risk// 5SOS

46

Calum

I awoke to two sets of hands shaking me awake, giggles bouncing off the walls. A smile crept on my face and I peeked, seeing Rider and Gia already dressed.

"Good morning dad!"

"Good morning,"

"We need to get ready to go,"

"Not quite yet," I yawned, "But I expect you want breakfast,"

"We do,"

"What are you thinking?"

"Toast,"

"We can do toast,"

I got out of bed and gave them both a huge hug, kissing their heads, then we went downstairs to the kitchen.

Seeing them at the table knowing Sage would be with us tonight was a huge weight off my shoulder.

As they ate their toast, I packed Gia a lunch; one of her classmate's parents-Kiyana- was a hairdresser, and she's the one who braided Gia's hair. They weren't as close as Rider and Gia, but I knew that she played with her sometimes, and they usually ate together since braiding her hair took a while.

Before all of this unfolded, the pair sometimes had play dates, but Gia still wasn't too fond of it. Still, they were good friends in school as far as I knew.

"Dad, eat and get dressed!"

"Okay, okay. Can you guys please make sure everything down here is tidy?"

They nodded, so I went upstairs and changed into trousers and a t-shirt, styling my hair a little bit. I was going to take them and Rider out for lunch, but also wanted to look homely so that they didn't feel outcasted. I was probably overthinking things.

I checked their room for the thousandth time, then opened the curtains and went back downstairs.

"Looking good!" I said, "Thank you guys for helping,"

"Are we helpful enough?"

"Definitely, bud. I am very grateful to have you both, and not just because you clean,"

"When Sage comes home I am going to do extra cleaning so that they can relax,"

"I'm sure they can clear their own things up, but that would be very kind if you see something they have missed. We all need to help each other,"

"Because we are a team," Gia said.

"That's right. Let's get our shoes on,"

We did, then I grabbed Gia's things and we got in the car. It wasn't too far away to the other house, so it didn't take too long, then I got out the car with Gia and took her inside.

"Good morning!" Kiyana said, "How are you today?"

"Good!" Gia beamed.

"Awesome. Is this all of her things?"

"Yep, thank you,"

"I'll see you in few of hours, don't worry if you're running late, I'm happy to keep her and let her play. She hasn't been over for that in a while,"

"Things have been kind of hectic," I said, "But thank you. I don't know how long this paperwork at the hospital will last,"

"No problem. I'll send you a text when she's finished,"

"Thank you,"

Gia went off into the house, so I went back to the car with Rider, pulling away and heading towards the hospital.