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

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-over the next thirty days-

Bryce saw the kids at every opportunity that he had. He and Josh would pick them up from school, and Bryce would spend time with them until they needed to come back home. I would take them to his house, and I would watch as he spent time with them. He was really devoted to his sobriety, and it made me happy to see. 

-day 60-

There was a knock on the front door, and I opened it quickly. "Oh, hey, Bryce."
He stretched out his hand, and I saw a silver, red, and gold chip in his hand. "I did it, Kate."
Against my better judgment and the agreement that we had made before, I wrapped my arms around him. "I'm so proud of you. I knew that you could do it," I whispered. 
"This is all because of you," he whispered, hugging me back. "I would probably still be a drunk if it wasn't for you."
"As I told you before," I began, pulling out of his embrace, "you put in all the work. I just gave you the push that you needed to get there." 

He came inside, and all of the kids looked away from the television. "Daddy!" Annalisa yelled, sprinting over. 
"Guess what?" he said, picking her up. "Daddy wants to know if you guys would like to go to lunch with me."
"Yes! Is that okay, Mommy?" she said, turning to look at me, a pleading look in her big, brown eyes. 
"Of course, sweetie," I replied. "Daddy is getting better."
"Wait, were you sick?" Owen asked, the patter of his little feet echoing through the front hallway. 
"Kind of," Bryce replied, setting Annalisa back down on the floor and kneeling so that he was eye level with the two of them, "but Mommy, Uncle Josh, and Uncle Jaden have been helping me a lot. Alright, go get your shoes on. It's time to celebrate!"

They all ran to find their shoes, and I picked Everleigh up out of the playpen, fastening her into her car seat. "I am really proud of you, Bryce. You're doing really well."
"You sound like a broken record," he chuckled. "Thank you. For everything, Kate. I'll bring them back in a few hours if that's okay."
"You are their dad," I replied. "I've got some errands to run, so just text me before you head back this way, okay?" 

He nodded in agreement as the kids lined up in front of him. "We're ready," Isaiah announced. 
"Alright, go get in the car," Bryce instructed, opening the front door. "I'll be out with your sister in a second." 
"The diaper bag should be completely packed. I don't think that you'll need anything else," I told him. 
"This isn't my first rodeo, silly. I've got it. Go. Relax. You deserve it," he answered, taking the car seat from my hands and shutting the door behind him. 

I pulled out my phone. "Hey," Cade answered. 
"Hey, um, I forgot that today was Bryce's sixty days, so he's got the kids for the day. Do you want to grab lunch or something?" I asked, nervous. I had never asked him to do anything; it was always him asking me. 
"Of course. I'll pick you up in fifteen minutes?" 
I agreed, hanging up. 

Fifteen minutes later, I had somehow managed to put together a nice outfit, do my hair, and swipe makeup onto my face, finishing up just as Cade rang the doorbell. 
"Is it possible that you get even more attractive every time that I see you?" he asked as I swung the door open. 
"Oh, stop," I blushed. "You're too sweet." 
"Maybe you're just too beautiful," he teased. "Are you ready to go?" 
I nodded. "Yep. Let me just grab my purse." 

As he drove, he held my hand, and it gave me flashbacks to the times that Bryce and I had done crazy things in his car. The one that first popped into my mind was the night of my college graduation. We had gone to BOA for dinner, and when we left, Bryce drove to an empty parking lot. Our little extracurricular was cut short by Nessa's phone call, but I could never forget that night. 
I thought about the date that we went on for our first anniversary, and I chuckled to myself as I remembered all of the stops that we had made: shotgunning White Claws together at the OG Sway house, the first place that Fletcher interviewed us together at, Saddle Ranch, and the park that we had met our first fans at. 
The best memory of Bryce holding my hand as he drove was the day that he asked me to marry him. That had been the best surprise of our relationship, and I couldn't help but wonder what had changed. We had been so in love. I know that kids can really change the dynamics of a relationship. After all, I watched it happen with my parents, but Bryce and I had been committed to not be our parents. That was the one thing that we never, ever had to compromise on.

"Are you okay over there?" Cade asked as we pulled into the parking lot of a small cafe. 
I nodded. "Yeah. Just thinking. Sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Your thinking face is kind of cute, actually," he teased. 
I chuckled as he walked around the front of the car to open my door for me. 

We walked into the restaurant hand in hand, but I yanked my hand out of his as I spotted Bryce and the kids. "Um, small problem."
"What? What's wrong?" he asked, looking around. 
"Bryce and my kids. They're here. I haven't told Bryce about you, and I'm certainly not ready to introduce you to my kids," I whispered, panicking. 
"We can go if you want, or we can pretend that we're just friends. Call it a divorce support group or something," he suggested. 
Before I even had a chance to react, I heard the all too familiar voice calling for me. Great.