When we got home, George asked Mia to go to her room while we talked to Liam.
We waited until Mia had walked upstairs before George lifted Liam onto the sofa.
"Now, listen here you little shit—" George said in a tone that made Liam laugh.
"George." I said sternly and he looked at me, nodding at my expression.
If George treated this like a joke, Liam would view it as such and then he wouldn't know what's wrong and what's right.
"Do you mind telling us what happened today?" I asked, walking over to sit next to Liam.
"I hate Miss Andrews. She's a cunt."
Don't laugh.
"Liam... how many times do I need to tell you that you can't be using those words?" I asked. "And you certainly can't attack a teacher."
"But she was being rude."
"Rude how?" George asked and sat down on the edge of the sofa table.
"She said I couldn't play with the dolls." He said. "She said it's for girls."
George and I looked at each other for a moment and he ran his hands over his face.
Then I looked at Liam again.
"I understand why that upset you." I said. "There is no such thing as girl toys or boy toys, but that doesn't mean you can call her names and hurt her."
Liam shrugged and folded his arms over his chest.
"I think it's okay to hurt people sometimes." He said. "If they deserve it."
"No, Liam." George shook his head. "You never hurt someone, no matter what they did to hurt you first. That's not what we do in this family, alright?"
"But you hurt mummy." Liam said. "You made her cry."
Oh...
I sat up straight and noticed the way George looked at me before looking at Liam again.
"What are you talking about?" He asked softly.
"I couldn't sleep so I wanted to ask if I could have some warm milk and I saw you and mummy outside." He said and pointed towards the terrace where I had a panic attack five weeks ago when I found out George had been lying to me. "Mummy was crying."
"Oh, sweetheart." I sighed and wrapped an arm around him. "I didn't know you saw that. Why didn't you say anything?"
He shrugged again.
"I don't know." He said quietly. "I went back to bed so you wouldn't see me."
I hugged him tightly, resting my head against his.
"You should have said something." I said. "I don't want you going to bed worrying."
"Can I go play now?" he asked and looked up at me.
"Yeah, sure." I smiled. "If you promise to behave better at school."
"I promise."
"Pinky promise?" I grinned and held out my pinky.
He giggled as he wrapped his tiny pinky around mine.
"Pinky promise." He nodded.
"Good. Now run off." I said and ruffled his hair. He slid off the sofa and sprinted towards the stairs, hurrying up.
I looked at George who was staring at the sofa, a hand rubbing against the back of his neck.
"I didn't hurt you on purpose... you know that, right?" He asked and finally looked at me.
I nodded, offering him a soft smile.
"I know." I said. "It doesn't mean it hurt any less but I understand why you did. It wasn't your place to tell anyone about her illness."
He hummed, his eyes leaving mine.
"The only thing that still bothers me..." I exhaled. "...is that you let me think you cheated on me."
"You said it yourself. It wasn't my place to say."
"No I know." I sighed. "Still doesn't change how I feel. But we're alright. We're doing couples counselling again... I've started group therapy... we're figuring this out."
I looked down at my stomach, running a hand over it.
Ten more weeks.
Everyone knew by now that I was pregnant. I didn't get to announce it myself.
George told Molly and Molly spread the world to their entire family.
Bitch.
"Hey..." George moved over to sit next to me, placing his hand on top of mine.
I looked at him.
"I love you." He said and I smiled, leaning in to kiss him.
My hand went to the back of his neck and as I pulled out of the kiss again, I rested my forehead against his.
"I love you." I answered in a whisper. "Now go take a nap. You look tired."
"I'm not."
"George, you barely closed an eye last night."
"I'm not tired." He repeated, leaning back on the sofa.
"You're like a fucking toddler sometimes." I said. "And you say that I'm stubborn."
I looked at George when he didn't respond, only to see that his eyes was closed and then a snoring came from him.
"Seriously?" I asked. "You just proved my point you fucking idiot."
I heard him break into a quiet laughter and I rolled my eyes, shoving his thigh as I realised he was messing with me.
"You're annoying. I hate you." I said and pulled myself up to stand.
He opened his eyes to look at me, continuing to laugh.
I couldn't even stay annoyed at him for more than two seconds. Seeing him laugh made me happy. Especially after these horrible weeks where he's been mourning Angelina's death.
"I told you, I'm not tired."
"And I'm telling you that you look wrecked." I said. "I can't count how many times you've rubbed your hand over your face, which is something you do when you're tired."
George yawned and I smirked, knowing I was right.
"Just go take a nap." I sighed. "You deserve it."
He looked at me for a moment before he stood up and walked over to me.
Placing a hand on my waist and one against my jaw, he pulled me in and kissed me deeply for just a few seconds, then stepped back.
He pushed some hair behind my ear, his eyes scanning my face as he smiled.
"So pretty." He breathed, patting my cheek and I laughed as I watched him walk past me and upstairs.
Then I looked down at my stomach as I felt a kick. Sighing, I placed a hand against my waist, the other on my bump.
"Let's get something to eat." I said. "I bet you're as hungry as I am right now."
I walked towards the kitchen, my hand resting against my bump until I opened the fridge, scanning over the food and eventually my eyes landed on a plate of biscuits that we didn't freeze down.
"Your dad makes the best biscuits." I told my unborn daughter.
It had become a habit for me to have full on conversation with her during the day, especially when she was kicking or moving around.
"He's generally just a good cook." I said. "I don't think there is anything your dad can't do."
