3 Stepbrothers

Final Goodbyes

Tori's POV

"Come on Sarg." I said clapping my hands together waiting for the little pup to jump off my bed and into my arms. "I promise I'll catch you."

He was looking between my arms and the bed until finally, after what I felt like hours of coaxing, he jumped. I caught him without difficulty and laughed. Placing him back on my bed I rubbed his soft fur while cooing at him. The next time we did the trust jump, he instantly came into my hands instead of hesitating. He and I were getting along, occasionally he would come and sleep in my bed with me. But other than that, the one he was truly soft for seemed to be Suzie. Either way, the little puppy and I would still have fun. I taught him how to play tug-a-war and we were working on tricks. Somehow, it was getting the hang of 'sit' but that was still with some difficulty.

There was a soft knock at my door before Cole popped his head into my room. He was smiling brightly and said, "You should come downstairs and see this."

I quickly grabbed my crutches and managed to get up. Prom had been weeks ago and finally I was gaining more control over my leg. I could put pressure on it and my doctor said it would be good to start moving on it. So every so often I would use my leg to stand or I would put pressure on it when I had the support of my crutches. I still couldn't walk but at least it was getting better. 

Sarg followed me downstairs as Cole stayed ahead looking back to check up on us. "Come on Tori," He would whisper.

"What is it?" I asked as Blake appeared at the bottom step. He held his finger to his mouth silencing both of us. Shawn was in the living room and the only reason I knew that was because I could hear him commenting on a Cartoon Network show he was watching with Suzie.

Lilly and dad were at the front door. They quietly opened it letting Em slip in. Following her was an elderly man that I recognized from dad's wedding. The wrinkles on his face seemed to match the wide grin he had. Almost like years of smiling is what got him the wrinkles. He wore a satchel around him and started pulling things out of it with ease. It reminded me of Shawn's backpack that always seemed to be packed with the most random things. The elderly man, who I recognized as the boys grandfather, pulled out a pair of plastic glasses with a really ugly nose attached to it. Then a stuffed snake he wrapped around his neck like a scarf. And finally, he pulled out a noise maker and held it in his hand. "This is a surprise you say?" He asked no one in particular.

"Yes." We all whispered back.

"Do I get a hello grandpa?" Cole asked.

"Just a minute now boys," He said tip toeing towards the living room. "I need to see my favorite grandson."

Blake and Cole rolled their eyes like they were not at all offended. Their grandpa gave me a small pat on my shoulder as he walked past me. He held up the noise maker in his hand and crawled slowly to the room. He definitely looked like a ninja about to make his move. Finally, he jumped out into the living room making the most noise anyone could ever imagine. He swung the noise maker while screaming, "A boogla boola boo!"

Shawn gave a high pitched scream that was followed by a sudden surge of happiness. He started jumping up and down like a girl who had just seen Justin Bieber. "Grandpa!" He exclaimed while running to his grandfather who was laughing hysterically. Shawn hugged the old man so tight I thought he was going to break him. Instead they both laughed. "What are you doing here?" Shawn asked.

Mr. Parris turned towards us with a smile. We all returned it seeing as Shawn looked incredibly happy. Blake had picked up Sarg to prevent him from getting in the way. He was wagging his tail and trying to worm out but Blake kept his grip somehow. Cole held a proud smile on his face as he watched Shawn hug their grandfather. Lilly and dad were both happy, at least Lilly was especially because she was glad to see her old father-in-law. Em wasn't watching Mr. Parris as much as she was watching Shawn. I think his reaction is what made her day because she couldn't stop beaming. "Your amazing girlfriend called me to come to your graduations." Mr. Parris said giving Em an approving look. He leaned close to Shawn and whispered loud enough for all of us to hear, "She's a keeper. Don't let her get away or the bees will all escape."