"you sure you'll be okay with aunty candice for the afternoon, girls?" carina questioned her children one last time as she frantically searched her purse for her keys.

carina was already five minutes behind schedule and the stress boiling in her system threatened to overflow. her doctor's appointment was in half and hour and she had made a quick pit stop at her older sister's house to drop the kids, which could have proved to be a much easier task with the help of paul, whom was still very much absent in the household.

"yes momma!" bree commented from her place at the table in the king's dining room. an array of bright and colorful markers were sprawled out across the table's surface.

creativity was abundant in the middle child. bree was brilliant. carina had always clung to the belief that she had inherited this love for art from paul. seeing the two together interacting was magical with pale pink hues of love and sunshine yellows emulating laughing and happiness.

"yep," adelyn replied calmly, "florence and i are going to play dolls." a cheery smile hung from oldest wesley daughter's face as she scampered off to hug her cousin.

florence and adelyn, being only a few years apart, were inseparable. the oldest wesley daughter learned everything from her cousin. life had granted them each a best friend unlike any other right in front of their wide eyes.

"okay," carina breathed, "okay. be good for your aunt, alright? i know that you always are but-"

"it's gonna be okay mom," the first grader, adelyn, cut her mom off with a sigh and latched onto her side in a tight embrace. "i'll make sure of it."

"oh, addy," carina breathed out, "thank you, baby. i love you." she pulled her daughter into her, smoothing over her curls and planting a kiss on the crown of her head.

"bye mom!" bree shouted from across the room and carina chuckled, waving to her middle child with a toothy grin gracing her features.

candice suddenly burst into the room, cradling a sleepy claudia in her arms. "bye, sis! text me how everything goes, okay?"

"will do," carina answered with a nervous chuckle, "make sure these girls stay in line!"

candice merely chuckled, running her hand through her littlest niece's hair and smiled at her young sister. she locked the door behind her and gave all of her attention to the girls playing about.

"oh, paul," candice whispered to herself, letting her words mingle into the laughter of the girls, "please come through."

—

I M E S S A G E

2:15

wife💘
paul where the hell are you the appointment starts in twenty minutes

paul wesley
traffic

wife💘
funny because it was a smooth drive for me

paul wesley
yeah but you were coming from candice's

wife💘
oh so you can remember that but not the time the appointment starts?

paul wesley
whatever. i'll be there. i promise, car.

wife💘
fine. you wanna do the announcement on instagram, today?

paul wesley
yeah, sure.

wife💘
why can't you care just a little bit more .

paul wesley
don't think you think i'm trying? i'm a little worn thin here!

wife💘
come home with me tonight. bree is a hot mess without you! she's always been a daddy's girl. we can talk, okay? don't come to the appointment if you don't want to but please come tonight. if not for me then for the kids .

paul wesley
no i'm coming. tell bree bree i love her and i'll see her soon.

3:30

wife💘
well obviously that was a lie. i got to hear the heartbeat today. i remember how exciting that always was for you.

wife💘
goodbye paul

a/n;
as you might have seen, i'm rolling out new covers!! this one will be next :)