One String Attached

15.

.James.

The car journey was pretty much dead silent. It wasn't like all of the other times we had travelled where Aaliyah and Asher were overly excited, singing and dancing and hyperactively chatting away in the backseats.
Instead, Asher was fast asleep, cuddling his teddies in the pits of his arms as he was strapped in his car-seat. Meanwhile, Aaliyah was sat there sulking still, crying and sniffling, huddled in a tiny ball as she sat on her booster seat. Riley wasn't talking much either.

The only thing preventing the car from being filled with dead silence right now was the radio. I knew Ri was thinking about something and she was stressing over it though, just through the concentrated look on her face as she looked out ahead of us, most likely to be another set of eyes for me to make sure we weren't about to crash as we were on the motorway.
I would wonder why she was so worried about me when it came to my driving, but I already knew her reasoning would be based around that one incident several years ago . . . One I don't have the care to mention.

I figured something must have been bothering her. The same way I couldn't get my previous conversation with Aaliyah out of my head, she probably couldn't get Bryson out of her head and that was understandable.
We had been driving for almost a full hour now and we had just over one more hour left.

At the start of the drive, Ash had been chatting his head off, his little giggles filling the air, and it was the one thing that seemed to be lighting up the atmosphere, but that was before Liyah completely cut him off and told him to 'shut up' because apparently 'no one cared' about what he had to say. That only led onto Asher crying himself to sleep and Aaliyah getting more moody after her mother had told her off once again. Riley then got annoyed too and rolled her eyes, trying to calm herself down too.

I turn my head around the slightest to look at Ri as she gazed out of the window on her side of the door before I sigh and move my hand down to her thigh, hoping to grasp her attention. I still hadn't told her about the situation with Aaliyah, but I so badly wanted to. I just didn't know how to or when.
She looks down at my hand before exhaling herself and then linking her hand together with mine, raising her head back up again for our eyes to meet.

"Do you want to stop for a break?" I ask her, my tone soft and gentle. She smiles as best she could and nods but her silence only emphasised the fact that something was on her mind. "You're okay, aren't you?" I ask with the same tone. I rub her thigh subtly, shaking her knee a little. She smiles once again and moves to place her hand on top of mine.
"I'm okay. Just feeling a bit sickly, that's all," she tells me. 

It's then that I remember she normally got car sickness, making her feel all restless, so I sigh and then bring her hand to my lips to kiss the back of her palm, and then she chuckles before resting her head on my shoulder, grabbing my arm and holding it tightly.

. . .

By the time we actually got to my parents, we found out they were currently out at a nearby restaurant, meaning we had to stop at the hotels first and wait for them to get back before we went to go and see them.
It was four in the afternoon, so we'd be able to get in a couple of hours with Mum and Dad but we'd get to spend the rest of the days here spending time with them properly. We are thinking of spending three days here, after all.

After parking the car and having taken the suitcases into the hotel while Ri waited in the car with the kids, I got back to the car and then opened the back door to find Asher sleeping still. I sigh and reach over to unclasp the strap of his car-seat before picking him up, making him whimper.
"Dada," he whispers, his voice breaking slightly. He pouts, his eyes still shuts while he squints in the daylight. 

"Hey," I whisper, holding him against my chest and cradling him in my arms, rocking him side to side. He shakes his head, clearly annoyed that I had disrupted his slumber, then he flings his arms around my neck, continuing to shake his head.
"I wan' Mumma," he whispers.

"Mummy's right here, buddy," I tell him. I look over towards Riley who was on the other side of the car, helping Aaliyah out. Asher looks as well before stretching his arms out.
"Mumma," he calls her.
She raises her head at the same time as Liyah jumps out of the car before closing the door behind her, allowing me to lock it. 

Aaliyah was still in a sulk. She didn't hold Riley's hand or even look at either one of us. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and continued to walk ahead. Riley sighs, then makes her way over to me before taking Asher out of my arms to hold him herself.
"Hey, baby," she coos, kissing his cheek which gives him some satisfaction as he wraps his arms around her, moving his head to rest against her neck. 

Usually when she and Asher cuddled up, I would do the same with little LiLi. Except she seemed to hate me right now and didn't even want to talk to me.
Riley raises an eyebrow in confusion, not knowing about what was currently going on.
"Aaliyah. Get back here, missy," she calls after her but to no avail. I shake my head, placing my hand on Ri's back to stop her from saying anything else. She looks up at me confusedly before taking in the look on my face. "What's wrong with her?" she asks me, and I exhale as we begin to make our way towards the building, leaving the car behind us.
"I'll tell you later," I mumble.

. . .

.Riley.

Later in the night, Aaliyah and Asher were both completely tired out. They shared a bed together and fell asleep right away, spread about all over the place. It was cute enough for me to take a picture as I kissed them both goodnight despite the two of them already dreaming away.

I chuckle as I look over it before heading over to the main double bed where James was sat, having just finished a call with his mother. We didn't have the time to see her today, so it looks like we'll be spending all day with Deborah and Robert tomorrow.

"Tell me this isn't adorable," I laugh softly, taking my seat beside him and resting my head on his shoulder while I show him the picture of our children. He smiles softly, chuckling and kissing the top of my head.
"It is," he says, but his voice sounded heavy, like he was worried about something. It was very rare for James to ever get worried, so when he was, it was one of the most obvious things in the world.

I sit myself up properly and then shake my head, looking right into his eyes. Moving my hand to his hair to begin ruffling his curls, I tilt my head to the side slightly and bite my lip.
"What's up? You and Liyah have been acting funny all day today," I tell him. 
"You can tell?" he asks, sighing. I smirk softly and nod.
"You're my husband and my daughter. I sleep in the same bed as the two of you. I think I'll be able to tell when something's not right," I say, making him chuckle as he nods his head.
"Touché, Ri," he mumbles. 

I smile gently and continue my movements through his hair before I shake my head once again.
"What's going on? Talk to me."
"I'm dealing with it, it's okay," he says, causing me to frown.
"Well I know that's a lie," I tell him. He goes silent once again, looking over towards the kids before looking back at me. I move my hand away from the back of his head and using my index finger to direct his chin upwards, getting him to look straight at me. "Why don't you try saying that again but with a bit of truth this time?" I ponder. 

I knew I sounded hypocritical, considering it usually takes me forever to tell him things but that was different. There's always something going on in my world. With James, it has to be something beyond compare before he gets phased by it.

He takes a moment to breathe in before breathing out once again, allowing his eyes to become connected with mine.
"She knows," he whispers, and that was all he needed to say for me to catch on.

Shit.