A year later and a half later
Harry comes out of the bathroom, waist down wrapped in a towel. I have to hold in my drool, just staring at him, gawking. His body is still the same as it was almost ten years ago.
"Like what you see?" He smirks at me from across the room while fixing his hair.
My face breaks out in a smile towards him. "Always do, my love."
Making his way over to the bed, he lays down, now just in his underwear. My hands immediately go to his chest, running my fingers up and down it slowly.
"How are you feeling about tomorrow?" He asks, the hand that isn't holding up his head goes to my face, brushing my cheek.
Tomorrow we're taking Stephen up to college. He decided he wanted to get away from home and go to a school a few hours away and tomorrow is move in day for him.
I half-heartedly nod. "I think so." There's a pause. "Actually, I don't know. How am I supposed to feel?"
Harry chuckles and tucks my hair behind my ear. "I don't think there's a specific way you're supposed to feel, darling. Your first born son is going to college. He's growing up and it's okay to feel sad, or angry that he's going so far away. But, I also think you could feel proud and happy that he feels confident enough to go out on his own and face the world."
Tears cloud my vision at how beautiful what he just said was. "I love you." I say with a slight waver in my voice.
"Morgan," he kisses me, "I love you so much and I'll be here for you no matter what you feel."
"I love you so much. I got so lucky with you." I tell him as he wipes a tear that made its way down my cheek.
He shakes his head. "No way, my love, I got lucky with you. We'll get through this together."
I nod my head in agreement. "Together."
After a few more minutes of conversation about the day, we call it a night because we know we're in for a long day tomorrow.
The next morning, Harry and I get up early to make breakfast for the kids, hoping it would put them in a better mood for our trip.
"Stephen!" I call up to my son. "You better be ready, we have to go!"
I would be lying if I said it didn't feel different today than it did last night. I keep reminding myself that he has to do this to grow into an adult. It's heartbreaking to watch your oldest child grow up.
Sage and Jasmine are starting high school this year on top of it and Olivia and Brian are starting kindergarten. Franklin hasn't left our house and is almost officially adopted. In a month, we are having a hearing and if all goes to plan, he's officially our family forever and both Harry and I couldn't be happier. Life is hectic at the moment, but I don't think we've had a time where it wasn't. Harry and I are used to the hustle and bustle that is children.
"I'm ready." Stephen walks down the stairs with his duffle bag.
Yesterday him and Harry spent all day packing Stephen's pickup truck and our van. Josh is driving there with Stephen and then driving the pickup home because he wanted to go with us to say goodbye. Also because Stephen isn't allowed to have a car on campus and his stuff wouldn't fit in our van with all the kids.
Harry thought it was best to bring them with us so they could say goodbye. Originally, I was going to have them stay with their grandfather and say goodbye when Stephen left, but my husband thought it would be better for all of us to have the kids with us.
"Grandma's calling!" Harry tells Stephen, referencing Anne, and pulls his phone out of his pocket.
Stephen takes the phone from Harry and answers the Facetime call with a smile. Just then, Josh walks in without knocking. I would be annoyed, but that boy has been around long enough to be another kid to us.
"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Styles." He gives us a smile.
I roll my eyes at him. "Josh, please, call us Morgan and Harry. We're not that old yet."
"But we're getting there, darling." Harry walks by me and kisses my cheek.
"Speak for yourself, old man." I joke back and give him a light tap on his butt as he goes into the kitchen.
Josh just laughs while watching us. His face then turns serious. "Do you think Stephen will still be my friend during college?"
Before I can respond, Franklin comes running in with just a diaper on. I scoop him up and rest him on my hip, wanting him to calm down. "Honey, I'm sure you two will still be friends. There's no reason for you two to lose touch. Plus, you'll be able to visit him whenever." Josh isn't going to college because he started working at his father's business. It has its ups and downs for him, one of the ups being he's free on weekends.
"I guess that's true, I just don't want to lose my best friend." I see a small smile on his face.
I put Franklin down and let him continue running around, deciding it's best if he gets his energy out before we get in the car. "You won't, hon." I reassure him and give him a tight hug. "I have to go get him dressed, but there's a delicious breakfast in the kitchen and I'm sure Stephen will be done soon. His grandma just called to check in before he leaves."
Josh nods and then makes his way to the kitchen. Once he's out of sight, I turn around and look for my two and a half year old.
"Mommy!" I hear three voices chant before I'm taken down by my three youngest.
I groan and try to hold back my smile. "What are you rascals doing?"
"Nothing." Olivia says suspiciously.
It's best to ignore it and just get Franklin dressed.
"He has clothes laid out on his bed!" I hear Harry yell from the kitchen.
My face finally breaks into a smile. "You have never been sexier, babe." I yell back to him.
I hear complaints from every child in the house which makes me giggle. Before he can see it coming, I scoop Franklin up in my arms and make my way upstairs.
We get to his room and I put him down. "Alright Franklin dude, time to put some clothes on. It is improper to go into public naked."
He just nods and goes to put on the clothes Harry laid out for him. It's a pair of shorts, loose sweatpants and a matching shirt and sweatshirt. What a sensible man my husband is. It's summer so the air conditioning is going to be on so he might be cold, but if we go outside he might get hot, so he layered it. I have to learn from that.
Slowly but surely, he gets dressed. "Shoes?" He asks me with his big eyes.
"They're downstairs. Want to walk by yourself?"
"Yes please." Franklin responded with a smile. He's getting very independent and I have to stop myself from crying.
These past few months have been emotional. Stephen graduating high school, the girls graduating middle school, the twins graduating preschool and Franklin finding his forever home with us. Needless to say I have been crying a lot easier than I normally would.
Eventually, everyone is ready to go. Josh and Steven get in the pickup and start their journey while Harry and I get the other kids in their car seats.
"Girls," I address the teenagers, "do you have phone chargers?"
They nod in confirmation.
"Brian, did you grab the iPads?" I ask my middle son.
He also nods. They all have different devices because they're never on the same page of what to watch. Franklin will watch whatever we put on in the car DVD player, but Olivia is a picky child so she has an iPad in case she's not in the mood to watch what her brothers want.
Harry and I climb into the front seat when we're sure we have everything. He looks at me like he always does, with so much love, and asks, "Ready?'
I think about it for a little bit. "Not really, but we have to leave before I have a breakdown about it."
His hand comes to rest on my thigh as he pulls out of the driveway. I lace my fingers through his and leave our hands on my lap. Harry's thumb slowly strokes the back of my hand.
About an hour into the drive, I feel myself slowly drifting to sleep. Harry moves our intertwined hands to his lips, giving mine a kiss and then putting it back on my lap.
"Darling," Harry's voice wakes me, "we're here."
Slowly, I open my eyes and move around to wake up, stretching. "Sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to sleep the whole way."
"It's okay, you've been tired and stressed lately. Plus, the kids were angels. Sage and Jasmine helped feed the kids so they didn't get too fussy."
I give him a smile. "That's great. I'm ready to help him move in, are the rest of the kids?"
Harry returns the smile and gestures for me to get out of the car. We get out and I see all the kids lined up on the side of Stephen's truck, ready to help.
The younger twins have bright grins on their faces and arms up in the air, awaiting something to bring inside. Franklin copies them and Stephen hands him a pillow.
Harry wraps his arms around my waist and kisses my temple as we watch in awe. Stephen continues to hand his siblings different items from the back of his truck. My heart soars to see all of them getting along and so willing to help their older brother.
"Alright, what can I bring in for you?" I ask Stephen, breaking out of Harry's grasp.
"Don't worry about it, mom, just wait in the truck for us to be done. No need to do anything when I have so many helpers." He tells me and grabs a large box from the bed of the truck.
Harry winks at me as he and Josh lift the fridge and make their way inside.
Sooner rather than later, Franklin gets bored of just carrying in small things so he comes to sit with me. Since I hadn't been inside to see the room yet, I ask him to describe it to me. He gives me, in detail, everything about the room.
Finally, they're all done putting all of his stuff in his room.
Harry pulls Stephen to the side, I assume telling him that we'll be spending the night at a hotel nearby so if he wants to unpack himself and meet us for dinner, we can do that. He agrees and we all get in our car to check in to the hotel. The drive is one that you can do in a day, but I wanted to give Stephen a night to settle in case he needed anything tonight or tomorrow.
We get to our respective rooms, giving the twin girls their own room while we had a suite with a room for us and a second room for the other three kids.
Harry lays down on the bed next to me. "How do you feel now?" He starts the conversation.
I let out a deep breath. "Calm." I tell him. "I'm glad he agreed to dinner tonight. Give him a proper goodbye."
"Darling, it's not goodbye. He'll be home soon enough, or we'll visit him. Also, you do have this fun thing called technology you could use." Harry jokes to lighten the mood.
Rolling my eyes at him, I take his face in my hands. "Shut up and kiss me." And he does.
About four hours later, we get up and meet Stephen and Josh at the restaurant. We have a lovely dinner and then it's time to say goodbye.
Stephen says goodbye to all of his siblings. Sage and Jasmine don't cry, but Olivia and Brian start to get upset when they hug him. I don't think Franklin understands what's going on, but he still hugs Stephen and tells him he loves him.
Seeing some of his siblings crying gets me to tear up myself. I tried to tell myself I wouldn't cry, but when Harry grabs him in a hug and I see Stephen shed a tear, I let out a quiet sob and cover my mouth.
Olivia walks over and hugs my lower half, comforting me. I run my hand through her hair trying to slightly distract myself.
When Harry and Stephen pull away, they have bright smiles on their faces. Harry must have told a joke to get his mind off of the sad moment happening.
"Mom." Stephen steps towards me and grabs me in a hug. Ever since he was little, I thought about this moment, but I wasn't prepared.
I hold him tightly to me and quietly cry into his chest. I pull away, wipe my eyes and look up at him. "I am so proud of you. I'm going to miss you so much."
"I'll miss you too. Thank you for everything. I love you."
Again, tears start to stream down my face. "I love you too, bub. Have so much fun."
He smiles brightly, but I still see some tears. "I will try."
I let out a small laugh, give him a kiss on the cheek and step back into line in front of the car.
Before leaving, he turns towards his siblings. "Be good for mom and dad. If you're not, they'll tell me and I'll be very sad." He tells the younger ones. Then, he gives them each a kiss on the head, even the older ones. I have a feeling he already had a separate chat with them.
"See you guys soon!" He yells behind him as he walks away.
The rest of the night is spent as a family, going to the movies and then going back to the hotel and cuddling on the couch watching more movies until everyone is asleep. They needed a good distraction and what's better than a fictional world to live in for a few hours.
A month goes by and we're all sitting in the courtroom waiting for a final judgement on Franklin's case. Stephen had come home for the weekend, making me cry about how much he cares about his siblings.
"Full custody is awarded to Harry and Morgan Styles." The judge says as he bangs his gavel on the desk.
Harry scoops up Franklin in his one arm while his other goes around me. We both place multiple kisses on his head, making him squeal in excitement. He's a little too young to understand what's actually going on, but I think he knows he should be happy. The kids join our hugs and kisses, all of them happy to have Franklin officially with us.
After court, we go back to the house for some celebration. My dad had set up a whole little party including balloons and a cake.
"Franklin, baby, smile for me." I instruct as I hold my phone up to take a photo of him to have forever. A photo from when he became ours. He was always ours, from the first time he came home, but now it was forever and I never had to worry about finding his family. We are his family.
Everyone leaves the kitchen so I can cut the cake. When I'm done, I hand it out a few slices at a time with Stephen's help.
"Mom, would you like some cake?" Stephen asks while holding out a slice on a small plate for me.
I shake my head. "No thanks, not quite in the mood."
He gives me a weird look but goes back to the living room with everyone.
Taking a deep breath I join my family. A few minutes go by and I decide now is the best moment to address them. "I have an announcement and I don't want to take away from Franklin's day, but since we're all here, I figure now is a good time." I get up and face all of my loved ones who are sitting on the couches.
I get looks of confusion all around me but I have a small smile on my face.
Letting out a deep breath, I speak. "I'm pregnant."
It takes a few seconds for it to sink in, but then the room erupts in cheers and I'm almost knocked over in hugs. My face breaks out in a huge smile. Harry grabs me away from everyone and kisses me deeply. "You didn't tell me." He doesn't sound anything but happy which warms my heart.
"I know, I'm so-"
He kisses me again, cutting me off. "Don't apologize. I am so deliriously happy right now."
I grab his face and bring his lips to mine again. "I love you. I know we weren't really trying, but I'm so glad you're happy."
His face continues to have a wide smile and he asks, "Why does it seem that when we adopt a child, we always end up pregnant with another?"
I return it and give him a kiss. "Let's just hope it's not more twins this time."
This is it. This is how I pictured my life. Surrounded by so much love.
THE END
Thank you so much to everyone who read and kept up with this book! It means so much to me that you would take time out of your day to read the world I created in my head. I'm not one to get emotional, but finishing this book means a lot to me and makes me sad and happy at the same time.
xx Courtney