Until Nico

“Love you too, baby, but you need to get a handle on your daughters.” I feel her cheek move against my chest and know she’s smiling. “I’m serious,” I tell her.

“I know you are, honey.” She doesn’t say anything else, and I know I’m fucked and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.

“Me, Grandpa James, your daddy, or any of your uncles will give you whatever chocolate you want, angel.”

“How’s Grandpa’s angel?” my dad asks Nalia, who’s holding his face in her small little hands.

“So happy! I have a new boyfriend at school.” She laughs, smiling at her grandpa, who, up until that moment, was smiling at her.

“Yo! Hands off!” I stand and shout when another player picks up Willow and swings her around in a circle. His head turns my way, and his face pales when he sees me. “Yeah, you. Hands off,” I repeat. He drops Willow immediately, making her stumble and glare at him.

What I didn’t know was that, when my girls became teens, I would wish I had made them fearful of everyone, especially the male population.

“Yep,” she whispers back. “Now I just need you to start living life with me again.”

“I love you, sweet Sophie.”

“Love you too,” she mumbles, and I kiss her head.

I take a seat as well, and when I look inside the house through the glass doors, Sophie’s eyes meet mine. She gives me a smile I haven’t seen in weeks. That’s the moment I realize how worried she is about me. I take a breath and mouth the words, “I love you,” before going back to talking to my brothers.

“Thank God,” Trevor groans and sits down, “I thought I may need to beat the shit out of you to get you to listen.”

“When was the last time you were able to take me?”

I nod, looking back at my dad before following him outside.

“What’s up?” I ask, standing near the door so I can look inside through the glass window at the girls and Sophie.

I shake my head and look at the clock on the wall, counting down until everyone is out of my house. It’s not that I don’t love my family or want them around; I just want my own little family to myself. I hate sharing them with everyone.