It had never occurred to Alex how wealthy his family was. Sure, he knew they were better off than his friends, but it never occurred to him how much they actually had. Until his mother sent a letter to the Molinas household for him two weeks after graduation, containing the account number and password to his college fund. With a note that it was the last thing they’d ever do for him. It was enough to pay for a four year college, and six years of medical school. Cause even though he can’t see blood without fainting, it was their plan for him. But now he had a new one. He withdrew the entire account, before going to a different bank, that his parents didn’t own, and depositing it into six new accounts. His found family needed a fresh start, and he was going to give it to them. He went to the studio when he left the bank, telling everyone what happened.
”What exactly is this plan you have?” Julie asked, trying to understand.
”I’m buying us a house. We’re all gonna move together, I can even afford everyone to have their own rooms, and we can get as far away from Reggie’s mom as we need to.”
”You guys can’t uproot your lives for me.” Reggie argued.
Alex shook his head, “We were going to move out to pursue the band next year anyway, right? Now we don’t have to wait to save up. We have the money.”
”You have money, Alex. The rest of us need to save up our share.” Luke countered. Alex shook his head again, handing each of them a bank statement.
”What am I holding?” Flynn asked as everyone stared with wide gazes at the papers in their hands.
Alex grinned. “I deposited money into accounts for each of you. We all got the same amount, after I set aside money for a house. We can have a new life together.”
”Are you sure about this, Alex? This is yours.” Reggie asked. Because he didn’t want Alex did give up something just for him. Because he couldn’t be the reason everything fell apart lately.
”I’m positive, Reg. I can get as far away from parents as I want, you can be away from Lily, and the six of us can be together like we’re meant to be.”
”But just because we move doesn’t mean she won’t find me.” Reggie said sadly.
”I thought of that, too. I have a cousin, she married a woman so the family already doesn’t talk to her. She can have paperwork filed the day we want it to legally change our names.”
”What?” Julie was the one to blurt it out this time. Which made sense. She was the closest with her real family of everyone there. Willie loved his parents, and Luke loved his, but her and Ray were the closest of them all.
”I’m not saying you would need to leave your families behind,” Alex quickly continued, “And we’ll be the same people. But if we all changed our names, we’d be able to stay free from the people we want to.”
Julie looked at Reggie and Flynn and Alex intently. They were still plagued by who their families were. But she was their family, too. And she couldn’t let them continue to be hurt. “Okay. But I’m sharing a last name with Flynn. People will think we’re incest or married, and neither is true.”
”Right now.” Willie muttered with a grin, causing both girls to blush.
”We can share last names with Luke.” Alex offered, “And Reggie, Flynn, and Willie can share one.”
Luke nodded, “I like this. This is good.”
It only took an hour to decide on their new last names. They had each called the parents they were still in contact with, and though they were sad their children would be leaving, they knew they were too stubborn to change their minds, and they had the solace that they’d be together. Reggie, Flynn, and Willie decided on Foster. It was how they came together, and they were thankful for it. Julie, Luke, and Alex decided on Petal. It had been the name of Julie’s mom’s band, and they wouldn’t dare argue with the meaning behind it. So she could carry her mother with her. Finding a house was pretty easy, too. They only looked up houses on the other side of the country, and eventually they found a house with six bedrooms. Each couple had talked through it, and they agreed to room together in their new lives. It was big step, but they knew they were ready. It left them with guest bedrooms for each of their parents to visit, and they planned to turn a study the house had into an extra room for Carlos.
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After they moved, Alex put the remaining housing fund into a separate account from his to fund the bills. The group argued against it, saying that he should keep it. But he was adamant he wouldn’t need it. They each took turns funding trips to the recording studio, getting their demo made and sending it out to producers. Eventually, they got a bite on that, too. A company owned by a man named Bobby Wilson, housed in the very city they moved to. They were finally making it big. But no matter what changed in their lives, they kept Sunday’s for them. Sometimes as date nights, sometimes as group bonding, sometimes as family nights when visits were happening. They hired body guards and lawyers to keep Lily, Caleb, and the Joyners away. On a leg of a world tour, Julie had proposed to Flynn. They got married as soon as they were back in the states, and Flynn became a Petal. Alex and Willie were next. Willie taking Alex’s last name as well. But Luke and Reggie had to be the odd ones. When they got married, Luke took the name Foster. And when the others asked them why, Luke had one thing to say, “Because no matter what happens, I know we’ll always be together. But that name was chosen because of how you guys came together, and it’s how Reggie came into my life. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”