Chapter 124

Chapter 48 "Come on, Ryder," Grayson said as he knelt by the couch. Ryder was all the way across the apartment, near the front door in fact. He crawled around way too much and it was such a hassle at times, especially when we needed to go somewhere and he kept crawling around while we were trying to get him ready. In fact, Grayson was changing Ryder's diaper once and Ryder actually started crawling around. Butt-naked. While he laughed. Ryder stopped crawling and sat where he was, looking at Grayson with an arrogant smile. I swear, that kid had Grayson's arrogant genes. Grayson sighed. "Ryder, come on, I have to change your diaper. Come here." Ryder laughed before crawling into the kitchen, then out of the kitchen and sat where he was before. Grayson picked up Ryder's stuffed otter from on the ground and held it out towards Ryder. "You want your otter?" Grayson asked. Ryder stared at the otter before looking away and sitting where he was as he started babbling. Grayson's cell phone rang, so he sighed before answering it. I got up from the couch and walked to Ryder. When he saw me coming, he laughed and began crawling away, but I picked him up just in time. "You think you're a funny boy, don't you?" I asked. He laughed, again, which made me roll my eyes as I walked towards the coffee table. Grayson and I kept everything for diaper changing underneath that. While Grayson talked on the phone, I pulled out the changing mat and placed Ryder on it, which was quite the struggle since he wouldn't stop moving. "Wait, seriously?" I heard Grayson ask on the phone. "Oh my god, Laughlin, congratulations! Boy or girl?" I looked at Grayson and he gave me a smile as he nodded, knowing exactly what I was going to ask him. Aww, Elliot and Laughlin had their baby! "And you named her Elizabeth? That's really sweet, Laughlin... Yeah, of course we'll come. After we change Ryder's diaper, that is. If we can... No, it's not hard at all. Ryder is just an active baby and won't stop moving." Grayson looked at me and shook the otter in his hand. I nodded before he tossed it at me. I caught it and gave it to Ryder, who, like always, bit it. At least that would distract him while I changed his diaper. By the time Grayson was done on the phone with Laughlin, Ryder had a fresh diaper on. I threw out the old one as Grayson got him ready to go visit Elliot and Laughlin in the hospital. When we were ready to go, we left the apartment and Grayson locked the door behind us. When we got to the hospital, Grayson found where Elliot and Laughlin were staying, then we headed there. Munro and Nick were there as well, with Munro sitting on a faraway chair on his phone and Nick sitting on one of the chairs beside the hospital bed. Elliot saw Grayson and I came in and she smiled. "Hi," she said. "Hey," Grayson said, walking over to her and giving her a hug, though he was careful since she was holding her daughter. "Wow, she's so cute. You're going to have fun being a parent." "I know they can be a hassle, but seeing her is worth it," Elliot said. "Besides, if we ever struggle with how to raise her, I just have to ask my favorite cousin." "Damn right I'm your favorite," Grayson said. "But, seriously, the only hard part is waking up in the middle of the night. Well, unless she ends up being very active like Ryder." "He's already crawling?" Elliot asked. "But he's only eight months." Grayson snorted. "Yeah, Ryder has been crawling since he was six months old. And whenever he's on the floor, all he does is crawl. Show her, Flower." I sighed and placed Ryder on the floor. As soon as he was on his hands and knees, he began crawling to the opposite side of the hospital room. Right in front of Munro, in fact. Munro looked up from his phone and at Ryder before looking back at his phone. I couldn't help but notice how different he seemed. Whenever I saw Munro, he was always teasing either Laughlin or Grayson, and even Nick at times. He had never been this quiet before. "Munro," Elliot spoke up. "Can you take Nick to the vending machine?" Munro sighed before getting up and walking straight out of the hospital room, not even waiting for Nick to get coins from Laughlin. As soon as Nick was out of the room as well, Elliot sighed. "Munro has been very different lately," Elliot said. She probably noticed me looking at him with a concerned look. "He rarely talks to us and he gets into a lot of trouble at school." "Isn't he almost fifteen?" Grayson asked. "I mean, isn't it normal?" "Well, not when it happened all of a sudden," Laughlin said. "When I started acting up, I was twelve and it happened slowly. When it came to Munro, it happened suddenly one day. He got detention and completely shut us out." "People start acting out at different ages," Grayson pointed out. "He's in the midst of teenage years. I remember I was acting like that at fifteen. I mean, that's when I got my first tattoo, so..." "I guess you're right," Laughlin said. "It's just weird seeing Munro so quiet and not being a brat." Laughlin and Elliot couldn't say anything else since Munro and Nick came back in the room, Nick holding a chocolate bar. Munro sat back where he was sitting and went back on his phone. Ryder, who was sitting beside the chair, looked at Munro and laughed before crawling over to me. "Mama!" he said. I picked him back up and he snuggled into me. "Aww, Ryder is so cute," Elliot said with a smile. "Now we both have babies and they can bond." "I bet they're going to be troublemakers," Grayson said. "Please, Elizabeth is going to be an angel," Elliot objected with an eye roll. "Sure she will," Grayson said. "She's related to you, so she must be a devil." Elliot gave Grayson a sarcastic laugh. "You're so funny, Grayson." "Thanks, I try," Grayson said, ignoring the sarcasm and giving her a smug smile. Grayson and Elliot's relationship seemed like brother and sister at times, and I honestly loved it. Grayson was probably closer to Elliot than he was with any of his siblings, besides Gale. And Elliot didn't have any siblings, so Grayson was probably the closest person she had to a brother. Chapter 49 As soon as I woke up, I turned on my side to look at Grayson. He was still sleeping and I smiled to myself. He was such an adorable little twenty-one year old with his snores. I decided to wake him up in a wonderful way, something I always did on his birthday. I moved closer to him, resting my head on his chest as I traced the outline of the poppy tattoo on his chest. "Grayson," I said softly, hoping that would wake him up. His eyebrows furrowed and his snores stopped, meaning he was awake, but he didn't open his eyes yet. After about a minute, I moved away from him and grabbed my pillow before I started hitting him repeatedly with it. "Wake. Up. Wake. Up. Wake..." I stopped when he ripped the pillow out of my hands, tossed it on the floor, and moved us so I was on my back and he was hovering over me. "Why must you do this almost everyday?" he asked. "Because it's fun," I said. "And it's your birthday. Last year, I woke you up by kissing you, so I figured you'd be expected that, so I beat you with a pillow instead." I gave him a smile. "Wasn't that nice?" Grayson rolled his eyes before pressing his lips on mine. He then pulled away and gave me a cheeky smile. "I love you, Flower." I smiled back. "I love you, too, Grayson. And I love that your birthday is on a Sunday this year, so we don't have to go to class today." "You know, you could have been a nice girlfriend and let me sleep in," Grayson pointed out. "But what's the fun in that?" I asked. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him back to me and connecting our lips. Grayson kissed me slowly but passionately, smiling against my lips. God, I loved his smile. A sudden cry broke out, causing Grayson to sigh as he pulled away. He got off the bed and walked over to Ryder's crib, picking him up. Ryder immediately snuggled with Grayson, his cries slowly dissolving. Grayson sat back down on the bed, snuggling with Ryder. "I can make breakfast," I offered. Grayson gave me a smile. "Yeah, thanks, Flower." He gave me a quick kiss before I went to the kitchen. I wasn't as good as a cook as Grayson, but I had a basic knowledge on how to make eggs and bacon. And I had a feeling Grayson wanted bacon for breakfast. When I was finished cooking, Grayson came out of the bedroom and put Ryder into his high chair by the dining table. I served the food onto two plates and set them on the table, as well was putting bacon on a tiny plate knowing Grayson would rip it up into tiny pieces and feed to Ryder. I was right. Grayson began ripping up the bacon and placing them on the high chair tray. Ryder babbled happily before he began eating them. "I swear, he's going to be obsessed with bacon when he's older," I said. "There's nothing wrong with it," Grayson said. "Bacon is delicious." I rolled my eyes as I began eating my breakfast. Quite a few people were actually coming over today for Grayson's birthday. Tony and Charlie, my parents, Grayson's siblings, Mallory, Elliot and her family, and even Grayson's mom. She called me yesterday, wondering if Grayson and I had any plans. When I told her we didn't, she told me she would like to come over. It made me happy that Grayson was going to have at least one of his parents in his life again. When we finished eating, I was the one to clean up since it was Grayson's birthday. Grayson took Ryder out of the highchair in the meantime and changed his diaper before letting him crawl around. Once breakfast was all cleaned up, I went to the bedroom to get changed. I then went to the washroom to brush my teeth and my hair before going into the living room. Grayson then went to the bedroom and washroom to do the same thing. I sat down on the couch, turning on Netflix and finding a movie I thought Grayson would enjoy watching. By the time he came into the living room, I found a movie and he sat down beside me. "Flower, I'm really old," Grayson said. I snorted. "You're not old, Grayson. You're only twenty-one. I, on the other hand, will be twenty in ten days. I will feel old because I will no longer be in my teens." "Flower, I'm already out of my teens," Grayson said. "I've been out of my teens for two years." "You're still not old," I said before kissing his cheek and turning my attention back to the TV. It was around noon when everyone started showing up. When Grayson's mom showed up, he was shocked, but still happy. He got up from the couch and gave her a hug, which she returned. We had to move the dining room chairs into the living room so there were more seats, since we only had a couch and a chair. In fact, there was still not that much room, so Elliot made Munro and Nick sit on the floor. Munro didn't seem to mind. He sat in the corner of the living room, ignoring everybody else. Nick, on the other hand, was more than happy to sit on the floor. He and Ginny started playing with Ryder and was making him laugh a whole lot. Nick was going to be a good uncle to Elizabeth. Mallory was the last to arrive and when she did, she gave Grayson a hug. "Happy birthday, Grayson," she said. "I can't believe you're twenty-one already. I still remember when you were eleven and wearing a dress as you dance around the house." Grayson sighed. "Why did you have to bring that up. That was ten years ago and I was already embarrassed enough when you told my girlfriend about it two years ago." I gave Grayson a smile. "It's okay, Grayson. If it makes you feel better, you probably rocked that dress." "I did rock it," Grayson said. "I don't doubt it," I said with an eye roll. There were no more spots for Mallory to sit, so she locked over at Graeme. "Graeme, please be a gentleman and let your grandma sit on the couch." "But..." Graeme began to object, but he stopped when Mallory raised an eyebrow. "Fine, I'll sit on the floor just for you." He got off one of the dining room chairs and let his grandma sit down. "Thank you, Graeme darling," Mallory said, patting Graeme's head. "Now Elliot, would you please pass over your daughter? I'd like to hold my new great-granddaughter." "Of course," Elliot said, gently getting up from the couch and handing Elizabeth over to Mallory. Mallory smiled. "She looks so much like her mother." "See?" Elliot said. "I told you, Laughlin?" Laughlin sighed and shook his head. "Yes, I get that our daughter looks more like you. You don't have to keep rubbing it in." "I can rub it in all I want," Elliot said with a smile before kissing Laughlin's cheek. They were my second favorite ship, besides Tarlie of course. Nothing could top Tarlie. "I love that you named her after your mother," Mallory said. "She would have been so proud of you right now. You're married and found yourself a wonderful husband. He is a wonderful husband, right? Because if he isn't, I will be obligated to whop him with my purse filled with hard candies." "Don't worry, he is a wonderful husband," Elliot said. "And Grayson already threatened him, so you won't have to worry about being the only one to whop him." "I'd rather not get whopped," Laughlin spoke up. "I won't, right?" "So long as you keep your promise about being the best husband to Elliot," Grayson said. "If you hurt her in anyway, that includes yelling, I will find you and hurt you." "What if she yells at me, though?" Laughlin asked. "I'll never yell at you," Elliot said. Nick scoffed from his place on the floor beside Ryder. "Elliot, you were yelling at him a lot last month." "I was pregnant, it wasn't my fault," Elliot said. Everyone visited for about an hour, and we even had some cake that Gale and Graeme brought over. When everyone left, I put Ryder down for a nap before sitting beside Grayson on the couch. "You know," Grayson said. "For what feels like the first time in my life, everything is actually going great. Sure, my dad is still not being a father to me, but at least I have my mom." I gave him a smile. "I'm happy things turned out the way it did." Grayson smiled back. "Me too."