Return III

Chapter 35

Paris's POV

After dinner I help Taryn clean up the kitchen. The twins run off and Prince claims to go watch a movie while dad works on putting Ellie down for a nap and grandpa sits in his lazy chair watching tv.

I scrape off the remainder of the food from each plate, then hand them to Taryn, who proceeds to rinse them off and place them into the dish washer. The kitchen was silent at the beginning, until Taryn finally speaks up.

"Did you hear about the twins' breakthrough?" she asks and I perk my head up at the question.

"Breakthrough?" I ask and Taryn half smiles.

"Natalie ran out of the courtroom and agreed with Blanket on his previous advice to her."

I smile wide. Chuckle, even, and nod.

"Yeah, Blanket was all too happy to brag about how he was right." I say and Taryn laughs as well.

"I'm really glad that he's been opening up so much lately." I add after a moment of silence and Taryn looks up from the dishes. She sighs and grins, nodding her head in agreement.

"Me too, sweetheart." she says before turning back to face the sink she continues rinsing the dishes and placing them in the dishwasher while I wipe off the counter with a disinfectant wipe.

"At the beginning, he was so closed and to himself," she turns around again and looks at me. "I think your dad played a big role in that."

I smile and nod, then throw the disinfectant wipe in the trash can.

"Need anymore help?" I ask and Taryn shakes her head.

"No, but thank you, sweetie. It was very nice of you to stay back." she smiles and kisses my cheek. I nod and say, "You're welcome." before turning on my heel and exiting the kitchen. I walk through the living room and find grandpa snoring on his recliner chair, and can't help the giggle that escapes my lips. He twitches, and I think about grandma sitting next to him on the couch. The tears come, but I walk away before they manage to make their way out of my eyes.

I make my way upstairs and into my room, but pass Natalie's along the way. The door is cracked, and I can hear Blanket's voice clearly.

Don't eavesdrop, Paris. You've done it too much lately. Just let them talk.

I shake my head and continue on down the open hallway. I raise my hand up to push my door open wider than it had already been, but when I hear weeping coming from the room next to mine, I stop. I swiftly turn around and take small, quiet steps until I'm standing in the doorway. My heart sinks at the scene.

I slowly walk in and find dad clutching Ellie tightly, sobbing into her little chest. He is rocking her back and forth, holding her as tightly as possible. He doesn't look up at all, but he stops rocking. He continues to cry as I instinctively wrap my arms around his shoulders, managing some tears as well.

It hurts. It hurts so much.

Dad has not been back for longer than a year, and grandma passes away the same day the twins get adopted. I feel awful for him- as he has had so much on his plate recently.

"I don't want to sing anymore." dad sobs, only making my heart sink further.

Natalie's POV

"Can you believe how close we've gotten over this past year?" I ask, lying on my back on my bed and staring at the ceiling. Blanket chuckles, and I assume shakes his head, because he does that a lot.

"Don't talk about it." he says and I roll my eyes and turn to my side so that I'm facing him once again.

"Did you hear TJ talking about starting a new show for us?" Blanket asks and I furrow my eyebrows.

"TJ?" I ask and he nods. I stare at the wall behind him, and think about the last time I had even talked to my cousin. He is one of my favorites. I shake my head and look back at my brother. "He hasn't said anything to me about it."

"Well, what do you think?" Blanket asks and I shrug, flipping onto my back again.

"I don't know. I mean, I think it would be cool, but... an invasion of privacy maybe?" I ask and Blanket smiles wide.

"What have I done to you!?" he asks and we both break into laughter.

"But seriously," Blanket sighs, the two of us finally calming out moment of amusement. "I think it'll be good for us. It'll show the world that we're not all that crazy."

"I think we're a little bit crazy." I say and Blanket playfully rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

"I think it'll be good for dad too. He'll get to explain everything to the fans and they'll actually get to understand everything that happened." I say and my brother agrees with me.

A moment of silence passes, and I pull one of my pillows on top of my chest. I sigh as I stare up at the ceiling, and think about the feeling of cameras following our family around.

"Is it gonna be like a documentary, or?" I ask.

"TV show." Blanket corrects me and I nod.

"Then we won't know when it ends." I say, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Well, they won't be around just us the whole time. It mainly focus's on TJ's old band." Blanket says and I sit up quickly, my eyes widening by the second.

"3T?" I ask and Blanket nods, a smile and blush tugging at his lips and cheeks. I burst into laughter and throw my body back, feeling comfortable when he joins me.

This will be fun.

A/N

Man, I'm good at making sad chapters.

Have you guys been watching The Jackson's: Next Generation? I thought it'd be kinda cool to tie that in to the story. I love that show so much! Blanket is such a cutie!

Anyways, I love you all, and I think this book is gonna be a little longer than intended. There may even be another book after it. Love you all!