Shattered Girl (Emmy)

Shattered Girl Chapter 23

When the alarm went off the following day, I groaned. Jake's eyes still closed, felt around until he found his phone and muted the alarm. After two more rounds of hitting snooze, I sat up, climbed over Josh, and headed to the bathroom. By the time I came out, Jake was gone, Josh sat on the edge of the bed, still trying to wake up. He held a hand out for me, and I went to him, nudging his legs apart and stepping between them. He wrapped his arms around my waist, hugging me How are you this morning, baby girl?" He murmured, rubbing his face against my stomach. Still ti

I tired, but I feel ok otherwise." I was running my fingers through his hair as he hugged me. He groaned, planting a kiss on my stomach before standing up.

"I'm going to get dressed; I will be out in a minute." Josh kissed the top of my head, going back to his room. I could smell fresh coffee, and I quickly threw on some clothes and tracked it down.

Making a beeline for the coffee pot. I poured some coffee and asked Jake if he wanted some. He said he was good, and I wandered over, giving lake a quick kiss and standing by the window that faced the backyard. It was a beautiful day; Robim hopped around the lawn, searching for worms. A butterfly flew by, looking for just the right flower

"Breakfast is ready," Jake called; I turned and helped him bring everything to the table. Josh came out dressed and went to make himself coffee, then joined us at the table. We ate quietly, the guys watching me out of the corner of their eyes; after several minates, I put my fork down.

"Guys, I promise I'm good." I stood, clearing my stuff from the table and rinsing them in the sink. I was loading the dishwasher when I heard Josh's phone ring. I quickly finished the breakfast dishes and left the room, looking for Josh. I was sitting on the couch, still talking. I stopped next to him, raised an eyebrow at him, and he lifted his arm, letting me know he was okay with me being there while on the phone. I curled up under his arm, resting my head on his shoulder.

Josh ended the call and pulled me onto his lap, Got some good news, baby girl." he said, calling Jake to come here. Jake walked in, still pulling a shirt over his head. I took a moment to appreciate his toned abs, much to Jake's entertainment. "Anyway, Patrick thinks he will be back in town tomorrow; Drew and Mike are on their flight, and so far, it's on time. We need to leave for the airport in about an hour," Josh said, giving me a side hug

"In that case, I had better go finish getting ready." I got up, gave both gitys kisses, and went to look for something nice to wear in my closet. I had several outfits spread out on the bed, trying to decide which one to wear, when Jake stuck his head in. "Oh good, can you come here for a minute," I asked. fake, curious, joined me by the bed. "Which one do you like better?" I asked, holding up each one to show him.

"Oh, um, sweetheart, you would look beautiful in any of those."

"Thank y

you, Jake, but which one do you like the most?" The look of panic in his eyes made me sigh. "Josh, can you come in here for a minute?" Josh appeared in the doorway, standing next to his brother. "Can you help me decide on an outfit, please?" I held up each one again. "Oh, um, baby girl.."

"No, not you, too." I interrupted Josh. "I just want to make sure I look alce meeting your brothers for the first time. You guys met me at my worst. So tell me which you like the most." I was glaring at both of them now. I held up each one again. After they saw them all again, lepossed my arms.

which is your favorite?" Josh looked at the clothes again before painting to a light blue sundress That one, you would look hot in that one." Smiling, I kissed him, picking up the dress.

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"Do you agree?" I asked Jake. Nidding, Jake agreed; I went into the bathroom to finish getting ready, and the guys went to wait in the living room. I came out half an hour later; I had left my hair down, hoping the long hair would draw some attention away from the bruises on my face. My ribs felt pretty good, so I removed the thicker bandage for a lighter wrap. It was hardly noticeable with the way my dress fit. I added light makeup, mostly to cover my bruises, and some eyeshadow to match my dress.

When I came into the living room, the twins both looked up from their phones with big grins on their faces.

"You look beautiful, sweetheart"

"Yes, baby girl, beautiful." I blushed happily at the compliments. Gathering my things, I looked at the guys.

"Ready to go?" I asked, excitedly bouncing on my feet.

The guys laughed, grabbing wallets and keys; Josh led the way to the SUV, with Jake and I holding hands behind him. We got to the airport with about half an hour to spare. A coffee shop was by the passenger exit, so we decided to get coffee and wait there. I was so nervous that I couldn't sit still. After about ten minutes of my constant movement, Josh reached out and pulled my chair next to his. "Baby girl, I need you to take a breath; the guys will love you, I promise He took my hands in his and gave them a gentle squeeze. Standing up, he pulled me with him, and 1 followed him over to the arrivals board to see if the flight had landed yet. When we saw that their flight had just landed, I began fidgeting again. Josh turned and wrapped me in his arms, reminding me to breathe and that it would be ok.

be ok.

As people began trickling out of the passenger exit, Jake joined us, standing on my other side and putting an arm around my waist. It took about fifteen minutes, but I spotted two tall men dressed in army fatigues walking toward us. I froze; damn, they both looked so good in uniform. I suddenly felt shy, and as the twins stepped forward to greet their brothers, I hung back, wanting to give them a few minutes and curious to see how they interacted. They met each other with guy hugs and back-slapping. Then, all four turned to face me. I swallowed hard and then shyly held up my hand, waving.

The four brothers made their way over to me. Drew got to me first." Princess, I'm so glad to see you feeling better." He held his arms up. asking for a hug, and I stepped into him. Drew wrapped me in a gentle hug. He was so tall that my head only came up to his chest; I hugged him back, resting my head against his chest for a few seconds.

Mike was right behind him; he was a little shorter, but not by much. When Drew let go of me, Mike stepped up, carefully taking me into

his arms.

"Honey,

I swear w

you have taken ten years off my life in the last few days. He gently scolded me, and he pulled me closer to him. ng toward baggage claim. While waiting for I'm sorry." I whispered, Hugging Mike closer to me. The twins came up, and we began walking the luggage to start, Josh went to get the car. I looked up at Mike and Drew, who had sandwiched me between them. "How was your our flight? "Good," both guys answered at the same

We began chatting a little, just small talk, really, about the difference in weather between hire and their base overseas and what they were looking forward to now they were home for a while. The flight number foshed above one of the baggage carousels, and Drew stepped forward to grab their bags. Handing Mike his, Drew slid his over one shoulder, taking my hand in his other; we walked outside looking for Josh

The guys loaded the packs into the back of the SUV; Mike climbed in the back seat, Drew, hand on my back, helping me up behind him. Drew slid next to me, and Jake climbed into the front seat. Josh turned on the blinker and pulled out of the loading zone. We were heading home