One String Attached

12.

.Riley.

Piper took Aaliyah and Asher from us in the park half-an-hour or so later, so James and I were left alone, just the two of us. We were in silence as we walked along the street, our hands joined together, but as comfortable as it was, there was also a slight tension because I knew what we were going to talk about in only a couple of moments.
 We were just waiting for the other person to speak up first. I wasn't sure what I wanted to say to him and he didn't know how to probe me for answers without bothering or pushing me too much. We were sort of evolving around each other, waiting on one another and it was only lengthening the process.

We reach Parkour Alley, our usual spot. It was where James told me he was going to get me back after the whole Beth fiasco, it was where I came to escape my life when times got hard, it was where we snuck out and met in secret when we first started dating at the age of sixteen, and it was where James got down on one knee two years ago.

Back when I was sixteen, I didn't have any idea what love was. I could have said I did and fooled myself by making me think I did but I didn't. I could have thought kissing James and hugging him and opening up to him was love.
It wasn't. It was a childhood relationship and it wasn't until I lost him that I realised I needed him.
You don't realise how much someone means to you until you lose them and then you realise you love them only when they stick by you when you've been through hell. I guess I truly started loving James when he never left my side.

Back when I was sixteen, if you were to give me a brief about what my life would be like now, I would have looked at you like you were mad.
Of course I always wanted to spend the rest of my life with James and have children with him but even though that's how it turned out, there are still those complications. I was young when it all happened. I went through hell and back. My daughter has a different dad to my son, and the relationships I had with most of my friends pretty much broke into pieces after I left for business school.
Sometimes I wish I could just go back to when life was simple - when my biggest worry was being in the front row and messing up the routine on the Regionals stage. Now I know life is so much more than those little bickers you have with the people around you when you're a child.

James and I sit down on our bench on the same side, his arm wrapped around my waist as our legs were tucked under the table. It was still pretty quiet, the mid-day breeze kicking in and causing my hair to blow in the wind amongst the sunlight.
James clears his throat and shakes his head before rubbing my hip subtly, letting me know he was about to start talking. It was a habit he'd always had - touching me first to let me know he wanted to say something, and it was one of the things I found the cutest about him.

"Why are you finding it so hard to talk to me, Ri?" he asks softly, keeping his hand on my waist as he shuffles the smallest bit closer to me. I bite my lip and sigh, looking straight down at the table. "You know you can tell me anything and I will never get upset with you-"
"I know, James," I sigh with the shake of my head. He doesn't say anything, just looks at me curiously, a softened expression on his face. "It's not you that's the problem, okay."

"What is the problem?" he questions softly, making sure to not sound too harsh so as to push me further away than I already was.
Looking down at my lap, I begin to play and fiddle with my fingers over the top of the table, twirling my ring around my finger. He watches me in silence before giving my waist that extra rub again, making me sigh and turn my head to look up at him.

"Bryson," I whisper, causing his pupils to dilate for a sudden second before he calms himself down and shuffles around slightly.
Most of the time, James was okay with talking about Bryson but it was the odd times where it came across as a shock to him where he would find it awkward. If I ever wanted to talk about it, he would always support me though.

"What about him?" he whispers, causing my heart to beat quicker inside my chest. "Has he spoken or done something to you?"
"Something like that," I mumble, making him raise an eyebrow at me. I sigh once again and then move to take hold of his hands tightly, making him look at me with the most sincere expression on his face. "He wants to meet Aaliyah," I whisper, choking midway through. Hearing it out loud makes me feel sick almost. 
"What? Why? Since when?" James asks in disgust, causing me to shake my head.

"He's been texting me for quite a while. The day I met up with Emily was because I needed to talk to her about it but when I did, he showed up and spoke to Em and I. He didn't say much, just sort of asked how we were doing, but when Emily left, he told me that he'd be keeping in touch. From then on, he's just been sending me texts and e-mails and voice messages with documents attached. I think he's trying to bring himself into Aaliyah's life and it worries me so badly, James," I say hurriedly.

He shakes his head at me, massaging my knuckles soothingly in his palms as he kisses my forehead, holding me close to him.
"Calm down, sweetheart. Breathe, okay," he whispers to me, making my heart skip a beat as I listen to him. "We'll meet up with him first. Me and you, together, before taking any steps close to him meeting Aaliyah. We're not going to put her in danger like that, okay."

"James, he was the one who showed up last night. He posted a letter giving me his address and everything," I tell him, still with a rushed tone. He cups my cheek softly with one hand and then leans forward to rest his forehead against mine.
"We'll do this together," he tells me softly. "Aaliyah won't be meeting Bryson anytime soon, alright. And I'm not leaving you alone with him either." 

I nod my head slowly, breathing out slightly which causes him to bring his lips to the skin between my two eyebrows before he looks into my eyes. 
"You should have told me this, Riley," he whispers, causing me to nod again.
"I know I should have. But I just couldn't. I didn't want to bother you," I tell him, to which he sighs, playfully rolling his eyes before wrapping his arms around me securely.

"What am I going to do with you," he chuckles gently, kissing the top of my head which makes me laugh the slightest, then I remain wrapped in his arms for the next couple of minutes without the disruption of the children. 

I loved both LiLi and Ash but sometimes I just need time alone with James. Some time for the two of us to spend alone together.

. . .

Later in the evening of that day, I was in mine and James's bedroom preparing myself for bed as James was with the kids, telling them a bedtime story from out of his own imagination. He loved being creative with them and since he was quite the talker, he always made up stories using the characters 'Princess LiLi' and 'Dino Asher'. It was adorable to watch and listen to when it wasn't me reading them bedtime stories.

I was sat by the vanity, looking at myself in the mirror as I removed all of the make-up off of my face after packing my hair up into a high, messy bun, and then my phone pings with a notification on Instagram. 
I click onto a post I had been tagged in before remembering the date right away which only causes a smile to emit upon my two lips. I guess with all the panic and stress of the day, I completely forgot about what today's date was.

The bedroom door creaks open and then I turn around to see James stood there before I smile at him softly and then I stand up, heading over to him to wrap my arms around his neck as he places his on each side of my waist.
"You're mine," I whisper to him, just like I did on the night we got engaged and after our first kiss as a married couple. He chuckles softly and nods, drawing soft circles on either end of my hips.
"You're mine," he says back, then takes no time to crash his lips against my own.