Hills & Valleys : The Sophomore Sequel || Tori Kelly

From Now On

june 9th— friday morning
12:27 AM

Noah laid in his bed at Tori and André's staring at the ceiling. He'd been at their house for a little over a week, and he honestly didn't want to go back home. At Tori's he had structure, rules, and stability. Now that it was summer, at home, he could wake up one morning with a note on the counter that says off to Jamaica. Tori will be here to get you at 1. And that wouldn't be the first time.

In all honesty, Noah was slowly moving in. He had a closet full of clothes, his stuff was in the bathroom. And he even had Noah specific food in the house. At Tori's, he truly felt at peace. But for some reason, this night was different. It was the first day of summer break. Laura was in Cancun, but Tori seemed overwhelmed.

june 8th— thursday afternoon
5:18 PM

Noah and André came into the house with Joey and Jaxon after a long game of last day of school traffic. When they had left that morning, Tori was asleep on the couch with Ella. And when they returned, she was running around the house as Ella slept in her pack and play. "We're back!" André yelled letting the boys down to run free.

"Noah! How many times do I have to tell you? Put your clothes in the basket! Not on the floor!" Tori yelled as she came down from doing the laundry. Noah gave small shrug and started to take off his backpack.

"Sorry, I forgot after practice," he replied. Tori dropped the blue basket of kids clothes on the couch to fold with a heavy sigh.

"Come on, dude. You gotta remember. And don't set your backpack on the counter. I just disinfected them. Take it up to your room," Tori instructed, knowing her brother's habits. The teenager ran up the stairs and dropped his bag next to his bed, kicked off his shoes and headed back down the stairs.

"I don't know," he heard a voice say from the middle of the steps. "And I get that, but come on. How much longer? This is crazy. Why won't it stick?" The voice complained.

"Babe, he's still young. He will get it," the second voice calmed. Noah fully came down to see his surer leaning against the back of her couch with André in front of her.

"I'm gonna go to Conners. I'll see you guys later," Noah awkwardly rushed, grabbing his skate board and leaving the house barefoot. Tori watched the door shut and shrugged.

"Anyways, I feel like he's falling behind. Jaxon is climbing stairs and learning to scoot down them. Jaxon even said, pancake yesterday, no issues. But, Joey won't even try," she said, pointing over to the babies. Joey sat in the cold tile floor, while Jaxon stood at his parents door, banging on the solid wood.

"Give him time, baby. They aren't even two yet. He'll catch up when he's ready. And if we are being honest, he'll probably surpass Jaxon. I mean..." André pointed to Joey stacking his blocks while Jaxon chewed on the baby gate. Tori giggled a bit and moved from between the couch and her husband, grabbing Joey off the floor, causing him to giggle while being spun in the air. Jaxon, obviously, got jealous and came to sit on the step, holding his arms out to his mother for a turn.

"What?" She over dramatically giggled. "Jaxon wants mommy?" The 23 month old nodded, reaching out a bit farther over the edge of the step. Tori places both boys on her hips and spun them, receiving the cutest baby belly laughs. André couldn't help but film and post it, he had to soak these moments in with all the kids, before the grew up and were Noah's age in the blink of an eye.

5:30 PM

Tori sat on the couch in front of her, now awake, baby girl while the boys picked a side. "L," Joey said, pointing to his sister as Tori took her out. The calm baby played with her hands while her brothers kissed her head and played with her feet.