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“It looks boring.” Agnes frowned and looked out the window. Then her eyes went wide and she tumbled out of the car.

“Hang on!”

“Jade!” she yelled and ran toward the road. I thought she would try to cross it, but Jade caught her.

Beatrice gasped and followed.

“Hi!” she greeted them.

Beatrice got to her and tackled her with a hug.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I thought you could use some help,” she replied.

“I’m . . .” I trailed off. She would see right through me if I tried to lie. “Yeah, thank you.”

“Can I introduce you to your teacher?” she asked the girls. “I knew her back in high school.”

Agnes frowned. “So, you’re not here to take us away?”

“Unfortunately, no. But I don’t think this will be as bad as you’re expecting it to be. Nicole runs a fun class.”

Agnes groaned, but Jade was able to pull her inside the school building. I followed, arms crossed tightly.

I owed Jade my life. I had a feeling with her help that the girls would handle going to school just fine. I was still upset for some reason, though.

Nicole welcomed the girls with open arms. They were hesitant at first, but eventually, Beatrice smiled and Agnes followed suit. They were led to a couple of seats and introduced to other kids in the classroom. Immediately, Agnes made one boy blush and Beatrice found a friend to be with.

Nicole pulled me aside and said she had done some research on twins and figured they would be best in the same class for now, but she would watch them closely and provide me with a plan after the day was over.

She informed me that if she felt it was better that they were in a separate class, she was going to move one of them. It was strange seeing someone like Nicole be so dedicated to children’s well-being.

It was better than I expected. Far better.

My feet refused to move for a long while. Agnes and Beatrice settled in, but I didn’t want to leave.

Jade linked her arms through mine and dragged me out.

I immediately wanted to run back in.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

I let out a long breath. “Nope. Are you?”

“Not at all.” She crossed her arms and her eyes went distant. I eyed her. I hated the idea that she was upset at all.

“Come here,” I said, tugging her to my body.

“Wha—oof!” She collided with my chest, and I wrapped my arms around her before she could pull away. I leaned my cheek on the top of her head. “Gabriel,” she whined. “Everyone will see.”

“I don’t care. We need this.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Then I need this.”

She huffed, but leaned in. I couldn’t resist the smile that crossed my face. This was dangerous. Each time we were together, we slid into old habits. The last thing I wanted to do was have this end the same way.