I woke up to chaos.
Not loud chaos per se, just chaos.
I was the last one still in bed. When I sat up I could see Brandon brushing his teeth in the adjoining bathroom. Easton was in there too, doing whatever he was doing.
The door was opening and people were passing by every few seconds. I see Maddox pass by and call out to him. His head pops in the doorframe and he smiles at me. It wasn't a full smile, but it was a bigger one than i'd seen in four months.
He quickly comes in and wraps me up in a hug.
"Luci is flying in so I have to make sure everything is in good shape. She's already mad that I didn't call her yesterday," he says.
I smile as he pulls away and kisses my cheek.
"Get moving Gracie. You're still in your pjs," he orders as he walks out.
Something in me already feels better. I slide out of Easton's bed and head back to my room. It didn't seem so big and empty during the day. I changed out of my pajamas into a pair of leggings and a hoodie before going downstairs.
When I get there that's where the chaos really unfolds. Sylas and Milo are in the kitchen. I think Sylas is baking cookies. Milo is just watching. Neither of them are saying anything, but Sy is blasting Taylor Swift through his speaker. Angelo and Maddox are cleaning everything up. Over the past two weeks or so, the living room has become headquarters. There were maps and plans and guns everywhere. That probably wasn't the best look to greet someone with.
I wasn't exactly sure how I was supposed to help so I just started tidying things up.
I knew eventually we would have to talk about, well, everything, but for now i was content with my cleaning.
At some point Easton and Brandon come down to help as well.
"Alright boys, and Grace, we have t-minus two hours until she lands. What else do we need?"
Angelo asks.
"I'll go grab some food. There isn't enough time for me to make anything," Easton says.
Milo silently follows him.
"Okay, everyone else make sure everything looks good. The least we can do is make sure she isn't mad at me for forgetting AND for having a messy house," Maddox says.
See I knew better. She was going to rip into him in rapid Italian anyway, so I don't see the point in trying to avoid it.
I keep my mouth shut though.
I decided to keep Sylas company in the kitchen. I just bop my head along to You Belong With Me as I fill up the cookie sheet.
If I dip my fingers into the batter, that's no one's business but mine.
—-
Easton and Milo come back with the food and they spread it out nicely on the counter. After that we're pretty much done. Now we just have to wait.
Angelo's leg was bouncing up and down at an impossible speed. I can imagine how excited he is.
Maddox sighs and stands up, motioning for me to follow him.
I didn't think I had done anything wrong. Maybe he was going to yell at me for running in after Mia and Sylas. I was hoping he had forgotten about that.
He leads me to his office and I sit in that stupid office chair again. It feels like it's been so long since i've been in here.
Maddox looks at me from across the desk and I can't make out his exact expression. If I had to guess it was somewhere between sadness and guilt. I was so tired of them looking at me with guilt.
"I wanted to apologize Grace."
I didn't want to interrupt him so I just stayed quiet.
"I haven't treated you fairly these past few months. I'm sorry for not giving you the attention you deserve."
Truly I was shocked. I hadn't expected him to apologize for that. I had noticed it, but I didn't think it was enough for a heartfelt apology. I mean, I had grown up with my father.
"It's okay Maddox."
I didn't really know what to say. I wasn't prepared for any of this.
"No it's not. I promise i'll do better. Okay baby?"
I tried to keep my stupid lip from wobbling. If there was one thing I had noticed, it was that he had stopped calling me baby.
I got up and gave him a hug.
I felt better knowing I didn't have to say anything for him to understand. I wasn't upset at him. I could never stay mad at any of them for too long.
After he let me go I skipped out of his office. I felt better than I had in a long time.
"She's almost here!" Angelo announced.
I can feel myself getting more and more excited as well. We had offered to let Luci stay with us indefinitely, but she'd turned us down. I'm sure she just wanted to be at home. I couldn't really blame her.
Suddenly, Angelo jumps up from his place on the couch. East almost spilled his drink because of it.
So much happens at one time that I barely comprehend any of it, but what i do see is Luci running through our door right into Angelo.
They don't move for a very long time.
I kind of felt like I was intruding, but it was my house.
When they let go she immediately went to Easton. Then she reached around for Brandon, and Milo joined too. She snapped her fingers at me which I took as my invitation. I'm sure Sylas and Maddox joined at some point too.
It was nice.
We did let go eventually and the first thing Luci did was punch Maddox.
"Okay, I deserved that," he says as he holds his stomach.
"Yes you did."
She doesn't seem to be too angry at him though. I bet she was just happy to have everyone back.
We all ate the food that Easton and Milo had brought, and we ended up just sitting on the couch and talking. I had waiting for a night like this for so long.
I finally felt whole again.
~~~
1054
Heyyyy *slowly waves*
So sorry these keep taking so long. I just got a new job and these hours are grueling😔. Add that on top of school and yeah. I've been very tired so this had to slow down a bit. Don't worry, I hope to publish the rest very soon! Thank you for all your comments and votes and just the positive reactions. It means the whole world to me.
Love you all! Drink some water and get some sleep💛
Happy reading!
-day<3
