Readers sister dies in a tragic car accident, leaving reader and her boyfriend Ruben in the urgent custody of her niece and nephew. Readers life is suddenly flipped upside-down since having children hadn't been the plan for her and Ruben's life together. At least not now when his football career was reaching such a great height.

Enjoy! 💞

The course of your life altered within the laps of that one phone call and the days that followed. Liza's funeral was arranged quite quickly, mostly because your parents couldn't bare the suspense of it. They wanted it over with as soon as possible.

Ruben was with you through it all, but eventually his profession forced him away even though the last thing he wanted to do was to leave your side. However, you couldn't bare to travel back with him to Manchester when there were two people that needed you now more than ever.

"How about your toys, don't you want to bring all of your toys to grandma and grandpa's?

"No." Vale sat on the bed of his semi empty bedroom, his feet dangling off the edge. You joined him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Now listen, I know you'll like staying at grandma's, she's got a big pool remember?"

"The water is green." He muttered.

"How about the beach then? In Bournemouth they've got really nice beaches. Don't you remember from last summer?"

"I don't like the beach?"

"Of course you do. You've always loved the beach Vale."

"Not anymore." His eyes squinted, along with his body that tilted towards you. Vale wept in your arms. Weeping for his mother that would never take him to the beach again.

"Is he ready?"

You left your nephew sleeping in his bed and went on to join his father in the kitchen. A now quiet kitchen, where the floorboards cracked when you walked over them. "No. He's still refusing to pack his bags."

"Oh."

He was quite distant, the children's father. He had always been the quiet type and sometimes you wondered what your sister even saw in him as she was his complete opposite. Liza was adventurous and full of life. Like you. Nonetheless, her husband was grieving and understandably so. He was now a widower left with two children to care for alone. But he was clearly not capable of taking care of Emmy and Vale in a time like this and so your grandparents offered to take them in until then. Of course, in the process, the children would have to move across the country and change schools. You could only imagine how difficult that must be for them after losing one parent so drastically.

"I'll go check on Emmy." You said and stood from the table.

"She was going to get your present."

"Huh?" You turned around to meet his blank stare. Liza's husband had spent most of the days post the funeral staring out of the kitchen window. However, in that moment he looked at you, his droughtful stare penetrating your soul.

"I told her to wait until morning. We heard about the storm on the news, yet Liza insisted that she'd get you your gift the same day it arrived in the post office. I believe that she was frustrated that it hadn't arrived on your birthday like it should have.

"W...what was it?" You stammered.

"The gift?" He said, face pale. "How should I know? It's probably still left at the post office since Liza never made it there."

You felt a punch in your gut. Followed by the urgent need to throw up. You did so rushing to the nearest bathroom. After washing your hands and mouth you knocked on Emmy's door, her voice barely audible.

"Come in."

You peered open the door and saw her lying on the bed, a pillow covering her face.

"Oh, sweetheart. It's going to be okay." As soon as she felt your dip in the mattress, the pillow got tossed away, and the fairly heavy child clung to you. She clung to you in a way that no other human being had clung to you before.

"I don't want to leave."

"I know, baby. I know."

She cried against your shoulder, her body trembling in your arms.

"Why can't grandma and grandpa move here?"

"They're old people, sweetie. Moving here would be more difficult for them than if you and your brother moved there."

"But what about daddy? Why can't he come with us?"

You sighed. "Oh, baby. Your dad is very sad right now. He just needs a little time to himself."

"Well, aren't you sad too?"

"Me?" You felt a sharp jab of your heart.

"Yes, you. Aren't you also sad that my mom is gone."

"Of course I am, sweetie. Why would you—"

"Does that mean that you want to be left alone too, like daddy?"

"Erm...no baby, not necessarily. But grief is very different for—"

"Great, then we'll move in with you."

"What?"

********************************************

You couldn't just leave them. The children had refused to leave their home, but you couldn't just leave them with their father.

Your grandparents agreed for you to take them with you to Manchester for the week, perhaps get their minds off things. The only problem is that things happened so quickly that by the time you and the children got to Ruben's apartment, their suitcases packed to the rim, you realized that you had totally forgotten to give him the heads up about the whole situation

"Y/N, you're home." He greeted you at the door with the warmest smile.

"Ruben. I—"

"Uncle Ruben!"

His eyes widened at the sight of the children, the two of them tackling him to stumble backwards into the apartment.

"I've missed you Uncle Ruben!" Emmy squeald, her arms tightening around his waist.

"Erm....I missed you too." He chuckled. "I had no idea that the two of you were—"

"I missed you even more Uncle Ruben." Said Vale who clung to Ruben's leg. "More than Emmy."

"No you didn't." She hissed at her brother.

"Yes, I did." He responded and suddenly they were going at it.

"Hey, kids, cut it out!" You shouted. They did so tilting their heads at you. "How about you take your suitcase to the guestroom and unpack. I'll be right there with you."

"Okay."

Just like that the children made up, Emmy helped her little brother carry his suitcase towards Ruben's guestroom. It's where they usually stayed when they came to visit.

You sighed once they were out of sight and almost forgot that you had Ruben standing in front of you with a slightly expectant look.

"They refused to live with my grandparents and so I told them that I'll take the kids for a week. I should have told you and I'm sorry." You fell back two steps, surprised that your apology was awarded a bear hug from Ruben. Nevertheless, that's all he did, hug you, letting you melt into his embrace. The smell of him brought peace to your whole being and with each inhale you realized how much you had missed your boyfriend.

"It's okay, I understand." He whispered, planting a soft kiss on top of your head. "I made dinner for two but I'm sure I can whip up something for all four of us."

It was a peaceful evening, with the children enjoying a home cooked meal for the first time since the funeral. They spent the rest of the night playing with Iker. The dog was more than excited to play with two beings with the same energy levels as him. It struck you how the children's eyes had lit up again coming here to Manchester. They lit up as a fragment of hope that despite the darkness that life has put them through, light was at the end of the tunnel. You were happy to have brought them that light.

"Auntie Y/N, I can't sleep."

The first night wasn't easy, though. Vale had come knocking on your bedroom door, which was a bit stressful for Ruben who really needed his sleeping hours. Despite this, Ruben had been the one to wave Vale over, allowing him to join you in bed. He fell asleep between you and Ruben with his thumb in his mouth. And right there and then you vowed to make sure that your niece and nephew had everything they needed in life to feel safe. Everything.

Part 4 and Part 5 are out on my Pateron. (Link below) 

https://www.patreon.com/melanieph321