parenthood | c. evans [✓]

39 | REAL LIFE

Riley bit her lip as she watched Chris silently take Amourette who had been sleeping on her chest and carried her out to out her to bed. She was slightly worried, having not felt this kind of tension between herself and Chris in all the time they'd known each other. She didn't expect it to show itself onto social media, so the best she could do was make it into a whole joke. But she wasn't laughing and she certainly didn't find the growing silence funny.

She rolled over onto her side once Chris came back and joined her, mirroring her movements so that they were staring at one another in silence. An argument over something petty had them this quiet and it was strange for the both of them. Firstly because they never raised their voices at each other, always avoiding conflict by going silent went something bugged them. Secondly, because Riley had forgotten what it was like to argue with someone she loved, having always steered away from it with Sebastian and whenever they did argue, Sebastian tried his very best to diffuse the situation. And finally, because Chris was scared that the smallest disagreement would mean that he'd lost her. He didn't want to lose her; he was tired of losing things that made him happy. Things that he loved.

"Chris?" Riley spoke up finally, her voice quiet and fragile.

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry." She said after a small pause, avoiding making eye contact with him. "I realise I'm actually quite argumentative and stubborn."

"You think?" He replied with the raise of his brow, immediately regretting it when a small frown set upon her face. He moved towards her then pulled her into him so that her head was resting on his chest. "I think that it's perfectly healthy to argue over something small. I'd be worried if we didn't argue."

"So you're not mad at me?" She asked, looking up at him, her features softening when he smiled down at her, his fingers playing with her hair.

"I can never be mad at you, jellybean," he answered her, using his other hand to trace the side of her face. "You on the other hand have the capability of holding a grudge for the rest of your life."

"Ah, I do not!" She gasped loudly before biting her lip when she remembered there was a sleeping baby in the other room. "I don't hold grudges for that long."

"It doesn't matter because I'll still love you the same no matter how long, you know that?" He smiled small, tapping her nose lightly. "and yes, I have put on the calendar the day before our wedding to buy whipped cream and cherries."

"I am forever indebted to you." She grinned, relief washing over her as she held back a sigh of relief, grateful that they were okay.

"Marrying me is enough." He told he quietly before kissing her forehead gently and tapping her shoulder. "We should get some sleep, otherwise I'll end up staring at you all night."

"Pfft, please, you'd get bored after an hour."

Chris smiled to himself as he knew how wrong she was. He never got bored of staring at her. In fact, when he wasn't doing anything and she was in the process of getting the daily chores done, he'd stare at her then. He'd stare at her when she was dealing with Amourette. He'd stare at her when she came out of the shower, so much so that he knew her routine, and how she dried her hair and which side she started on. He often believed that it was his disbelief of having a child that made him never grow bored of staring at her, but then he realised that it was love.

Love was what made it easy for him to let her get angry at things and not take them to heart. Love was what made him forever in awe of the woman who wanted to marry him. He was madly in love with her and he only hoped that whatever years they shared together - preferably forever - he'd be able to show her.