Grace needs a doctor and some therapy. We stan baby Líla though.
Adam was woken up by Líla's belly-flop over his abdomen. "Oof."
"Tío, Tío, Tío?!" She bounced excitedly as he groggily blinked, trying to wake up.
"Líla, why are you jumping all over the place – did you find the chocolate stash again?"
"Nooooo." She smiled sheepishly.
He raised an eyebrow.
"So, what happened, Tío? Is Tío Phoenix your novio?" she asked wiggling her eyebrows.
Adam frowned. 'Why would she ask such a thing?'
Suddenly, the memories from the previous night flashed in his mind.
He glanced down and realized he was still wearing the clothes Phoenix had lent him. He shot his head up to look at Líla. "¿Donde esta tu Abuela?"
Líla frowned slightly at his panicked reaction. "Down the stairs."
He threw his blanket off himself and picked Líla up as he made his way downstairs. He quickly made his way downstairs as the memories of last night came back to him.
↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹
Last night at eleven-thirty, Phoenix had brought him home and walked him up the stairs. Adam had wanted to pull Phoenix in for another kiss but being on the front porch, he couldn't risk it.
They stood there in silence until Phoenix spoke up. "Good night."
His eyes dropped to Adam's lips and Adam felt an imaginary force pull him towards Phoenix. He found himself in Phoenix's arms and they leaned in, ever so slightly, but abruptly stopped as the front door swung open. Adam jumped out of Phoenix's arms to find Grace standing at the door, wrapped in her nightgown, with her walker behind her. She looked between the two of them and frowned.
Adam immediately stepped back to help her. "Mama, you shouldn't be walking without me around to watch you."
"If you hadn't run off, I wouldn't have had to."
Phoenix was confused at her sudden cold attitude towards him as she glared at him from head to toe. Grace looked at him and in her eyes, he could feel how his sister and Líla might have felt all those years ago; every sense of their being judged by a person who they held in high respect was enough to break anyone.
Yet, after a while, her expression softened as if she had the same thought as him.
Grace closed the door, once Adam was properly in the house before they could say goodbye.
Adam looked at the door, shocked, and then back to Grace and reached over to help her. She flinched.
"Don't touch me."
↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹
Adam took a deep breath stepping into the living room where Grace sat on her sofa seat, knitting away. She looked up and smiled at them, although, it wavered when she looked down at his clothes which were Phoenix's.
He saw a hundred thoughts fly through her head and he tried to explain.
"I fell into the pool and my clothes got wet so Phoenix–"
"I don't need to know, Morgenstern."
He gulped; she never uses his father's name unless she's upset. He placed Líla down and she looked from her grandmother to her uncle sensing the tension.
"Abuela?" Líla indicated for Adam to put her down and walked up to her grandmother.
"Sí, niña?"
"You aren't upset with Tío, are you?"
She leaned down and stroked the little girl's face. "Non. Adam is his own person – a grown-up but..."
She looked up at him, her warm brown eyes that usually comforted him, filled with disappointment.
"Your uncle knows how much is at stake if anything jeopardizes our family."
Líla pouted not understanding Grace's cryptic message but Adam did all too well.
"Líla, could you go get me my phone from upstairs?"
She hopped away from her grandmother and skipped the way as Adam sat at Grace's feet like he would do as a child so she could play with his hair.
Her hand gently caressed it.
"What happened while I was gone?"
"He came, Adam. That horrible boy came to our door and demanded to see Líla."
Adam tensed over. "He can't do that."
"Nothing is stopping him now, is there? Until the court hearing happens, nothing ever will."
Adam clenched his fist, feeling his nails dig into his palms. "Did he try anything?"
"After I threatened to call the police, he left. He said he wasn't looking for trouble, how he'd changed but how can a monster that does that to a woman ever change. I just know there's something off about him."
Adam noticed Grace's breathing had gotten a lot heavier as she asked, "What will he do to Líla once he gets her?"
Grace clutched her chest and Adam quickly got up on his knees to check on her. She held up her hand. "I'm fine."
Adam gave her a worried gaze taking in her appearance; she didn't look too good. "Maybe we should go to the hospital just to check it out."
He bit his lip worriedly.
The stress of Líla's case was not helping Cordelia's frail condition and now Kyle had come to their house.
Adam stood up. "I'm going to take you back and check you in."
Grace shook her head stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest. "But I just came back. Are you trying to get rid of me–?"
"Mama, he came to the house. It's not safe to leave you and Líla alone."
Grace gritted her teeth. "I am not going back to the hospital."
Líla appeared in front of them out of breath as if she's been running. "Tío your thing is not there – the phone – is not there!"
Adam frowned. "Then where – right..." He trailed off as he remembered the location.
He realized it was probably left with Phoenix last night. He had left it on the kitchen counter before going into the pool.
Suddenly, an idea sparked in his head. "So, you don't want to go back to the hospital because it's gloomy. What if we checked you in somewhere where a doctor is present?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N
let's just say came up with a chapter title in a fit of rage. Maybe I will change it in future, maybe not. We shall see. I decided not to edit it though I did remove some stuff. Maybe I will change it in future, maybe not. We shall see.
Anywhoooo, dearest TUTs, my condolences on any errors. You have full permission to blame my temper.