Fractured by N.O Darling

Chapter 0238

* Josie’s POV **

Being a mum to six kids is tough. Especially when three of those kids had been born so close together, and another has some obvious social and sensory issues, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Harper was an amazing big sister, helping me and the guys with her younger brothers. At just seven years old she was very mature in ways I never expected. She loved mothering Sammy and the twins and often said she couldn’t wait to have her own babies, which almost caused Mason to have a stroke. Now, as she approaches 17, she has a very different attitude towards them. They annoy her, and she can’t wait to get away from them, and us. Preferring to be out with her friends or locked away in her bedroom.

We had taken a year off together when the twins were born and it had been a wonderful year, and so we had decided we were well overdue some time away again. This will most likely be our last family getaway with all of us together, and I’m determined to make the most of it, despite having two moody teenagers who hate the idea. In just over a year, Harper will move out of our house and into the academy. She will meet her bonds and I can’t stop feeling like that is the moment we will lose her. Our baby girl is growing up, and I don’t think any of us are ready for it.

Deacon has rented a huge house in the human realm for an entire month and I have so many plans for whilst we are there, starting with a family day at the beach. We arrive at the mansion and the kids all run to choose their rooms. Two minutes of excited squeals, followed by arguments and scuffles ensue.

“The biggest room is ours!” Theo calls up the stairs to them and is met with a disappointed groan from Sam. “Joel, do you want me to help you choose a bedroom?” Axel asks, and Joel gives him a blank look, blinking slowly before shaking his head and walking up the stairs, clutching his laptop to his chest.

us,” Jensen whines as he appears at the top of the stairs.

bedrooms in this house, how can there be none left

one bed,” he says, his bottom lip

room?” Mason

idea of sleeping in a separate bedroom from his brother. At 9 years old, we expected them to want their own space by now, but the twins

can move some beds around,” Luke says, running up

my cheek before heading up the

towards the large kitchen at the back. I’ve been here before. We came without the kids to check the place out before we committed to paying for a month’s rental. The games room and cinema in the basement were what sold it for us. The kids

we requested. I pull out the ingredients we need to make sandwiches and Mason and Theo quickly get to work helping me prepare a picnic to take to the beach. “My phone is not working,” Harper huffs as

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Chapter 0238