𝕄𝕒𝕩
Saying goodbye to Rex was probably the hardest thing I have done in a long time, I felt like a piece of me was taken away. I cried as I held him, knowing it was the last time I would see him. The only thing that made me feel better about it was that he would be with Ace and Aliyah. Grandma tried to wait as long as she could, but I knew Rex was suffering. It was written all over his face, "bye Rex thank you for all the times you stuck up for me, I will miss you so much. Say hi to Ace for me buddy, I love you" I said hugging him one last time. "Okay grandma" I said, "I am sorry Max honey" she said as she put Rex to sleep for good. I cried with him as he took his last breathe, and my family helped me bury him in the backyard. Aria hugged me tight, this Christmas was sort of a loss for me. I know Titan kicked ass in his first case but Rex was with me for so long it was hard to say goodbye. "Are you okay?" Aria asked me, "I am trying, I just he has been there for me for so long. I just feel like a piece of me is missing" I said. "I know I get that but he is watching over you" Aria said kissing me. Titan jumped into my lap I think he felt sad for me too, I hugged him, "don't let me down little buddy" I said and he licked me, "I think he is trying to tell you he has your back" she said. "I guess he does, he has come a long way in a short period of time. I am proud of him" I said scratching behind his ears. Titan licked me and I laughed, he definitely knew what he was doing, I liked to think he had a bit of that Rex spirit.
Orianna sat beside me, "you good?" she asked, "I will be yeah" I said, "my boyfriend is coming for dinner, I want you to help me figure out if he is a good guy" she said. "I have your back Orianna always" I said and she kissed my cheek, I wanted what was best for my sister so this guy better be scared I wasn't going to go easy on him. "You are going to be nice" Aria said, "what?" I said looking at you, "I can see those big brother wheels turning, I know you want what is best for her but be nice" she said. Man this girl could read me like a book, I had no idea that she could see right through me. "I will be" I said and she laughed kissing me. I was so in love with her I honestly felt like I was floating when she was with me, I never felt like this with Scarlett ever. I know that Aria was my one and I wanted to show her that forever, "I love you do you know that" I said to her, "I love you too" she said cuddling me more. The doorbell rang and Titan went all stiff, "chill buddy" I said petting him he still had his protective stance when Orianna opened the door. The dude had flowers I had to give him that, "are those for me?" she asked, "no these are for your mom, but this is for you" he said holding a present. "Awe" she said, I rolled my eyes so far he was cheesy as hell.
"Colby this is my brother Max and his girlfriend Aria" Orianna said, "nice to finally meet you Max, she talks about you a lot and if you weren't her brother I think I'd be jealous" he said. That made me laugh, I had no idea, "who knew she talked about me" I said, "don't let it go to your head" Orianna said and Colby laughed. We talked for a while, he seemed like a stand up guy, I felt comfortable with him dating my sister, even Titan didn't react when he touched him. "He is cute" Colby said, "yeah he has a lot of issues and needs to be trained but he is pretty awesome" I said, "sorry to hear about your other dog" Colby said. "Thanks I like to think he is in a better place, but I am going to miss him" I said, "its never easy losing a pet, my dog died a few years ago man. I know how it feels" Colby said. Dinner was over and we were all in the living room, my parents putting Lynne and Leila to bed, "I better get going Orianna, I have practice early tomorrow" he said giving her a kiss. After he left Orianna, looked at me. "I like him Orianna he seems solid, but please just be careful" I said. "I will thanks Max" she said hugging me as she ran upstairs, "do you really approve?" Aria asked me and I got a look from my dad. "I do" I said and dad nodded I think he approved too, I knew Orianna was in good hand she would be okay, it was the twins we all needed to worry about.
We had one more day here and it was New years we were going to Klea's place she was having a party, then we would all be heading back to Toronto, my cousin Riley coming with us. I think that excited Klea the most she missed her best friend, I hoped that Riley could help me wrangle her in sometimes she scared me. I wanted this whole police thing to work for both of us but I still felt like she was a lot more reckless than me, I loved her but I wanted to be a cop in the right way. I did find out I passed all my exams and I was ready for the next semester this one being a lot more hands on and less paperwork. I was excited for it and I was hoping it would help me be more like my dad. We were all hanging out at Klea's even Hunter was here although I could tell he was sad. "Are you good?" I asked him, "yeah just want to get back to school" he said, "you mean back to Piper" "I said. "Shut ip okay" he said. "I am not judging man I am glad you are happy" I said, "I just feel like I might like her a lot more than she likes me" he said. "That is not true" Aria said. "What?" Hunter said, "she likes you a lot, she just has a hard time letting people in give her time Hunter she will come around. Piper has a lot going on in her life" Aria said. "I had no idea, thanks" he said, "she wants to let you in but she is scared that it will make you turn away" she said. "It won't trust me being friends with Max has been hell" he said, "Hey" I said and Hunter smiled at me, I just hoped that he and Piper could make this work.
New year's was amazing, I kissed my girl at midnight, and we all fell asleep on the living room floor, the next morning we all said goodbye to our families. We packed up my car and headed out, Titan content on Aria's lap watching me drive, "I am so excited you are coming Riley!" Klea said, "I am too, I am glad they let me transfer, and thanks for letting me stay with you" she said. "Of course, we are happy to have you" Klea said, and Aria and I agreed. Hunter was staying in the dorms with Piper, well not with her but closer to her. I was now curious what Piper was going through, I felt like it was going to be a hell of a story. We made it back home and we all sort of just collapsed in the living room, we were waiting for Piper to come over, we were going to watch movies and stuff, I hoped that Piper and Hunter made this work he deserved to be happy.