PTSD | Sequel to Little Clifford

22

Michael's POV

Today was the day of Arden's dance competition and she was so incredibly excited. It had been about 2 weeks since Jeff's passing and it was nice to have some positivity going on.

Parker would also be dancing in a group dance so all of us were excited to watch that as well. All of the boys were coming to watch and so was Grace. Arden was very excited about her coming because Grace promised that she would go in with Arden to the dressing room and help her with her makeup and outfit like the other moms did to their daughters.

"Are you nervous Lovebug?" I asked as we all piled into two cars to head over to the arena that the competition was being held at.

She nodded, "Yeah, a little bit."

"Well don't worry. You're going to do great!" I smile at her through the rearview mirror.

The drive to the competition seemed really short because we played music and cracked jokes the whole time. When we got there, we went inside to look for Arden's team who was meeting on the far end of the lobby.

Once we spotted them, I quickly bent down to Arden's height, "Good luck baby girl, I love you so so much. Don't be nervous, just go out there and do your best."

She gives me a smile and nods as I give her a kiss on the forehead before standing up, allowing Grace to take over and walk her to her team.

The boys and I made our way to our seats inside and eventually Grace and Sandra (who had gone in with Parker) came back out and joined us.

We sat through many dances and soon enough Arden was called out to perform her solo. She looked so adorable in her little dress as she walked out and waited for her music to begin.

When it did, she did her dance without fault. Beautifully moving across the stage and doing crazy tricks that I could only dream of doing.

She told a story with her actions and facial expressions and it moved me. I got chills watching her dance and I was sure to cheer my loudest when she finished.

Her's was the last solo before the groups and luckily, Parker's group was first.

I smiled wide as I saw Parker come onto the stage with the girls in his group, looking confident. I was proud that he stuck with this despite what other kids thought and said.

Their music started and they began doing their routine. I was also amazed by Parker's skill level. He had been working so hard and it definitely showed in all of the moves and turns he could do. Once again, when the dance was over, I cheered as loud as I could.

All of us sat through the rest of the dances before it was time for awards. When Arden's category was up, I was crossing all of the fingers I could. I didn't care what place Arden or Parker received, I was proud of them regardless, but I knew it would make them feel amazing if they did place.

I was extremely proud when Arden's solo was announced fifth in her category. I could tell by the smile that spread across her face when she received her medal, that she was also happy with her score.

When the groups were announced, we were also very excited because Parker's group received 3rd. He was excited to be the one who went up and grabbed the plaque.

When awards were finished, Grace and Sandra headed back to the dressing rooms to get the kiddos while the boys and I waited in the lobby area. It was only a few minutes before I spotted Arden running over to me with a huge smile on her face.

I opened my arms wide and she ran straight into them. I picked her up and hugged her as tight as I could, "I am so so proud of you! You danced so beautifully!"

"Thank you!" She giggles.

I set her down so that the boys could all hug and congratulate her. I saw Parker walking with Grace and Sandra, but as soon as his eyes landed on the boys and I, he too came running over.

"Parker! You did so good! I'm so proud of you!" I smile and I give him a huge hug.

"Thank you!" He smiles.

"We have to go get ice cream! It's tradition," Luke says and we all agree.

Cal begins to talk to Arden and Parker about ice cream flavors, but Sandra butts in, "Parker, we should get home."

"Mom, can't we go out to ice cream with them?" He asked but she shook her head no.

Sandra hadn't been doing well after Jeff's death which was completely understandable. Of course, we were all worried about her, but we needed to give her time.

"We can take him, if you would like. I'll just drop him off a little later," I suggest to Sandra while wrapping an arm around Grace.

Sandra seemed to debate over it for a moment, "Yeah ok, that'll be fine. Thank you."

"Of course! I love hanging out with my munchkins!" I smile as I move to pick Arden and Parker up, placing them on opposite hips. They squealed, not expecting it.

Parker said goodbye to his mom and we all headed out to our cars, me still carrying to two kids, "Grace, please call your sister and tell her I've changed my mind. I'm not dropping Parker off later, I'm keeping him forever."

Grace laughed, "Yeah... Don't think she'll be ok with that."

We all piled into the cars and headed to the ice cream shop that was closest to our house.

"Well I already know what Gracie and Arden want because they get the same thing every single time," I chuckle.

"I like to try different flavors," Parker tells me and I gave him a big high five.

"Yes Parker! FINALLY someone else who isn't so boring with their ice cream!"

Grace gasps pretending to be offended and Arden speaks up, "But you always take a long time to order, Calum gets mad."

"This is true," Calum jumps in.

Grace starts laughing and I can't help but join in, "You've been hanging out with Calum too much," I tease as I pick Arden up, "He's making you so sassy."

She giggles, "She's learning from the best," Cal smiles.

We all ordered our ice cream, and ok maybe Parker and I DID take a long time to order. We sat at a table outside, enjoying the nice weather that LA had for us today.

"You guys danced so well today," I complemented the little ones again.

"Thank you!" They said in unison with huge smiles (and a little bit of ice cream) on their faces. I was happy that the competition went well because it was the last one that Arden would be doing for a while. We only had a few weeks before we left for tour and I was excited, but I always felt bad that Arden had to give up her activities for months at a time. Luckily, Arden seemed to like tour and there would be more girls this time since Hey Violet was our opening act. Although, I knew we would both miss Grace and Parker a ton.

A/N

Please don't leave hate about Hey Violet. I love them and they are all super nice people, but you don't have to like them. Everyone has their own opinion. And no, they aren't becoming part of the story.

Just a reminder that all of Arden's outfits are on my polyvore: megan-mila

You're all so lovely and I appreciate you so much! :)

Love you!

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