A Fighting Chance (Tom Holland AU) [2]

Thirty-Seven

As I woke up, I heard Annabelle crying again. I hoped for today to not be a repeat of yesterday, and as soon as she stopped, I smiled gently. "Do you wanna spend time with Auntie Beth today, baby?" I saw her smile, and I grinned gently. "Now we gotta see if Auntie Beth's free."

As I fed her on the couch, I pulled out my phone and called Beth. "Hi there, beeg!"

"Hi, leetle. Are you busy today?"

"Not really, no. Why?"

"I'm thinking about heading back to the studio today."

"That sounds fun!"

"Wanna tag along?" I heard silence on the other line, and I smiled. "Beth?"

"Are you sure? I know how serious you take your studio time."

"I do, but I want you to come along. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too."

"If you come by my place, I'll drive you to the studio I usually use." The local studio was well aware that I loved being in the studio, so I often went there and they let me use their space (I usually paid them, which helped too).

"What about Annabelle?"

"She's coming too."

"Okay. I'll be there soon." After we said our goodbyes, Annabelle decided that she was done eating. After burping her, I took her to our room so I could change into some dance clothes.

About ten minutes after I had changed and made myself a small breakfast with Annabelle in her playpen, I heard a knock at the apartment door. I opened it to see Beth, and I hugged her tightly. "Hi there, little."

"Thank you so much for inviting me. I know how special this is to you."

"You're special to me too." I smiled, and she grinned gently. "Do you want something to eat before we head on out?"

"I'll grab something, yeah."

"Grab anything you want. I have to put something in the car, can you keep an eye on Annabelle while I do?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Her swing. It's easy to carry, so I wanted to bring it so we could keep her content and entertained while we're in the studio." She nodded with a smile as I grabbed my keys and the swing. "Be right back, babe."

Once we were in the studio, I shut the studio door and set her swing down gently. "Do you have any dances you're gonna do?" Beth smiled, and I shook my head.

"Nope. I usually just play some music and let it take me wherever it wants." She raised an eyebrow, and I smiled as I picked Annabelle up from her car seat and put her in the swing. "You'll see, I promise."

"Okay." She chuckled. I slipped my street shoes off as I started stretching with a smile. "You've missed it so much, haven't you?"

"Absolutely." I hooked my phone up to the Bluetooth speaker, and I handed it to her. "Pick something. Anything."

"You sure?" She said as she sat down next to the swing, crossing her legs.

"Yeah, of course. I'm not in any one particular mood today." I smiled as I began stretching, and the calming music she put on provided a solid background for a casual conversation. After a while, I stood up.

"Ooh, let me put on a different song. I wanna see where this takes you." The next thing I knew, a smooth piano melody filled the air. I stood for a moment to grow accustomed to it, and as soon as I felt ready, I began dancing.

As I usually did, I shut out the world as I danced. I filled my mind with the sequence of jumps, leaps, turns, and other steps that I improvised as the music played. As I stopped with the tune, I turned my attention to Beth, whose jaw was on the floor. "That was beautiful, Gracie. I do see what you mean."

"Did you like it?"

"I loved it. It was beautiful." After a while of me dancing and even getting Beth to get up here, the two of us had a mini photo shoot before packing everything up and driving back to my apartment.

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fullofgrace haven't been in the studio in so long. missed it so much (📸: @bethajones)

user1 so happy to see you back! you're super talented!

bethajones IT WAS SO MAGICAL I LOVED IT

fullofgrace @bethajones love you little!

tomholland2013 😍 hope it made today better my darling

fullofgrace @tomholland2013 it definitely did, my love 😘

user2 so beautiful!

user3 she is beauty, she is grace

user4 what about your baby?

alibell SO BEAUTIFUL! LOVE IT SO MUCH 😘😘

user5 WHERE IS YOUR BABY?!

user6 ^rt where the fuck is your child?!

enews Did Grace Chance really skip out on caring for her baby in order to indulge in her guilty pleasure? More in our article!

fullofgrace @user4 @user5 @user6 @enews I cannot fucking believe that people think I would leave my baby alone while I'm on maternity leave. She cannot be seen in this photo, but I brought Annabelle to the studio with me and Beth in her baby swing. The swing is one of her favorite places to play in, so I brought it with us while I spent some well needed time in my happy place, not doing my guilty pleasure. I have no idea why everyone is obsessed with making me look like a bad mother, but I'm getting really fucking tired of it.

As I held Annabelle on my couch, I looked at Beth as she sat next to me. "I cannot fucking believe the audacity these people have." I looked at her, and she sighed.

"I know, Gracie." I then heard my phone ringing. I took a deep breath as I saw who it was.

"Hi, Tom."

"Hi there, darling. I've been reading some of the comments, and I just want to say that you're doing absolutely nothing wrong."

"I know, love. I just feel so shitty that their main goal is to paint me in a negative light when I'm doing the best I can here."

"You're doing wonderfully, darling. I promise."

"Thank you, baby." I heard the oven chime, signaling that it was fully heated up for dinner I was preparing. "I love you, Tom."

"I love you too, Grace. I'll see you at home."

Up at the top is the song Beth played! Let me know your thoughts :-)