I Didn't Know I Loved Him

CHAPTER 58: Greetings

"Hayley, you're pregnant?" she asked slowly. I nodded. 

"How did you know?" You couldn't really see my bump through my shirt. 

"Honey, I felt your stomach when I hugged you," she said with a smile, "And you're glowing!" I looked down to hide the blush that burned my cheeks and shrugged. 

"You're 18?" she questioned and I nodded in reply. 

"What's your plan?" I looked back and saw that the guys were already waiting for us. 

"We can talk about this later," I said when I looked back at Meredith. She nodded. 

"But I just want to say," she stopped me when I started to walk away, "thank you for doing all of this for Leah. I'm glad that she had you as a friend when my husband and I weren't there for her." 

"Well, you'll be there for the what's probably the most important day of her life now and I wouldn't have it any other way." 

We made our way back to the car and Meredith and I both sat at the back while John took the passengers seat. He was quiet the whole ride to Seth's house while Meredith and I talked the whole time. We talked about Seth and Amy and the wedding and we even talked about my baby. Eth joined in sometimes. 

We finally arrived at Seth's house and immediately, the mood changed. Meredith looked nervous while John had a blank look on his face. I couldn't tell what he was feeling or thinking. I could hear loud chattering from inside the house already. We walked to the front door and just before opening it, I turned to Meredith. 

"Are you ready to meet your granddaughter?" I asked her. She nodded and let out a shaky breath of air. 

I opened the door and Eth and I walked inside first together. Everyone was in the living room. Seth and Leah were on the couch while Amy was coloring furiously on the coffee table. Eth's and Seth's parents were talking at a table and Elli was talking to Justin and Paul. 

"Hey, guys," Eth greeted them. "Sorry we're late." We got a bunch of replies.

"Uhm, Leah, someone here wants to see you," I said to her. I turned around and nodded at John and Meredith. Meredith stepped in first and I turned to look at Leah. As soon as her eyes landed on her parents, they widened. 

"Mom? Dad?" she gasped. 

"Leah," her mom breathed, stepping into the room more. 

Leah stood up and ran to her mom. They hugged and I thought they were never going to let go. I looked behind Leah and Seth had picked Amy up. After letting go of her mom, she turned to her dad. There was hesitation between them before her dad reached out. Leah practically jumped into his arms. 

"I'm sorry," I heard him say as they hugged. When they finally pulled back, Leah rubbed her eyes. 

"Let's take this into the kitchen," Leah said to her parents and to Seth. They all started heading to the kitchen. 

I looked up at Eth and smiled at him. He took my hand and pulled me closer to him. He bent down to peck me on the lips and I smiled even harder. 

"You did great, babe," he told me. 

"I hope everything's okay in there." 

"I'm sure it is." 

Everyone in the room was back to what they were doing before. Eth went to his family while I went to Paul and Justin. They were talking on the couch.

"Hey!" Paul greeted me. "How's my goddaughter?" He rubbed my stomach gently. 

"She's been kicking lately. I think she can sense my excitement," I told him. Justin and him both laughed. 

"Hi, Hayley," he laughed and hugged me. 

"Oh, my gosh, Hayley! I can't believe you did that for Leah. If I were her, I would just love you so much!" Paul gushed. 

"Well, it wasn't easy," I told him. 

I talked to everyone else for a while and then I heard the kitchen door open. I turned around and Leah came out. She was grinning. I stood up and went to her. 

"How'd it go?" I asked. Instead of answering, she hugged me tight but not too tight. When she let go, she had tears in her eyes. 

"My dad says sorry. He said that he regrets kicking me out. They both love Amy and she's so excited to be with them. Seth, what more can I say. Seth was so sweet to them so of course they loved him too. They said they wouldn't have chosen anyone else for me." 

"Leah, I'm so happy for you," I said, hugging her again. 

"None of this would have happened without you, Hayley. Thank you so much." 

When we pulled away, I was starting to get really emotional too. Eth started to approach us as Leah started to go back to the kitchen. She was going to see how they were doing. I turned around and faced Eth. 

"I told you everything would be okay," he told me and I giggled. 

"I know, I was just overreacting." 

"You weren't overreacting, you're just pregnant," he joked. 

I heard the door to the kitchen open again and I turned around to look at who it was. Seth came out of the room and he was grinning. 

"Hayley," he practically sighed. He engulfed me in a hug and i returned it. "You're amazing, you know that?" 

"Yeah, she is," I heard Eth say from behind us. We pulled away and he held my hand. 

"Thank you for doing this," he said. 

"It's nothing," I replied. 

Leah's whole family came out of the kitchen after that and they were finally introduced to everyone else in the room. John looked much better than he did before. He didn't look so nervous or scared anymore. 

John and Meredith immediately got along with Seth's parents, Charles and Amelia. If you didn't know them already, you'd think they were family. I was so happy that everything was turning out great. 

Amy really loved her grandparents. Apparently, Meredith had brought her a teddy bear and she loved it. I think she had hundreds of stuffed animals in her room. John and Meredith loved Amy. They thought she was adorable and she was just so full of life. 

John and Meredith were staying for a month. They were going to take care of Amy while Leah and Seth were on the honeymoon. I think they were going to Hawaii. John and Meredith even offered to pay for the expenses of the wedding. They felt like they needed to do more for them. 

The whole dinner turned out great. John and Meredith fit in perfectly and everyone love them. It was like they'd always been with us.