Always & Forever

✨Chapter Twenty-Two✨

Arabella's POV

            Since Mrs. Watt knew we were coming this time, we all stayed at Watt's home. Staying in TJ's childhood bedroom was weird but also nice because it gave me some insight into how he grew up. Lucas was sleeping with Derek's kids in the spare bedroom. I knew he was really happy to see Logan again. I hoped that he would be best friends with Brynlee and JJ's baby.

            "Trent, Arabella. There's breakfast downstairs whenever you're ready." Mrs. Watt respected all of our privacy but was still mothering her three boys.

            "We'll be down in a minute, Mom," TJ called back while tying his shoes. We both refused to do anything in his bed, but we did start our morning with a shower together. I had blow-dried and straightened my hair and I was doing a light face of makeup before we were going to go downstairs. It was Christmas Eve. It would be TJ and Lucas's first Christmas together and I knew TJ was excited to spoil him.

            "You don't have to wait for me. You can go down." I brushed my face with some powder. TJ came up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders, kissing the top of my head. It was such a little interaction but it still made my heart race against my chest. It reminded me why I loved him so much.

            "I'm in no rush. I don't mind waiting for you." He rubbed my shoulders softly, gave them a soft squeeze, and sat back down on the bed. I was sitting at his desk with my travel mirror. I watched him as I finished putting on mascara and swiped on a subtle lip stain. I put on a pair of snow boots and TJ reached for my hand when I stood up. He intertwined his fingers with mine and we walked downstairs together. Lucas was eating waffles with Logan at the little Paw Patrol table that Mrs. Watt had for the kids. Brayden was sitting on Derek's lap, eating pieces of waffle and blueberries with his hands. He just turned two earlier this month. JJ and Brynlee came down right after we did.

            "How was your flight, D?" JJ asked, sitting across from his younger brother. Brynlee and I sat next to each other and Mrs. Watt came to bring us plates so that we could serve ourselves from the platters in the middle of the table.

            "Good. The boys slept the whole time so it was easy. Gabriella worries that they'll throw fits on the plane and everyone will hate us for it." He put Brayden down when he started to fuss in his lap. I think he just wanted to go sit with the other two kids.

            "Where is Gabriella?" Brynlee asked, sipping her orange juice. When TJ came to the table with his cup of coffee, he pulled his chair so close to mine that our legs were touching when he sat down. JJ did the same thing on the other side of Brynlee.

            "She's taking a shower. She likes coming here because she knows that the boys are taken care of and she can do stuff for herself." He started eating his breakfast now that he didn't have to share his arms with Brayden.

            "I was thinking that we could take the kids to the park tonight. The church is having a small choir concert and the kids will be able to play in the snow, go sledding, and drink hot chocolate. We can come home after and warm up with cookies and movies." Mr. Watt came to join us at the table for breakfast. Mrs. Watt finally settled next to her husband after Gabriella had come out of the bathroom and joined us at the table. I don't think she could stop fussing over everyone until we were all settled.

            "I think that sounds like a lot of fun. Lucas really likes the snow." I looked over at him. He was eating his chocolate chip waffles, his cheeks full like a chipmunk. "Slow down, Lucas." He looked at me and I could see the wheels turning in his head as he chewed.

            "They're supposed to have carriage rides too." JJ nudged Brynlee's arm with his elbow and she smiled as she looked at him.

            "It does sound like a lot of fun." Brynlee agreed. I knew she was excited to get to spend so much time with JJ since they had a break from practice. I knew I was going to miss TJ when they had to go back. When I thought about TJ, I was suddenly very aware of his hand resting on my thigh. It sent a slight chill down my spine and I could see him smile out of the corner of my eye.

            "Perfect, it sounds like a plan." Mr. Watt was clearly happy that we wanted to do what he wanted to do. It was honestly a great start to our Christmas trip.

Brynlee's POV

            JJ and I held hands as we walked around the park, drinking hot chocolate. We had just gotten off a carriage ride and the hot chocolate was actually helping to settle my stomach. Riding behind a horse wasn't the best idea for a pregnant woman with a sensitive stomach.

            "Pretty soon that'll be us." JJ nodded his head towards where TJ and Lucas were riding a sled down a little hill and Arabella was taking pictures.

            "Well we still have about three years to go." I smiled, resisting the urge to put a hand on my still flat stomach, just in case there were any paparazzi hiding in the shadows somewhere. I didn't want my dad and brother to find out through the tabloids.

            "Three years will be here before you know it. We can still go sledding with a baby as long as we're careful. My mom used to take the three of us all the time." JJ smiled at his own memory.

            "Maybe Christmas in Wisconsin could become a tradition." I leaned into him and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders gently.

            "I would love that." He kissed my temple and we made our way over to where the kids were making little snowmen. Mr. and Mrs. Watt had left about 10 minutes ago so that they could start warming up the oven to bake cookies and make cider and more hot chocolate. TJ was fixing Lucas' jacket zipper because it had gotten stuck. I could see that around Lucas' eyes were wet and that his nose was dripping a little bit. He had probably gotten freaked out about his zipper being stuck and started to cry. Arabella was the same way.

            "Thank you, daddy!" Lucas told him before running off to go play with the other two boys. TJ just froze where he was kneeling in the snow and I could see Arabella's cheeks turning an even rosier pink than they were from the cold.

            "Are you guys ready to head back to the house?" Derek asked, sensing the quiet cloud that had come over all of us.

            "Yeah, it's kind of cold out here." JJ cleared his throat. We started walking back towards the house, my arm linked with JJ's. I wanted to talk to Arabella to see if she was okay, but she had hung back with TJ and they were talking quietly to each other. They were holding hands so I assumed they had to be okay. "They're going to be okay, trust me." JJ told me as if he could read my thoughts. I smiled up at him, hoping that both me and my best friend would be officially part of his family one day.