Chapter 25

James let out a sigh of relief. He took a moment to himself and started his car. He smiled at the nervous attendant waiting for him to drive off.

He was on his way to Emilia's house because she needed to pick up a few more things and she didn't want to be alone with Yuki yet. She wasn't ready for the confrontation.

He stepped out of the car and quickly fixed his hair using the windows. He happily made his way to the front door to ring the doorbell. Maybe now was a good time to introduce himself to her dad since they were dating…

The door was flung open and instead of Emilia's father or her, he found himself looking at Yuki.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to pickup my girlfriend, is there something wrong with that?" James smirked and made sure to emphasize the word 'girlfriend'. Yuki flinched hearing the word but quickly composed himself. She had told him a few hours earlier and dealt with it mentally already, but it was still too surreal.

"Sorry, she's not here right not but I'll tell her you dropped by."

"Like the last time you said you would?"

"Sorry, it must've slipped my mind."

"I'm sure…I don't mind waiting, I'll just take a seat inside."

James stepped forward but was blocked by Yuki.

"I mind. I have to go to work and don't trust you in our home by yourself."

"What? Do I need a babysitter or something? We're all adults here. While we're talking about this, why are you so hostile towards me?

"What are you talking about?" Yuki said while avoiding eye contact.

"It's goes beyond brotherly love, and I know you aren't related by blood. I'm thinking you have repressed feelings and it's starting to show itself."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"So, you're not denying it." James kept the fact that he already knew to himself. He wanted to see how far he could push him.

In response, Yuki had started balling his fists. He couldn't stand the sight of James and the air of arrogance he had whenever he saw him. It was as if he was flaunting their relationship in his face. Although in hindsight, he'd probably act the same way if he knew some prick was in love with his girl.

He was about to respond to James when he felt a hand grab his arm and poke her head from the side. James' face light up immediately in front of him.

"So, you were home after all."

"Why wouldn't I be silly, I told you I had to come home to get some things," she pulled him into the house for a hug.

She grabbed the things she had left by the door and put some of them into James' hands and carried the rest. She smiled at Yuki and waved with her free hand.

"Bye Yuki, have fun at work! I'll see you in a few weeks. Don't get too lonely without me!" She pulled the door closed and let out a sigh.

"Let's go."

James stepped in front of her for a second to give her a peck on the lips, startling her.

"What? He can't see."

She smiled and got into the car. He always knew how to make her feel better.

-------------------------------------------

Joel and Rylie were walking down the rundown street leading to her house. The sidewalk was uneven and cracked, some missing areas altogether.

Both of their hands were carrying bags of supplies they got at the hardware store to fix her mess of a house.

Standing at the entrance doorway, they placed the bags on the floor and surveyed the room. Some of the paint had peeled from the walls while parts of the floor were lifting. They had also started decluttering and put a lot of things into garbage bags to be thrown out.

The house was already starting to look better. Rylie didn't need it to look amazing, just needed it to be comfortable and in all honesty, the place had been neglected for too long.

"Looks like we got our work cut out for us, huh?" he chuckled.

"Sorry Joel, if it's too much, I can save up and hire some people later…"

"Hey, I volunteered remember?"

He reassured her by cupping her face.

"Plus, we can't have you living in these conditions now, can we?"

"You don't have to worry about that, I'm used to it. A little longer won't bother me."

"It'll bother me," he kissed her on the forehead, "Common, let's get started!"

With a lot of the clutter out of the way, they started boxing the important things so they could start on the walls and sanding the kitchen cabinets.

An hour had gone by before they heard faint knocking on the front door.

"We're in here!" Joel shouted. "I invited someone, hope you don't mind."

Rylie raised an eyebrow in confusion and wondered who it could be. Once that person was in the same room as them, she smiled.

"Hey Cameron, welcome to my home." she faintly smiled as she followed his gaze around the room.

"I'm sorry Rylie, I never realized…Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know…to be honest, not a lot of people know. When it came to you, I guess I…what I mean is…"

She lowered her head, and Cameron patted her on the shoulder in reassurance.

"It's okay, I get it. I'm not offended. I'm glad you were able to find someone you could confide in," he said as he smiled at Joel.

Joel stepped forward and opened his arms to wrap around both of them in a group hug.

"I love you guys."