say something but I cut him off. “I can’t stay here. Waking up alone and from a nightmare is too much and-” He cut me off with a smile.

“Bug, since you tried for me I will try for you. I will talk to the doctors and try and get you discharged today.” I thought my face was going to break from my smile. I jumped out of Ethan’s arms and into dad’s. I kissed him all over his face.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” I was giggling and smiling. I jumped back into Ethan’s arms because I knew he was the only one that could sign me out.

“I love you, sis.” Ethan squeezed me and I squeezed back. Dad left to talk to the doctors while Ethan snuggled me. He came back soon with a blank face. I got very scared that they wouldn’t let me go home. He then broke out into a goofy grin.

“Let’s go home.” I jumped up and threw everything into a bag. Ethan and dad were laughing and I was packed up in a matter of minutes. Ethan grabbed the bag and dad grabbed my hand. We talked to the doctor, got my medications, and were off. We walked to the car and I couldn’t stop smiling. I made myself comfortable in the car and sighed. I am going home.

I sat in the car, watching the trees fly by. My breathing was calm and even. My heart sang a happy song as the feeling of safety washed over me. Love was coursing through my veins. Love for my family. Love for my life turning around. Love for myself. For the longest time, I have hated myself. I spent years hiding and wanting to die. I hide behind the true me. My walls were miles high but then the boys came into my life. They didn’t give up on me. They stuck with me and broke down my walls. They gave me love that I thought wasn’t possible. I went from having only one person who loves me to having an army. I didn’t realize the tears bunching in my eyes till Ethan squeezed my hand.

“Are you okay?” Dad looked through the rearview mirror at Ethan’s question. I turned to him and gave him a smile.

“I am more than okay.” He looked relieved but also confused. I squeezed his hand back and sighed.

“I was just thinking about how lucky I am that you guys came into my life.” I felt the tears drop and I smiled even more. “You guys saved me.” Ethan unbuckled my seat belt and pulled me into his arms. I squeezed him and kissed his cheek.

“Hey! Save some love for your father!” I pulled away from Ethan and laughed. I sat back in my seat and put my seat belt on again.

“I don’t know dad, Bri seemed to give me a lot of love. I don’t know if there is any left for you.” Ethan said in a condescending voice. Dad, going along with it gasped and put a hand on his heart.

“Oh no! Bri, tell me it isn’t true. Tell me you still have love for me!” I had to bite my lip to stop the giggles from escaping my mouth. I took a deep breath and put on a frown.

“I’m so sorry dad. I don’t know if I have enough love left!” He took a sharp intake of breath and started to fake sob. I couldn’t hold in my laughs and they quickly escaped my mouth. Ethan joined in quickly after. Even dad couldn’t keep up his act and joined in our laugh fest. As we calmed down, we made our way into the long driveway. Dad pulled around the front and gave the keys to the driver so he could park the car. Ethan grabbed my bags and dad came around and opened my door. As soon as I stepped out, I was met with balloons, streamers, a banner, and all of the boys standing outside. I put my hand over my mouth and gasped.

“Surprise!” All of the boys screamed at one time. I flinched a little but was very shocked.

“Welcome home love.” Jake came over and hugged me.

“I’m so glad you’re here, bug.” Trevor came over next and pushed Jake out of the way. Brandon and Grayson came running over, pushing and shoving each other.

“I’m first!” Grayson yelled while pushing Brandon.

“No, I’m first!” Brandon said while pushing him back. As dumb and dumber were fighting, Elli came over and hugged me.

“You make me so happy. I’m so glad you're home now.” He whispered while hugging me. Brandon broke away from Grayson and came over to hug me. Elli quickly moved out of the way before Brandon tackled him. He came at me full force and almost took me down but Ethan caught me.

“Dude! Be careful with her.” Trevor yelled at him. He didn’t care and just squeezed the life out of me. Grayson then came over and ripped Brandon off of me so he could hug me. Johns sat back and waited till everyone was done before he came over to welcome me. After all of the hugs, we all made our way inside. When I walked in, the boys took me straight to the dining room. Sitting on the dining room table was a huge junk food feast. There were pizzas, chicken tenders, mac and cheese, fries, onion rings, and a lot more. My mouth dropped open and I felt very guilty.

“Thank you guys but-” Dad came over and cut me off.

“I know Bug, it’s okay if you can’t eat much, but at least try for me.” I sighed and gave him a little nod. The boys smiled and cheered. I was pushed into my chair and a plate was set in front of me. The boys waited for me to get my food before them like always. I grabbed two chicken tenders, some fries, and a little mac and cheese. The boys looked happy as well as dad. They all dove into the food like animals. I just sat back and watched them act like they haven’t eaten in years. I sighed and started on my food. By the time the boys finished all of the food, I was only a quarter of the way through my plate. I felt extremely full and had to stop eating before I got sick. I put my plate in front of Jake who happily ate it. After he realized it was my food, he gave me a glare.

“Bri, that was your food. You barely ate anything.” I gave him my puppy dog eyes and a small frown.

“I couldn’t finish! I was extremely full.” Jake was about to protest but Brandon kicked him under the table.

“Ouch!” He rubbed his knee with a frown and all of the boys were chuckling at him.

“Don’t push her Jake. If she's had enough, she’s had enough. We can’t push her right now.” Dad butted in to save my butt. A small smile grew on my face and I held his hand at the end of the table. He gave me a smile back and squeezed my hand. Suddenly, the door to the dining room slammed open. Matthew came running in. He wore a panicked but also angry expression. He was about to yell but his face found mine. His whole face softened and he gave me a warm smile.

“L'abbiamo portato nel seminterrato. Ha iniziato a combattere.” He said while turning toward Dad. His face got hard again and so did Dad’s. The boys looked very angry too and I was left in the dark yet again.

“What is happening?” I asked while looking at everyone. They all looked at each other but didn’t say anything.

“Nothing to worry your pretty head about honey. Ethan, why don’t you go and take Bri upstairs and hang out with her. Grayson, Elli, and John why don’t you go with them.” Dad said while staring the boys down. Almost challenging them to disobey him. They all nodded and stood up. The maids came in and cleared the table while the boy ushered me upstairs. We all crammed ourselves into my room. I was on Ethan’s lap on the swing, John and Grayson were on my bed playing games on their phones, and Elli was looking around the room. Ethan was holding me pretty tight for just being on the swing.