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

27

When I woke up the next morning, I rolled over to look at Bryce. Josh and Nessa had kept the kids the night before, so I didn't need to worry about them seeing us in bed together again.
His light snore had always been my favorite, but I really wanted to talk to him. Like, right now. "Can you wake up?" I whispered.
He groaned lightly. "Have you been up long?"
"No, but I do want to talk to you before I head next door to pick the kids up."
"What about?" he asked, rolling over and propping himself up on his elbow.
"I don't want to tell the kids," I sighed. "The last thing that I want is for them to get their hopes up. That would kill them."

Bryce nodded in agreement, and I turned over, flipping my legs over the edge of the bed before Bryce pulled me back in by my waist. "Don't leave yet."
"I want to get up and get ready so that I can go pick the kids up. I miss them," I giggled.
He followed me into the bathroom, and I watched him in the mirror as I brushed my teeth. "You're so beautiful," he whispered in my ear, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist.
"And you, sir, are trying to distract me," I replied, pulling his arms off of me. "I'm going to go get the kids. This situation stays between us. No one should know until we're sure."

Bryce picked me up swiftly. "If you insist on not staying on bed rest, then the least that you can do is let me carry you."
I laughed as he carried me down the stairs. "I'm not broken, silly. I can walk down some stairs."
"I don't care what you think you can do," he replied, setting me down gently at the bottom of the stairs. "You're supposed to be on bed rest."

I left the house, crossing our yard to Josh and Nessa's house. Their front door was unlocked, so I went inside. "That's safe!" I called out. "You know that crazy stalkers try to find our addresses every single day, right?"
"We just let Buddy, Blaze, and Baby out," Josh laughed. "If someone's going to break in here, let them."
"I'm teasing," I chuckled. "Well, I'm mostly teasing. Are the kids up yet?"
"I don't know. Is Bryce up yet?" he shot back.
"Oh, you really like causing problems, huh? I don't know where Bryce is. You'll have to talk to him. Another question: is Nessa up yet?"

Nessa turned the corner. "Yes, ma'am. How did your talk go last night?"
"My talk? It, uh, it wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. I don't know. I'd rather not talk about it," I lied. "How were the kids? Were they good? I'm always worried that they're going to misbehave for anyone."
"You know that they always behave for their Auntie Nessa. Their Uncle Josh is the real trouble," she teased, standing on tiptoes to kiss Josh on the cheek. "I know that Isaiah and JJ are up in JJ's room, but if I'm being honest, I'm pretty sure that they never went to sleep."

"Mommy!" Annalisa called out, running towards me. "I missed you! You spent the whole day at Uncle Jaden's, and Daddy was so mad!"
"I bet he was," I chuckled, pulling her up onto my lap.
"Should you be picking her up?" Josh interjected. "Aren't you on bed rest?"
"Hey, Dad," I replied, emphasizing the absurdity of that idea, "I pretty much do whatever I want. You and I both know that."
Josh put his hands up in surrender. "Just trying to watch out for you. You're my family, you know?"

I turned my attention back to Annalisa. "Did you at least have fun with Daddy?"
"Yes," she replied. "Daddy had a tea party with me. Did you have fun with Uncle Jaden and Auntie Mads and Abe?"
"I did, sweetie," I chuckled, kissing her on the forehead. "Are you ready to go home to see Daddy?"
"Yes! Can I go wake up Owen and Isaiah?"
I nodded, putting her back down on the floor, and I turned to look over at Josh and Nessa.

"Alright, so spill," Nessa said, sitting down on the stool next to me.
I feigned confusion "Spill what? I don't know what you're talking about."
"What really happened with you and Bryce last night? You were literally glowing this morning when you walked in," she explained.
"I was not glowing," I replied defensively. I could feel my face flushing, and I could only imagine how red my face had flushed.
Josh laughed. "You're blushing. That's a pretty common tell."

I stood up, avoiding eye contact with the two of them. "Bryce and I are just co-parents. That's all. I don't know why you guys are reading this far into this. Where are those damn kids?"
As if right on cue, Annalisa and Owen came bounding towards us. "Mommy!" Owen yelled. "Hi, Mommy!"
"Hi, baby," I replied, bending down to kiss his cheek. "We're gonna go home and see Daddy, okay? Where's your brother?"
"He won't get up, Mommy. He says that he's way too tired," Annalisa said, her voice taking on her token tattletale tone.
"He can stay here," Josh interjected. "We'll walk him over when he's up for the day, okay?"

I thanked them, holding Annalisa and Owen's hands as we left the house. "Maybe we can convince Daddy to take you guys to do something fun today. What do you guys say?"
Bryce stood in the doorway to the house. "How are my little monsters? I missed you guys!"
The kids ran to him, jumping in his arms, and my heart swelled with the love that I had for him. I really, really wanted this to work. Maybe I could live without him, but I really didn't want to. He was the only man that I had truly ever been in love with, and I found it hard to believe that I had given that up so easily without a fight.