The Coffee Shop (Hamilton Lams Modern AU) **IN EDITING**

Chapter 28

John's POV

2 Hours Later

The room flashed white as lightning struck outside, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Alex had been right to be scared of the storm, as it had gotten bad. Speaking of Alex, he was currently curled up on top of me, fast asleep. I was on my laptop, scrolling through Amazon in search of things for the kids (phones, laptops, iPads, etc). Just as I was about to order the stuff (I'm almost broke now), I heard a knock on the door. Who could that be? I know the guys went out, but they have their keys. Maybe it's the Schuylers and Maria? They could be here to surprise us, it sounds like something Pegs would force them to do. It could really be anyone there. I carefully set Alex down (I don't want to wake him, I don't wanna deal with a panicky Alex) and got up to open the door. Martha and James were standing there, although I could hear Henry and Mary-Ellie. "Martha? Kids? Why're you guys here?" I asked. "I can't deal with those two. It seems like when I said I wasn't gonna be strict, they thought that I meant they didn't have to follow any rules," she explained. "James is only here because I thought he could help you with them." I nodded. "Okay, well can you get them to be quiet? Alex is asleep and I don't need him to-" I was cut off by a soft noise that made my heart break. I turned around, and Alex was hugging his knees to his chest, his head was buried in his arms, and he was crying. "Great.." I mumbled, walking back over to him and hugging him. "Alex, don't cry. I had to get up to answer the door," I told him. "I-it's not t-that, it's t-the s-storm..." he managed to tell me through his tears. "I know, you were right to be scared. Just relax, okay? You can pick something out for yourself on Amazon, as long as it doesn't make me go fully broke." He laughed a little and grabbed my laptop, eagerly typing away. I was about to go over to Martha, when I realized she'd left the kids with me. "Where'd she go?" I asked them. "She left us here for you to watch. Well, the two of them, at least," James replied. He gestured to Henry and Mary-Ellie, who were arguing over something random. "Kids, be quiet! Can you stop arguing for a minute? Seriously, I don't know what you think, but not being strict is not the same as having no rules," I explained to them. "I told you!" Henry yelled. "Whatever," Mary-Ellie mumbled, crossing her arms. "Also, I didn't know Alex was scared of storms. I wasn't scared of storms, even when I was little." I rolled my eyes. "You're still little, Mary-Ellie. And Alex has a good reason to be scared of storms so don't ask him about-" Too late. She'd already gone up to Alex and was talking to him, while Alex was snapping at her. How am I supposed to control three kids plus an angry Alex? "Okay, Alex, please don't yell. You're only gonna stress yourself out. And Mary-Ellie, Alex has a reason to be scared, okay? Leave him alone." Alex huffed but went back to scrolling through Amazon, while Mary-Ellie sat down next to him, continuing to ask him questions and talk to him. Alex would just snap at her in response. I have a feeling this is gonna be a long night.