My Protector: The Bad Boy | Protector 1.3

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

       "I still can't believe how big he's getting," Mom said as she held Ryder, giving him a smile. My parents decided to give us a surprise visit today, something they did at least once per month. They wanted to see how both me and Grayson, along with Ryder, were doing.

       "So how's university?" Dad asked.

       "It's okay," I said. "It's challenging now that Ryder's here and we barely get any sleep, but normally whoever out of me and Grayson doesn't have class will be the one getting out of bed to take care of Ryder."

       "Well, it's great to see how you two have everything planned out," Dad said. "You're moving forward with university, but you're not ignoring Ryder as well. We're proud of you."

       "We really are," Mom said.

       I gave them a smile. "Thanks."

       "And soon, you're going to be twenty!" Mom said. "You're making me feel so old! Then again, when you told us you were pregnant, that was when I felt old. My youngest daughter already has a kid."

       "An adorable one," Dad said, probably because Ryder was babbling away like he always did.

       "Oh, dad, have you talked to Tony recently?" I asked. "And by recently, I mean the past four weeks?"

       Dad shook his head. "No, why?"

       I gave him a smile. "Guess who went canon?"

       "Tarlie?" Dad asked with a hopeful smile.

       "Yes!"

       Dad gasped dramatically. "You're kidding!"

       I shook my head. "No, they finally decided to go out. Mainly because I had to convince Charlie to give Tony a chance, but they're dating now!"

       "Finally!" Dad announced. "I've been waiting for almost a year for them to start dating!"

       Mom sighed. "Gene, you need to stop with this whole shipping thing. It gets very annoying."

       Dad ignored Mom and looked at me. "So, how happy is he? Why hasn't he told us yet? Will they get married soon?"

       "He's really happy," I said. "I don't know why he hasn't told you, and they've only been dating for four weeks, so you might want to slow your roll with the wedding. But they live together."

       Dad frowned. "They live together and he hasn't told us? I think our son needs a surprise visit, Izzy."

       "No, he doesn't," Izzy said. "Tony will tell us when he decides to."

       Dad sighed. "Oh, alright. We should be heading out, anyway." 

       Mom nodded in agreement and placed Ryder on his playmat on the floor. When they stood up from the couch, I stood up as well and gave both of them a hug. "Thank you for visiting," I said. "I'll see you soon."

       When they left, I looked around the apartment. Something seemed a bit off. Let's see....The kitchen was clean, Ryder was on the floor babbling away, Grayson was....

       Nowhere to be seen.

       Then I remembered that as soon as my parents got here, he went into the bedroom to take a nap. That was an hour and a half ago and he never had naps that long. So I headed into our bedroom, my heart nearly breaking at the sight.

       Grayson was sitting at the edge of our bed, his eyes watering.

       "Hey," I said softly and he looked up at me. "What's wrong?"