Chapter 101

Chapter 25 I woke up on a Saturday feeling extremely happy for some reason. That never happened, especially when it was before ten o'clock. I sighed when I saw the time and rubbed my eyes. Why was I feeling so happy today? That was when it hit me. Oh. I turned to face Grayson, who was still sleeping, of course. I thought about how I should wake him up and was opting to beat him with a pillow, but I decided against it. Not today. After deciding what I was going to do, I moved over from my side on the bed and sat on top of Grayson, my legs straddling his hips. I leaned down and began trailing kisses down Grayson's neck. That, thankfully, got him to wake up. He stirred a bit, but not too much so I didn't fall off of him. "What are you doing?" he asked in a sleepy voice. "Kissing you," I murmured into his neck. "... Why?" "Because you're so kissable." "... Poppy, are you okay?" he asked. I pulled away and looked at him with a smile. "Happy birthday." "Is that today?" Grayson asked and it actually sounded like he forgot. What person forgot their own birthday? I nodded. "Yes, it is today. You're twenty now, Grayson." I got off of him and laid down beside him. "How does it feel?" "The same," he said. "I don't feel any different. And I'm tired. Why did you wake me up?" "I can beat you with a pillow next time," I said. Grayson sighed before moving over so he was hovering over me. "Actually, I prefer you waking me up this way every time," he said before leaning down and pressing his lips on mine. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me. Someone suddenly knocked on the door, causing Grayson to pull away with a sigh. "I'll get it," he said as he got off the bed. "And I'll make breakfast," I said, following him out of the bedroom. I went to the kitchen and opened the fridge as Grayson went to the front door. Judging by his reaction, he was not happy to see who it was. "What are you two doing here?!" he asked. "We came for a visit," I heard one of the voices saw. Gertrude. "Now of all times?" Grayson asked as I pulled out a few eggs. "This isn't because you found out recently that I'm going to be a dad, is it? Because I told you that you're not going to be involved in my son's life." Gertrude sighed. "Grayson, it's your birthday. You're twenty years old now and we wanted to come visit." It was silent for a bit before I heard Grayson say, "Fine, whatever." A few moments later, the front door closed so he must have let his parents in. And Ginny was here too, since I heard Grayson tell Ginny that she could help me in the kitchen. Ginny hurried in with a huge smile. "Hi, Poppy!" she said. "Grayson said I can help! What can I do?" I placed a bowl in front of her, as wells as the eggs. "You can crack these eggs into a bowl, then I'll get you to stir it. Got it?" Ginny nodded with a smile as she began cracking the eggs into the bowl like a pro. She even did it better than me. Why were the Princes so amazing? After Ginny finished cracking the eggs and stirring them, I added some spices before placing it on the heated pan on the stove. It wasn't long before Gertrude walked into the kitchen and told Ginny that they were leaving. Ginny gave me a hug and Gertrude said goodbye to me before they left with Gary. Grayson walked into the kitchen and immediately wrapped his arms around me in a hug as he buried his face in my neck. "Are you okay?" I asked softly as I hugged him back. "No," he muttered. "What did they talk to you about?" I asked. "Our baby," Grayson said. "My mom said they wanted to see me since it's my birthday, but they only asked questions about my son. Like when he's due, how far along you are, if we chose a name yet. I thought for a moment that they actually wanted to make things better between us, but right now, they're only concerned about the fact that they're going to be grandparents." I pulled away from Grayson, noticing the tears on his cheeks. I wiped them away before giving him a short kiss. "I know they're your parents, but you don't have to let them be involved," I said. "And I know you already told them that they're not going to be. I hate the way they're treating you, trust me." "I feel like such crap when I'm around them," Grayson said. "They treat me like nothing. They love Gale and Graeme and Ginny so much, but then there's me. And they don't give a crap about me." "I know," I said softly. There was really no point of me telling him otherwise because it was the truth and he knew it. I couldn't lie about that. "But there's a lot more people that are here for you. My parents, your siblings, Elliot and Laughlin, Devon, and even Belle though I know how much you hate each other. And me. I'll always be here for you." Grayson gave me a light smile and rested his forehead on mine. "I know, and I'm so thankful to have you." He pressed his lips on mine before pulling away and walking to the stove. "Poppy! You burned the eggs!" "What?" I asked, looking at the frying pan. It was indeed burnt. "Oops. My bad." Grayson sighed and turned off the stove before scraping the eggs into the garbage. "We could have eaten that!" I said. "No, we couldn't," Grayson objected. "You saw how they were. Would you eat that?" "Grayson, I'm starving, I'd eat anything," I said. "Want to go out for breakfast?" Grayson asked. "My treat." "Can't I pay for once?" I asked. "Nope," Grayson said as he grabbed my hand and lead me to our bedroom. I sighed as I got changed. He never let me pay for anything, which was sweet in a way, but at the same time annoying. Then again, we did live together so it really made no difference. I still didn't mind using my money to pay. Though I didn't have much money since I didn't have a job. My parents sent me money per month since they know it would be too hard for me to be in university and have a job all while being pregnant. I seriously loved how much they were supporting me through all of it. They even seemed more excited about Ryder than I was. I actually was excited for Ryder to be born and for me to have a baby with Grayson, but my parents were way too excited. When Grayson and I were changed, we left our apartment and headed to his car in the underground parking. I had no idea where we were going for breakfast but knowing Grayson, it was probably going to be a fast food restaurant. I was right. He pulled up to McDonald's and went to the drive-through. I didn't mind, though. McDonald's was amazing. Grayson, being the weird person he was, got a twenty piece Chicken McNugget box, and that was just for him. I got something that was typically for breakfast, though it didn't help when he also got me a McFlurry. After receiving our food, Grayson drove around the city, saying he just wanted to be out of the apartment and do basically nothing. I didn't mind. I loved driving around with him and it was his birthday, so we were going to do what he wanted. We drove around, doing basically nothing except for laughing at his random jokes and listening to the radio, for about an hour. We got a lot of strange looks from passing cars when we sang songs loudly, but for once in my life, I didn't care. We got back to our apartment and flopped down on the couch. Grayson reached for the remote and turned on the TV as I curled into his side. "You know," Grayson said as he flipped through the channels. "You're twenty-two weeks pregnant tomorrow." "And?" I asked. "And that means you're more than halfway pregnant," Grayson said. "Forty weeks, right? And there's a chance he could be born early." "But he could always be born late," I pointed out. "I sure hope not," Grayson said. "I really can't wait to hold Ryder for the first time." I smiled and intertwined my hand with his that wasn't holding the remote. "You're really excited about him, aren't you?" "Yeah, I am," Grayson said. "I told you, Flower, I really want to be a dad. Yes, we're young, but I'm twenty now and you're turning nineteen in ten days. Besides, Elliot and Laughlin are married now and we all know Elliot's going to be pregnant sooner or later. You two can be pregnant buddies." I snorted. "Pregnant buddies? And what makes you so sure she's going to be pregnant soon? I mean, yeah, she got married to the man she loves and yeah, I know they both want kids... Okay, I see your point." "See?" Grayson said, stopping on a channel and putting the remote down. We both watched the movie. Well, I tried. I was too busy thinking about something that has been on my mind for a while. "Grayson?" I piped up. "Yeah?" "When Ryder is born, how will I continue going to university?" I asked. "I've been thinking about that, actually," Grayson said. "I've been meaning to talk to you about them. First off, we'll be on summer vacation when he's born and the next term won't start until two months afterwards, so we'll have time to focus on him. Then, maybe, we can switch to part-time students instead of full-time." "That might work," I said. "But what if we both have a class." "Well, we can try to make it so one of us has class on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and the other has it on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. And since we're both studying something in the biology department, we can make sure we have the same class on Wednesdays and maybe our professor will let us bring Ryder to class. My mom did after she had Gale and she wanted to go back to school. As long as we take care of him right away when he starts crying, there shouldn't be a problem." "You think that will work?" I asked. "We'll have to try," Grayson said with a smile. "But, yes, I think it will work."