to live for the hope of it all.

Chapter 83

August 20th, 2024

"This feeling it surrounds me, oh,
I can see the sun shining' on your soul..."

Beckett

Dear Grandpa Matt, please forgive me for being helplessly in love with your granddaughter and once again sleeping in the same bed as her.

And for having the thoughts I am about seeing her in my clothes.

Bailey and I had shifted in the night, and now I had a faceful of her hair from where I burrowed into her neck. Bailey's back was pressed to my front, and my palm was flat on her bare stomach from where her shirt, well my shirt, had ridden up. One of my legs was trapped between hers, and at that realization: every part of me was very awake.

Every. Part.

Good God, my head is pounding.

I froze, contemplating what to do. I needed to get up before Bailey woke up and saw my very unfortunate situation, and I also needed to go downstairs for some ibuprofen.

She smells like me.

I sighed softly, and slowly tried pulling my leg out from between hers. At the movement, Bailey groaned softly and I froze once again, trying to erase that sound from my head.

When I felt it was safe again, I pulled my leg the rest of the way out before breathing a sigh of relief. It was short lived though, because as if she sensed that small loss of warmth, Bailey shifted further into my front. Biting my cheek so hard I was sure to be drawing blood, I moved my hand that was on her stomach to her hip, hoping to alleviate some of the pressure she was placing in all the right but wrong areas. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I pulled back slowly before sliding my legs out from the covers and finding the floor.

Shit.

I had gone to bed in just my boxers?

For fucks sake.

Grabbing my phone, I realized it was already 9, and my mom and Delilah would probably be downstairs already. Bailey shifted again on the bed, and I tensed thinking she was waking up.

But then I melted with a soft smile when I saw her roll over and reach for the pillow I had been using, as if her body was seeking mine out even in her sleep. She got hold of the pillow before pulling it close to her, and then her breathing evened out again.

Yeah, I need to leave.

Now.

I turned around, ready to grab some clothes from my closet before I realized my very bad dilemma.

Absolutely fucking lovely.

Mom and Delilah are downstairs.

It took almost five minutes of playing back every gross thing Caleb has ever done, from eating a caterpillar on the playground in 4th grade, to eating a cupcake with mustard as frosting, but I finally got it to go down enough to put clothes on and head downstairs.

"Good morning, hon."

"Morning," I mumbled, moving towards the fridge to fix a glass of orange juice. "Do we have any ibuprofen?"

"Fun party?" My mother smirked, opening a bottle and passing me three pills.

"Yeah," I swallowed the pills. "It was good to see everyone one more time before we leave."

"Good, I quite like that Kyle boy."

"He's a good guy," I smiled softly. "Bailey is asleep upstairs."

"Is she?" My mother smirked again. "I figured she stayed over, I heard the guest shower last night."

"Yeah, Wren had to go home to finish packing a few things, and I didn't want her to be alone," I say sheepishly. "Sorry, I know what Grandpa Matt said about sleepovers. I am trying to respect that, but I wasn't exactly sober last night."

"It's okay, Beckett," she smiled softly. "You're both adults, we trust y'all. I'm sure there will be lots of sleepovers the second y'all move out, I wasn't born yesterday."

I hope there will be.

"I know, I still want to respect his wishes until we move out though."

"Of course you do. You're a respectful boy, and he loved you for it."

Yeah, we're gonna need to change the subject before a tear slips out and intensifies this headache.

"I got her!" Delilah shouted, and I turned just in time to see a barely awake Bailey getting dragged into the kitchen by my little sister. She stumbled, and her eyes flickered open as she took in her surroundings. "She is so not a morning person, good grief."

Adorable.

"Uh," Bailey stumbled, clearing her throat and running a hand through her bedhead. The pounding in my head moved down to my heart as I watched her cheeks flushed when she realized where she was standing, what she was wearing, and who was around. "Good morning."

"Good grief is right, Delilah," my mother laughed, and Bailey's cheeks flushed even darker as she watched my mother. "Thank goodness we had that talk last year, huh Bailey?"

My girlfriend's eyes went wide, and I felt my own cheeks heat at my mothers words.

She's talking about the birth control.

Fucking Christ.

"I, uh," Bailey stammered, crossing her arms over herself. My heart clenched at her obvious discomfort and I grabbed a nearby dish rag before tossing it at my mother lightly, my annoyance grew as she continued to laugh.

"So much for being adults, huh?" I told my mother, and her smile softened as she looked at us.

"Oh hush, I'm only joking. I've been waiting years for this relationship to take off."

"Me too!" Delilah shouted, and my attention turned to my sister once again as she dragged Bailey toward the table. Releasing her hand, my sister took her spot on the end while I shoved Bailey's chair out for her to sit on. "Can I ask her, mom?"

"Go ahead, hon," my mother grinned, turning her attention back to the stove where she was undoubtedly making breakfast. Bailey's brow furrowed in confusion as she looked from my mom to my sister, and I couldn't blame her because I was just as confused.

"Do you want to go shopping with us today?" Delilah asked, bouncing in her seat. "We can get some more stuff for your new room, and school clothes shopping for both of us. It will be so fun!"

Bailey's smile was soft, and I watched as tears welled up in her eyes as she nodded her head at my sister. My heart clenched again, knowing that she was hurting over this.

It was something she should be experiencing with her grandfather, and she was feeling the impact of it all. Delilah cheered, and then she was off to help my mother in the kitchen.

My hand reached for Bailey's where it rested on her thigh, and I interlaced our fingers. Her eyes rose to mine, and she offered me a sad smile.

"You don't have to go, Bailey," I said softly. "It's usually their girls' day, so I won't be there. But we can make something up, and you can stay here."

"No, I really do want to go," she said, squeezing my hand. "I want to go with them. It just hadn't hit me that I wouldn't be shopping for school clothes with him this year. But I want to go, it'll be fun."

"Mom won't mind if Wren joins, I know she was supposed to be coming over this morning. Tell her to meet us here for breakfast, and she can go with y'all."

"Yeah," she sighs, and her smile turns up a bit more. "Okay."

"Okay," I smiled, leaning forward to kiss her head. "I'll be expecting a haul of everything you get. Just like those tiktoks you watch for hours on end."

"They're satisfying," she laughs. "You can come over later and help me pack them up."

"Sounds like a plan."

__________________________________

Leave chapter feedback here :)))

__________________________________