Innocent Devil’s Harem Ch. 85

May 22, 2022

NOTE: In this chapter, we are leaving the mansion and getting to class. The next couple of chapters will be their day during classes (it will be eventful).

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<< Chapter 84 | Ch 1 (Book 1) | Ch 16 (Book 2) | Ch 31 (Book 3) | Ch 46 (Book 4) | Ch 61 (Book 5) | Ch 76 (Book 6)

- CHAPTER 85 -

After spending a really passionate hour-and-a-half alone with Miriam, only to discover that the strong bonds I had with four of my women resulted in them being able to indirectly experience what I experienced, I left Miriam’s suite to discover I had some work to do.

However, it ultimately wasn’t as erotic of an experience as I might have initially anticipated.

Still hot though.

It was already pretty late at this point, pretty much everyone had to be up early in the morning, and they all just wanted relief so they could try to get some sleep. So, I got Serenity, Avery, and Natalie all in a room together, having Gabriella join too, and then began fingering and rubbing Serenity in my arms until she got there, while the other three rubbed themselves as they watched, only for it to be plenty enough for them to all orgasm too.

It was definitely a really intimate and passionate experience though, even if it didn’t involve any actual fucking, and feeling Serenity’s wings tremble against my arm when she got there was extremely satisfying.

Prior to that, Miriam had already requested I send her Gwen after I left her room, and I knew from my bond with the maid that the short sexy redhead had been busy eating out her sex pet while I was fingering Serenity, to help take care of her need for relief.

Thus, before long we were all climbing into bed, with me sleeping with Serenity in my arms and Gabriella curled up against my back, while Avery and Natalie slept together in the room directly across the hallway -- the double-room with two beds, where I’d first become Natalie’s alpha. The original idea had been for them to have separate beds to sleep in, but Natalie was basically like, ‘We fucked together, why do we need to sleep separately?’ and so Avery climbed into her bed to snuggle. I knew from our bond that the unspoken problem was Avery just kind of assumed Natalie would want her own space to sleep, and so once Natalie became aware of that, she made sure to correct her.

And once they were snuggling, Natalie made a commitment to her as well.

‘You should assume you’ll be sleeping with someone from now on. If not me, then I’m sure Gabriella would be happy to sleep with you. We can’t all fit in Kai’s bed at night.’

The blue-haired vixen’s words made my blonde classmate happy, realizing she was right.

Of course, Mrs. Rebecca and Michelle also paired off in the redheaded MILF’s old room from when she lived here, and before long everyone was sound asleep, resting peacefully.

I had no idea what Rosa did all night, nor did I really care.

But man, did I sleep hard.

The next morning, I actually felt fairly well rested when my phone alarm went off at just after six o’clock, only to be briefly surprised when I realized that Serenity looked normal!

Her horns, tail, and wings were all reabsorbed into her body, and as I thought about it, I slowly began to remember it happening maybe about an hour ago, much like I recalled all the little noises I’d absentmindedly heard all night.

I quickly quelled my excitement though, not wanting to startle her awake and cause her to shift. Thus, I instead pulled her more tightly into my arms and planted some gentle kisses on her cheeks and lips, until I had her smiling warmly as she opened her rich brown eyes groggily in contentment.

“Wow,” she whispered breathlessly. “I wish I’d been waking up to this years ago.”

I laughed softly at that, kind of wishing too, but knowing she never would have crossed that line back then for a variety of reasons. Still, I wanted to tease her a little. “Well, you certainly would have made me really happy,” I admitted.

She smiled warmly again, her eyes closing as she sucked in a deep breath through her nose. “Yeah, I bet. And wow, you smell so good…” Her eyes abruptly popped back open, only for her to reach up to feel her forehead, where her horns should be. “Oh shit, am I back to normal? I just realized I can’t feel my wings or tail anymore.”

“Looks that way,” I said gently.

She sighed heavily in relief. “Thank goodness. I still would have wanted to be like you either way, but not being able to transform back really had me worried.”

“I know,” I whispered, gently kissing her on the cheek, causing another huge smile to blossom on her face. “We should probably get everyone up though, so that we aren’t running late. Avery and I might actually need to take my car directly to her house, to get her stuff, and then school. My backpack is apparently already in Mrs. Rebecca’s car,” I added.

Serenity’s brow furrowed as she thought about that, her eyes still closed. “Yeah, maybe. That would leave me, Gabriella, her mom, Michelle, and Natalie -- we should be able to fit in Mrs. Rebecca’s car without a problem. It’s spacious.”

Gabriella groaned then on my other side, only for her hand to slip on my bare waist, starting to rub my skin up and down. “Mmm, you feel so good,” she said groggily. “Think we have time for some morning sex?”

I laughed at that. “Not if we want to get places on time. I should really shower.”

“What about your clothes?” Serenity wondered, only to frown. “I guess you did change into fresh jeans and a nice shirt for our date.”

“Yeah, they aren’t too dirty. A little pat on the dusty spots, and it’ll be fine.”

Gabriella wiggled closer, gliding her hand against my stomach and reaching up to my flat chest as she pressed her face against my back. “Mmm, you smell so good.”

I chuckled again, realizing she must have truly still been asleep when Serenity made the same comment.

“I know, right?” Serenity said warmly. “I’m looking forward to waking up to this every morning from now on.”

When Gabriella grabbed my muscled chest firmly, I knew she was not going to be the strong one in this situation, truly being okay with all of us being an hour or two late, so that we could enjoy each other a little first.

But, I’d already missed two days of school, technically three days when I counted the fact that I skipped Friday too, with it being Wednesday morning, and I knew another one would just lead to more rumors when Avery and I finally returned on the same day. Not to mention, each day I stayed away was an ever-increasing risk that I might just never go back to begin with, something I knew I couldn’t really afford and might sincerely regret in a month from now.

Sighing heavily, I finally grabbed Gabriella’s warm hand, gave it a kiss, and then carefully wiggled out from their grasps, both of them clinging to me and giggling as if they’d mutually decided they really weren’t going to let me go.

It warmed my heart, and made me super happy, but I had to keep level-headed right now, since there were also safety reasons to go back to school as well. A suggestion that Miriam had made, about someone possibly watching my life from a distance, who might notice that my routine had dramatically changed.

Of course, that one thought alone ended up getting communicated through my bond with Serenity, and she gave up first, growing a little more serious as she sat up in bed. Not enough to tip Gabriella off though, who proceeded to jump my sexy brunette and start tickling her the moment I had escaped.

Unsurprisingly, Gwen was already awake, and checking in with the kitchen staff who were just now showing up, as was routine for them to do so on a weekday. In total, it was only two women, including a chef and maid who also helped out elsewhere whenever needed, including the kitchen. However, I could sense from Gwen’s mind that, unlike her silk uniform, this human maid was dressed in much more standard attire that wasn’t even remotely sexy, being much more functional as a standard housekeeping uniform, even if the middle aged woman was definitely above average in the looks department.

I should have known, considering the female chef I’d met had also worn standard attire, but it just went to show that Miriam truly did dress Gwen up as a living sex doll in a variety of cute and sexy outfits for her personal entertainment.

Once I’d roused Avery and Natalie, tightly wrapped around each other in bed, their faces close, their legs in between each other’s thighs, I decided to take a shower in their more spacious bathroom, since I felt confident they’d be less likely to test my resolve, compared to Gabriella, to make it out of Miriam’s mansion this morning without fucking anyone…

And thus never leaving in the first place, or at least ending up late.

And sure enough, while very happy to see me, the two of them knew getting to school on time was important, and Natalie at least felt really content knowing that we’d still have some semblance of communication between the three of us all day, despite the distance.

That alone gave me pause, especially since the communication she was referring to was exactly how I’d even become aware she was having that kind of thought in the first place.

Which actually kind of stunned me, and also made me really happy.

Even when Avery and I were in different classes, we would still be together. And even with Natalie miles away, she’d still be near to us both. Not to mention, I’d also be able to keep in touch with Serenity throughout the day, and even Gwen too.

Shit, this was great!

Maybe my classes wouldn’t be so horrible to get through after all!

I’d just have to be careful I wasn’t getting too distracted though.

Granted, having them all in my head didn’t feel much different than just internalizing my own thoughts and thinking stuff through, similar to what pretty much every person did anyway. Only main difference was this perception and awareness of their internal thoughts was existing with mine simultaneously, but it wasn’t at all intrusive. I could easily stop focusing on them, and even when I did so, having that sensation -- like I still had an idea of what was on their mind -- didn’t distract me at all from whatever I was focusing on.

Such as, if I was listening to someone speak, like when I had been listening to Gabriella, even while Gwen and Serenity were both awake and conscious.

I could focus on my first fiancé’s every word.

And just like I normally might have passing thoughts as she spoke, my other women’s passing thoughts were just as unobtrusive as my own. Even nonexistent, if I stopped focusing on them entirely.

So yeah, while not exactly like true telepathy, it was somehow both better in all ways.

Especially since I could know exactly what someone was thinking, practically word-for-word, if I just focused intently, even though I couldn’t actually hear their words in my head.

In the end, Avery ended up joining me in the shower just as I was finishing, and while we both got a little hot and bothered as we switched places, we kept it under control. Natalie then joined her shortly after, and before long everyone was dressed and heading downstairs for breakfast, with me knowing Gwen was ensuring they had something quick ready for all of us before we left for the day.

It was actually kind of nice being served our meal like we were at a restaurant, though I was a little disappointed there was no eggs or any kind of meat, having almost forgotten that they didn’t usually have such things available to begin with. Breakfast was still good though, waffles with strawberries or blueberries being the primary item on the menu, and it kept coming so long as we were eating.

In passing, I thought about the campfires, the metal grill, and any trash we might have left behind last night, but Gwen easily picked up on that thought and proceeded to push a silent message into my head that she’d take care of any cleanup on my behalf.

It was just as we were finishing up that Miriam finally walked into the dining hall, yawning loudly as she casually strut her adorable short body around like she was the queen without a care in the world.

She was still wearing her cum-soaked emerald pajamas, adorned in that vibrant blue silk robe, though of course the cum was dry now, having practically glued the shiny green silk to her body in certain spots. Like her perky tits.

Her blue silk robe was open in the front, and she wasn’t even shy about walking around only in those silk green panties, there being nothing else to hide her tan legs and waist.

Granted, this was her home after all, and the only two staff present at the moment were both women, both currently in the kitchen again. Not to mention, the first time I’d met her, she’d only been wearing the minimum possible, adorned in only a tiny latex bikini.

But wow, so much for not noticing my own smell much.

She strongly smelled of me, and it actually was really turning me on in a territorial kind of sense, feeling like I’d claimed her with my scent. I kind of wanted to fuck her like the previous night all over again, and make sure she was completely covered in my cum -- which I was sure she’d love -- but then I’d definitely end up staying here all day.

Considering Avery and I were planning on driving directly to school after a short stop at her house, in order to be there by 7:45 AM, and since everyone else could afford a few extra minutes to get back home and pick up their respective vehicles, we were the only two who had rushed through breakfast to ensure we were ready to go in enough time.

Everyone else had eaten at a much more casual pace, even if most everyone was about done as well.

Ensuring that I said goodbye to everyone, including Miriam and Gwen, I grabbed Avery’s hand and led her out to my vehicle to leave for the day, knowing I just had to grab my backpack from the other car before departing.

My blonde classmate of course knew from our bond that I’d partially done the gesture of grabbing her hand to test how ready she was to be around our classmates, but she only realized that after the fact since I hadn’t put much thought into grabbing her hand prior to doing it.

However, I was pleasantly surprised that, while she did look at me like I’d swept her off her feet, I’d seen no outward signs of her shifting in appearance. And sure enough, while she’d felt that urge from the startle, she’d almost completely kept it under control.

Much like I also was doing much better at keeping my own transformation under control from casual touches, after all the sex I’d had in the last few days. Granted, I still always transformed during the act -- I was sure there was no preventing that, unless I just wasn’t enjoying myself or something.

But all that also confirmed that us finally crossing that line and getting physically intimate really did help, even if part of her concern was being afraid she’d get pregnant if we fucked normally.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d mind that so much.

Part of me felt like it would be too soon to end up having a kid in the next year, but another part of me kind of wanted to knock her up, loving the idea of me pleasuring her out of her mind while she had a big swollen belly.

Something I probably shouldn’t think too much on when, not only was the idea affecting me, but it was affecting her too.

Now on the road in the car, I cleared my throat, still holding her hand as she relaxed next to me in the passenger’s seat.

“I guess I don’t just have to worry about my own thoughts anymore,” I realized.

Avery’s face was flushed, her skin tanning, from my thoughts on the pregnancy topic, though I wasn’t exactly sure just how vivid her perception of it had been. She cleared her throat after a second.

“Umm, yeah…” She cleared her throat again, shifting her thighs in her seat. “It, umm, might be best if I try to avoid focusing on your mind while we’re in class.”

“So is it the same for you? Even if I’m not focused on you or Natalie, you both can still focus on what’s going on with me, right?”

She nodded, swallowing loudly as she squeezed my hand. “Umm, yeah. If I close my eyes and really focus, I can almost feel you holding my hand, which is kind of disorienting. And last night, it was really obvious you were just focused on Miriam, but wow, we all really felt those orgasms.”

“Do you think it would affect you as much if you weren’t focused on it?” I wondered seriously, concerned that could be a problem. Much like how me fully growing into my crowned form was a bit of a problem in the sense that it caused all of them to transform too, no matter the distance.

She sighed, shifting her thighs again. “I think I’d be okay if I wasn’t as focused. There were a few times yesterday when I wasn’t really focused on you, and it kind of felt like ignoring ‘what you were feeling’ was easy enough. Not distracting at all. Really, I think last night we were all just curious about the experience you were having. Kind of like having a cake in front of our faces and expecting us all to ignore it.” She smirked then. “Or a juicy steak.”

I laughed. “Just to be clear, I’m the juicy steak?”

She grinned, making an amused noise. “For me, definitely. I’m not sure about Serenity and Gwen, since I have no idea what is going on with them, unless you are thinking about what you’re sensing from them. For all I know, it might have just been the desire to know how you were generally doing, or possibly even the curiosity of what it was like for you, having sex with Miriam.”

I sighed. “Yeah, she’s really something. Even with out all that charm, she’s hot as fuck, kinky as fuck, erotic as fuck. Probably because she’s a hot girl with a ton of experience. But when you add her charm to the mix, it’s just mind-blowing how she can make a person feel.”

“But you like that I’m a virgin, right?” Avery blurted out.

I gave her an affectionate smile. “Yeah, of course. I love that you don’t have any experience. And I’m not suggesting that you need to have experience to make me happy. If anything, I’m really glad I get to share a lot of firsts with you. I’m glad that, when we finally have normal sex, I’ll be your first. In every way.” I paused. “I think I’m just trying to look at the positive side of things. If you had experience prior to us getting together, I wouldn’t dock you points for it.” I grimaced, realizing that wasn’t entirely true. “Well, I mean, if you liked me, but then went off and dated some other guy just to be with someone, that would probably bother me.”

“Of course,” she agreed.

“But I’m just saying, Miriam has a ton of experience -- an unfathomable amount -- and I could dwell on the negative aspects of that, or I could focus on the positive ones. All that matters to me is that she wants to be with me now, and is willing to give up the promiscuous lifestyle that her existence has forced on her.”

Avery frowned, seeming to pick up on something that I wasn’t saying in my thoughts. “So, me being a virgin is kind of your preference,” she commented, more as a statement than a question. “Same for Serenity and Gabriella.”

“Well, yeah. Kind of, I guess. It makes sense to me that older women are going to have experience. There’s pretty much no way around that. So I accept that, as is. And then with women more our age, I like that I get to have their first time. I like that you’ve never been with anyone else before. But I’m also not docking Natalie points for not being a virgin either. I still love her the same.”

Of course, I was aware that Natalie could perceive this conversation, knowing full well from the slight uniqueness of our werewolf bond -- which still gave me just the tiniest bit of extra information about her general well-being compared to everyone else -- that she not only felt very confident in how I felt about her at this point, but that she also had no problem with anything I was saying.

It was just the truth.

All of it, including how I felt about Natalie in particular.

She’d been just a random girl in a clothing store at the mall only two days ago, and now she was something much more -- far more than I ever would have anticipated.

After that, being that we were kind of in each other’s heads to begin with, Avery and I fell into a peaceful silence for most of the trip to school, my hand still in her lap, just enjoying the rising sun on the horizon, the gold hues richly basking the world before us in a peaceful glow. The sight and feeling I was experiencing right now kind of reminded me of the occasional times I’d actually stayed up all night, especially on the full moon, only to greet the rising sun as it rose over the horizon, feeling an intense sensation of peace and tranquility that was unlike any other.

I felt like I had no worries right now.

Not a single one in the world.

Everything was right and perfect in my personal universe.

And the sun itself filled me with a warmth I’d never noticed before.

More than that, it felt like it was giving me a sense of power I’d never experienced, almost to the point of feeling invincible in a way that reminded me of how it felt when I resurrected from the dead as a monster.

At first, I didn’t think much of it, just enjoying the calm of keeping my thoughts mostly unfocused.

But then Gwen picked up on what I was sensing, even as she was dragging the deer corpse much further away from the mansion back on Miriam’s property, reminding me about what Miriam had already told me once before, regarding the devil maid.

That Inferno Imps were kind of special, being able to draw a vast amount of power directly from the sun itself, causing even their blood to have a similar effect on vampires as sunlight did on them.

I doubted that my blood would ever become lethal to a vampire like that, but without a doubt I was sensing a potent strength rising with the rising orb of fire in the sky. I wasn’t sure if the sensation was only new to me, in the sense that my third-eye and self-awareness was much stronger now, or if this strength was truly novel, possibly due to my bond with Gwen and Serenity.

Hard to say, since I usually felt pretty good either way.

Night or day, I’d always felt strong.

More so after my death and resurrection, but even before then.

And with my third-eye being sealed shut previously, with me knowing for a fact that I was still growing in my ability to use that sixth sense, it was difficult to know for sure if anything was truly different, or if it was only my increasing perception that was different.

Avery didn’t feel anything overly special from the sun, noting that she wasn’t experiencing what I seemed to be experiencing, but she did confirm that she did feel a similar strength coming directly from me, and flowing into her.

Like a continuous trickle of warmth.

Not necessarily a source of power, but a heat much like she was feeling from the sun itself. An awareness of its presence, even when she closed her eyes, simply because of the warmth that reached her skin.

In a way, in her own perception, I was her sun.

When we finally pulled into the extremely nice subdivision where Avery and her mom lived, I’d finally begun thinking about the day ahead, and mentally preparing myself for all the attention we would undoubtedly get throughout the day. Not necessarily because anyone paid a ton of attention to me, but because Avery herself was fairly popular, even if she wasn’t a cheerleader or otherwise fit the typical mold.

Instead, not only was she just beautiful, she was also very nice to everyone.

Not to the point where anyone thought they could walk over her though, since she had a backbone and spoke up for herself, whether that be in the form of getting snippy with the ‘cheerleader type’ who was trying to bully her with hateful comments, or the nerdy guy who misunderstood her niceness as representing an interest.

I, for one, had witnessed her shut a guy down right in front of everyone without hesitation on several occasions, though previously I tried to ignore the situation entirely, not wanting to be involved.

Because I’d had my own shit to worry about, and had long since realized that getting involved in my classmates petty drama wasn’t worth my time, especially after I broke up that fight two years ago, only to overhear that they’d gone at it again about a week later on the field, since they’d both been on the football team.

Ultimately, it was the threat of being removed from the team that got them to quit the shit, and honestly I felt like my intervention the week prior had only delayed that outcome.

I certainly hadn’t stopped them from resuming their ridiculous skirmish at a later date.

However, as I pulled around a bend and saw Avery’s house come into sight, I was unexpectedly dismayed when I realized the trouble might begin much sooner than I was expecting.

Because I recognized the car in the driveway, as well as the man in the seat, taking a swig of a coffee.

“Dammit,” I mumbled, sensing Avery’s internal grimace even without looking at her.

“I’ll try to be fast,” she whispered, sounding pained. “Emphasize we don’t have time right now, or else we’ll be late.”

I sighed. “Don’t suppose you can go a day without your bag,” I commented, just trying to lighten the mood.

She still responded with a serious answer. “I always bring all my stuff home on the weekend. I wouldn’t even have a notebook to take notes if I went to school without my bag.”

I nodded, taking a deep breath. “Yeah, I know. I was only kidding.”

“I know,” she replied simply, beginning to unbuckle her seat belt as I pulled in right behind his car. Because the last thing I wanted was for him to somehow block mein, such as by pulling out and then pulling alongside the entrance like he’d done last time.

Despite the fact that he was obviously waiting, it was obvious he sincerely hadn’t been anticipating us making an appearance, because he jumped so much when I pulled up that he almost spilled his coffee. Which actually might have been a great way to trip him up, and prevent him from being able to be as confrontational as he probably intended…

But no such luck, I supposed.

Without hesitation, he began fumbling with the door, getting it open as Avery tried to rush for the door to unlock it.

“Honey, wait!” he exclaimed. “We need to--”

“Not now, dad,” she scoffed, sounding sincerely angry. “We’re going to be late.”

Mr. Copeland glanced in my direction, seeming to only now finally register who was driving, and then immediately gave me a death glare, before trying again.

“Honey, just wait a minute!”

Avery slammed the door shut and locked it behind her. I knew from our bond that her bag wasn’t at all packed, all her stuff strewn about her room since she’d worked on homework Friday night and had planned to work on a project research paper on Saturday, after running some errands with her mom…

One of which had been a trip to the bank, where we’d met prior to their accident.

Which meant she needed a few minutes to collect everything.

I could hear her silently apologizing in our bond to the point that it almost really was like true telepathy -- her regret and thoughts were so strong.

Mr. Copeland finally really glared at me this time, beginning to march over without hesitation.

Trying not to roll my eyes, I hit the button for the window, knowing there was no avoiding this conversation, and already prepared to spin a totally different story in order to make him question his understanding of the situation.

“Dude, before you say anything, I’m just Avery’s friend. I didn’t kiss her mom,” I lied.

His face immediately started growing red.

“Don’t give me that shit! I heard--”

“You heard her kissing her hand!” I snapped back, causing him to immediately look confused. “I was just as shocked as you were! She started making all these noises on her hand, moaning and such! And she apologized afterward! She said that she was just so pissed at you, that she wanted to get back at you.” I scoffed. “But nothing actually happened! I mean, seriously?! Do you think she really kissed me?! When you were right there?! Shit, I’m only eighteen! Why would you think she’d even be interested in me?” I scoffed, seeing him visibly starting to consider the situation from this angle. “Especially when she knows I kind of like Avery,” I continued, shaking my head, lowering my voice now. “I mean, Mrs. Copeland actually feels really bad about it, even now. But she said she wasn’t thinking about how it would affect anyone else. She was just so pissed at what you were insinuating, about me using the only bathroom available, that she did it without thinking.”

Of course, even though this guy was with a nineteen-year-old girl, this logic was still working on him, probably for a lot of reasons. Because honestly, the actual reality of the situation, regarding what really happened, was kind of bizarre by normal standards. His soon-to-be ex-wife really kissed another guy while he was within ear-shot? And a guy so much younger?

Most would find the alternative, that he’d simply misunderstood the situation and that she’d put on a show to get back at him out of anger, was all much more believable.

And I could see him now believing it.

That he’d pissed her off so much that she’d put on a show, even shocking me.

And technically, since I hadn’t been really noisy myself, only speaking in whispers when I did talk, most likely he’d only heard Michelle making all those moans and whimpers when we kissed.

The rest ‘could’ have technically been faked.

Seeing that he was at least considering this version of the story, I continued.

“Look,” I said seriously when he didn’t respond. “When you came in the house, the bedroom door was open. Remember her slamming it? I was just using the bathroom, because the other one was a mess. She’s remodeling or whatever. And look, this isn’t really fair to me at all. I haven’t done anything wrong, and I don’t want to be a part of all this drama. Kind of wished I had never needed to use the bathroom in the first place.” I lowered my voice. “And honestly, Mr. Copeland, I was kind of hoping to eventually introduce myself to you as Avery’s boyfriend eventually.” I scoffed, my voice growing louder. “But now I feel like you’ll never give me a chance, and all I did was try to help out after that car accident!”

He finally frowned at that. “What did you say your name was?”

“Kai Ashworth, sir.”

He grimaced at that, turning his head away, almost seeming embarrassed now.

And I suspected I knew why.

Avery had talked about me before.

No, actually Avery had talked about me a lot, even before I had that class project with her. Whenever the topic of ‘boys’ had come up, she’d always talked about me…every single time…for the last four years.

He knew my name well.

And suddenly, he didn’t know what to say.

Finally, after a painfully long half-minute, he spoke up hesitantly, not looking at me. “And you’re saying my wife…made all those noises with her hand.”

I didn’t particularly appreciate him calling her his wife, when she was definitely done with him at this point, but decided not to focus on it.

Instead, I scoffed. “Honestly, I was shocked you believed her! It was crazy enough to watch her doing it, as if she was performing for an audition for a movie or something -- I mean, it was so exaggerated and fake! But then, just the fact that you actually believed her completely shocked me. I felt like I was in some kind of crazy alternate universe or something. Like, Mrs. Copeland knows I like Avery! Why would she do that when she knows I like Avery?”

He scoffed in turn. “Yeah, well…” His voice trailed off. I suspected he wanted to say it was ‘believable’ sounding. However, if what I was saying was actually true, then suggesting that it sounded real would just be awkward. Especially now that he fully knew who I was in relation to his daughter -- that I was the guy who she’d been infatuated with all of high school, something he probably assumed I didn’t know about, and that I’d ultimately got mixed up in their family drama simply because he’d pissed his wife off to the point of acting crazy.

When he didn’t say anything else, still looking away, I tried to break the silence, knowing Avery was finally running down the stairs.

“So, can we start over?” I said seriously. “I was just trying to help them out. Wasn’t trying to get involved in all this stuff. Almost makes me regret it now.”

He looked at me in surprise this time, only to grimace again. “No, you seem like an alright kid, and actually…Avery’s mentioned you before…” He sighed. “I’m actually glad you were there for them. I’m glad your family was there for them,” he clarified, only to take a deep breath. “I guess…sorry for the misunderstanding. It was my fault for driving her to such extremes. I never wanted to ruin our family, I just…” His voice trailed off, probably realizing that he was about to start rambling to me like he might a therapist, about how he never wanted things to turn out this way.

Honestly, I was a little stunned by the apology.

But I also suspected that he wasn’t aware my parents had passed away, probably imagining that my mom and dad had been a big part of ‘taking care of them.’ But truthfully, I didn’t want to spend a ton of time getting to know this guy anytime soon, especially since I was lying to him now, and also because I wasn’t sure we could ever have an honest relationship of any kind, even as a father-in-law, when I was absolutely going to be with both his daughter and ex-wife.

But a lot of that was his fault.

It wasn’t like I had stolen anything away from him, even if he didn’t approve of the situation.

He had his young girlfriend, and he’d already made his decision.

Michelle was done with him.

And while Avery might eventually forgive him, she wasn’t looking to make amends anytime super soon.

It was obvious he wasn’t sure what to say, but thankfully Avery popped open the front door then, locking it behind her.

He immediately gave her his attention, turning toward her as she tried to hurry to get around the car.

“Honey…” he said hesitantly, his voice trailing off again when she gave him a hard look while walking this way.

“Look dad,” she said firmly. “I’m not saying I’ll never forgive you, but I need some space right now. And we’re going to be late for school if we don’t leave this minute. This isn’t the time to talk anyway.”

He sighed heavily. “Can I at least come to your graduation?” he asked seriously.

She paused in front of the car, taking a deep breath. “I mean, I can’t exactly stop you.”

“You know what I mean,” he almost whispered, looking visibly defeated now.

She sighed. “Yeah, probably. As long as it’s just you. I have no interest in meeting her anytime soon.”

“Of course,” he agreed quietly.

She began walking again, almost sounding a little somber now. “Bye dad, have a good day at work.”

“Bye honey,” he replied quietly as she climbed into the passenger’s seat again.

Not wanting to look like I was trying to rush out of there, Avery silently agreed to help take the focus and blame off of me, beginning to look frustrated when I hesitated, as part of this newly forming plan.

My tone was uncertain, my window still open. “Sure you don’t want to take a sec to…” My voice trailed off.

“We’re going to be late,” she said loudly in faked annoyance. “Let’s just go.”

I nodded, trying to look as uncomfortable as possible, so that it really did appear as if I’d just somehow found myself caught up in the middle of their drama.

Thankfully, I was pretty sure it worked.

Though, unfortunately, while Avery was happy to give off that impression, she also had sincere negative feelings about the overall situation.

As we pulled away, I couldn’t help but feel a little somber, especially because I knew my blonde classmate was truly a little sad. Technically, she was angry, relieved, and sad, all at the same time, all for different reasons.

On the one hand, she was sincerely glad that her mom had been ‘available’ in the relationship department, so that everything that happened in the last few days could even happen in the first place, without there being moral dilemmas. Because she absolutely loved it that I was with Michelle.

But she’d also been sincerely disappointed and angry at her father when everything first came to light, and also sad now that she knew her relationship with her father would never be the same. So it was very bittersweet for her. She didn’t exactly regret the outcome, but did still feel a sense of loss.

Something that Natalie understood more than anyone, her mental presence still very much with us, even now. The blue-haired model absolutely didn’t regret the outcome of where she’d ended up, knowing she never would have met me, if not for everything horrible that happened to her, but that didn’t mean she didn’t still mourn the loss of her parents, or that she didn’t feel somber over everything she went through in the last year.

Neither of them would have willingly chosen those things.

Even knowing the outcome, it was doubtful they would have chosen to go through it.

Avery didn’t want to lose her relationship with her father.

But he’d made his decisions, she’d made hers, and there was no going back.

Still hurt though.

Still caused a deep sense of loss, and somberness.

Which was completely understandable.

However, the reminder of all Natalie had been through actually made Avery stop focusing on her own concerns pretty quickly, since she actually still had both her parents and all, prompting her to instead focus on more positive things, not wanting to come off as ‘whiny’ compared to someone who had truly suffered, even if Natalie would never perceive it that way.

Despite the somberness, it was almost entertaining experiencing their dynamic.

They both liked each other so much at this point, and both wanted to be the one who supported the other. Resulting in a really endearing exchange in our share bond that only made me love them both a ton more.

And also made it feel like maybe today wouldn’t be so bad.

Not when I had them with me at all times, even miles away.

In fact, I suspected that today was going to be pretty alright.

Better than alright.

Still, I couldn’t help but hope that we could avoid a ton of drama, even if we were undoubtedly going to spark it the moment we walked into the school, intending to rip the bandage right off.

By walking in, hand-in-hand.

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