When I woke up the next morning, Bo was still sleeping. We stayed up late last night - very late. I couldn't blame her for being exhausted. I rolled over, rubbing her stomach before I placed a kiss on the swollen tummy, and got up. I told the receptionist we would be out by noon, so we had a limited amount of time to get out.

There was nothing that made me feel guiltier than waking her up. It didn't matter if she had a lot of sleep previously. All that mattered was I had to wake her up, and I felt like shit. So, I delayed it as long as I possibly could. I didn't want to be loud while I carried around my suitcase full of guilt, but the moment she started stirring, I knew I was.

Despite the small amount of rest she had, a small smile appeared on her face. From where I was standing, I could see her dimples. Her naked body stretched under the covers before she brought the comforter over her chest to sit up.

Her curls were poofier than usual, almost undone, and regardless, it made her look more attractive. I fell in love with everything about her. From her two a.m tiresome eyes to her five o'clock laughter - I lived it for it all. I loved it all.

She is always going to be the most beautiful creature to ever step foot on this planet. Other than our baby, I refuse to believe anybody else can match Bo's beauty. Not just physical appearance, but her heart is pure, and her soul radiates all that is good in this world.

"Good morning," I smiled down at her.

She ran her fingers through her hair. "Good morning."

"Check out is at noon," I look down at my phone. "We have about ten minutes."

The alarmed look on her face told me I should have woken her up sooner, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. She hurried off of the bed, attempting to find the romper she wore last night. With my foot, I kicked up the white-gold material and caught it with my hand.

"Looking for this, love?"

She came towards me, naked body and all. "Thank you."

"You are welcome," I pressed a kiss to her forehead.

She held onto my shoulders as I helped her step through the sequin-covered bodysuit. I love that she didn't mind wearing the same clothes. It was eleven fifty-five, and we were already dressed up with clothes we wore the previous night.

"Ready to go?" I watched her slip into her slide-ons.

She hummed in agreement, catching my hand with hers. On the trip back to the house, she barely said a word. I wasn't sure if it was because she was sleeping most of the time, at least I assumed she was because her eyes were closed, or something was wrong and I couldn't decipher it.

The curly hair I have come to adore fell over my arm, tickling it with flyways as it cascaded over the center console. She fell asleep on my arm and asked me to wake her up when we got home. I did no such thing. Instead of accepting her request, I carried her inside of the house. It seemed that the baby helped her sleep, and I wanted her to sleep away all of the years she couldn't rest.

She curled into her place on the bed, immediately clinging to me as I slid in next to her. I loved the way she lost herself in my arm as she snuggled into my side. Her head was tucked away under my armpit, and her legs were tangled with mine.

I laid on my side, listening to her snores fill our bedroom. My fingers ran through her hair as I rubbed soothing circles into her scalp. I let my fingertips trail over her back. They glided against the smooth skin, covering every inch of her body. Things like this made me feel closer to her. Moments like this made me forget about the shit going on outside.

And I thought back to a time when I thought I would never settle down, even though I wanted to be a happily married father, and I told myself I made it. All of those years of resentment, and hating the world, I found something that changed my perspective.

I always told myself, I would have to change my attitude if I wanted someone to love me, but I found myself changing because Bo loved me. Her love conquered all. From the darkness in my heart to the cracks of my soul. She filled every piece of wrongdoing with pieces of her, and I almost forgot what it was like to hurt.

I wasn't even sure if I could live in a world without her because the one I am living in revolves around her and depending on someone is scary, but life is much more wonderful with her in it. I would never be able to leave. Nothing would be worth it. Nothing at all.

We were both startled when her phone started ringing. I rubbed my hand over her arms, assuring her everything was okay. Instead of grabbing the device, she asked me to answer. The random number made me not want to answer, but I did anyway.

"Yes?"

A silence stole the other side of the phone until it didn't. "Can I talk to Boston?"

I looked down at the girl next to me, realizing she wasn't in a state of mind to care who called her. She was already snoring. I pushed out of bed, slowly shrugging her off of me. This kid has some fucking audacity calling her phone after everything that happened.

"Are you stupid?" I spat. "She made it clear she wanted nothing to do with you, and time and time again, you continue to contact her."

"Because I don't want her to hate me."

"Really? You don't want her to hate you? That ship has sailed, buddy."

"Who are you to say that?"

"Her husband," I snapped. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Husband?" He choked. "When did that happen?"

"Only close friends knew," I shrugged. "That is probably why you didn't get the memo."

"I thought we had a moment of understanding in the hospital."

"I would have snapped your neck if I knew even the slightest of what actually happened that night," I seethed. "I should have the night you enabled her to drink a liter of whiskey."

"She was hurting -"

"From a situation, you enabled," I reminded him. "She doesn't need this shit. She is in a good place right now and being pregnant, she needs to avoid stress as much as she can."

"Pregnant?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "That is what happens when you trust and love somebody. You get married, and you have kids."

"Maybe, I shouldn't have called."

"You think that now?" I laughed. "You should have considered this years ago."

"I know what I did was wrong, and I was a coward," his voice started to get snippy. "That doesn't mean I never loved her."

"You didn't love her. You wanted her to love you, so you could blind her from all of the shit that happened," I growled. "You wanted her to love you, so she never found out."

"I have been in love with that girl since we were kids."

"If you loved her, you wouldn't have let anything happened to her."

"Who are you to say that? You haven't let anything happen to her? You killed -"

"As a matter of fact, I didn't kill her mom," I reinstated. "Her dad retracted his statement and is currently serving time behind bars. So, from the way it seems, I haven't done a fucking thing to her. Not anywhere fucking close to what you did."

"Listen -"

"No, you listen," my muscles rippled as they flexed with anger. "If you contact, or even think about approaching her, I will fuck up your life."

"What are you going to do when someone decides to press charges?"

I shrugged. "If I get a hold of you, you won't have the chance."

"You aren't shit -"

"Maybe not," I pulled the phone away from my ear. "But I didn't enable a rapist."

"Kinnick?"

I turned around. My heart raced as I looked at the curly-haired girl. The chances of her hearing everything I said were high, and I wasn't sure if I felt guilty or not. She wrapped her hand around my wrist, asking me if I was okay.

"How much of that did you hear?"

Her shoulder tipped upward. "Most of it. Are you okay?"

"Why are you asking if I am okay?" I chuckled. "It should be you, I should be asking."

"I know how much he upsets you," she looked up at me. "And I know how much you want to hurt him for what he did to me, but I don't want you to."

"Bo," I shake my head. "If I see him, I can't promise you I won't do anything."

"I won't be mad if you do."

"What?"

"I won't be mad if you do something to him," she sighed. "I can't stop you from fighting. It is one of my many failures in life. The only thing I can do is not encourage you to do it. But if you hurt him, I won't be mad at you. That is your way of getting back at him. That is your way of protecting me."

"I love you," I pressed a kiss to her forehead.

She smiled. "I love you most."

"Are you okay?"

When she sucked in a breath, I knew she wasn't. So, I listened to her tell me about Seth, and how the next few weeks were going to be exhausting. Nothing worried her more than building a case that would hold no water in court. She wasn't aware of how long he would serve with the charges she was presenting to the judge and she didn't know how long Seth would stay in a hospital for if they deemed him insane.

Nothing worried her more than him walking the same streets as our kids. I wasn't sure why. Did I know the limits he would push? Of course, I did. I knew better than anybody. Would I let him touch my kid? Fuck no. People thought I was protective over Bo, wait until they see me with my kid. I won't hesitate to snap a fucker's neck.

"I will rid this world of all the people who hurt you," I cupped her cheeks. "Just tell me to do it."

"No," she frowned. "I couldn't live if without you."

"I would be in prison," I shrugged. "You could come to visit me whenever you wanted."

Her face dropped. "Your sense of humor is wicked."

I snickered. "You love my wicked side, Mrs. Carson."

She laughed as I wrapped her up in my arms. "So, what if I do?"

"That would make us two peas in a pod!"