17 " I like fish , " Ayrie says looking up at us . " The pretty shiny ones are my favorite , " " I like sharks ," Aizen announces . " My favorite is the Mako Sharks because they're really smart . They don't rely on pulses to hunt , like dumb great whites . They can see well and smell . They're also smaller than great whites so it makes them harder to catch ," " They're also pretty shiny and they have pretty blue colors , " Ayrie nods . " Do you have a favorite shark ? " Knightly asks her . " I love silkies . Their name is so cute and super pretty . They're I heard sent , " she nods . He glances at me questioningly . " Iridescent . It's her favorite thing , " I explain . " She just can't say it yet , " " I re sent ," she tries to repeat . " Iri des scent , " I repeat . " Like you , " Aizen laughs . " Ayrie de sent ,' " That's a good one ," I praise him . " Ayrie de ́send , " " A t , Ayrie ," he laughs . " I tea des net , " " Ugh , " he splashes her . " It's hard , " she complains . " Ayrie de sent ," he repeats . " Ayrie de sent ," she finally says . " Now faster , " Knightly encourages her . " Iridescent ," " Iridescent , " she gets it . " Good girl , sissy ," he pats her head . " Stawp , " she growls at him and shoves his hand . He just laughs and sticks his tongue out . I reach out to try and pinch it . He hides it as soon as he sees me move to , I miss . The two of them break into a fit of giggles and splashes . I finish up their bath and get them ready for bed . We set them down on the bed when we're done . " Why is everything so extra bjg ?" Ayrie crawls over to all the pillows . " Have you seen D.A.D. ? " I laugh . Successfully unlocked ! " You right , " she nods . She reaches under them to pull the bedding back . Knightly laughs watching her 1/4 struggle to get comfortable . When she wiggles under the covers she looks like a baby doll . Aizen brings Chocolate Sprinkles and climbs up to the bed . She squeaks exottedly and takes it from him . She moves over as if they didn't have a bed fit for like six people to sleep in tonight 1 look around to see if there is anywhere I can put all these pillows so they don't slip under the Ayre has woken up between my mattress and headboard a couple of times with pillows and stuffies on top of her . She's a wild sleeper .. " In here Knightly says lifting a hatch at the feet of the bed . We both laugh as he goes around to help the with the So many , Ayrie giggles " Something has to fill the giant bed tease him However , I rather not think of the alternative . The twins both laugh . I leave three pillows and then climb and the bed with them " Mommy , you can sing my song ? me asks "DAD . she looks up at him and pats the bed on her right side " We sleepy time ." He clears his throat and mods genting on the bed next to her . Aizen reaches for the tie on my hoodie and wraps his little fingers around 1 " You know , DAD wrote your levarte song , tell her You can ask him to sing it for you " " What's your favorite song " he asks hel Pretty Phoebe she gasps " You do You do sing Premy Phoebe It's you , she pokes his chest . It completely catches him off guard it's her favonte lyric from the song . " Pretty please , daddy hie inhales sharply when she calls him that I can't help but raise my phone to sneak a picture . The look on his face is something I'm never going to forget . Something that needs to be framed I slip my phone into my back pocket . Ayrie is very easy to please . Everything makes her happy Azen isn't that easy he won't hesitate to tell someone to back off on say that he's not happy with something . He really makes me work for it. " Yes I'll sng # for you he nods and sneaks a glance up at me . title excited squeal makes me laugh . Aizen is half asleep when he starts to sing For then The first time I heard that song on the radio , I cried . It's not something that is weltion about a thenight stand . The song felt personal . od They were four hearthe ad when the released it theiped Ayne sleep the whole night Hrough Every sade station was playing & Everywhere it was the first time the weight at my chocce fiationed we te gotten a lot stronger since then because I don't feel what The The tu now that they're safe sit up when I'm sure they we failen asleep . He watches me muke sum the room is secure he sits up and covers them both before going over to the door . I follow him out . His eyes sweep the room one last time before he motions. me to follow behind him . " How much trouble are we in ? " I ask when we get to what I think is a family room . Again , this place looks like a lodge . " Enough for you not to be able to go home without one of us going with you , " his parents walk in . " Am I allowed to ask why or what's happening ? " I ask . " Yes , " Maria nods . " Will you be honest with me ? " " To the best of our abilities ," she nods . " We need to tell her everything , Knightly says . " Come sit next to me , Angel , " " Too much can be a little overwhelming for her , Knight , " she says . I go over to him and take a seat beside him . " It doesn't matter , " I sigh . " I need to know so I have an idea of how far I need to go to protect my kids . I need to know everything so that I can set a perimeter around us . Please ," " We've already set one , " Knightly says . "I'm sorry , Phoebe . I didn't think we would need to do this so soon , " " Okay , " I nod . " You're taking this well , " his father says and sits across from us . The man doesn't look old enough to be Knightly's dad if I'm being honest . Maybe he isn't . Knightly said he was his stepfather . But his mom doesn't look any older than him . I don't know . People age differently now . Especially those who can afford to look like them . WHO " My dad works for the government . He's a weapons dealer overseas . It's why we don't speak . This isn't the first time I've had to leave my house like this . I never would have guessed I would ever have to do that with my kids ," I press my fingers to my eyes . Don't cry , Phoebe . Nothing gets fixed just because you're crying . Also , you might want to shut the fuck up . You don't know these people . " I want to promise that it's never going to happen again ," his mom sits next to me and takes my hand . " It's not as bad as weapons dealing . I can promise you that . However , what we tell you requires absolute discretion . " If it were up to me , I wouldn't tell you at all . But we can't exactly hide it from you because it will be hard to hide when the twins start to show signs ," " What ? Signs of what ? " I look back at Knightly . I pull away from her to stand up . " I think you should sit , " he says . " Tell me , I demand . His parents both try to mask their amusement . " It's not something I can just blurt out to you , Phoebe , " he shrugs . " I need you to tell me or I will get in my car and you will never see us again ," " There is nowhere you can go , now . I'd find you , " he stands . His entire demeanor changes . It somehow becomes almost threatening . " Tell me , Knightly . What is happening ? Who are you ? Why was the mention of you enough to turn the woman who has been helping me raise my kids for the past three years against us ? " I can hear myself getting worked up and usually , I try to keep it bottled up , but there's no way in hell I can reel it in . This involves the twins . " All right , " he nods . " But I need you to sit down because this is not going to be easy to hear , Phoebe , " " Let's give them a minute , Maria , " his dad stands . " " It's going to be okay , sweetheart , " she says coming over to me to take my hand again . She hugs me before going over to her husband . The two of them look at him worriedly before they leave . " I'm never going to be able to leave ," I realize . " I should never have come back here ," Subscribe