SONG(s) FOR CHAPTER:

♬ If I Lose Myself by OneRepublic ♬

♬ Flashlight by Jessie J ♬

CHAPTER 27

♕ HARRY STYLES ♕

JOSH SIGHED ON the other end of the phone. "Tournaments are starting in a couple of weeks, you know that, right?"

I ran a hand through my hair. "Yeah, and I'm good, I promise. I'll be ready for them, but this break has been extremely necessary."

"I get that, Harry. I'm not telling you to stop relaxing, either. Just making sure you still want to go into the tournaments." Josh clicked his tongue. "Don't worry about it now, though. Take care of you. And that little lady of yours."

After hanging up with Josh, I went back into Grace's room from the bathroom to see she was just waking up, rubbing her eyes. We had stayed up decently late last night chatting with her mom and Mr. Pell, and even Noah stayed interested in the conversation for a good hour or so before getting bored and heading upstairs. 

I walked over to her, leaning down and placing a kiss on her forehead. "Morning, sleeping beauty."

Grace rolled over and pulled the covers over her head, mumbling something sleepily and incoherent under her breath.

"Fine, have it your way," I said, climbing on top of her and laying down. I could feel Grace's body shake just the slightest with the laughter she was trying to hide. So I continued to just lay there, similar to playing dead, I suppose.

"Harry," Grace muttered from under the covers. "I can't breathe!"

"Sorry, I can't talk, I'm dead."

She squirmed, trying to counter my weight and push me off of her but she ended up only laughing. "It's hot under here!"

Chuckling, I moved off of her and tugged the covers down. 

She blew a strand of hair out of her face. "What a sweetheart you are for waking me up so gently."

I laughed, sliding out of the bed. "I started out gentle, but you ignored me, so drastic measures were needed."

Grace rolled her eyes at me, but smiled nonetheless and got up to snag an outfit for the day. I couldn't help but watch her for a moment as she skimmed through her suitcase, hair falling in her face before she raked it back. I liked waking up to see Grace first thing. I missed it, a lot.

Last night was also the first night we shared a bed again after the two years we had split. I think I held her a little too closely, but she hadn't said anything and I certainly wasn't going to move if she didn't want me to. It was nice to have my arms around her again. It was nice to have funny little morning antics like what just occurred. Small things like that kept me falling in love with her over and over again.

Once ready, we headed downstairs to see everyone milling about. Grace's mom noticed us first, smiling big. "Oh, you guys are finally up! I was thinking we could go to the mall or something, and Grace, you could help me pick out things for the baby." Seeing how happy her mother was made my chest tighten. I had never seen my mom so ecstatic.

Mr. Pell leaned against the kitchen doorway. "Madeline, how about you and Grace go for a mother-daughter day? You haven't seen each other in so long."

Grace's mother's grin didn't falter. "That sounds wonderful." She glanced over at me. "You wouldn't care if I stole her for the day, would you?"

I smiled a little, shrugging. "Not at all, Mrs. Walker."

"Are you ready?" her mother beamed, grabbing her purse off the coffee table.

Grace laughed. "Calm down, Mom." She came over and pecked my lips, smiling. "We'll be back soon."

Noah sauntered out of the kitchen just as Grace and her mother walked out the door. "So," he said, raising his eyebrows. "Video games, anyone?"

Mr. Pell rolled his eyes, but grabbed a controller nonetheless. "Ready to get beat?"

Noah scoffed. "You're on." He looked to me. "Don't be a stranger, Harry. Surely you've played Assassin's Creed before, right?"

"Actually I haven't," I said, sitting beside him on the couch. 

"You certainly haven't lived then, my friend." He handed me a third controller, running through the basics. It made enough sense.

And it was decently entertaining as well. It was hysterical to listen to Mr. Pell (I should really learn the man's name) shout at the screen like a teenager, and even funnier to listen to Noah pick on him. They seemed to have a bond, which was a good thing considering things hadn't been so friendly in the beginning. I remembered how much Grace was against the whole marriage at first, so I'm glad he took on the role as a father quite easily. 

I wasn't sure how long went by--maybe a little over an hour--before Noah paused and said he needed some food because "slaying" everyone took a lot out of a person. I set the controller down just as Mr. Pell stood up to stretch, and the question that's been on my mind for a while resurfaced.

Scratching the back of my neck, I looked to the floor. "Hey, um, Mr. Pell?"

He chuckled. "Michael." (a/n: I literally looked through Infatuation & the beginning of Captive for like five hours to see if I mentioned his name before because I actually could not remember. so if he had a name before, please let me know! I'm forgetful, sorry x)

I glanced up at him before running a hand through my hair. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"What do you think about marriage?"

I hadn't meant to blurt the question so abruptly, but after hearing so many different opinions, I wanted to talk to someone who was actually married. Someone with legitimate advice that could steer me in the right direction. I needed a little guidance and I was hoping he could provide it.

When he didn't answer for a while, I peeked over at him only to find him smirking knowingly. Chewing the inside of my cheek, I sat back on the couch with a sigh. "Sorry. I mean, I didn't--"

He waved his hand dismissively. "You're getting to that age," he pointed out, "and you want advice. I get it."

Fiddling with my fingers, I nodded a little. "We've been back together for a few months now, and I just don't want to lose her again, you know?" I saved him the sappy details about how much I simply adored her, and another heartbreak would not end well for me. And I didn't want to "find someone else" because there was only Grace through my eyes. There couldn't ever be anyone else.

Michael smiled. "I'll tell you this: those men who say marriage is the worst thing that ever happened to them aren't doing it right. Marriage isn't supposed to be this turning point where you end up hating each other--you're supposed to grow stronger together. Degrading something like that just shows ignorance.

"It was a little rocky with Madeline at first, yeah. But every relationship is going to have ups and downs, married or not." He tilted his head at me. "And the truth? I don't think I've ever been so happy in my life."

I licked my lips, nodding with his words. "I really needed to hear that."

"I could tell." He laughed, patting my knee before standing again. "Just make sure it's something you really want before you go through with it." He then said he needed to use the restroom and walked off, just as Noah came back in with a sandwich and chips.

I stole one of his Cheetos, earning a shoulder bump in return.

He took a bite of his sandwich and waited a moment before turning to me. "Honestly, I think you and Grace would be the most successful marriage of the century. You didn't show up at the specific hospital she works at for nothing."

My cheeks tinted a bit, not thinking he would actually use the story Grace caught him up on against me, so I laughed to hide my blush. "Thanks, oh wise one," I said, then stole another Cheeto and let his words really sink in.

★ ☆ ★ ☆

"Look at this onesie Grace found," Madeline gushed, holding it up for each of us to see. It was orange, like a prison jumpsuit and said, "I just did 9 months on the inside." She held up another that read, "Eat. Sleep. Poo. Repeat."

Grace grinned. "I got carried away."

Noah gave her a high-five. "That baby is going to be awesome with us around."

"Speaking of...," Grace trailed off, laughing to herself. The next one she pulled out said, "I just got here and I'm already awesome."

Michael laughed. "What happens when he or she gets too big for those?"

Grace and Noah exchanged a look before they both shrugged, Grace saying, "I'll customize her some myself."

"Her?" Madeline smiled.

"I already had to deal with a younger brother, so a girl would be nice," explained Grace. "Besides, there's cuter outfits for girls."

"I like the prison one," I said, leaning over to look at it.

Grace nodded in approval. "That's my favorite too."

We sat around for a while, engulfing ourselves in small talk, baby talk, video games talk--the whole ordeal. It was nice to just listen to everyone else speak, to keep my own thoughts organized and in place so I wouldn't ruin something so serene. With Grace curling into my side on the couch, Madeline ecstatically chatting about the life inside her, Noah playing video games in the background, and Michael gazing at Madeline as if she were the only thing his eyes could see, I concluded it had been a pretty relaxing, pretty great day.

It was around seven or so when there was a knock at the door. Michael had smiled knowingly, leaving Grace and I to exchange odd glances. None of them had said we wouldn't be the only company they invited over.

Madeline answered the door, and just like that, Jeremy walked in.

Grace practically spat her water everywhere, leaving him to smirk like he always used to. "Glad to see you're happy to see me, about to die and all."

She laughed, pulling him in for a hug. I stood and shook his hand, exchanging a polite greeting with a smile that was surprisingly easy. I hadn't seen Jeremy since graduation nearly three years ago. He certainly didn't look too different, if not a little bulkier with muscle.

"Gosh, how have you been?" asked Grace excitedly, eyes sparkling. It was hard not to stare at her when she was so tauntingly beautiful.

Jeremy shrugged. "The only thing that's changed since high school is that I've got a job and my own place. Still struggling in the lady department."

Michael butted in. "I told Jeremy the two of you were staying with us and he thought it'd be nice if we went out for some dinner. Sound like a plan?"

Grace looked to me as if she thought I'd say no. "Sounds good to me," I said, turning the decision making back over to her. She seemed to catch on and punched me playfully in the shoulder.

We ended up going to a wings and burger joint in the middle of town. Grace got a burger too big for her hands to even hold, making it messy for her to eat and utterly adorable for me to watch. The place had a spicy wings challenge where you had to eat so many wings in so many minutes, and Jeremy thought he'd be able to do it. The waitress forgot to mention that not only were ghost peppers in the sauce, but so were habaneros, and other apparently hot and traumatizing ingredients.

Needless to say, he was hardly three wings in when tears started rolling down his bright red face and he was begging for some milk or bread to soothe the pain.

"What a stupid idea," Madeline muttered under her breath, concern etching across her features. She had been the one scrambling to get him something to counter the heat.

His father, on the other hand, was drowning in his own hysterics. "We've gotta toughen you up a bit!" He laughed, clapping Jeremy on the shoulder. "I told you not to do it."

Noah looked to his mother. "Can I try it? I like hot wings."

She gaped at him. "Absolutely not." She leaned a little closer. "Besides, you'd be feeling it tomorrow."

"Are you gonna make it?" Grace teased, giving Jeremy an amused look to which he returned by shooting her the middle finger.

Jeremy elbowed me. "How come you didn't do it with me?"

I shook my head. "I'm not a fan of hot wings or spicy food in general."

"Now you tell me."

After dinner, we headed back home and relaxed on the back porch, the night air brushing our skin and the cool breeze tussling our hair. Grace had her head on my shoulder, our fingers laced lazily. Jeremy, Noah, Madeline, and Michael were doing s'mores around the small bonfire, laughing and talking. It was, in every sense of the word, peaceful. Blissfully beautiful. 

My mind roamed back to the thought that had been stuck in my head for weeks now. Michael's advice resurfaced, the proud look that had gleamed in his eyes when he spoke of Madeline. I wondered if that's how I looked when I talked about Grace or if she looked that way when she spoke about me. I'd like to think she did.

"Grace?"

"Hmm?"

I glanced down at her to see that her eyes were closed, yet a faint smile traced her lips. "I want to take you to dinner tomorrow. Or it doesn't even have to be dinner. I just want to go somewhere with you."

She opened her eyes, lifting her face to rest her chin on my shoulder. "Wherever you want to go is fine with me," she said, kissing my neck just below my jaw. 

Such a simple action made me even more positive that this was what I wanted for the rest of my life--her.

(sorry this chapter is kind of sucked & rushed. I had horrible writer's block but the next chapter will be better, I promise. also, I just want you guys to know that my real name is Julia. some of you may have seen that already, but if you want the full explanation, go read my rant book, and the second part titled "Something You Should Know" will explain it all. I really hope you guys understand and thank you for all the massive support <3

second thing: I finally caved into the peer pressure and got a snapchat. if you want to chat with me but you can't get on wattpad, you can there. my username is writetospeak

last thing: the fan art attached above was made by banana_boy19 and I just wanted to acknowledge that & thank you again for sending it to me x

LOVE YOU LOTS & SORRY THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE WAS SO FRICKIN LONG xx)