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

99

The rest of the day was uneventful, and I curled up next to Bryce on the couch after we had tucked the kids into bed. "Let's talk about it," I sighed, kind of regretting opening this can of worms. 
"Talk about what?" he asked, turning to look at me. "Oh, yeah. What do you have to say?" 
"While, on the one hand, I think it's kind of a waste of our time to go through the process of getting remarried, there is no one that I would rather be married to."
He planted a kiss on my forehead. "I'm so glad that you said that."
"Don't get too far ahead of yourself," I interjected, lacing my fingers in his. "I just want to go to the courthouse and do something simple. I don't want to have an extravagant wedding again. This is about us, not our friends or family."

We sat in silence for a few moments, and Bryce stroked my hair softly. "Of course. I will do anything to make you happy."
"You had better," I teased, leaning up to kiss him. "You are the love of my life, Bryce Michael Hall, and if you think you're ever going to leave me again, you've got another thing coming."
He chuckled softly into my lips before he replied. "I would be a fool to ever even consider leaving you again."

The next morning, I nudged Bryce awake. "Babe," I whispered. "Babe."
"What time is it?" Bryce groaned groggily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 
"Time to take the kids to school. Did you want to head to the courthouse afterward?" I asked, rolling out of the bed. 
Bryce pulled himself up into a sitting position. "You're ready today? Like, you want to get remarried today?" 
I shrugged. "Why wait? You're it for me. You literally do not have a choice but to stay with me. I won't let you leave me again."
He chuckled, getting out of the bed. "I wouldn't want the choice to leave you even if you had given it to me."

I left the room, walking quietly down the hall. "Isaiah?" I murmured, pushing his door open softly. "Time for school, buddy."
"I know!" he exclaimed. "We go through this every single day."
I chuckled, pulling the door back closed and heading further down the hall to Annalisa's room. "Good morning, princess!" I greeted her. 
"Good morning, Mommy!" she greeted me back, already rifling through her dresser drawers. "Did you sleep well?" 
"I did, sweetie," I replied, leaning against her doorframe. "Did you sleep okay?" 

She nodded, and I saw Owen making his way down the stairs. "Ready already?" 
The look on his face was way too serious, and I bit my lip to stifle a chuckle. "Of course I am, Mommy. Someone has to be in the kitchen to help make breakfast, and we know that it won't be Isaiah."
"You're a goofy goober," I told him, rifling his hair as we walked down the stairs together. 
He shook his head, the solemn expression never leaving his face. "No, you're the goofy goober."

Everleigh was already sitting at the kitchen table as we entered the room. Bryce was sitting across from her, and they looked as though they were having a deep conversation. 
"What are you two troublemakers talking about?" I asked, reaching up in the cabinet to grab the box of Lucky Charms for Owen.
Everleigh giggled, looking back and forth between me and Bryce. "Daddy said that it's a secret, Mommy."
"Oh? A secret, huh?" I asked, crossing the room and sitting down on Bryce's lap. "Did Daddy tell you if I could know this secret?" 
She shook her head quickly. "Nope. It's a surprise, Mommy. The only thing I can say is that you are going to love it."

Isaiah and Annalisa had joined us in the kitchen by now, and I glanced over at Isaiah to see his eye roll present itself in full force. "Bro," I groaned. 
"You did not just call me that," he replied, rolling his eyes again. God, I loved having a teenager. 
I nodded. "Yes, I did. Stop being mean. We didn't let your cousins roll their eyes at you when you were excited about something, and I'll be damned if I let you do it to any of your siblings."
Bryce rubbed my lower back softly. "Hey, I don't think that it's that serious. Everleigh isn't upset right now, so you can just go with a warning."

As we dropped the kids off at school, my excitement grew. I was ready to officially be Mrs. Bryce Michael Hall again. As ready as I was, though, I was terrified. I would never be able to live with myself if I made this decision today, and it all came back to bite me in the ass. 
"What are you thinking about over there, love?" Bryce asked, taking my hand into his. 
I shrugged. "Nothing. Well, that's not really true, but nothing that's super important. Just me getting into my own head."
"That's okay, honey. I know how you can get sometimes. That's not a bad thing. Are you having second thoughts?" 
I shook my head violently. "No, not exactly. I was just thinking about how upset I'll be with myself if we end up apart again."
"You don't ever have to worry about that, baby. It's you and me until the end of the line. I will never, ever do anything to hurt you ever again."

We made our way into the courthouse, and I knew that this felt right. With every ounce of my being, I knew that this was exactly where I was supposed to be in this moment. 
As we signed the marriage license, my heart soared with joy. This was everything that I had ever wanted. I knew that I had said that it wasn't about our family, and it was just about us, but the only thing that would have made it better would have been to have our family surrounding us. I hadn't seen them in so long, and I missed them. 

*Thank you guys so much for being patient with me! I had a rough last few months, and I'm finally starting to feel better. I love and appreciate every single one of you. Last chapter coming soon!*