The Sanderson's

Chapter 8.

Bryanna adjusted Joshua in the chair and glanced over at Sage, who helped her sister, Elle, up, although she was just trying to rip her head off the other day. She smiled happily at her girls, then looked over at her father, who pushed Dakota's chair in.  Bryanna looked over at  Neil, who glanced over at her, before their kids and then at Adam. She, Bryanna, stood up and walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, mom," She smiled. "Need help with anything?" Bryanna asked and rested one hand upon her growing bump.

"Hey, Bry!" Jeanie smiled happily and opened her arms to her daughter. "How are you? How's the baby?" She asked, "Oh! You can take the roasted veggies and the biscuits out of the oven." She spoke.

Bryanna hugged her mother and answered, "I'm good, the baby's good. Growing per usual," She smiled and then opened the drawer next to the oven, grabbing an oven mit. She pulled out both pans and set them on the stove top, then turned off the oven.

"Good to hear," Jeanie smiled, "Have you been thinking of names?"

"A few," Bryanna nodded, "Neil likes Beckett for a boy and Violet for a girl. I like Jet for a boy's middle name and Amaryllis for a girl." She spoke and transferred the biscuits to a plate, then set the pan in the dishwasher.

"Those are all beautiful names," Jeanie complimented and lifted the lasagna pan.

"I guess we'll know what to name him or her after our gender reveal next week," She spoke and grabbed the plate of biscuits and tray of roasted veggies, following her mother out into the spacious dining room. She set the two dishes down on the table, then resumed her seat next to Joshua and Neil.

Bryanna cleared her throat and created a plate for Joshua, making sure she cut the food small enough so he wouldn't choke. She passed him a small cup of juice, then made herself a plate as she noticed Jeanie helping Sage with hers and Adam making one up for Dakota, then Neil making Elle's.

She grabbed the pitcher of water and poured herslef a glass, then watched as Joshua started to eat.

"Thank you nana!" Sage spoke up, taking a bite of a roasted pepper.

"Thanks, nana," Dakota grinned.

"It's yummy!" Elle spoke up.

"You're very welcome, girls." Jeanie smiled at the three, watching them devour their plates in front of them.

"So, Adam," Neil spoke up and cleared his throat, after taking a sip of his drink. "When are you coming back to the band? We're planning on starting to write the next album while we're finishing up tour."

"We'll be back by then." Adam spoke and looked over at the empty seat next to him, where Oliver should've been sitting.

Bryanna reached down and pet Karma, her childhood dog, who had laid down at her feet. She slipped a roasted pepper to the elderly dog and smiled as he ate it up. "Dad, you guys have a show next week," She spoke, "Are you going to be there for that one or is it going to be cancelled?"

"I just feel like we're changing as a band," Adam spoke up, "We're going in a weird direction, in one we never said we'd go in. All the pressure, I feel like we could use a break."

"We just put out an album, Adam." Neil looked up from his plate of food. "We have to tour and promote it. We can't just decide not to."

"We can reschedule a few shows, it's not the end of the world." Adam shrugged, "I need some time to myself before I go on a two year tour."

"We've had months off, dude." Neil scoffed, "We can't reschedule the whole damn tour! We've already rescheduled a bunch of dates... We're still the same band, we haven't changed."

"Well, I've said multiple times that I need a little while. My mental health and my sobriety are important too." Adam shot back.

"Papa, you have to go back to work." Sage butted in. "You can't avoid it forever."

"Sage, hun, this is an adult conversation." Neil spoke up and smiled over at his daughter. He took a bite of his lasagna and looked up at Adam, "Yes, they are and nobody said that either of those weren't, but we've already had extensive time off." He spoke, "We already had a date to resume this tour."

"I think we want different things in life and that's starting to come clear to me." Adam spoke and took a sip of his drink, "You guys just want the fame and the money and I want to help people, but to help others, I need to help myself too."

"Who the hell said that we didn't want to help people, Adam?" Neil shot back, "Not one of us is just about the money or the fame. You're not the only one who wants to help people and save lives." He cleared his throat, "Why do you always assume the worst of us? And only think of yourself? And why is that when you always have an issue, it's with me?"

"Papa, you need to be nice to my daddy." Sage spoke up, glaring at her grandfather, with a defiant look on her face.

"Sage." Bryanna finally spoke up and scolded, "That's enough." She cleared her throat and looked at her father and her fiance, "Can we cool it or take this outside?" She asked as she noticed the kids started to get anxious.

With a huff, Neil stood up from the table. "You coming or what?" He asked Adam, who reluctantly followed him, out onto the back porch.

Bryanna shook her head and turned her attention to her kids, who all were staring back at her, wide eyed. "Everything is fine," She assured her kids, "Keep eating." She said softly and looked over at her mother, who sighed and rubbed her temples.

"This is ridiculous." She grumbled, "They're acting like kids!"

Bryanna nodded in agreement and finished off her dinner, then took a sip of her ice water. "They're worse than Sage and Elle when they fight." She rolled her eyes.

"HEY!" Sage yelped and glared at her mother.

Bryanna laughed and shook her head at her eldest daughter, "It's true." She spoke.

"No, fuck you!"

Bryanna's head shot up as she heard Neil yell at her father. She quickly stood up and pushed in her chair, excusing herself. "I'll be back, I guess I need to play mediator." She huffed and walked to the backdoor, opening it. "What is the goddamn issue?" She yelled over the two and closed the door behind her, as she stepped onto the porch. "You are both acting like children! You're stressing the kids out and me out!"

Bryanna stared at the two men in front of her and crossed her arms as she leaned up against the wall of the house. "Talk it the fuck out and stop screaming." She spoke and rolled her eyes. "You're both being immature assholes. Get over it."