next door ↬ ethma

twenty

Emma glances down at her left hand, adorned with a sparking band that symbolized the love she felt for her husband. It had been quite a few years since he proposed, but the memory is still fresh in her mind. It comes around every so often to remind her of where it all began.

The age of twenty-seven had come so quickly. Ten years vanished in the blink of the eye and she wonders where the time had gone. To the right of her, sat Ethan. His hand was mindlessly placed on her thigh, an action that was formed into a habit many years ago. Every time he sat beside her, his hand naturally landed there out of pure instinct.

Ethan is rambling on about something to his brother and Emma is sure she would know the topic if she was actively listening, but his voice was merely a background noise as she's lost in her thoughts. They're sat on the new couch they purchased for their living room, a faux leather sectional. Their new home was finally completely furnished and that in itself was quite a task.

She directs her attention to Ethan once she comes out of her trance. He's got a goofy grin as he talks about the incident that occurred this morning where he spilt hot coffee on his pants. Grayson lets out a boisterous laugh as his brother re-enacts the scene of him shouting absurd but language appropriate cuss words all while trying to remain calm.

Emma was there when the event played out and she smiles imagining it again. Her husband was one-of-a-kind and she knew she would never trade him for the world. She's come a long ways with him.

Ethan turns to her, slightly applying pressure on her thigh. She sees the happiness swimming in his eyes, completely overtaken with the joy of living in the moment. There are crinkles forming by the side of his eyes and the end of his lips are turned upward in a huge smile.

"They should be here any minute," He states.

Emma nods, pulling her phone out of her pocket to check the time. Her lock screen illuminates with a picture of Ethan she took of him at their usual café destination. He's grinning as he holds his small coffee cup with his pinky out. The time reads exactly two o'clock.

Just as she slides her phone back into her back pocket, she hears the door click open and two pairs of tiny feet running swiftly to her and Ethan.

Their three-year-old son, Casey, comes darting directly to Emma. He's got golden blonde curls and beautiful hazel eyes. He has quite the rambunctious personality, always energetic and in the mood to take on anything, quite like his father.

"Mommy!" Casey shouts, falling into Emma's lap and squeezing his short arms tightly around her neck.

Emma leaves quick kisses all over his face, "Hi bub, how was school?"

Simultaneously, their two-year-old daughter, Emerald, wobbles quickly over to Ethan. She has light brown hair with bangs and the brightest blue eyes. She's definitely not as hyper as Casey, but she often has very rapid mood changes, similar to her mother.

"Hi dad!" She says, as Ethan picks her up and twirls her around.

Emerald giggles, holding onto her dad for dear life. He sets her down and she darts to Grayson to do their signature handshake they came up with.

"Right on, Em, you nailed it this time! Have you been practicing without me?" Grayson asks, pouting a little.

In response, she shakes her head quickly, "Nuh uh."

Following in suit of their children was Olivia and Amanda. They volunteered to pick them up from school to fulfill their roles as aunts. Olivia is swinging the lanyard that holds the key to her car and she lets out an exasperated sigh when she stands near Emma.

"Emma, you have to stop teaching Casey vines, I swear we can't pass a road work sign in peace anymore," Amanda says.

Ethan lets out a chuckle, "That's my boy."

Emma shakes her head as she stands up to place the camera on the tripod, "Okay, everyone sit on the couch, we're finally starting our family channel."

It was around five years ago that Ethan and Grayson started their YouTube channel and since then they've grown quite the large following. Emma was often featured in their videos whether she was filming or participating in one of their various pranks. Many of their fans demanded that she start her own channel but ultimately they agreed on a family channel once their two kids were born.

Casey and Emerald had already gotten side-tracked by their own shenanigans and were running around the house—well it was more like Casey chasing Emerald. Ethan loudly whistled and their heads snapped towards his direction immediately.

"You two, couch now, c'mon," Ethan directed.

The two of them quickly scrambled to follow his order and all seven of them were now situated on the couch. Casey was quite antsy as he fidgeted in Ethan's lap but Emerald cooperated as she sat on top of Emma. Grayson was to Ethan's left and Olivia and Amanda were to the right of Emma.

"We're back!" Ethan and Grayson shouted simultaneously but then looked at each other, "Oops wrong channel."

"It's no longer just the twins, it's now the Dolan Family!" Emma announced.

Emma grabs both of Emerald's hands and holds them up. She looks down at her daughter, "Who are you?"

Emerald giggles, "Mommy, you know me!"

"This is Emerald and this is Casey," Ethan introduces them as he points to each one of his children.

Grayson introduces himself as their uncle and Olivia and Amanda announce themselves as the most awesome aunts, their wording exactly.

Emma and Ethan talk about the family for a while as the two kids poke each other out of boredom. Eventually they transition into an outro after everyone adds their input and share stories.

"We hope you continue to follow the journey of our family and watch our two little ones grow up," Emma says.

"This channel would be nonexistent without them and all of us are lucky to be raising such amazing kiddos," Ethan adds.

Emma leans down to whisper something to Emerald, "Pwease like the video!"

"And subscribe!" Casey yells.

The video ends with a montage of clips starting off with the first few months of Emma and Ethan's relationship. It shows the two of them stepping out of their own apartment and turning to the other one who was right next door. The next clip is one Grayson recorded of Ethan's proposal which then transitions into the next of Emma showing each pregnancy test. It's followed by the moments after both pregnancies where they cradle their newborn children. It ends with a family portrait taken not too long ago. The screen cuts to black as the video finishes.

Ethan glances over to Emma as they lay in bed. He looks back over to his laptop screen as he hits the post button.

Emma smiles, "I can't believe this all started because we lived next door."

—

im so sorry that i haven't posted in three months and there was only a chapter left of this story. i apologize that it took me so long but we have finally reached the end. thank you for reading this book and regardless if ethma is real or not, it was fun to write. let's all pray that something good happens in the twins video with emma tomorrow!

much love,
lexi x