Rocky's POV
I stood in front of my long length mirror, readjusting my dark blue tie and slicking my hair back with what felt like the millionth layer of gel. I was dressed in a tight black penguin suit. It was one I'd kept from Ross and Laura's wedding and luckily it still fit me.
Now I know, I could have easily had a quick shower, shaved my facial hair off and slipped some un-ironed shirt over my head but weirdly I didn't want to.
Trisha was beautiful. A lot more beautiful than I remembered. Even in the coffee shop she'd been dressed like a glamour model. I couldn't take her, my niece and nephew to the movies looking like some thirty year old man who hadn't washed for five years.
I wasn't looking for a relationship - well, maybe I was but not intentionally. I didn't expect Trisha to appear in the exact coffee shop that I'd entered or for her to then proceed to stay with us for the next couple of days. But something felt right with Trisha. I felt whole again when I was around her. The sadness inside of me changed to something I'd never felt before, but I liked it and I wasn't ready to lose it. Not yet anyway.
A small picture of Brianna sat on my nightstand beside my bed. I hadn't let it out of my sight since she'd passed away. I'd lay awake for hours into the night staring at her beautiful face, those mesmerising ocean blue eyes and cursing uncontrollably to myself about why the hell someone would decide to take her away from me.
But now, as I stood in the peaceful serenity of Ross and Laura's spare bedroom and realised that I scrubbed up fairly well for a man who had been in emotional hiding for the last month, I decided that it was finally time to do both myself and Brianna a favour. I needed to move on.
That didn't necessarily mean with a person, although I was open to at least trying. What I truly needed to do was get my head back into gear and go back to being the old Rocky Lynch. I couldn't live my life wondering, 'what if?' for every given opportunity that I'd decide to miss. I had to take life in my stride and live it - not just for myself but for Brianna too. She deserved that much.
I placed a kiss on the small photo of Brianna and felt my eyes well up with heavy tears as I held her photograph close to my chest. "I won't let you down. I promise. I will not fail you, Bri." With one last tearful look at my beautiful Brianna, I exhaled deeply and placed her photo into my suitcase. I sat on the double bed with my head in my hands for a few minutes, breathing in and out slowly.
I'd done the right thing.
The quiet giggles from Isabella's bedroom between her and Trisha echoed through the walls and instantly a smile appeared on my lips. I furiously wiped away my tears. I didn't want to hurt anymore, I wanted to be happy.
I stood up slowly from the bed and once again, stared at myself in the mirror. With a final nod and one last coating of gel for my already slicked back hair I decided to exit the bedroom and head to Isabella's room to find out when they'd both be ready to head out.
I gently knocked on Isabella's bedroom door and within a quick moment my beautiful niece stood in front of me, her arms crossed over her chest. "Stop right there Uncle Rocky!" She held her pink frying pan up in her hand which I knew would come in handy one day despite everyone else telling me otherwise. Isabella gestured to Trisha who was sat in a creamy silk dressing gown, curling her hair and watching me happily from the mirror. I lifted my arm up lamely and grinned at her. Fortunately she did the same back, despite my worry that she'd find me weird or creepy. "Auntie Trisha isn't ready yet and honestly neither am I. Can you give us an hour?"
I raised my eyebrows. Although I'd been faced with an angel, aka, Trisha Marano, not even her beauty could phase me from the fact that my niece just asked for another hour to get ready when they'd already had five. I folded my arms across my chest and chuckled. "An hour, seriously?" Isabella lifted her frying pan up and smirked at me. "You wouldn't..."
"Oh I would." She grinned, holding it above her head.
"Hey I purchased that for you when you were practically fresh out of the womb!" I argued, pointing my finger into her face. "Now listen, it's ten minutes or we aren't going."
Isabella gasped and turned her head in Trisha's direction. "Ten minutes!" She then turned back to me and held her hands on either side of her hips defensively. "Auntie Trisha hasn't even applied her eyeliner yet and I need to put some chapstick on!"
I rolled my eyes. "Neither of you even need to wear any makeup. You're both beautiful. Besides, who's going to see you in a dark movie theatre?"
Isabella rolled her eyes back at me. "Um, everyone!"
"Ten minutes." I warned, holding my finger up beside my head. "Or Bailey and I will go without you."
She pouted her lips and although I was dying to laugh I decided to go with my better judgement and not. "Fine." She murmured before closing her bedroom door behind her.
I finally let out my long awaited chuckle and headed down the staircase with a spring in my step. Just when I thought I was clear from both Ross and Laura, the quiet sound of my younger brother chuckling from behind me and clicking his tongue made me instantly turn around on my heel.
"Damn bro! You look like the next James Bond!" He exclaimed, a smile forming on his lips.
"Dude don't start -"
"Laur, come in here!" Ross called out, poking his head around the kitchen door. "Rocky looks like he's dressed to impress!"
I sighed and shook my head in embarrassment. Within seconds both Laura and Bailey appeared from the kitchen wearing huge smiles on their faces. "Rocky you look so handsome!" Laura exclaimed, holding her hands to her face in shock. "You're going to be the best looking Uncle at the movies tonight that's for sure!"
"Thanks Laur." I awkwardly said, smiling down at the ground. I hated being the centre of attention but hey, with an outfit like this I was practically begging for it. Bailey ran into my arms and I embraced him with a warm hug. I ruffled the top of his head and he beamed up at me. "Are you excited for the movie little man?"
Bailey shrugged. "I hate princess movies, you know that." Laura glared at him. "But," he added with a sigh of defeat. "Bella wants to see it and I guess the whole concept of the princess falling for a beast kind of interests me so... I'm excited."
I chuckled and nodded. "We can eat our weight in nachos and popcorn whilst the girls fangirl over the movie. How does that sound?"
Bailey smirked and gave me a high five. "Now that's a plan!"
Ross had his arm wrapped tightly around Laura's waist and the both of them stared at one another lovingly. I felt my heart beating wildly in my chest. I wanted to look at someone that way and be able to hold someone again. I missed it. I almost envied Ross and Laura, they both had the perfect life which was insane due to the way their family originally began.
"Did you two have a good time last night?" I asked eventually. Bailey had ran off to play on his Xbox for the last half an hour before we had to leave.
Ross and Laura both laughed shyly to themselves and nodded. "It was perfect." They both murmured, glancing at each other with smirks once again.
I smiled. "I'm glad to hear that."
Ross and Laura weren't perfect by any means. I knew that much. Over the years I'd observed their relationship, their mannerisms, the love they had for each other and although they had their fair share of bad moments, the good moments always overshadowed the bad.
I suppose that they were perfectly imperfect for each other. They were both the missing puzzle piece for their own personal jigsaw. They weren't complete until they found each other.
I used to think that Brianna was my missing puzzle piece but now - well, now I'm not sure anymore.
Maybe I'd lost my chance at happiness.
Maybe the universe, God or something much more powerful than me; a simple human being, decided that I was no longer in favour to be with the love of my life.
I could no longer hold her, kiss her, tell her how beautiful she was, ask her to marry me, take her out on the most gorgeous dates, have children with her and so much more that I should have been able to experience. It was all ripped away from me in the matter of seconds.
As much as I loved watching Ross and Laura's relationship blossom and getting to be an uncle to the four most wonderful nieces and nephews I still wanted to be more than just Uncle Rocky. I wanted to have a woman by my side, someone I could go home to after a day with my family and hold her in my arms. Was that really so much to ask for?
Maybe.
After what felt like a painful ten minutes, both Isabella and Trisha descended the old creaky staircase with smiles on their faces.
I could feel my heart beating rapidly in my chest as my eyes locked with Trisha's and somehow lingered there. I felt like a teenage guy on his prom night, watching proudly in his suit as his beautiful date greeted him by the staircase.
Trisha was dressed in a tight fitted olive coloured dress with an open back and had heels to match. Her soft brunette hair was curled and fell effortlessly by her shoulders and in her hands she held both a black coat and her purse.
It baffled me how little teenage Trisha had seemingly overnight developed into this wonderful, intellectual and of course beautiful woman. She continued to amaze me and her weekend at the Lynch's household had only just begun.
"Trisha you look so beautiful!" Laura cried from behind me. "And Bella, look at you! My baby looks so grown up."
Isabella was dressed in a short baby pink dress and much like Trisha her hair was also curled to perfection. She covered her hands with her face and grimaced. "Oh mom!"
Ross knelt down beside Isabella and smiled at her. "If any boys even glance your way make sure Uncle Rocky writes down their name so that he can tell them that your daddy will be paying a visit to them if they so much as smile at you -"
Laura placed her hand firmly on Ross's shoulder and rolled her eyes at Trisha and I. "Okay sweetie, she gets it." She whispered with a quiet giggle.
"Bye daddy." Isabella mumbled before placing a kiss on Ross's cheek. "Don't wait up!"
Ross rolled his eyes and chuckled at me. "Little does she know I'm going to be tagging behind her the whole time with a baseball bat and pepper spray in my hands."
Laura smacked him gently on the arm and laughed. "Stop! She'll never trust you."
Bailey and Ross shared a quick fist bump before Laura took them both out to the car. Ross waved both Trisha and I off before heading back into the living room to continue binge watching whatever his favourite latest show was.
"So... should we go?" Trisha offered with a smile.
"Do you want to put your coat on first? It's pretty chilly out there tonight. I don't want you to get a cold or anything."
Okay. Maybe I just wanted her to cover up because I was being slightly protective. But mainly I just didn't want her to get sick.
Trisha nodded and smiled at me. "Good point!"
She was about to slide her coat on when I took it from her and helped her to put it on. I could see that she was slightly taken aback by my gentleman like behaviour and weirdly I was too. I'd never acted this way around a woman before. It was kind of scary.
"I thought you hated dresses and heels." I chuckled as I stood back from her.
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders at me, wrapping her coat tightly to her body. "Who's to say I still don't?"
I chuckled. "So you still like your jeans and sweatshirts then?"
She smirked and held her hand up to her mouth. "I love them."
We both laughed once more before I gestured for her to head outside. I closed the door behind us and walked over to the car, my hand was metres away from her back. I dared not wrap my arm around her or try to act like her boyfriend when I wasn't but there was an instinct in me to treat her with respect.
Laura stood by the car and smiled at the both of us, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist. "It's freezing tonight! Make sure you give me a call when you get there. I'm sure Ross will be passed out on the couch by the time I head back inside."
I smirked and rolled my eyes before jumping into the driver's seat. "Old man Ross!"
Trisha got into the passenger seat beside me. She held my arm in her hand and began to laugh. I stared down at her hand and felt my breath get caught in my throat. I hadn't felt the warmth of her hand against my skin and I swear there was no other feeling like it. "Let's go and see Beauty and the Beast!" She announced which made both Bailey and Isabella to erupt into an excited cheer.
She innocently moved her hand away from my arm and waved to Laura as I drove away from the house, my eyes lingering back and forth from the road to Trisha.
How could someone be so beautiful? It was a total mystery to me.
She leaned forward and turned the radio on which began to blast out an old school Taylor Swift song that I briefly remembered listening to back in middle school. "Ah this song!" Trisha exclaimed, glancing at Isabella with excitement in her eyes. "Whenever I'd fall for someone this song was always my jam."
I raised my eyebrows. "What's it called?"
"Spark's Fly." Trisha replied, a grin spreading across her lips. "My favourite lyric is, my mind forgets to remind me that you're a bad idea. I sure had a few bad ideas when I was younger."
Bailey laughed from the backseat. "Do you have a boyfriend Auntie Trisha?"
I almost slammed my foot on the brake when I realised what Bailey had asked. Oh man, I was not ready for that question. Bad timing man, really bad timing.
"Oh my god Bailey!" Isabella giggled. "You can't ask things like that!" I watched as her brown eyes lit up and she cupped her hands underneath her chin. "But seriously Auntie Trisha, do you?"
I forced myself to keep my eyes on the road but I couldn't help the growing anticipation in my stomach as I awaited the answer to Bailey's gut wrenching question.
If she said yes, it was game over.
And if she said no, I had no idea what I'd do with that piece of information.
"Umm..." Trisha began, tapping her hands gently on the dashboard. I swear that in that moment I actually stopped breathing. My ears were filled with the loud beat from my anxious heart and I felt like at any second I'd go speeding off the road. "I mean... there was a guy back in New York. He was sweet. But he wasn't what I'm looking for." I watched as her head slowly tilted towards mine. But quickly she turned away again. "I guess to answer your question - no, I don't have a boyfriend. I kind of gave up with wanting one. I'm just going to wait for life to bring my Prince Charming to me."
Isabella grinned. "Me too!"
I decided to interject my voice into their conversation. After all, I'd been pretty much silent for the majority of our small car journey. I had to act somewhat normal otherwise I'd give myself away completely. "Your Dad has probably already knocked out your Prince Charming with his baseball bat." I joked to which Isabella giggled at.
"Why is dad so protective over Bella anyway?" Bailey questioned, his eyebrows raised in confusion.
"It's nothing personal buddy." I reminded him. "Your dad loves the both of you equally. Father's just like to protect their daughters. He doesn't want anyone to break Bella's heart."
Trisha smiled at me. "That's a lovely way to put it."
"Well it's the truth." I replied, smiling back at her. "If I had a daughter I'd be the same way. I wouldn't want anyone to hurt her."
There was a split moment between Trisha and I which reminded me a lot of the way Ross and Laura had gazed at each other earlier on that evening. But we quickly turned our heads away and I continued to focus on the road. Trisha propped herself up on her elbow and gazed out of her window. "I think I'd be the same to... although I hate to admit it."
I was about to answer her when I spotted a free parking bay right beside the theatre. "We're here!" I announced excitedly to which the kids screamed in excitement.
•
Laura's POV
Just as I had suspected by the time I'd headed back inside from waving Rocky, Trisha and the kids off, Ross had fallen fast asleep on the couch despite sleeping for the majority of the day.
I rolled my eyes and smiled. I grabbed one of our blankets and placed it on top of him before running my hands through his messy blonde hair and placing a gentle kiss on the top of his forehead.
I headed back into the kitchen and turned the kettle on. I was more than ready for a cup of tea and a warm shower. I took a seat at our dining table and reached into my pocket to check the period tracker on my phone. I knew that it was due in a few days time and after Ross and I had shared a little passionate night together I needed to make sure that I hadn't been ovulating on that particular day.
With a deep breath I opened up the app and felt my heart drop into my stomach when I realised that I had been ovulating. It had started two days ago and would be ending by tomorrow. I bit my lip but couldn't contain the excitement that I felt. I placed my hands on my stomach and began to smile. "Holy crap! What if..." I stopped mid sentence and grabbed a piece of pen and paper from my notepad.
Ross.
Popped to the pharmacy.
I love you!
Won't be long.
Laura x
I placed the note beside my snoring husband and grabbed my coat from the cupboard before rushing outside to my car and locking our front door behind me.
I knew that realistically I couldn't take a pregnancy test until a weeks time, maybe even more than that but I wanted at least five tests at home with me so that when it was the right time I'd be able to instantly take them and find out the fate of a possible third baby for our beautiful family.
I couldn't contain my excitement as I pulled away from our home. Weirdly as the years had gone by I'd completely forgotten about the past life that I used to have. My main focus was on being the best mom to my kids that I could be and expanding our family in whatever way that I could.
All I knew was that if baby number three came out as a positive I'd be more than ready to take on the role of being a mom to a little baby again.
•
Rocky's POV
Trisha stood beside me in the queue for snacks and drinks whilst Isabella and Bailey took their seats in their waiting area. I held my wallet in my hand. I was more than positive that I'd purchase whatever she fancied to eat or drink, expensive or not it was my treat and I intended to spoil all three of them tonight.
"What takes your fancy?" I asked her, noticing that we were two spaces away from being served.
Trisha smiled and shook her head at me. "Rocky, I don't expect you to get me anything. I might just grab a soda."
I smirked at her. "It's my treat. Besides, even if you don't let me I'll buy a whole feast that you'll have to share with me anyway."
She giggled with that same stomach twisting, adorable laugh again. This woman could literally bring me to my knees and I wouldn't be mad about it, not even for a single second. "Okay, okay... if you insist." She murmured.
"So?" I questioned, grinning at her. "What are we going to feast on whilst the kids fill up on popcorn and nachos?"
Trisha smirked. "I have to warn you. I have a pretty big appetite."
I shrugged and smirked back. "I can work with that. I can almost assure you that mine is bigger than yours."
"Okay." She giggled. She stared up at the menu boards and began to point to various different foods. "I'm thinking salted popcorn, nachos, candy, chocolate, an icy, a soda and maybe a small tub of ice cream."
I shook my head in disbelief.
What a woman. I thought to myself.
"Hell yeah, let's do it!" I chuckled, linking my pinky finger up with hers.
We both stared at each other again, just like we had done briefly in the car.
I began to wonder, as crazy as it was, could she possibly be feeling the same way that I was? Or was I completely blind-sighted and trying to encourage something to happen that had a five percent chance of ever happening in my lifetime.
"Sir! You're next!" A guy called out, waving his hand to the both of us.
Embarrassed, the both of us quickly walked up to him and I began to recite out our huge order of food. After five minutes of waiting, he'd finally prepared all of our snacks and handed half to me and half to Trisha. We both stumbled back to the kids sniggering at the shocked faces of adults around us who were glaring at our excessive amounts of food.
"Woah!" Bailey laughed. I handed him his nachos, soda and popcorn which he gratefully took from me. "Thanks so much Uncle Rocky! This is awesome!"
Bailey rushed ahead of us with his snacks and in turn Isabella did too after thanking me for hers.
"Thank you too." Trisha added with a smile, gesturing to the popcorn, nachos, candy, chocolate and soda that I'd got for us both to share. "I'll have to treat you back before I head back to New York."
I shook my head. "No, no. It's my treat, remember?"
It killed me a little bit inside knowing that by Monday morning she'd be gone again, back to New York. God knows when I'd see her again after that.
I quickly removed my worrying thoughts from my head and followed after Trisha and the kids into the movie theatre.
To my surprise Bailey and Isabella decided to sit by each other which left two empty seats beside them for Trisha and I. "Go on." I gestured to Trisha. "I'll sit on the outside seat."
She smiled at me again and my heart began to beat wildly in my chest for the millionth time that day. "Thank you." She whispered before sitting beside Isabella.
I joined her and watched as the lights began to dim. I glanced at the kids and grinned at them. "The movies about to start!"
Isabella stuffed a handful of buttered popcorn into her mouth and smiled at me. "I'm so excited!"
Trisha slipped her coat off and handed the popcorn to me with a smile. "Want some?"
"Always." I said nervously. I reached my hand into the large container of popcorn and took a decent handful. I didn't want to constantly have to shove my hand in her direction.
After five minutes of previews for other movies, the movie finally began and the opening music for Beauty and the Beast filled the entire theatre.
I watched happily as Isabella clapped her hands and continued to shovel food into her mouth. Laura and Ross would surely kill me for both her and Bailey's sugar rushes once we got back home but I didn't care, it was worth it. I loved making them happy.
"I haven't seen this movie for years." Trisha whispered to me with a smile.
I smiled back at her. "It's beautiful. It's one of my favourite animated movies."
"I've never heard a man talk about a disney movie like that before."
I shrugged my shoulders and continued to eat my popcorn. "I'm not like most men."
"I know." She murmured, raising her eyebrows intriguingly at me.
We began to stare at each other again.
Were we having a moment?
I began to wonder if her heart was racing in her chest just like mine was.
I wasn't even sure if someone could love me.
I mean Brianna had but nobody else had ever really crushed on me or even taken an interest in me. It would be dumb for me to imagine Trisha and I together. I wouldn't be the man for her. She was so beautiful, successful, hardworking and me? I was just kind of existing - well, barely.
Her eyes slowly turned away from me. Those big, gorgeous brown eyes. She faced the large screen in front of us once more and in turn, I did the same.
Soon, the scene between Belle and the Beast came on where they dance together in the ballroom and the iconic Tale As Old As Time plays gently in the background.
I turned my head slowly and watched as Trisha gazed happily up at the screen, her brown eyes filled with nostalgia and love. As I stared at her, I noticed that Bailey was staring at me. He grinned and nodded slowly before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his small cellphone.
Quietly my phone buzzed from my pocket. I furrowed my eyebrows and nervously I opened up his text message.
You like Auntie Trisha!
Like, LIKE her!
I glanced at him and shook my head slowly.
Dude... no... no.
I replied back, watching him receive it.
He raised his eyebrows and a smirk grew across his lips.
You both keep staring at each other.
Bella ships it.
I glanced up and both of them were grinning from ear to ear at me. I rolled my eyes and placed my phone back into my pocket.
I couldn't tell Trisha how I'd been feeling. It had only been a day. She'd think that I was crazy I was sure of it.
For now, I'd continue to gaze at her and imagine a world where I'd be brave enough to tell her how I truly felt.
But until then, I had no choice but to watch as Isabella and Bailey threw popcorn into each others hair and Trisha continued to make my heart race like I'd just ran a marathon.
If I didn't know any better...
I'd really believe that I was falling in love.
•
a/n
omg it's like 4am here but this was such a beautiful chapter!!!
i loved writing it so much!
all my love,
b x