Her Last Plea✨

Chapter 58

It didn't take long for Alexis to pack up her condo, and soon she and Coco were at Mike's place. She made Coco a bed in Ara's room first and then entered what was now her room, starting to unpack.

She was nearly done when she heard sounds of people from downstairs. She thought Mike and the kids would have been gone a bit longer, but as she heard Marvin squealing, she smiled and made her way downstairs. What she wasn't expecting to find was Mike carrying a half asleep Mira as he walked through the front door, while Garrett followed with a sleeping Ara. Hailey was already inside with her children and Marvin as she peeled away Marv's winter wear.

"Where's Layla?" Alexis asked, focusing on the missing four year old.

"Mom and Dad's," Hailey replied. "She's too little to understand...."

"Lexi! Lexi! Lexi! You missed it!" Karl suddenly interrupted. "Mira threw up! Twice! And it got on Jay's shoe!"

Garrett gave his son a look while Hailey gave him a light smack upside the head. "That is nothing to cheer about, Karlos," Hailey scolded.

Alexis looked at Mike as he carried Mira up the stairs towards her bedroom, Garrett following behind him with Ara. "She threw up?"

"Yeah," Jay replied. "She was really upset, Lexi. I've never even seen her so.…I mean, Dad had to carry her away from the casket."

"She was a mess," Isaac agreed, pulling his knitted hat from his head and sighed. "I didn't even know Mira could cry that much."

"Shut it, Isaac," Jay spat.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way," Isaac quickly defended himself.

"Boys!" Hailey warned, looking at the two. Sighing, she looked over at Alexis and plastered a smile on her face. "Gary thinks she just worked herself up. She didn't feel too warm, so I don't think it's anything serious."

Alexis frowned, bending down to pick up Marvin. He kissed her cheek and hugged her, and Alexis returned the hug as his head rested on her shoulder. "How did Ara do?" she asked Hailey.

"She was upset," Hailey replied. "But, she did alright."

Nodding, Alexis sat down on the couch, tucking her legs up underneath her as Jay took a seat next to her. She plucked off his hat as he leaned against her, just like he'd do when he was little. Playing with his unruly brown locks, she felt him sigh. "You alright?" she asked.

Jay nodded, playing with his hat now sitting in his lap. "I just feel bad for Mira. Ara and Marv too. But, Mira just…. all she had ever wanted was for her Mom to love her, and once she finally got it.…"

"I know," Alexis replied, hugging an arm around his shoulders as Hailey watched sadly, sitting crisscrossed on the floor in front of them with the coffee table between them. "She'll be alright, Jay."

"I hope so," Jay whispered back as the group lapsed into silence.

"Mom?" Isaac asked after a while, looking at Hailey.

"Yes?"

"Could I walk over to Grandma Annie's? I'm sure Grandpa Madden would drive me back to Francesc's tonight," Isaac asked, referring to Hailey's parents who lived a few blocks away. "We could swing by the house on our way and grab my suitcase."

Hailey arched an eyebrow at her oldest. "Itching to go back to school, are we?"

Isaac shrugged sheepishly. "I don't think I should miss classes. I have to start studying and - "

"You just wanna go back and kiss Alison all the time!" Karl stated with glee, as Isaac's cheeks turned as red as his mother's hair. "Isaac and Alison sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I- ow!" He yelped, as Hailey swatted him upside the head with a newspaper she took from the coffee table. "Mom!"