To Have, To Hold, and To Leave: A Bryce Hall FanFiction «completed»

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"Don't be silly. You're not asking me to do anything. If it's alright with you, I would like to move back in. At least until the baby is born. I want to make sure that both of you are healthy."
"Huh?" I asked. "You want to what?"
"I want to move back in. Is that okay? The doctor said that she doesn't want you to be alone when you go home. It just makes sense, doesn't it?" he asked.
"I suppose that it does. Can we just talk about it later? The kids get out of school in less than an hour. You need to be there on time or they'll all be sad," I teased.

Bryce left me alone, and I tried to calm myself down. This hadn't happened in any of my other pregnancies, and I was more scared than I wanted to admit.
"Mrs. Hall?" another doctor greeted me. I nodded. "Alright, we're gonna head upstairs to a room now."
She pushed my hospital bed over to the elevator, and we sat in silence. I didn't really want to talk to a stranger, even if she was my doctor.

I sat by myself for a few hours, taking the opportunity to catch up on a little bit of sleep. There was a soft knock on my door, and I opened my eyes to see Jaden standing there.
"Hey, kiddo," he greeted me, coming in and sitting in the chair next to my bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Well," I sighed, "I'm not dizzy anymore, so I guess there's that. How did you even know that I was here?"
"Bryce called me. He asked if I would come to check on you and maybe keep you a little bit of company. It's probably so lonely up here when you're used to having three little monsters running around," Jaden explained. "How are you doing?"
"I'm bored. Bryce asked to move back in."
"That's cool," Jaden muttered, scrolling through his phone. "Wait, what?" he exclaimed, jerking his head up to look at me.
"Just until the baby is born. I wasn't expecting that, but I'm not complaining. I'm exhausted with the whole pregnancy thing on top of taking care of three wildly energetic children all by myself," I shrugged. "I know that this doesn't necessarily mean anything, but it'll all be okay, right?"

Jaden and I sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Jaden reached over, grabbing my hand. "Promise me that you won't get your hopes up."
"I won't, Jay. You and Nessa really need to stop worrying about that. It's not that serious. I'm a grownup. I've got it," I replied snarkily. I really needed to watch how I talked to the people that were there for me in the hardest parts of my life.
Jaden sighed. "Do you need anything while I'm here? Are you hungry? Do you need something to keep yourself occupied?"
"No, thank you. I'm good. Go home to your wife and kid. They miss you," I said, shooing him out of my room. "I love you, Jay!" I called out to him as he left.

A few days later, the doctor sent me home, and Bryce kept his word, showing up to pick me up while the kids were at school. "Alright, Kate. Let's get you home."
Neither one of us spoke while he drove. I didn't want to approach the subject if I didn't absolutely have to. We pulled into my driveway, and I looked over at Bryce. "Well, we're here, huh?"
"We are. My bags are in the back. I figured that I would stay in the guest room if that's still okay," Bryce said softly.
"Um, yeah," I muttered. "That's fine. Let's go inside."

Bryce and I want inside, and neither one of us spoke. It was kind of awkward being in the same house together again. It felt like it was just like old times, but at the same time, it felt wrong. It felt like everything was getting ready to crumble around me all over again.
"I'm going to go pick the kids up from school. Do you need anything while I'm out?" he asked, peeking his head into the room that we had once shared.
I shook my head. "No, thanks. I think that I've got everything that I need right here. Now, go! Get those kiddos so that I can see them! I've missed them so much!"
He chuckled at me, shutting the door softly behind him.

My phone rang, and I answered it quickly. "Hey, Ness. What's up?"
"How is everything going with Bryce so far?"
"Oh, someone told you about that? Yikes," I sighed. "He's been here for a few hours, but we haven't really spoken except for him to ask if I needed anything while he was out getting the kids. I think that if we avoid each other like this for the entire time that he's here, everything will be just fine."
"You can't avoid your husband while he stays at your house. That isn't how any of that works," she laughed. "What are you so afraid of?"
"I'm afraid that I'm gonna fall back in love with him, and it will feel like he's asking for a divorce all over again," I stated quietly, staring at my hands. "I don't want to get hurt again. I was finally starting to be okay."
I heard the door open downstairs. "Bryce is home with the kids. We'll talk later. Do you guys want to come over for dinner? I'm supposed to be on bed rest, but I can get out for a little bit of company."
"I would like that. Seven sound good?"
"Yes, ma'am. We'll see you then," I said, hanging up.

"Mommy!" Owen yelled, opening my bedroom door. "I missed you!"
"Oh, my love! I missed you, too!" I yelled back, pulling him up onto the bed next to me. Annalisa and Isaiah also entered the room, followed by Bryce. All three of them sat down on the bed next to Owen and me. I looked around the room, and I felt my hopes rising again. This was exactly what I had been afraid of.