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

87

"Oh, that was super cringe," JJ noted from the doorway. 
"You know what's really super cringe?" Nessa asked, heading over to the doorway and standing next to JJ. He had definitely gotten Josh's height genes, and he towered over her. "When children listen in and comment on adult conversations."
"That was even more cringe. How long are we staying?" he added. 
"As long as your mom wants. Chill out," Josh warned from across the room. 
JJ rolled his eyes, and Nessa wasn't having any part of it. "Joshua Kenneth Richards Junior! Lose your attitude! We are spending time with our family. Do I need to take your phone away?" 
"Got it, Mom. Sorry," he apologized, leaving the doorway and heading back into the living room. 

"The day that Isaiah starts acting like that is the day that I send him to live with one of y'all. Maybe Griffin. He doesn't have any kids. He might enjoy that," I suggested. 
"Don't send him to me. I've about had it with teenage boys. Not that Jasmine is going to be any easier," Nessa shook her head, the conversation about my wedding completely cast aside. 
"Have you talked to Dixie about Daisy?" Jaden asked, grabbing a beer from the fridge. "Those stories are enough to make me wanna disappear while our kids are teens."
"Speaking of Dixie, has anyone seen her lately?" I asked. "She hasn't been returning my calls."

The doorbell rang, and I answered the door quickly. "Hey, we were just talking about you," I said, greeting Dixie, Noah, Daisy, and Nathan. "All the kids are hanging out in the living room, you guys."
"I hope that you were only saying good things," Dixie teased, hugging me. "Jaden mentioned that you guys were home, and I decided that we owed you a visit." 
"We were just talking about the God-awful attitudes that these teenagers have," I laughed, shutting the front door behind them and leading them into the kitchen. "Look who I found, you guys!" 

Greetings floated around the kitchen, and at that exact moment, I swore that I had never been happier. This was everything that was missing in my life, and I was so grateful to have it back. 
"You know, we're only missing Griffin, Kio, Sarah, Blake, Amelie, Rose, Anthony, Avani, Quinton, Cynthia, and William. Then the whole Sway family would be back together again," I noted, sitting down next to Nessa. 
"We'll have a more formal family reunion soon," she replied, putting her arm around my shoulder. "We'll get everyone to come."

"Alright, I ordered the pizza," Bryce said, clapping his hands together. "It should be here soon."
"This is going to sound so cheesy, and I know how much you guys hate it when I do this, but can we take a picture? This is a memory that I want to have forever," I asked, shooting Bryce a pleading look. 
"Of course," Jaden replied, not giving anyone else a chance to turn me down. He knew that pictures were my only connection to my biological family, and I held onto that almost obsessively. "Kids! Everyone into the kitchen, please! We're taking a quick picture!" 

All ten of the kids ran into the kitchen, gathering around. "Wait, how are we supposed to take this?" Noah asked. 
I shrugged. "Someone stand kind of in front and take the picture that way."
Noah took that as his cue, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Alright, everybody. Scrunch in close. Act like you like each other."
"Dad, can you just shut up and take the picture please?" Daisy interjected. 
"Daisy, you have lost your mind, child," Dixie said through clenched teeth. "Be respectful."
Yeah, I definitely wasn't looking forward to that. 

Noah took the picture, AirDropping it to us. "Oh my goodness! Our family is so cute!" I exclaimed, looking at the beautiful smiles that graced everyone's faces. Even JJ had put his teenage angst aside and smiled. "Thank you guys for humoring me. I really love all of you."
To my surprise, JJ wrapped his arms around me, giving me a giant hug. "I love you, Auntie Kate."
"I love you, too, kiddo," I whispered back to him. JJ and I had spent so much time together when we lived in the Sway house when he was little, but we hadn't spent as much time together once we had moved. 

The kids went back into the living room, and Nessa elbowed me hard. "What the hell was that? I have to fight for one of those, and I literally gave birth to him. You were there. I'm pretty sure that going through labor with that kid has earned me at least one hug a week, if not one every day." 
"I don't know, but I'll take it. I've felt so closed off from everyone since Bryce suggested the divorce, and it's really nice to be reassured like that, even if he didn't know what he was doing at the time."
"You know that we've all loved you this entire time, you goofball. No one ever stopped loving you," Nessa assured me.
I shrugged. "It got hard for a minute there. I lost myself. I'm back. I know who I am again."

"Pizza just pulled in!" Isaiah called out from the living room. 
"I'll get it," Bryce replied, hugging me from behind and kissing me on the top of the head. "Love you, baby." 
"It's like you guys just started dating. It's kind of disgusting," Noah observed from the other side of the island. 
Dixie hit him playfully. "They're rekindling the love that they have for each other. I think that it's sweet."
"You didn't think that it was sweet when I tried it," Noah observed, a look of anger crossing his face briefly. 
"You wanted to have sex in the Target bathroom while Daisy and Nathan were with us. That's a little bit different," Dixie teased him. 
"And I've lost my appetite," Josh teased. 

Bryce reentered the kitchen with the pizzas, and the kids followed closely behind him. "Dinner is served."
Could life get any better than this? No. Unfortunately, it was about to get much worse.