need you | g.d.

20 - hopefully

kiara - sunday morning

it's been two days and i never heard back from tana.

i grow anxious every hour, every minute, wondering if she's seen my text, my wedding invitation.

it makes me feel weird. i mean maybe she is just ignoring me.

or maybe she's doing exactly what i'm doing right this minute. staring at her laptop screen, the unopened message burning a hole in her email inbox.

or maybe she's contemplating her response. how she'll let me down easy; typing a few words and then deleting, repeating the process like it's a daily routine.

i puff my cheeks up and blow out a deep breath i didn't know i was holding in.

grayson watches me from behind the counter, his gaze fixated on my stressed and anxious state.

"babe, everything is going to be fine, you need to stop stressing," he says, rounding the corner of the counter and scooping bailey up and out of her high chair.

cheerios spill out of her fisted hand and grayson balances her on his hip as he bends over and picks them up.

"my head hurts," i whine. "why can't she just end my anxiety?"

"stop, just stop," grayson's voice becomes sterner. "she's not worth your time, just let it go."

i shake my head. "i cant do that, grayson."

"why not?" he raises his voice only a little higher.

his one hand raises into the air as if questioning me while his other securely holds onto bailey's small body.

  "because, you know why i can't just let it go," i say standing up and walking towards the kitchen sink.

  i rinse my cereal bowl and place it in the sink.

  and just at that moment my phone dings.

  i dash towards my phone but grayson snatches it up before i can reach it.

  "grayson, what the hell? give me my phone!" i say, trying to grab it from his reach but he holds it over his head. bailey watches and a few giggles leave her lips.

  his eyes scan across the screen and an unreadable look crosses his face.

  "here," he hands me my phone, giving up.

  i read it immediately and my breath catches in my throat. tana's name reads at the top of our new conversation thread.

do you mind meeting me?

"sh-she's here in california?" i gape in disbelief.

"maybe she decided to fly out when she got the invitation," grayson replies, out of ideas as to why she could be here.

i stare at him for what seems like forever and he just gives me a serious look.

"well? are you going to answer her or not?" he asks, done with my lazy excuse of stalling.

"i-i—yeah," i stutter, nodding my head as my fingers tapping against my screen, forming a new sentence to send to her.

i don't know how to feel. almost as if i'm numb, but i type a response anyway.

i'd love to. when and where?

i send it and look up to grayson, who's eyes remain on me. he sits down on a chair and pulls me down onto his lap beside bailey.

i keep my phone propped in one hand as my other arm wraps around his neck, holding onto him. i lean my head against his and kiss his cheekbone.

five minutes later and we're still in the same position; no response from tana.

"maybe i texted back too soon?" i say, tracing my index finger along bailey's cheek as my eyes stay on the floor.

"babe, she'll answer, just give her a minute," he encourages as i stretch my patience further than i ever have.

"i've given her almost five minutes, gray, how much time does she need?"

  "maybe she's just shocked that you answered. or maybe she's busy and now is not the time, who knows, kiara, but everything will work itself out, okay?" he tucks a piece of hair behind my ear and i unwillingly nod my head.

  he presses a kiss to my lips, my hand finding its way up his neck, but it's cut short when the dinging of my phone interrupts us.

  i break away and he lets out a distressed sigh. i give him an apologetic look and he nods his head towards my phone.

tana: can i call you?

  almost right away i type back, agreeing and within minutes my phone is ringing. grayson glances down seeing the contact name, his eyes meet mine and i swear i feel so small underneath his gaze.

"well," he nudges me with a small, barely noticeable smile. "answer it!"

i slide my finger across the screen and put the phone to my ear. "hey."

grayson intently watches me as i listen to her speak through the other end.

"god, it's so weird hearing your voice, kiki," she says, and i feel as though she is smiling through the phone.

"i miss you, tana," i blurt. "like a lot."

"i miss you too, we need to get together," she complains and for a minute it feels like everything is back to normal.

"yeah, i could have grayson watch bailey while we go out for dinner," i reply, awaiting her response.

i can feel grayson's eyes on me the whole time and when i look up to him, he has a small smile on his face. i quickly lean up and kiss his forehead before resuming my attention back to tana.

"bailey? as in baby bailey?" she asks, her voice growing in excitement.

"yeah," i smile into the phone.

"bring her!" she squeals. "i want to meet her."

grayson stands up as i get off of his lap. he walks with bailey on his hip towards her high chair where he places her back in it and kisses her cheeks; she starts munching on her cheerios again.

after discussing all the details, tana and i finally hang up.

grayson finds his way back to me and wraps his arms around my waist.

"you're happy, aren't you?" he asks, looking around my face.

i try to hide the smile that threatens to break between my lips. "yeah, i mean i got my high school friend back. and i have you and bailey."

i trail my fingers over his shoulder blades as my arms rest on his shoulders.

he presses a kiss to my lips and squeezes my hips with his big, strong hands. my hands make their way to the back of his neck pulling him closer to me and raking through his hair.

i hear what sounds like a plastic bottle hitting the ground and i remember bailey.

i pull away from grayson and bailey is leaned over her high chair, reaching towards her bottle that had fallen on the floor, totally unfazed.

i grab it for her and she smiles with her few teeth that she has.

hopefully everything will return back to normal once i meet with tana.

hopefully.

a/n: sorry for any mistakes lol i kinda rushed through this chapter but here's an update so don't hate me for how awful it is
vote and comment!!!
-el