Crossed [COMPLETED]

Eleven.

EDITED.

I managed to lug myself off of bed decently early I thought. 10 38 am to be exact. I had only just freshened up when I saw Nathan approaching me with his arms wide open. "Alex!" He exclaimed, pulling me into his bear hug as soon as he saw me. "I haven't seen you in so long."

"Too tight!" I managed to choke out and he finally let me go before bursting out into laughter as I glared at him. "Also, what do you mean, you saw me last night and we had lunch together yesterday. Remember?" I pointed out as I quirked an eyebrow at him. 

"Well, that was far too long. Besides, you only stayed for about an hour," he exposed, shaking his head in mock disapproval as I merely shrug, a smile lingering on my lips.

I watched as the rest of them popped their heads up from the couch. "Al!" They called out eagerly as they ran towards me. 

"Good morning, little guy," I greeted, ruffling Alexander's already messy hair which made him giggle. 

"How about you girls? How are you doing?" I asked as I turned to Natasha and Natalie, wriggling my eyebrows suggestively at the both of them.

"How is Ethan?" I questioned with my eyebrow raised, directing it to Natalie.

"What? Who's Ethan?" She pretended to ponder over the question as she touched her chin in an animated manner. 

"Oh, you know who," I taunted, amusement lacing my tone as I saw how her cheeks were gradually getting redder with each second passing. "Aw you are so adorable," I cooed, pinching her cheeks.

"Hey!" Natalie protested as she slapped my hands away from her face. "I'm 13," she remarked with a scoff, rolling her eyes playfully. I merely stuck my tongue out at her in response before turning to face a pair of familiar green eyes, a mixture of concern and happiness glinting in those tired eyes.

"Mum," I acknowledged with a smile as she embraced me in a hug. I let myself snuggle deeper, breathing in the soothing scent of the dove shampoo that I am not a stranger to.

"Alexandra," she mumbled under her breath, but it was loud enough for me to catch it. "Good morning sweetheart," she greeted, her lips twitching upwards into a smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling together and I gave her a small kiss on the cheek.

"I realised, I hadn't had the chance to ask you something. Did Nathan do a good job when I was away?" 

"I believe I did a great job," Nathan defended as soon as those words tumbled out of my mouth.

"Well, did he?" I asked as I looked at all of them.

"Yes!" I heard Alexander yelled. "He plays racing car with me and reads us bedtime stories every night," he muttered with an adorable smile plastered across his chubby face, mispronouncing some words.

"Aw man, you are not supposed to tell her that man," Nathan said with a small pout. "My manliness is ruined now."

"Don't worry, it isn't," I walked over to pat Nathan on his shoulder. "You can't ruin what you don't have," I teased and watched as Nathan narrowed his eyes at me which only made my smirk grow wider.

Before he could even retort with another word, the sound of the same old ringtone pierced through the air. "Hello? Yes, it's me," Mum confirmed. She held the phone close to her ear as she listened attentively, her eyebrows coming together in concentration. I watched as the smile on her face soon fell and was quickly replaced with a small frown. Worry and concern were evident in her voice. She spoke again after a small pause. "Alright, I will be there."

Once she turned to face us the worry on her face dissipated and was now masked with a calm expression.

"Who was that?" I asked.