That caused another round of laughter and a bunch of suggestive jokes to go around the table. When it was time for us to part ways again, Ava gave me a questioning look. At that moment I knew that she had indeed noticed my state, and gave her a grateful smile combined with a reassuring nod.
Mia’s claim proved to be true, though. The rest of the day, Jack’s Director’s Cut of the surveillance feed made its way through the student body, and I noticed several small groups huddled over their phones before regarding me with peculiar looks. By the time I left the lunch table the following day, that I had once again shared with Ava, Mia, and their friends, people that hadn’t talked to me in years were suddenly eager to greet and hold doors for me. Could this be the reverse effect of what happened in my freshman year? If the cheerleaders make fun of you, the jocks follow suit, and you soon become a free-for-all. But when the cheerleaders flock to you in their free time, the jocks also join in, and soon you become part of the popular crowd? While it seemed possible, it happened a little too quickly to be plausible.
I really didn’t care about that. Though, I did appreciate the sense of security that came with it, since the following few weeks were quite busy and eventful outside of school.
I had showed up at the office to make sure they knew I was back to work, though I would work from home. I could just get rid of the sling while programming, and let my arm rest on my desk instead, without the need to run around. And if anything came up, I had a Mom nearby that was eager to help wherever she could. So, my days were back to starting at Seven A.M. with the drive to school, and ending at around Eight P.M. when I finished with work.
In addition to that, Claire’s divorce was at a stalemate. Her lawyer quickly discovered that there weren’t enough assets to make her happy. I was the only minor amongst their children, and not only was I basically self reliant already, even if it went uncontested I would be almost eighteen by the time the divorce went through, so there wouldn’t be much child support either.
My siblings being over eighteen, and me having my own apartment, also meant that Claire wouldn’t simply get the house to let us live in it. Though, even if she were to get the house, she couldn’t afford it. The house was valued at $320,000, with them having roughly $260,000 equity in it. That meant, if Claire wanted to keep the house after I graduated High School, she’d have to pay $30,000 for her half of the remaining mortgage, followed by another $130,000 for Aaron’s half of the house.
No, the house we grew up in would have to be sold and the proceeds split after paying off the bank. That hit Claire and Ava harder than I thought it would. I guess three people living in a two bedroom apartment, no matter how nicely I thought I had decorated it, wasn’t their idea of a long term solution.
But then came the big one. I didn’t understand even half the words that guy used, but according to John, who had accompanied his sister to the lawyer, they would probably lose at least eighty percent of the investment they made shortly before Claire lost her job. The contract they signed didn’t allow for the account to be split, so they’d have to pull out prematurely and split what was left.
At least she’d possibly get some “maintenance” from Aaron. At least I hoped so, since, according to the lawyer, there are laws in place that don’t categorily fuck over the husbands despite what I read online, and it didn’t matter whether or not Claire was employed. It only mattered whether she could be employed.
With their bank account being scrubbed clean for their big investment, Claire and Ava were now depending on me for everything. Before they moved in with me, I could save up $720 dollars each month from my regular salary and build up my nest egg. Now, however, I was down to saving maybe $70 dollars per month, even after I used as much cash as possible for our regular shopping, school supplies, and their allowances. There simply were too many expenses that I couldn’t pay with cash, or that were too high to pay with cash without raising eyebrows
Seriously, though, what is it with female toiletries!? I’m perfectly happy with my 3-in-1 shower gel that doubles as dish soap and triples as laundry detergent if needed. Why do the both of them need three different shampoos each, depending on whether they want to smell like a coconut, repair their perfectly fine hair, or moisturize their skin? Why do they need deodorants that are half the size of mine, but cost twice as much because the ingredient list is as long as my arm? On the other hand, I did enjoy their feminine fragrance whenever we cuddled up, so maybe I shouldn’t complain about that. And thanks to the $1,800 a month I could transfer from the cash pile in my closet to my new bank account, I really didn’t have any reason to complain about money either.
The main problem, however, was that Aaron simply refused to cooperate. He wanted his family - read that ‘his women’ - back, while Claire refused to go back to how it was. For obvious reasons, though, both were reluctant to take it to court and risk exposing the details of their ‘irreconcilable differences’.
Mia also got her closure. I’m not entirely sure how they did it, nor was I sure if I even wanted to know, but I suspect her father pulled some strings. Somehow, he managed to get access to the still intubated and restrained Campbell, and let Nora tell the man how she felt about someone who comes after her children, mercilessly shattering his delusions. As far as I heard, he entered some kind of semi-catatonic state after that and would be transferred to the mental ward as soon as he had recovered enough to be moved.
Though, according to Bill, that was extremely stupid and dangerous. While it did indeed help Mia, this whole thing could’ve just as well blown up in their faces. If Campbell hadn’t broken down, he could have instead delved completely into a murderous obsession with Nora. I wasn’t sure what George Miller would have done to the guy in that case.
As far as my own medical recovery was concerned, they stopped packing my leg a week later, just like we had hoped. The P.T., however, would continue for a lot longer before I wouldn’t need a cane anymore. The therapist wasn’t particularly happy about the switch from a crutch to the cane, but he accepted it. Here, too, Claire was with me the entire way. She accompanied me to every session that I now had to attend at least twice per week, and did what she could to raise my spirits afterwards.
Mia also helped a lot. With all the time we were spending together, I found myself enjoying her company more and more, and genuinely missed her whenever she wasn’t around. I felt myself falling for her. And that was kind of a problem.
Since she still had some trouble sleeping alone even after getting her closure, she spent a lot of her nights in my bed. Though, we were seldomly alone in it, since Ava was still joining us, and I was reluctant to tell her off after learning that she, too, had trouble sleeping since the parking lot incident. With Ava sleeping right next to us, and my mother only thirty feet away in my relatively small apartment, there wasn’t much room for romantic activities between Mia and me.
It also didn’t help that I was still refusing to rely on Claire and Ava for my sexual release, despite my broken collarbone stopping me from doing much myself, so I hadn’t seen any action since that evening before Claire came back from John’s. A situation that quickly caused some trouble for me, when Mia, Ava, and I were in bed watching another movie.
Our now usual sleeping arrangement consisted of Mia cuddled up to my healthy left side, while Ava would cuddle up on my right side, but with her head on my stomach to stay away from my collarbone.
One evening, the TV screen suddenly showed a particularly raunchy sex scene. I could feel Mia getting some ideas about what we were presented with, and felt her lips pressed against my neck. But when I looked at her pleadingly, hoping she would have mercy and stop teasing me, I noticed that she wasn’t paying me any attention. She was watching Ava’s face, which was transfixed on a massive erection that I had developed without realizing it.