Fading

~T w e n t y - n i n e~

Continuation of the last chap...enjoy!

Amara POV
Hayden was dressed in sweats, making him appear more friendly, rather than those dreadful scrubs of his.

I looked up into his eyes to see them soften at the sight of me still in bed, probably modeling a bed head look.

"Sleep well?"

I nodded, slightly confused.

I decided to be brave for once and speak my concerns.

"Did-did you m-move me last n-night?" I asked, watching as he blushed sheepishly.

"Uh...yeah...yeah I did because when I checked on you, I thought you would be uncomfortable sleeping on the chair all night long so I moved you to your bed. Was-was that okay?" He asked as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh...I guess" I blurted stupidly. I just didn't want him to feel bad, he had already done so much for me, I just didn't want him to feel like I was a burden and had to be checked on all the time.

"Good, good...uh would you like some breakfast? Hudson's making his famous strawberry pancakes!" It seemed to me like he was out of his element, and I guess he was, this whole dad thing threw both of us for a loop.

"I'm not really hungry" I mumbled, realizing I was falling back into my old habits. I didn't want to be a burden on them by eating all of their food or making them cook for me.

"Sweetheart..." he drew out, almost in warning, "we let you skip dinner last night because you fell asleep and we didn't want to wake you, but you need to eat a little of breakfast, even if its something small" he commented, keeping his tone light, wary of forcing me into anything.

My breathing hitched.

I can't do this...

"I'm j-just not h-hungry" I stammered, focusing my gaze on my feet.

"Amara, I don't want to force you into anything, but this is important. You need to try to eat at least a few bites. And I don't think you want to make Hudson sad do you?" He guilt-tripped, finding a way around my stupid obsessive behaviors.

My fingers fiddled with the hem of my sleeve as I tried to think of a solution.

I was so going to regret this later.

"Fine" he beamed at me, "but let me get dressed first."

He nodded and walked out the door with a mischievous smile on his face.

Hayden POV
I walked away, feeling slightly proud of myself. I was still trying to get ahold of this whole 'dad' thing and she was certainly not making it easy.

But it didn't matter, I would do anything for her. And if that included negotiating with a sleep deprived teenager who didn't want to eat anything, then so be it.

"Is she coming?" Grey asked as I walked into the kitchen, interrupting my train of thought.

I sighed.

"Yeah but she doesn't want to eat. She agreed to a few bites but I think you and her need to have a talk soon, Hud" I replied.

They both frowned, feeling the same guilt that I had. We worried that she wasn't comfortable here.

"I figured. I'll try to help her through this meal and then I'll see if she would be willing to talk" he said, concerned.

He rubbed a hand down his face, something he did when he was stressed. None of us were upset with her, or mad at her, we just wanted her to be happy and comfortable.

She's been suffering for too long and we want to be able to help. And that started with being healthy.

We all stopped as light footsteps padded into the kitchen.

A blush rose to her cheeks and she froze as she realized all of our attention was now on her.

"Good morning Mara" Greyson greeted, using a nickname.

She rubbed her arms up and down as she watched the floor nervously.

"M-Morning. I l-like that n-nickname" she whispered as a blush rose to her cheeks.

Greyson lit up like a child.

"Then that's what you'll be called from now on, Mara" he said, grinning.

Hudson and I watched the two fondly. We could tell Greyson liked her, but he needed to take it extremely slow and not force her into any feelings.

The last thing she needs right now is a boyfriend, not when she is learning to adjust to us.

He never actually admitted to us that he liked her, but we could tell. The glances, the nickname, and how emotionally attached he is to her gave it away. We only hoped that if and when a relationship did start, Greyson would treat her like the princess she is.

Aww fluff, I love them!!
The next chap will be the same and then hopefully we will get into the interesting stuff.
Love y'all ❤️