(24): Home [Kind Of]

Today is Friday and I didn't have any classes so I decide to go home. I have an entire three days until I have to be back (including today).

After 4 hours of non-stop flying, my plane finally lands, and my anxiety skyrockets.

I'm really seeing my dad.

After our little conversation yesterday, Kyle really left and wasn't back until I was in bed. This morning I wanted to ask him to give me a lift to the airport but I didn't want to be weird so I just took an Uber and left him a note since he was still sleeping. Or at the gym... I never really know.

Kathrine texted me that she also left to go home just this morning too. Winnie and Nick left yesterday, and so Kyle and Nathan are the only ones still in town.

I wonder what they're gonna do the whole time. Kyle's probably gonna be with his multiple girlfriends and Nathan I'm pretty sure is going to be missing his.

Sigh.

I let out a long stretch before undoing my seatbelt and getting up from my seat. I grab the tiny purse that has my small essentials and walk out. Our suitcases are then handed to us and I look anxiously for a sign with my name on it when I've reached the main picking-up area.

"Chelsea! Chelsea!" A tiny little voice shouts and I turn my head and immediately grin when my little brother sprints his way to me excitedly.

"Christian!" I squeal when he lands into my arms and shower him with multiple kisses "Oh my gosh, you are so big"

He grins "Look! All my teeth grew back"

Last time I saw him the ones in the middle were missing, and a few others. But they have indeed really grown back.

"You're so big" I can't help but repeat as I seriously look at him after we've done hugging. He is wearing black sweatpants and white Super-man shirt "What grade are you in?"

"Third" He smiles sheepishly.

Oh my goodness!

"Who are here with? You didn't drive yourself, did you?" I joke, looking around nonetheless.

The little cutie giggles shaking his head, his bushy brown hair moving side to side "No. Dad is here but he's so slow. He's still coming"

"Do you want to carry my purse for me?"

He scrunches his nose "No. Those are for girls!"

Boys.

I laugh shrugging "Fair enough"

"Princess!" I look to the sound and can't help but grin when I see my old man. He hasn't changed one bit.

I've been told that I look more like him than my mom. Sometimes I see it for myself but most of the time I really don't. He has the same brown hair as Chris, I inherited my mom's dirty blonde color. We have the same shade of green eyes, and same shaped lips and nose. And then mostly everything else is my mom.

"Daddy" I grin as he envelopes me into a very tight hug, his lips laying kisses all over my hair and forehead. "I missed you"

He pulls back with a huge smile "I missed you too. Good lord, you're so big. What are you? A woman?"

Dad's sense of humor is one of a kind.

"I'm really not" I snort. "Chris on the other side, he's a giant at this point"

The boy giggles looking at the two of us.

"Tell me about it" Dad agrees exasperated "I told him to stop growing but he just won't listen"

"It's not my fault" Chris defends with wide eyes causing dad and I to laugh.

I really missed them.

"Well, lets get going. Josie prepared a very big meal for us" Dad informs me, pulling my suitcase with him.

Josie.

The ride is just spent with mostly Chris and I talking. Dad hasn't said much but he hasn't stopped grinning while watching the two of us. At times like these, I can tell that maybe he does really care about me. I wish I'd get to feel like this more often though.

Regardless, I still love him and am so happy I finally got to see him after the longest time.

I just can't bring myself to be one of those bitter people who have so much anger and hatred in them because their fathers don't spend that much time with them.

I guess I'm one of those people that always look on the brighter side. There always is.

We finally get to their huge home; by huge I mean huge. I think there are about six bedrooms in there and there are only three people in that house. Everything is still the same as it was. There are four garages on the side, a mini garden with loads of flowers and I'm pretty sure there's still a swimming pool in the backyard.

Chris immediately grabs my hand when we exit the car, forcing me to jog with him "Come on, mom has a big surprise for you"

I look to dad and dismisses me when he sees how impatient his youngest is, telling me that he'll get all my bags.

"She does?" I ask.

Chris nods hastily, ringing the doorbell one too many times. I can't help but chuckle because he's actually always done that. I'm glad nothing's changed with him.

I hear a faint "Coming"

And then the door opens widely and so do my eyes at the sight.

"Josie" I breathe looking at her very visible belly "You're... pregnant"

Oh good lord.

She grins doing jazz hands "Surprise! I begged Lewis not to tell you because I wanted it to be a huge surprise"

Does this look like the type of surprise I want? This woman.

"No kidding" I mutter, trying to hide my distaste. "How far along are you?"

It's not that I'm not happy for her. This is just... weird. Another baby? Then dad won't have twice as much as time for me.

Ugh.

"Five months" She replies with a huge smile "We're all so excited. Especially Christian. Aren't you, baby?"

He nods excitedly.

"Well come on in" She moves out of the entrance and I enter slowly.

It smells really good but I'm too distracted to think about anything else. I just freaking got here and I've already received such news.

I wonder if mom knows.

"Honey, which room did you say Chelsea must take?" Dad asks when he's entered, with my suitcase in his hands.

"The guest room next to Chris's room" She replies "Hurry up so you can join us for lunch"

Chris takes my hand in his again and directs me to the dining room that has food galore. There's so much! My eyes momentarily widen at the sight. There's rice, pasta, all kinds of salads, chicken, steak... everything.

Mhhh.

"You're gonna sit next to me, right?" The little voice snaps me out of my fascination and I nod with a small smile.

He gentlemanly opens the chair for me causing me to smile widely and then takes his seat right next to me.

He really likes me, huh?

"Did your mom prepare all this?"

He nods, his hair moving with him "Yes. Nana helped her though. But she had an emergency so she's not here"

"What emergency?" I ask.

He shrugs "Mommy says its old people business"

Just then, Josie appears alongside my dad and they take their seats opposite Chris and I, leaving the other four chairs open.

"You kids can dish up" Josie excitedly announces and we do just that. "So, Chelsea, hows college?"

Small talk is the worst.

I swallow what was in my mouth "Not bad. We just have way more work but other than that, it's all good"

"College?" Chris asks confused "Dad said you were in high school"

Dad coughs awkwardly "I meant college"

No, you didn't.

"So, anyways" Josie desperately tries to redirect the conversation and clear the awkwardness "Any boyfriend we should know of?"

"Nope" I immediately shake my head.

She's always asked me this question and my answer has always been the same even if I did have a boyfriend at the time.

"Christian has a girlfriend" She smirks.

I smile directing my eyes to the little boy and he groans loudly "Mom! I told you that Stella and I are just friends"

"That's not what her mom told me" She teases.

I laugh "You didn't tell me this in the car"

"Mom's just kidding" He reassures.

He's so cute.

"Hey, leave the poor boy alone" Dad teasingly comes to his son's defense "If he says they're just friends then they're just friends"

Chris sticks his tongue out at his mom.

"Sweetie, did I tell you that Jacob asked you to go see him after you've rested?" Dad asks.

I grin "He's still around?"

"Yeah" Josie replies "He was so excited when Lewis told him. You know the boy has always had a soft spot for you"

I chuckle nervously "I wasn't aware"

She would always say that Jacob has a crush on me but he never told me anything so I would always just choose to ignore it. I think I also had a tiny crush on him. We just never really spoke about it.

"You know his brother has a child now" Chris chirps, messily cutting his steak "His name is Theo. I like to play with him even though I don't understand baby language"

"Monty has a child?" My eyes widen in shock as my voice raises an octave higher "Jeez, how long have I been away?"

"Yep. A healthy baby boy. He's married too"

Oh my gosh. The surprises don't stop.

"Married? To who?"

Josie shrugs "Some woman. I'm not very fond of her really"

I wonder why...

"Mommy thinks Theo's mom is shady" Chris tries to whisper to me but I'm pretty sure everyone else on the table heard.

"Now now, Christian, I never said that" She scolds.

"I'm not going to tell her" He defends.

"Chris. You should stop listening to your mom when she's speaking to other people, okay?" Dad half-scolds.

He's never really been good at being strict so it's always funny witnessing him attempt to put a foot down.

Chris sighs "Okay. Sorry"

We move on to lighter topics. Josie tells me about the baby and how it's going to be girl. I hate to admit it, but I'm kind of excited that I'm going to be having a baby sister. They said they already had a name for her but wouldn't tell other people until the day. She says this pregnancy has been way better than when she had Christian, to which he scowled making me laugh.

Lunch really wasn't as bad and as awkward as I expected it to be. And Josie was civil the whole time and not dropping her very offensive subliminals like she usually would. Three years changes a lot of things, huh? We'll see how long it lasts though.

After we're done, I excuse myself to go take a nap because jet lag has never really been anyone's best friend. I make sure to inform Kathrine and the others that I have arrived safely since they anyways texted me.

So sweet. Well, except Kyle, but I make sure to inform him too just in case he cares.

And then I take a power nap.

****

"Well well well, if it isn't Chelsea" The door is opened by a grinning Monty.

Huh, fatherhood has apparently changed him because he was never happy to see me. Maybe it wasn't personal, he was just always scowling.

I wave sheepishly "Hey"

"You look so much older" He notes moving aside so I can come in "Would you like anything to eat or drink?"

I shake my head "No thanks"

"Mama!" Comes a teenie tiny voice. I look behind me to see the cutest grinning creature crawling its way to the kitchen where Monty and I are currently standing.

I crouch down, not being able to help myself "You must be little Theo"

"I'm guessing Chris told you about him? He adores him" Monty jokes watching the two of us "I think they'll grow up to be very good friends"

"He did tell me about him"

"Mama!" The baby repeats excitedly.

"I'm not your mommy" I coo, using my baby voice. The little cutie just laughs. I look to Monty for permission to pick the baby up and he nods. I do just that placing him on my hip "He's so cute"

I look at the little cutie for a while longer, assessing his chubby face and cheeks. He has black hair, just like Monty and the smallest nose and lips. His hand is inside his mouth and he's sucking on it enthusiastically. A few tiny teeth are visible too.

So cute!

Those eyes... why do they look so familiar? I've seen this green-greyish shade before. They're definitely not Monty's. They look lighter and softer than the ones I'm familiar with. Where do I know them from?

"You say that until you have to live with him every day" Monty jokes snapping me back to reality "Little devil"

"Mama. Mama. Mama" Theo cheers bouncing up and down on my hip.

"He sure loves his mom, huh?" I giggle.

Monty sighs "You have no idea. When she's here it's like I don't exist. Once upon a time, the only thing he could say was 'dada' and now it's 'mama' non-stop"

I can't help but laugh at the poor man. He looks so disappointed at his sons betrayal "It happens"

"Mama!" He repeats looking at me and then proceeding to slightly slap my cheek with his saliva filled hand.

"I'm not your mom" I laugh louder "Monty, do I look like his mother?"

"You actually kind of do" He notes after a while. "Maybe he's getting confused. He probably misses her"

"Where is she?" I ask.

"Out of town for a while. She'll be back tomorrow though" He informs me "So how have you been, older Chelsea?"

I laugh "I'm still me. And I've been fine. How have you been?"

"Tired" He jokes "This little guy sleep deprives me"

I look at the source of topic as he plays with my earrings, looking very focused "This little guy? He looks like a peaceful fella"

"He has his days" Monty says looking to admire his son.

So cute.

"Is that Chelsea-Anne Richards?"

"Jacob!" I grin.

Monty can probably sense my excitement at the sight of his little brother because he laughs before sticking his hands out making me hand Theo over to him before I jog my way to Jacob and hug him.

"You're still as ugly as I remember" He jokes after we've pulled back causing me to hit his shoulder lightly.

"And you're still as freckled as I remember" I snort assessing his cute freckles.

I always used to tease him about them because I know how much he doesn't like them. It's a pity he doesn't notice they're his best quality. Kind of. He's pretty cute. Cuter now than he was before. Swoon.

He runs a hand across his face dreadfully "It's gotten way worse. Your absence did this to me"

Did I mention he was a big flirt?

"What can I say? I am that awesome" I tease smugly "And when where you planning on telling me that you were an uncle now?"

He directs his eyes to Theo who is now playing around in his father's arms "Oh, him. Yep I'm an uncle. I've been one for nine months now"

"He is so cute" I coo love-struck.

He laughs "You've always had a thing for babies. I remember when Christian was younger"

"They're cute" I defend causing him to roll his light brown eyes.

"Come on, let's go to my room"