Tangled Hearts.

~Chapter 71~

~Raelyn~

~October 16th 2024~

The soft cooing from Aspen's monitor dragged me from sleep, and I groaned before opening my eyes to see Colby already sitting up beside me, one hand rubbing his face, the other curled into a fist that had clearly been pressed against the pillow in irritation.

"Time to get up," I whispered, nudging him lightly.

Colby grumbled something incomprehensible and rolled over, still half-asleep, hair sticking up at impossible angles. "I said... five more minutes," he muttered, voice thick and husky, and I couldn't help but smile at how utterly broody he looked even before coffee.

"Five more minutes and I'll toss you in the nursery with Aspen," I threatened, trying to sound serious.

That got his attention. His one good eye snapped open. "You wouldn't..." he growled, the corner of his mouth twitching, half-grin, half-threat.

"Oh, I would. And you know it."

With a dramatic sigh, he pushed himself up, running a hand over his face. "Fine. But I'm warning you... if Aspen's smiling, I take credit."

"You wish," I said, swinging my legs off the bed and heading toward the nursery, Aspen's tiny blanket waiting on the rocking chair.

Colby followed, still grumbling under his breath like a grumpy bear, but when he laid eyes on Aspen, all of that disappeared. He leaned in, brushing a soft kiss across her forehead. "Good morning, princess," he murmured, his voice rough and low, the perfect contrast to her squeaky little coos.

I scooped her up, her tiny hands clutching my face with all the determination a one-year-old could muster. "You ready for your first Halloween decorating extravaganza, little one?" I asked.

She gurgled in response, and Colby muttered under his breath, "Yeah, she's definitely your kid."

Next was Blake's room. He was still buried in his superhero pajamas, tangled like a tiny burrito. Colby crouched down, shaking him gently. "Rise and shine, superhero. Big day ahead."

Blake's eyes shot open, shining with excitement. "Are we decorating for Halloween today?!"

"Yes, buddy!" I said, ruffling his hair. "But first, breakfast. Even heroes need fuel."

Colby grunted, running a hand through his hair. "Breakfast first, then we wreck the house... in a good way."

By the time we got everyone fed, the garage was already a battlefield of cardboard boxes, fake cobwebs, lights, and inflatable monsters. The rest of the crew had arrived, buzzing with energy like kids on sugar. Sam and Jake were already arguing about who got to untangle the longest string of orange lights, while Corey was lifting boxes like they were made of paper, and Katrina was hopping from box to box, yelling, "I'll take that one! No, that one! Wait, let's see what's in here!"

"Alright, let's see what we've got," Colby said, voice low and commanding, as he opened the first box. "This is going to be a lot, but we'll get it done."

"Yeah," I said, watching him. Even in his grumpy, broody mode, there was something magnetic about him—like a force of nature. "You look terrifyingly competent."

"I try," he muttered, scowling at me as if to suggest he was anything but.

We spent the next few hours hauling skeletons, spider webs, strings of lights, and inflatable pumpkins into the front yard. Sam and Jake were assembling the twelve-foot skeleton, squabbling about whether the right leg was the left leg or the right leg. Corey and Katrina tackled the spider webs, tangling themselves so thoroughly I thought they might need actual scissors to free them.

"Careful with the lights!" I called, untangling a neon-orange string from Devyn's fingers. "We don't want them short-circuiting before the real party even starts!"

"Got it!" Tara shouted, giving me a thumbs up, eyes sparkling. "Though this is like... my cardio for the day."

Blake and Isa were hanging glowing-eyed monster sets in the trees, and Blake's laughter was completely contagious. "Look, Mom! They're alive!" he shouted, shaking the branch slightly.

"They are alive, buddy. But let's not shake the poor tree to death, okay?" I said, helping him secure it.

Colby appeared behind me, one eyebrow raised. "You're enjoying this way too much," he said, his voice low, grumbly, but fond. "I should've known you'd turn this into some kind of... extreme sport."

"I call it holiday management," I replied, smirking. "Someone's got to supervise."

By midday, our stomachs reminded us we were human, not superheroes, so we collapsed on the porch for a Chipotle and pumpkin spice latte break. Aspen gnawed happily on some baby snacks, eyes wide as she took in the chaos around her.

"Alright," Colby said after a particularly satisfying bite of his burrito, "let's finish the inside before I fall asleep standing up."

The living room was first. Ghost pillows were fluffed, black candelabras lit, and black artificial trees filled the corners. Devyn stepped back, eyes wide. "This is... insane," she murmured. "Like, seriously. It looks perfect."

"I told you it would be," Colby said, sweeping his arm around the room, broody and proud all at once. "This Halloween is going to be... something else."

I laughed, hugging him quickly. "You're kind of a Halloween wizard, you know that?"

He grunted. "I'm kind of a wizard in general," he replied, voice low, eyes dark, and the corners of his lips twitching in what I could only call his 'I'm-grumpy-but-I-love-you' smirk.

Next, the kitchen. We draped fall leaves, ceramic ghosts, and black pillows over the barstools, while Jake and Tara bantered back and forth about which decorations looked 'edgy' and which looked 'tragically suburban.'

"I can't believe you put that ghost there," Tara said, pointing. "It's supposed to be menacing, not... sad."

Jake shrugged, smirk in place. "Sad can be menacing. Ever heard of poetic terror?"

Isa, quieter than the chaos around her, positioned black-and-white table runners and whispered, "Rae... look at it. It's beautiful. You all did this... together."

"I know," I said softly, and Aspen cooed in agreement, waving her tiny arms like she understood every word.

By the time evening rolled around, the entire house had been transformed. Cobwebs, pumpkins, black trees, ghostly candles, eerie lights—it looked like something out of a storybook... a slightly dark, chaotic storybook that was ours.

We gathered in the living room, exhausted but glowing. Colby held Aspen in one arm, his other arm draped protectively around me. "Alright," he said, voice low and commanding, "we did it. This Halloween? We've officially won."

Sam raised his cup of hot cocoa. "To Halloween chaos! And surviving it without burning the house down!"

"To Halloween!" everyone echoed, clinking mugs.

Corey smirked. "Next year, we do this bigger. And probably louder."

"Agreed," Colby said, voice dark and low, eyebrows furrowed like he was already plotting next year's chaos. "But for now... let's enjoy this masterpiece."

I leaned against him, watching Blake and Daisy play with the decorations, listening to Aspen's tiny giggles, and felt a deep, steady warmth settle over me. This wasn't just a decorated house—it was a family, a team, a mess of love and chaos that somehow worked perfectly.

Colby's hand squeezed mine, thumb brushing over my knuckles. "You know I hate mornings," he muttered, voice grumbly but soft. "But this... this is worth it."

"Everything with you is worth it," I whispered, and he pressed a kiss to my temple, dark eyes glimmering in the flickering light.

And as the night settled around us, I knew this was exactly where I was supposed to be—surrounded by love, chaos, and the perfectly imperfect madness that was our family.