John

"Why is it so bright?"

"Shh." I beg Melissa, pressing a finger to her lips. "Five more minutes."

I love sleeping in. I especially love sleeping in with my girlfriend. Peaking an eye open as she checks her phone, I grin. I have a girlfriend and she's pretty as can be. Messy brown hair and wrinkles from the sheets on her face and all.

"I'm late for work!" She jumps up, ruining my admiration. Well, that's one way to ruin my morning plans.

Watching her run around like a chicken with its head cut off as she tries to get dressed, I hold back laughter. I should be worried about the fact it's late and I'm not at work but for the first time in months, I don't care.

Suddenly, she looks out the window. "It snowed?"

Just like that, she dives back into bed and I'm happy all over again. "What time is it?"

"9:15." She says as I reach for my own phone.

Going through my texts, I become more awake. My assistant said she's not coming in and since she knew I wasn't anywhere near the office, she told everyone else to have the day off. She deserves a raise. The concern comes from reading Scarlett's message.

Bean

It's snowing but we're ok. Sage is at Ella's. The twins are at Sam's. Saffron is at Ronnie's and I'm home by myself. Love you!

"Something wrong at the office?"

"Hm, no." I glance up. "The kids all spent the night at different places. Bean texted me."

"They okay?" Her genuine concern makes me happy. I've dated plenty of women who never understood my love for my godchildren. They're my world and I love them to pieces. Most feel threatened or bothered, but Melissa never pouts when I bring them up. She loves hearing stories about them.

"She spent the night alone." If I know one thing, it's that Scarlett doesn't handle situations like this well. That mixed with the fact that punk never visited her means she's clearly upset. "You're off all day, right?"

"Yup."

"You have no plans?" I clarify.

"None."

"I think I'm gonna go make sure she's okay and make them breakfast." I decide. She needs cheering up. I need to make sure everyone's good. Plus, they're home and I've missed so many mornings with them. "Then we can go out to lunch and I'll make dinner tonight?" I ask, afraid to see her response. I'm ditching her to see kids. "Unless you're tired of me."

"No, go visit with them and then come back." She smiles warmly and my heart melts a little.

Getting dressed and giving her one last kiss, I head for my car. I've got some cheering up to do.

*****

Humming to myself, I pull into their driveway and head for the front door. Using my key, the one I had to earn back by getting sober, I let myself in. I could knock, but it's freeing to know they trust me enough to walk on in.

"Good morning." I call out, noticing how unnaturally quiet it is. The kids definitely aren't back yet. That's fine. I can cook and it can be ready for them or we can go pick them up.

Knowing there's no way in hell Scarlett is still asleep, I head up two flights of stairs to her room. Opening the door, I'm greeted by an ear shattering scream and the sound of a body falling to the floor.

Oh dear God.

Moving so I can see the bed, my concern is replaced by anger as I take in the messy bed, my breathless goddaughter dressed in nothing but a shirt and a shirtless, male body rising from the floor.

"What the hell is going on in here?" I demand, glancing between her and the punk. Looks like he visited after all.

"Nothing." Scarlett offers, not earning herself any favors as she tries to control her breathing.

He stands, knocking an entire stack of books over and my precious Bean has the audacity to giggle. I glare at her.

"We were having a tickle fight sir." The punk, Ashton, tries to explain.

Did I fucking ask you? No. Focusing on the charcoal covering his face and torso, I bite my tongue before I explode. He's a minor. I can't kick his ass.

"Why are you here?" I demand before deciding I have a better question. "Better yet, why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

A pillow hits me. "I'll explain if you would just listen."

Staring at Scarlett and seeing none of my sweet, innocent girl, I turn back to the punk. "He can go, then you and I can talk."

The glare she serves me hurts my heart as she stands. "I'll walk you out."

"Walk him out, you're not even wearing pants!" Is she losing her mind? The door slams shut, and I look around the room before running down to the kitchen. The last place I need to be is where she just did... things.

Stopping in the hall, I glance at a picture of Kat and Matty. "This is all your fault. You just had to have a daughter with all your sass and stubbornness, let her become a teenager and then leave me to do the hard stuff. I hope you're both getting a good laugh out of this."

Because I sure as hell am not.

Checking the kitchen cabinets, I discover all of my morning is going to hell. They have no food. That's fine. We can go shopping, I can buy them more food than Karen ever gives her money for and I can get out of this house.

"You have got to be kidding me!" She shouts and I take a deep breath.

"Put on clothes, we need to buy food." I order as she storms towards me. Not liking her attitude, I decide to make her feel as upset as I am. "And try to hide the hickey."

Yeah, I'm ready to kill that kid if I ever see his face again.

*****

"Explain to me why he was there." I say, pushing a cart down the grocery store aisle now that I've calmed down.

She throws food in the cart, clearly pouting. "We ended up going to dinner last night. The snow coated the roads and it wasn't safe to drive. So he spent the night. Everyone else got stuck at other people's houses."

"Why was he in your room?" I demand. Not to mention the fact she lied and said she was alone. I wouldn't have walked right in if I knew he would be there.

"My bed is the size of Texas, it's not the first time he, or anyone else, has slept in there." I'm going to have a heart attack and she's getting a smaller bed. "And before you can ask, he wasn't wearing a shirt because he doesn't fit any of Sages. He has muscles."

"Yeah, I'm sure you love those." I snort, forgetting that I'm talking to Scarlett and not Kat. Sometimes they're too similar.

"What are you? Twelve." She demands and I feel a little guilty.

"No, I'm trying to understand what happened." I chase after her.

She throws her arms up, "Nothing happened."

Like I'm an idiot. "Are you two dating?"

"No, we're friends. If anything, I'd say he's my best friend." Yeah, I had a female best friend and we didn't do that. Actually, Allie and I definitely did that, but Scarlett doesn't need to know that.

Silently, we add more things to the cart, and I try to reassess the situation. Yelling and accusing is pointless.

"I don't want you to end up doing something stupid." I admit. There are precautions she can take to ensure there are no future issues.

The look she sends me has my heart stopping. "Like what? Get pregnant."

Abort mission. Abort mission. Why am I the one doing this? Matty, I'm kicking your ass next time I see you, even if we'll be in heaven. We can go to Hell together.

"In case you forgot, I'm already responsible for four kids, I don't need another." Those words hurt almost as much as watching her walk off. That's my fault and now so is this.

"Scarlett." I call after her. "Scarlett Rain, stop right this instant!"

Whirling around she crosses her arms and pops her hip. Oh great.

"That's not what I meant but I know what it's like to be 17." And I was a very active 17-year-old. She needs to know that's okay as long as she's protected.

"Just stop." She begs and I press the matter. Please, for the love of God.

"No listen." This conversation isn't gonna be pleasant for either of us. "You're growing up and I don't even think your parents gave you the talk-"

"I know enough." Yup, totally didn't need to know that.

But we've made it this far, so I'm not backing down not. Picking up the box of condoms, I face her. "Are you at least using protection?"

The mixture of disgust and horror on her face match how I feel. "For the last time, I'm not having sex!"

"The hickey on your neck suggests otherwise!" The more I think about it, the more I hate that kid.

Growling, she turns to go and runs into some poor bystander. As Scarlett bends over to pick up whatever this woman drops, I go to offer an apology and a plea to not call child services when my voice stops in my throat.

Brown hair. Honey eyes. Pretty pink lips. All characteristics that belong to my girlfriend. This is not how I pictured her meeting Scarlett. For one, Scarlett is angry. Two, she's post hook-up and unpresentable. Three, I might be a dead man soon and Melissa isn't allowed to ID my killer.

Melissa and I are new. No one will meet my godchildren before I know they're solid. I protect them and she's great but still not ready to meet them.

"Ms. Miller." Scarlett gasps, throwing a box of condoms I'll inevitably have to touch into Mel's cart. "I um, I didn't see you there."

Oh my God. No. No. No. No. They know each other?

Melissa locks eyes with me in a panic before turning back to her. "Scarlett, who's this?"

Yup, they know each other.

"This is my uncle." She turns back to me with a silent threat to behave. "John this is Ms. Miller, my teacher."

How the hell did I not piece together that she could possibly know them. I knew she worked where they go to school. I'm a dumbass with a capital D. Unsure of what to say, I just offer a hand for her to shake.

"Now if you'll excuse us, I'll see you tomorrow." Scarlett drags me away and I try to calm down.

Loading the car up, I pull back onto the road. Maybe I should test how Scar feels about her. That way, if things go the way I think they will, they can all be introduced sooner rather than later.

"Well, she seemed nice." I try to start a casual conversation.

"She's my least favorite teacher." She grumbles and I almost slam on the breaks. Well, fuck. "How did you even get to my house so early?"

"I drove." I grip the wheel tightly.

She turns the radio off. "No, you didn't because your condo is in Nashville and no matter how much salt they put on those roads, you wouldn't have been able to drive that early."

Why is she so smart? Sage would've never figured that out. Sterling, maybe, but damn her brain.

"You hypocrite, you were at your girlfriend's house. Weren't you?"

Nope, not having this conversation. "Yes, but I'm an adult, you aren't."

That's a low blow and I know it and prepare for her reaction. She just glares. "And to think, the least mature one here got laid last night."

Laughing, I park in their driveway. Unloading the groceries, we head inside to find the twins and Saffron waiting on us.

"Why didn't Ashton wait around when he dropped Saffron off." Sterling asks.

That punk had the audacity to come back to this house. "Oh, I don't think he'll be coming around today." I snap.

"Why not?" Silver questions, tearing into the Twizzlers.

Reaching over, I yank down the neck of Scarlett's sweatshirt to reveal that God-awful hickey. She swats me away and I shrug. "If you got the mark, be prepared to show it off."

Their abuela told me that every damn time. She has to deal with it.

*****

After a tense day of trying to make it up to Scarlett and staying to ensure the punk doesn't show back up, I find myself knocking on Mel's apartment door. She opens it, wearing an oversized hoodie and socks, not expecting me to be here at all.

"I'm so sorry. I'm mortified. Today has been horrible. Scarlett. Boy. Doing things. I walked in. Saw you. Her. Condoms. Hickey. Our plans. I need a drink." I manage to say too much and nothing as the same time.

Her eyes widen, opening the door to let me in. "Please come inside and don't drink."

"I'm sorry." I hug her.

Rubbing my back, she sighs. "Today took an interesting turn to say the least.

"I brought you enchiladas." I offer weakly and she laughs.

Walking in, I head to the kitchen. The silence is horrible, but I wait for her to bring it up. To say anything about today.

"So you're Scarlett's uncle?" She questions, sipping from a wine glass.

There it is. "Godfather, technically, but yes."

"So her parents..." She takes another sip of wine, clearly uncomfortable.

"Died two years ago in the car crash." I confirm. And, surprise, she's your student.

"She's a bright girl." She offers and it earns a smile out of me.

"She is, tough too." Studying the ground, I decide now is the time to lay everything out. If I like her enough for her to meet my godchildren, she needs to know the truth. "She raises them, you know?"

This catches her attention. She's too new to school to know about the accident. Or to at least know the truth.

"She raises all four of her siblings. They live in their house all by themselves. Their grandparents didn't want them, pieces of shit, and their aunt only took them in to make their lives hell. But after a few months she got bored of taking care of them, so she let them leave."

Melissa blinks profusely, a hand reaching up to cover her mouth. "I had no idea."

"She doesn't exactly like to talk about it." I try to reason with her, but she shakes her head.

"No, you don't understand. Scarlett is my best student but she's also one of my more difficult ones. She has a temper. She's almost always late to class. She talks back sometimes. I never thought to ask why." The guilt on her face is astounding.

The news about Scarlett surprises me. The thought of her doing anything even somewhat disrespectful to a teacher is ridiculous.

"That's my fault." I clear my throat. "I could have taken them, but I didn't. They wanted me to have the kids. I still remember the day they asked. I laughed and said nothing would ever happen but if it made them feel better to make it official. Then, the unimaginable happened and where was I? Drunk off my ass. Karen got the kids even though she hated them. I knew how things would end up with her and I did nothing. Instead I ran off like the flake I am." My voice cracks. I've hated Karen Caldwell since we were teenagers. She's a two-faced bitch who was jealous of everything her twin sister had. From her ability to make friends with anyone and free spirt to her relationship with Matty and their children.

I think Karen was even jealous of the fact Kat left their toxic family. I knew how she would treat those kids and I was too busy chasing the end of a bottle to step in.

Mel reaches for my hands, "That's not your fault."

I just shake my head. "She does it all. Three different sports, plus she keeps all of their grades up. Sage is dyslexic and Scarlett is the only person who he'll let help him. Silver's ADHD was terrible after their parents died; Karen kept him on meds 24/7. He lost so much weight that he almost wasn't allowed to play football but she's weaning him off of it. He's doing so much better. Saffron, who wouldn't talk to a soul a few months ago is now a social butterfly. Sterling though, he's the most like her. He and Silver were attached at the hip after the accident and now he's able to do normal things on his own. It sounds small but it's not. " The information keeps pouring out of me. Two years of pent up guilt spilling over. "It's my fault she's so stressed."

"It's not your fault." Melissa says. "But I'm a horrible teacher for never stopping to ask her what was wrong. When I got there, everyone just told me to expect all those things from her. They never said why, so I never asked."

It's a never-ending cycle of blaming each other. Picking at my thumb, I think about today. "She's given up so much for them and I guess that's why I got angry today. I've never yelled at her before. Ever. And today I just lost it."

I overreacted and it was horrible, but the thoughts of my Bean being with anyone, especially after her last boyfriend. It scares me.

"What happened?" She asks tentatively.

I cross my arms. "It's all that stupid kid's fault. He could fool around with anyone but noooo, it's just to be Scarlett." Stupid pretty boy rolls into town and just assumes she's the one for him. I think not.

"Do you mean Ashton?" Ugh, she knows his name. "What were they doing?"

"Making out. In her room." I need to bleach my mind.

"Is that it?" She fights a smile.

"So they claim." Now I'm just being petty. I trust her.

"If nothing happened, what's the big deal."

What's the big– Is she kidding me right now? "She has a hickey for Christ's sake, Melissa,"

She just sips her wine.

"And they aren't even dating. Do you really think I want my little Bean to be hooking up with some punk when she's still technically single?"

She raises a brow, silently asking about my years as a bachelor. That's different. She's young and emotionally vulnerable. Wordlessly, I'm forced to lay down with my head in her lap. Her fingers play with my hair and calm me down.

"I thought they were dating by now." She admits.

I don't want to take the bait but there's a lot I missed. I don't know when they met or how they act together. Every time I've properly seen him, they were kissing, and I interrupted. "What do you mean?"

"It's hard to explain." She hesitates. "Scarlett didn't speak to anyone besides her brother and her two friends. Ashton McClain walks into the class and not only is she talking, but she punches him. I was so stunned, I let her lie to me." She laughs and I'm proud to know the punk took a hit. "That was months ago. He pestered her and she let him do it. He started throwing his arm around her and eventually she stopped shoving it away. She talks, he listens. She moves, he follows. It's the damnedest thing I've ever seen."

"I-I had no idea." Why am I so out of touch with her?

"Scarlett talks to people now. Her group grew from just her two friends and Sage to include others like Gabe Kline, even though I never saw that friendship happening."

"She's talking to Gabe again?" I ask and she nods. "That's amazing."

"I'm not following. If you think Ashton is bad, that boy is like a hound dog."

"He wouldn't touch her." I wave her off, fighting the urge to text Callie about not telling me her son was speaking to her. She knows everything. "Before the accident they were inseparable. This is good." This means she's healing. I'm so happy I could cry right now.

"It's all Ashton."

Suddenly, it's becoming harder to hate his guts.

"He loves her." Melissa says softly and I close my eyes.

"I know." And I'm not completely upset about it.

"And she has no idea?"

"None."

As laughter takes over my body, her confusion grows. "What's so funny?"

"She's just like her mother." Tears spill out of my eyes. I feel like I'm in high school again.

Calming down, I smile up at my girlfriend and she pecks my lips. "I just have one question."

"Ask away, mi cielo."

"Did you seriously try to give a teenager the talk in the middle of the grocery store?" She deadpans.

"In my defense, it seemed like a good idea in the moment."

"John." She looks to me in disgust. "That is never a good idea. Scarlett should've thrown that box of condoms at your face."

"Great, you're already taking her side." I mutter, but I don't mind. 

*****

Once we finally remember the food I brought over, we head to the kitchen and I basically watch her eat.

"I'd like to talk to Scarlett." Melissa decides. "Apologize for how I treated her these last few months."

"Don't do that!" I exclaim a little too quickly. That is a horrible idea if her attitude after the store was any indication to how she feels.

"Do you not want them to know about us?" She flinches and I feel horrible.

"It's not that." Please don't make me say it.

"Then what's wrong?"

"She- she..." I try to stop but she stares at me intently. "She maybe... might've mentioned not being the fondest of you."

"Oh." She whispers and I try to cheer her up.

"But she was moody today and I upset her. I probably could've told her Ashton was coming back over and she would've said she hated him." That's a lie but Mel doesn't need to know that.

"No, I don't blame her." Mel blinks tears out of her eyes and I want to slap myself. John, you're an idiot. If only Momma Sofia was here to scold you now.

"Mel–"

"No." Her eyes flash. "I need to be a better teacher. I took this job as an escape and I just let myself be bitter. However, I'm no longer bitter and it's time I start acting that way." She squeezes my hand. "Starting with my students. I'm a teacher for Christ's sake, not the military drill sergeant I divorced."

Inspired by her newfound determination, I listen to this woman brainstorm all night about how she's going to change. I believe in her. Although, she could tell me she plans to move a mountain and I'd cheer her on.

That's the beauty of this.

*****

I love John! This is actually the first chapter I wrote of Mel and John and it was originally in her pov! There will be more chapters to come so I hope you guys are ready!

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