BF(F?): A Josh Richards Fanfiction *completed*

15

-sorry that I went kind of MIA for a minute! getting back into the swing of college is kind of hard LOL

"Whose wedding?" Amy asked as she set a platter of cheese and crackers on the coffee table.
"Jaden and Haley's," Sophie informed her.
Amy looked confused. "I'm sorry, what?"
"The girls asked how they met," Clayton explained.
"Why do you always tell the cute stories when I'm not in the room?" Amy asked defensively.

Thankfully, there was a knock on the door, and Amy went over to answer it.
"Oh, hello! I can tell that you're Hailey's mom! I can see a lot of you in her face. I'm Amy, Jaden's mom. It's nice to meet you."
My mom crossed over the threshold, and she looked mildly uncomfortable. "Samantha Reynolds," she introduced herself, extending her hand. Like she had done with me, Amy ignored her hand, wrapping her in a hug.
When Amy finally pulled away, she looked apologetic. "I'm so sorry. We're huggers in this family," she explained, laughing. "We all did the same thing to Haley."

"Hi, Mom," I greeted her, crossing the room to hug her.
"These people are way too much," she whispered in my ear.
I chuckled softly. "They're nice, Mom. You'll get used to it. Let me introduce you to everyone."
"I'm bad with names," she laughed. "I'll try, though."
"Alright, so you've met Amy," I said, motioning over towards her. "That's her husband, John," I added as he joined Amy in the kitchen doorway.
"Amy and John. Got it," she repeated, crossing the room and trying to unsuccessfully avoid a hug from John as she greeted him.

When they both pulled away, I motioned over to where everyone else was sitting. "These are Jaden's sisters, Sophie and Haley, and Sophie's husband, Clayton."
"I'll probably be the only one to not hug you," Clayton laughed, standing up to shake her hand. "It's nice to meet you."
Sophie was already enveloping her in a hug. "It's wonderful to meet you. From what I've been able to tell so far, you've raised an amazing young woman. You should be very proud of her, mama."
"I am," Mom said, looking over at me.
"You chose a great name," Haley teased. "It's nice to meet you."

"Dinner's ready," John called out from the kitchen.
We all trailed into their dining room, taking a seat at the table.
"Who would like to lead grace tonight?" Amy asked, resting her palms face up on the table.
"I say grace every night," Jaden said defensively. "It's not going to be me."
Sophie shook her head, opening her mouth to speak before John cut her off. "I'll do it."

We bowed our heads, joining hands.
"Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for blessing us with Thy gifts that we are about to receive. Thank you for allowing us to all join together in fellowship this evening. Thank you for allowing Sophie, Clayton, and Haley to make their journey home safely. We thank you for bringing Haley and Samantha into our lives, and we wish a long and plentiful friendship with them. We lay our burdens at Your feet now, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, amen," John prayed.
"That was beautiful, John," Amy commented from her seat at the opposite end of the table. "Haley, Samantha, we have a nightly tradition of going around the table and talking about our days. Who would like to start?"

"I'll start," Sophie volunteered. "I trained a new nurse today. She's really sweet, and I love her already!"
"That's great, Soph," Jaden said, nodding along. "I'm proud of you."
"Ope, you shouldn't have spoke up. You're next, Jay," John interjected, chuckling softly.
"Oh, um," Jaden stammered. "I, uh, I had a really great day with Haley."
I blushed. Everything about today really had been good.
"Oh, yeah?" Mom asked. "What did you two kids do?"
Shit.

Sensing the tension, Haley interrupted. "I had a really good day today. We had children's bible study before I came here, and I love seeing all of the work that is being done spiritually in the kids' lives."
"That's nice, sweetie," Mom answered, not giving anyone else time to react. "Jaden, what did you do with my daughter today?"
"Mom," I warned. "Haley, I think that's great. I didn't know that you worked in children's ministry."
"I do! It's very exciting, and something new is always happening."

"I'll go," Mom said, ending my conversation with Haley. "I sat at home today, and I got a phone call from the school, telling me that my daughter was not in her classes today. I was worried, especially after I talked to her best friend's mom, but it's obvious that school was the last thing on her mind today."
An awkward silence fell over the table. I certainly wasn't going to be the one to break it.
"Um, I had the day off today," Clayton finally said, "so I just caught up on some things around the house."

"What did you do today, Haley?" Mom asked, looking at me pointedly.
"Mom! Will you give it a rest for just a second? You're being very rude," I replied defensively, getting steadily more irritated as she spoke.
"You've lost your mind. Thank you for your hospitality, but I think that it's time that my daughter and I return home so that we can have a conversation about her behavior as of late," Mom said, pushing her chair back and standing up.
"Well, wouldn't you please stay?" Amy asked. "Dinner has barely begun."

John and I were the last two left to share our days, but at this point, Mom was just making a scene. "No, we will not. My daughter has been in your home for much longer than she should have been allowed to be today."
"Mom!" I protested.
She shook her head. "No, thank you. This is not up for discussion. We will talk at home."
"But-" I began before she cut me off.
"Did I or did I not just say that we will talk about this at home? Get your things, Haley. We're leaving."