Chapter 109

Chapter 33 "Grayson?" I asked. "Are you almost done?" "Not yet," Grayson replied. "... Can you hurry up?" I asked. "I want to get home." Grayson looked up from Ryder and looked at me, giving me a faint smile. "Home can wait," he said before turning his attention back to Ryder. Grayson was possibly the best dad I had ever seen. Even though Ryder was only born a week ago, Grayson gave him so much attention. Grayson was always holding Ryder and snuggling with him. I loved seeing the two of them together so much. "Grayson, you can always snuggle with Ryder later," I said. "Now can you please put him in the carseat so we can go home and get out of the hospital?" Grayson sighed dramatically and carefully got up from the seat he was in. "He's just too cute to put down," he said. I smiled. "I know he is and I want to hold Ryder and snuggle him as much as you do, but I've been in the hospital for a week and I miss our home. Don't you?" Grayson stayed with me the whole time, only going home to have a shower and change his clothes, or when he had to work. Then he stayed with me for the rest of the day. Grayson gently placed Ryder in the car seat and carefully buckled him up. "I still can't get over the fact that he's born," Grayson said softly, chuckling when Ryder held onto Grayson's fingers with his tiny hands. I couldn't get over the fact either. I was a mom now. Grayson was a dad. I had just gotten used to the idea of being pregnant, and now I wasn't pregnant. Now, my son was born. Grayson's parents ended up finding out since his dad worked in the hospital and he somehow found out that I was a patient. They visited once, but their focus was only on Ryder. They didn't ask how Grayson was doing, or how I was doing. And Grayson hated it. It was different when his siblings visited. They did visit mainly to meet their nephew, but both Gale and Graeme asked how the both of us were doing. They were there to visit all three of us, not just Ryder. "Ready to go?" I asked Grayson, who was probably going to deny. "Not yet," Grayson said. I sighed. Of course not. "Grayson, I love him too, but I really want to go home," I said. "Please." "But look at this," Grayson said. "He's holding my finger. Don't tell me that isn't cute." "It is cute, but I want to go home," I repeated. "And when we're home, you can snuggle him all you want." "Fine," Grayson said before slowly taking his finger out of Grayson's grasp. He then picked up the carseat and I picked up the diaper bag before walking out of the hospital room. I was already discharged, so we were able to leave right away. When we got to the car, Grayson put the carseat in the middle of the backseat, making sure it was strapped in tightly before climbing into the driver's seat. I really couldn't wait to get home. I really wasn't that fond of hospitals because of past experiences of seeing Grayson there. When he was in a coma. Ever since that happened, I always hated being in hospitals. Grayson pulled into the underground parking of our apartment and as soon as he got out of the car, he went to the backseat to get Ryder out. He was the one wanted to carry Ryder, though there was no surprise there. Rarely did Grayson ever want me to hold Ryder. That jerk. As soon as we got into the apartment, I flopped onto the couch. "I'm exhausted," I said. "And I miss Netflix." Grayson sat down beside me, and gestured towards the remote. "Then turn on the TV," he said. "Why don't you turn it on?" I asked. "Because my hands are occupied," Grayson said, just as Ryder yawned, which was one of the cutest things ever. "Aww! Flower, Ryder just yawned! He's so cute!" "Can I hold him?" I asked. "I know you don't like giving him up, but he's my son too." Grayson sighed and gently handed Ryder over to me. He then scooted closer to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "I'm happy you're both okay," Grayson said. "I don't know what I would have done if I lost both or even one of you." "I thought I would have lost Ryder," I said quietly. "I was hit by a speeding car and..." I shook my head, trying to shake the memory from my mind, the pain, the feeling of hopelessness. "I'm just glad Ryder wasn't hurt at all." Grayson rested his head on mine and looked at Ryder. "Me too." Grayson then reached for the remote and turned on the TV. After choosing a movie, he put the remote down and we began watching the movie, though Grayson's focus was mainly on Ryder. Mine too, but I did pay some attention to the movie. Grayson didn't. Someone suddenly started knocking rapidly on the door, and they wouldn't stop. It was knock after knock, so Grayson got up from the couch to answer it. I was able to see the front door from I was sitting and I was a bit surprised to see Devon standing there. "He's back," Devon said. "Who is?" Grayson asked. "My cousin," Devon said. "Dedrick." As soon as I heard that name, my heart began beating faster. I hated that name more than I hated Ben. However, I forgot all about Dedrick. Until now. "What do you mean Dedrick's back?" Grayson asked. "He's supposed to be in prison!" "He got out," Devon said. "And he's pissed." "At..." "You," Devon said. "He talked to me on the phone, because he doesn't know that I've actually changed, and he said he's going to get his revenge on you. And he's probably going to use your weakness against you again." "No no no," Grayson muttered. "Devon, you can't let Dedrick come near me." "I'll try to keep him from finding you, but I can't promise anything," Devon said. "He has his ways of finding way, of finding people." "I'm serious," Grayson said. "Poppy isn't my only weakness now. Dedrick is ruthless, you know that. He's twisted and will probably get my son involved as well." When Grayson said that, I looked down at Ryder. Would Dedrick actually go as far as to hurting a baby to get to Grayson? No, he wouldn't... Would he? Memories of what Dedrick did flashed through my mind. Threatening me and Grayson. Kidnapping me. Trying to shoot me, but shooting Grayson instead. If Dedrick did get Ryder involved... "He won't get a baby involved," Devon said, but there was a hint of denial in his voice. "You said it yourself, he's pissed," Grayson said. "You know that he will use my weakness against me, no matter what it is. Look, Poppy and I can, most likely, handle ourselves. Ryder can't. If, by chance, Dedrick finds me, you have to promise that Dedrick won't find out about Ryder." "Yeah, of course," Devon said. "I'm going to try talking to Dedrick and convince him to drop this grudge he has against you, but I can't make any promises. He's stubborn, very stubborn, and when he has an idea in his head, he'll stick with it." "Yeah, I know," Grayson said. "Quick question, does he know where you live?" "Not yet, but I know he'll demand to know my address," Devon said. "Don't worry, if he's ever going to visit me, I'll let you know so you can stay in the apartment." "Thank you," Grayson said. "And thanks for telling me about Dedrick, though I'm probably going to have to punch a hole in the wall now." "I already did," Devon said. "Belle wasn't happy to come home to see a hole in the wall. Hey, do you think I can meet Ryder?" "Of course," Grayson said before turning around to face me. He motioned for me to come over, so I got up from the couch and walked over to the front door. "Wow, he's cute," Devon said with a smile as he looked at Ryder. "And he definitely looks like his dad." "Which is unfair because I carried him from nine months," I muttered. Grayson looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Okay, less than nine months but still." "How does it feel being parents now?" Devon asked. "It's hard, for sure," Grayson asked. "I stayed with Poppy when she was in the hospital for a week and Ryder liked to wake up almost every hour during the night to either be fed or snuggled with. He hated sleeping in his own bed. But it's still worth it." "I can see that," Devon said. "Well, congratulations to the both of you. I should be heading back to my apartment." He was about to leave, but then he stopped. "Oh, and I know that you two aren't really talking to Belle right now, but she's been upset for a long time. Any chance you can forgive her?" "You do realize that she made fun of me failing the eighth grade, right?" Grayson asked. "I know," Devon said. "She's blunt at time, I admit, but she didn't mean any harm." "It's not just that," I said. "She told Mina that I was pregnant and Mina decided to spread those rumors around. I trusted Belle with my secret, but she lost my trust." Devon sighed. "I see where you're coming from. Can you at least think about forgiving her? I hate seeing her so upset." "Then she shouldn't have done what she did," Grayson said. "She doesn't even know the reason I failed the eighth grade. Nobody knows outside of my family except for Poppy." "Isn't it because of the whole car crash incident?" Devon asked. "That's part of it," Grayson said. "There's a lot about me that not even you know and when Belle made fun of me, it hurt. Because the other part of me failing is the same reason why I had depression. She doesn't know what I went through." "I get it," Devon said. "Well, I guess I'll see you around." When he walked away, Grayson closed the door. "Grayson," I said, my voice quiet. "Do you really think if Dedrick finds you, he'll get Ryder involved?" Grayson sighed. "I really don't know, Flower. But if Dedrick does find out about Ryder and does try getting him involved, then I'm going to assure you that he will see a side of me nobody has ever seen before, a side that I've kept hidden from everyone, even you." A side of Grayson I haven't seen before? Oh, man. If he kept it hidden from me, it must be bad. If Dedrick did get Ryder involved, he would probably regret it if he ended up seeing Grayson's hidden side. Let's just hope none of that happens.