We spent the next couple of days in Kansas with Colby's family. It was nice to get away from LA for a little while but I was excited to be back.

We've been back in LA for a couple days so we were back to our regularly scheduled program. I was able to go back to work after passing the psychological test that I had to take after what happened with Peter.

Colby was a little weary about me going back which was understandable, but we were going to take it slow with me only working a couple days a week.

The guys have been busy since we got home since they needed to finish a couple more things for 25x25 before Colby's birthday in January.

I was so beyond proud of them for going after something so ambitious and working on it until the very end. I was genuinely surprised that Colby wanted to get back into it so fast after breaking his back, but he was more motivated than ever.

"Babe! Come in here!" Colby called out from the office as I read on the couch in his room. "Is it important?" I called out, looking up from my book. "Super duper important!" He yelled back causing me to breathe a laugh and set my book down so I could go into the office.

"What's up?" I asked as I walked into the room. "Pink or blue?" He asked as I laughed. "Are we doing a gender reveal?" I asked as he rolled his eyes and shook his head, turning the monitor of the computer towards me.

"Pink or blue?" He asked again as he flipped through two pictures of merch. One of the hoodies was pink with white accents and the other was blue with black accents.

"Oh...why not both?" I asked as he sighed. "We're already doing a yellow version and a green version and they only want three options." Sam explained as I nodded.

"Well...I'm gonna go with pink because green and yellow are more neutral and masculine color choices whereas pink will cater to the girly type." I said then pursed my lips. "But the blue makes your eyes look good." I said as Colby laughed and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me into him.

"Aw, thanks baby." He said as I snorted. "I was talking about Sam." I said as he laughed and pushed me away.

"You're an ass." Colby said with a laugh. "That's me." I said then kissed his cheek. "So you think the pink one is the way to go?" Sam asked as I nodded. "Yeah, or maybe get rid of the green option and do both pink and blue." I said as he nodded.

"That's actually smart." Sam said as he scrolled through the options. "Anything else you need from me?" I asked and stood up straight. "Nope, thanks baby." Colby said then looked up at me with a grin.

"You're welcome, what time are you leaving?" I asked and looked at the time. "We're gonna finish this merch shit up, then we're gonna go." Colby said as I nodded. "I'll make you dinner, you're gonna need energy." I said and started walking out of the room.

"You're too good to us, V." Sam said as I nodded. "You don't make me pay rent, remember that." I said then winked and walked out of the room.

The guys were going dirt biking a couple hours away so I wanted to make a meal with a lot of protein so they would have energy. I decided to text Ki so she would come over since I was nervous about Colby going out to adventure again.

I hated that I worried about him so much, because he was an adult and could make good enough to not get hurt. He's been doing this kind of stuff all year and only got hurt once.

He was gonna be okay.

I got the stuff ready to make beef stew since that was a hearty dish that I could whip up fairly quickly. I started browning the meat then heard the front door open and close.

"Sup fuckers!" Ki shouted as I heard Sam and Colby going down the stairs. "Who invited you?" Colby asked in a fake disgusted tone. "Excuse me, but it was your girlfriend that invited me. I also don't technically need an invitation because I simply don't give a fuck." Ki said as the three of them came into the kitchen.

"What are you making, V?" Sam asked as Ki came over to give me a hug. "Stew, I hope you guys will wait for me to finish it." I said and pointed my lip.

"Yeah, we'll wait." Colby said with a grin then came over and kissed my cheek. "Good." I said then smiled at him and turned back to cooking.

"You two make me want to throw up." Ki said causing me to laugh. "Yeah, yeah. Help me." I said and handed her the wooden spoon in my hand. "I don't know what to do!" She said as I laughed again.

"Just stir the meat." I said then went to the cutting board as Sam and Colby left to go do some more work.

"So how was your trip?" Ki asked as we cooked. "It was good! Colby's family is so sweet and Kansas reminds me of Ohio." I said with a grin. "So you're in?" She asked as my brow scrunched with confusion.

"In what?" I asked as she giggled. "You're in with the rents!" She exclaimed as I nodded. "Ohhh. Yeah, I guess you could say that." I said and shrugged.

"Did anything else happen when you were there?" Ki asked as I pursed my lips. "Oh..uh I found out that Daisy got let out of prison." I said as she dropped the spoon she was holding.

"Petunia is out?! What the fuck! Why didn't you tell me!" She asked and crossed her arms. "It's not a big deal, Ki. She's in Ohio with her mom." I said and turned to the stove again.

"Okay, but like...still." She said as I sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't think it mattered." I said and finished the stew. "Of course it matters...I care about you and it's kind of a huge deal that she's out, especially after what recently happened." She said as I nodded.

"I get it...I'm sorry." I apologized as I grabbed a couple Tupperware containers so the guys could take their stew on the road. "It's okay, V. Just know if you do it again I'll kick your ass." She said and nudged me as I portioned out the stew.

"I'd deserve it." I said and winked at her then turned around. "Sam! Colby! Come get your dinner!" I exclaimed and looked at Ki as she laughed. "You're like their mom." She said as I nodded. "Oh 100%" I said as they came into the room.

I admired Colby for a second, taking in his appearance. He was wearing black skinny jeans and a white shirt with a black leather jacket making my stomach flutter with butterflies.

"Like what you see?" Colby asked with a grin causing me to roll my eyes. "Here's your dinner." I said and handed him one of the containers. "Thanks, baby." He said and kissed me.

"You're welcome, dork." I said and scrunched my nose at him before turning to Sam. "Here ya go, Sam." I said and handed him the other container of stew. "Thanks, V." He said as I sighed.

"Please be careful guys. Please." I begged as Ki and I walked them to the door. "We will, we don't have time for any more injuries." Sam said as Colby held his fingers up in scouts honor.

"Good, call me when you get there." I said then looked at Colby. "Will do, call me if you need me okay?" He asked then pulled me to him by my waist as Sam went out to the car and Ki went into the living room.

"I will...I love you." I said then cupped his cheek and kissed him. He kissed me back and held me close for a second before pulling away. "I love you, too." He said with a grin. "You better go before you're late." I said and stepped away from him.

"We'll be back tonight so try to stay up for me." He said then reached for the door handle. "I'll try. Love you." I said then skipped away to the living room.

"So what are we doing?" I asked and plopped onto the couch. "I don't know, you invited me over." Ki said as I nodded. "Touché, lets go in the hot tub." I said then stood up. "I need to borrow a bathing suit." She said then stood up with me. "Okay, come on." I said then led the way to my bedroom.

I grabbed Ki and swimsuit then went to go to the kitchen to clean up while she got changed. As I was wiping the counter down I heard a knock on the door.

I felt my heart leap out of my chest slightly, but found myself walking towards the door. It was probably just a package or one of Corey's friends.

I walked to the door and tried to look through the frosted glass to see if I could see who it was but I couldn't. I sighed then grabbed the door handle and pulled the door open.

I felt my heart thundering against my chest as I took in the familiar blonde that was standing in front of me.