Relapse / / h.s.

Chapter Thirty-Five.

The sweetness of candle-scented cinnamon wafted through the house- as per usual- but this time it was met with the smell of summer breeze that drifted in through the open windows. As I took off my boots at the door, I could hear her voice echoing all the way into the front room. She was singing. I couldn't help the smile that spread into my lips, remembering how she used to sing to me like that.

"Mum?" I called, letting my boots drop onto the hardwood floor with a thud.

"Up here!" She called back. "In the babies' room!"

   I took the stairs slowly, listening to her voice pick up once more. When I made it into the room, I found my mother sitting in the white rocking chair in the corner, holding a baby in each arm. The twins were bigger than I'd remembered, though. It is crazy how fast they grow in such a short amount of time.

  When Anne noticed me in the doorway, she smiled warmly. As if Grace realized I was here too, she let out a loud gurgling noise.

  "Well then," I laughed.

  "Oh hush," Anne teased. "She's missed her big brother is all."

  "Sure, sure," I laughed again, venturing into the room. It was different than the last time I'd seen it. At one point everything in here had been blue besides the furniture, now one side of the room was the blue I remembered and the other side was decorated in a very pale pink color. "Do you mind if i-"

  "Of course not!" She exclaimed. "Here, here!"

  She handed Grace over easily. Oliver didn't even twitch an eye at his twins removal. He slept soundly, making quiet snoring noises as his small chest moves up and down deeply.  

  Grace, on the other hand, was wide awake. She stared up at me with dark green eyes, batting her long eyelashes when I vent to give her tiny head a small kiss. She looked like mum. Maybe a little like Gemma. But mostly mum.

  "How've you been, darling?" Anne said quietly as she combed the dark hair back on Oliver's head. Oliver looked like Robyn with his chubby cheeks and furrowed brown.

  "I've been better," I nodded. Grace squirmed around in my arms a little before burying her face in my neck. "I'm starting school soon, did you know?"

  Anne was quiet for a moment, keeping her lips pursed. "That's great to hear."

  "Yeah, yeah. I'm quite excited. A little nervous."

  "Getting you back in school was the work of that girl wasn't it?" She wondered. "The pretty one, yeah? What was her name? 'E' something?"

  "Elena," I smiled. Even the sound of her name made me happy. What has she done to me? "And sort of. She was a big part."

  "I remember that I really liked her," Anne nodded as she smiled. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the top of her head, and it was the first time I'd noticed, but she was wearing sweats.

"Yeah," I chuckled. Grace's back moved up and down slowly as she snored into the nape of my neck. I set her down gently in her crib and she fussed a little, but fell back to sleep quickly. "I like her a lot as well."

Anne followed my pursuit and put Oliver in his crib. After she made sure he wouldn't start to fuss, she beckoned for me to follow her into the hall, closing the door behind us.

  I followed her all the way downstairs into the kitchen where she plopped down in a seat at the small, round table. I sat beside her, the sun streaming in through the window casting a warmth over me.

    "I'm really glad you're getting your life together, Harry," Anne said after a deep breath. "The person you were and- then after what happened with Lillian- well, I didn't think this would happen. I didn't think you would let it happen.