Fall - A Rocky Lynch Story

Chapter 24

"You don't have to do that," I shook my head as Jenna started to collect some of my wedding plans off of the corner of the dining room table. "There's not a whole lot left to do. Just some phone calls and possibly-"

Jenna chuckled softly and didn't stop gathering the bunches of paper. "I'm going to help you out," she said matter-of-factly. "And like you said, there's not a lot left to do. So let me take care of it and you take care of yourself."

I sighed in surrender. "At least call me when everything is finalized? And use the list. The list is your friend," I said.

Her hums of agreement and sweet smile did only a little to ease my worries. I had to admit that I had some control issues. I'd rather be in control and stressed out because when I feel like I'm not in control, the stress is still there more often than not. She stuffed the piles into her bag and we walked into the living room where Rocky sat with Riker and my two boys. "You're going to have to come over and try it out sometime," Riker said to Carter, who nodded eagerly. "You're welcome anytime."

"Babe, we need to go pick the kids up from my mom's place," Jenna calmly reminded her husband.

He nodded and stood up. "Well bro, it was nice seeing you," he said to Rocky.

"For real," he agreed with a fist bump.

"Carter my man," Riker said with another fist bump, and then he turned to Mason. "Do you want to bump it, little guy?" he asked. Mason was having one of his no-touch days, which were hard on everyone. He shook his head slowly and covered his face with his arms. Riker had to try hard not to look too disappointed. "That's okay. Maybe next time." He walked over and gave me a kiss on the cheek and a quick hug. "Love you guys."

"Love you too," I responded. "Thanks for the help, Jen." Once the door clicked shut, I sat down and took a deep breath. "Let go," I whispered to myself. "Let go."

"Hmm?" Rocky asked. Carter turned on the TV to a random sports channel and made sure the volume was pretty low. "Do you even know these teams?" his dad laughed. Carter rolled his eyes and flipped the channels until he found something that actually interested him. Rocky turned his attention back to me. "What did you say, babe?"

I shook my head. "It's nothing," I assured him. "I'm going to go check on Avelyn and Ellie," I said as I got up again. "And maybe take a shower."

"Go for it," he nodded and then his attention was back on the screen. I leaned over the back of the couch and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing his cheek a few times and whispering my love into his ear before turning to go up the stairs.

Upstairs, I found Avelyn sitting with Ellie in the media room. They were both hanging upside down on the couch with their feet above their heads. Their hair dangled, and Avelyn's was so long that it piled onto the floor. In her hand, she had a Wii remote and was playing Mario Kart. Ellie's controller was also hooked up, but she wasn't really going anywhere. "Look mommy," Ellie said. "I'm playing with Avie like a big girl."

I raised my eyebrows and looked over to Avelyn, who didn't even complain about the shortened use of her name. "And how's it going for you, Avelyn?"

"Can't talk. Second place." She furrowed her eyebrows and stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth as she concentrated. I had to admit that it was pretty impressive that she was in second place with the handicap of being upside down.

"I'm going to take a shower," I told them, "so ask daddy if you need something."

"Okay," the girls both said.

The hot water felt amazing over my skin. Steam filled the rather large bathroom and an acoustic playlist played on the speakers. This was as close to alone time as I ever got, and right now I was savoring it. Everyone kept telling me to relax and take care of myself. Maybe it was time that I started to listen to them. When I was sure all of the soap was out of my long hair and everything else was clean, I shut the water off and grabbed a towel.

Rocky tapped on the bedroom door to let me know he was coming in. "Rydel called and asked the family out to lunch" he told me. "Are you game?"

"Let me get dressed," I laughed. "But sure, I'm game." His eyes lingered on my bare skin and he subconsciously licked his lips before nodding in agreement. "Like what you see?" I joked.

"Always have," he winked. Then he went to make sure all the kids were dressed and ready to go. By the time I went downstairs, everyone was already waiting. Damn, we had gotten this down to a science. "Alright, gang," Rocky clapped his hands together softly. "Let's roll out."

***

"Okay Masey," I said to the little boy as I unbuckled his seatbelt. "Are you sure you want to come in? We could get the food to go, sweetheart."

"I want to play in the playzone," he nodded. Fortunately, we picked a time to come when the restaurant was nearly empty. There were a few families seated from what I could tell through the windows, but it was nothing like the meal rushtime. I was still worried about Mason's sensory problems.

He crawled out of his car seat by himself and then out of the car. After I shut the door softly, I looked over and he was reaching his hand up to me. It was the first time all day that he let me touch him. With a smile, I took ahold of his hand and we started to walk and catch up with the rest of the crew, who was already waiting at the door. "So remember," I said. "If you start to feel bad, tell me or daddy and we can take a break. Always--"

"Use my big boy words," he agreed. "Can I have chicken nuggets?"

"Of course you can, baby."

Rocky held the door open and we all walked in. Immediately, Avelyn took off towards the play area and Ellie wanted out of her dad's arms so she could follow. I let go of Mason's hand so he could go join his siblings on the jungle gym. We ordered everyone's food and took our number before picking the biggest table and reserving spots for the Ratliffs.

After five minutes, Ellington led his own group into the restaurant. I heard Alice and Brooke grumble about how they were too old for this place, to which he replied, "I don't want to hear it." He held the door open for Rydel, who was holding the baby carrier. They sat their stuff down at our table and greeted us before ordering their food. "Bro, I feel like I haven't seen you in ages," Ell greeted Rocky.

"That's life, dude, no worries," he assured his friend. When Rydel joined us, he asked, "So.... how'd you-know-what go?"

"I-know-what...?" she asked confusedly. "OH you mean--"

"The boy," I nodded.

"Don't even get me started," Ell sighed. "That's a whole big mess. I was furious, obviously."

"Oh, obviously," Rocky laughed.

"But what really upset me is Alice tried to bring this boy over to meet us--"

"That was one of our stipulations was that we wanted to meet him," Rydel interjected.

"Yeah, so she mentions it and this boy freaks out and dumps her on the spot," Ellington continued. "So right after I get on her about lying and having a boyfriend, she gets dumped and I get to have my little girl heartbroken walking around like a zombie. Sobbing constantly, eating all the ice cream." He glanced over to Alice, who was messing on her phone at the table with Brooke and Carter.

"Being young is tough," I sighed. "I wish I could say it gets easier."

Rydel laughed. "But that's not true. It just get's a different kind of tough."

"Preach it," Ellington nodded.