Chapter 29
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
Rose
He spent the night worshipping me just as he promised, and I woke up sore and aching in the best way.
The memories played on repeat as I stretched beneath the soft sheets, my body still humming from every moment of the night before.
I had hoped we might have time for more, especially after everything we’d just made real between us before leaving for Texas.
But when I reached for him, the space beside me was empty.
A moment later, he walked back in, showered, dressed, and now holding a cup of coffee.
“Get up, sleepy head,” he murmured, placing it in my hand with a kiss on my forehead.
I couldn’t help leaning into it, just wanting a second more of his attention.
“We’re going out for lunch,” he clarified, as if sensing my thoughts with a dark chuckle, running a hand under my chin, lifting it as his soft lips kissed mine.
He tasted of coffee and an undertone of mint.
My favorite combination, or maybe it was just him.
The next night, no one went out. Instead, the cousins gathered at the apartment, ordering takeout and settling into a chaotic, laughter-filled game night.
That ended up being my favorite part of the trip.
Just being surrounded by people who genuinely wanted to be together felt like something I'd been missing my entire life.
As an only child, that kind of closeness was never something I had.
And growing up with trust issues only made it harder to find.
I’ve never been much of a club person anyway.
The thought of bodies pressing too close, the smell of alcohol lingering in the air, all bring me back to things I’d rather forget and leave the ghosts of my past buried where they belong.
I may never fully get over it, but I’ve learned how to live with it.
How to recognize it. And how to keep moving forward despite everything that came before.
We spent one afternoon shopping, and Alex and I picked something out for each other.
We agreed to exchange gifts in private, maybe even after Christmas, as something just for us to ring in the new year.
What I wasn’t expecting was a gift from his parents.
They had come to Houston to spend time with the parents of his cousins.
Dani handed me a small box, and when I opened it, I found a bracelet that was delicate yet surprisingly sturdy.
“It’s for your safety,” she explained gently. “We’d feel better knowing you have it on.”
At first, I didn’t understand. Then Alex lifted his wrist, showing me his own. Similar, just more masculine in design.
“It tracks location,” he added. “Even without your phone.”
I hesitated. It felt like too much. That is, until Dani told me about her friend. How something like this had saved her life when she was taken. That changed everything. When I looked around, I realized Raven and June were wearing the same ones.
“All of us have them,” Dani said, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. An unspoken understanding passed between them all. I realized then that it wasn’t about control, but about protection. And somehow, I found myself easily accepting it.
Ezra added me to the cousins’ group chat, which turned out to be chaos in the best way.
It was mostly flooded by Ezra and Kaden, constantly going at each other.
River stayed more reserved than the rest, content to observe while Ezra and Kaden flooded the chat with constant nonsense.
Raven was the exact opposite, and somehow the two balanced each other perfectly.
I slept most of the ride back to his parents’ house, and I felt a little shake on my shoulder and a light kiss on my cheek.
“Baby, we’re here,” he whispered near my ear.
I woke up dazed, looking around. His parents had already gotten out of the car, and the luggage was gone.
As we walked back into Alex’s house later that evening, I found myself wishing we had more time here.
We decided to leave early, just after Christmas, to avoid the travel rush back home.
It’s strange, calling his townhouse our place. It feels anything but temporary.
His parents’ house feels different tonight.
Warmer, fuller. Music plays softly in the background as boxes of decorations are pulled from storage.
The scent of fresh pine fills the room from the tree they brought in earlier, its branches finally settling after being bound tightly with rope and strapped to the roof of their car for the drive here.
It’s bigger than I expected. Then again, everything about this family feels larger than life.
I’ve finally met Alex’s cousins’ parents, and I am beginning to understand the family dynamics a little bit more.
“Alright,” Ezra announces, already holding a string of lights like he’s preparing for battle.
“No one touches anything until I fix this disaster waiting to happen.” He glances down with a frown before turning his attention to the tangled lights.
“This needs to be wrapped better for storage. You can’t just throw them in a bin,” he mutters, shaking his head.
“You’re the disaster!” Kaden shouts from across the room.
I laugh softly, standing back at first, unsure where I fit into all of it until Alex’s hand finds mine.
“Come here,” he murmurs, tugging me toward the tree until I'm standing beside him.
The awkwardness of not quite fitting in slips away.
Ornaments are passed around, stories told with each one picked, laughter echoing off the walls in a way that feels effortless and real.
I hang one carefully, my fingers brushing against his as he steadies the branch. I’m careful to hook it just right, watching it dangle there perfectly.
“You’re quiet,” he says softly.
I glance up at him, still wrapped up in my thoughts. “Just taking it all in,” I lie, stepping back to admire the almost finished tree, but the lie tastes bitter on my tongue. I wish my aunt were here, and I think that's what's making me feel sad. Something important is missing.
I look over to see Ezra’s mom, Evie, watching me as she sips her shot of tequila, licking her lips after the salted rim leaves the remnants of the coarse crystals on her red gloss.
She’s pretty scary. I wonder if she can see into your soul.
And more importantly, I wonder what she sees when she looks into mine.
His expression softens. “Get used to it.” The words hit their mark, as I look up at him, finding him smirking at me. “Every year,” he emphasizes it as something that we’ll do together. Traditions I never got to make, yet I’m finally doing it in my mid-twenties. Better late than never, I guess.
The lights on the tree come to life, casting a soft glow across the room that reflects in the glass ornaments and the eyes of the people standing around it.
For a moment, I don’t feel like an outsider, but part of something.
Included in this family. Chosen by him. And as Alex’s arm slides around my waist, pulling me into his side, I lean into him without thinking.
Because maybe, just maybe, this is what home is supposed to feel like.
As Dr. Flores places the star atop the tree, we all gather around looking at it. A peace settles around me as I recall a memory of my aunt lifting me up to do the same thing, only with an angel.
I remember telling her it was my mom looking over us as I placed it on top.
Every year after that, she'd announce she had something in her eye and would be right back.
I didn't understand it then. Later, I realized she had been crying. As I’m lost in my thoughts of her, a honk sounds from outside, and Dani looks over to Vic.
“Are we expecting anyone else, Alex?” I ask, and he just shrugs with a mischievous grin on his face.
He rubs slow circles over the back of my hand, looking every bit like a little kid waiting to tear into a Christmas present.
“I guess we’ll find out,” he says, waggling his eyebrows at me, and it’s the most ridiculous sight I’ve ever seen, and endearing all the same.
Conversations continue, but now they are hushed as if they, too, are holding their breath to see who is at the door.
I look around, and they all take glances at me, privy to a secret I’m not.
Dani steps forward, moving to answer the door. When it happens, I hear a familiar voice calling my name before I see her.
“Rose?” My name lands softly amid the conversation, but it cuts through it all. I freeze because I know that voice. I turn slowly, my heart already climbing into my throat before I even see her.
“Aunt Julia?”
She’s standing there in the doorway, a little windblown, a little out of place in the idleness of the polished space, clad in her jeans, boots, and that familiar, worn jacket.
Behind her, through the open door, I catch a glimpse of it.
The RV. It’s parked at the curb like it doesn’t belong there, but she couldn’t care less, and neither do I.
“What are you doing here?” I breathe, already moving toward her before she can answer. She laughs softly, opening her arms as I fall into them.
“I was supposed to be halfway to Arizona by now,” she says into my hair as a man steps through the doorway. I pull back, searching her face. “You said you were going with—”
She turns and extends her hand out. The man walks in, waving to everyone with a “Howdy,” as he moves through the group of strangers who are all watching him.
“Yeah,” she cuts in gently, a knowing look passing over her features. “This is Adam. Adam, come meet my little girl, Rosie.”
He extends his hand with a chuckle. “Nice to meet you, Rosie.” He shakes my hand as Alex steps next to me.
“Nice to finally meet you, Adam.” I look at my auntie, introducing her to my boyfriend.
“Alex,” he says, pulling my auntie into a hug and shaking Adam’s hand. “Glad you could make it,” he says knowingly.
“You knew about this?” I ask incredulously that he could’ve kept something so important from me. He gives me a pouty look as Dani and Vic come up beside me. Dani pulls Julia into a hug, and when they part, Victor wraps Julia in one of his own.
“Thanks so much for calling me and telling me Rosie was here.” She gives them a small smile. Alex’s parents take her into the fold and introduce her to everyone.
“She raised me,” I say, as he steps closer, never far from my side.
Understanding dawns on him immediately. He looks at her and then back at me again.
I notice then that the space between who I was and who I’m becoming closes just a fraction.
Two separate pieces of my life have finally found a way to exist in the same room without pulling me apart.
My past blends with my present. For a moment, I can visualize my future with a certainty I hadn’t before, and for once, I look forward to it.
Behind us, laughter rises again, the cousins already pulling my auntie into their chaos like she’s always been here.
Alex’s hand finds mine. He holds it, giving it a firm squeeze.
I look at him, and his eyes find mine as we stand there staring at one another.
The chatter fades, and it's just us, standing with the people who choose me and the ones who never stopped.
In this moment, it feels less about finding a place where I fit in, and more about finding where I belong.