One String Attached

16.

.Riley.

"I know, Mais. But I need you to get that idea out of Violet's head, okay," I try telling Maisy over the phone the following morning.

The kids were currently sat in the tub having a bubble bath in the bathroom of the hotel room but I was sat on the bed, James pacing up and down the room in front of me. He was scratching his chin in thought, like he usually did on the very few times he was worried about something.

Last night he had told me the full story about what Aaliyah had spoken to him about as soon as he told me that it was Violet who had told her, I knew straight away that Vi must have heard it from a conversation between either her parents or Maisy and I.
The only logical way to handle this was to get Vi on the phone and tell her to tell Liyah she had lied. But even that might not work since Aaliyah's one smart little cookie. She knows when things aren't right.

"Ri, that's not going to work," Maisy tells me across the line, causing me to frown and roll my eyes. I loved the girl as she was one of my best friends but she can be extremely stubborn sometimes. "I'm not going to get Violet to lie even more by having her tell Aaliyah it's not true when it is. You need to tell Liyah yourself, okay. I'm sorry," she says.
Her tone was slightly exasperated, like she wasn't sure on what to do or say. I knew she was apologetic about it all but it was slightly frustrating that she wasn't choosing to help out.

I take a moment before sighing, breathing out and looking up at James. He takes in the look on my face and then shakes his head at me, telling me to give it up.
"Ri?" Maisy asks when I don't respond.
"It's okay," I say to her gently, scratching my forehead. "James and I will sort it out."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, it's alright," I mumble.
"Alright, let me know how it goes, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," I say to her before we say our goodbyes and then I end the call. 

James licks his lower lip then moves over to sit by my side, placing his hand on my knee lightly.
"No?" he asks me. I rotate my head around to look at him before shaking my head, causing him to sigh.
"No, she won't let Vi talk to Liyah," I tell him. He takes in my words before nodding slightly. 

I bite my lip and move my hand to link together with his, causing his eyes to travel towards mine.
"We'll think of something, okay," I tell him softly. "She's still your daughter though. Whether she finds our or not doesn't change that." I reach over to place a tender kiss on his lips before backing away.

"Mummy! The water's colddd!" Asher's tiny voice calls from the bathroom. I chuckle softly to myself and then shake my head, detaching my hands from James's.
"I'm coming, sweetheart," I call to him before standing up, rubbing my husband's shoulder lightly then leaving him completely to enter the bathroom where my kids were. 

As soon as I enter, Aaliyah looks down and avoids all eye-contact with me, the smile that was once on her lips disappearing off of her face entirely.

. . . 

Later on in the day, we were at Deborah and Robert's. Some other members of James's family were here too: that being his older brother, Nathan, his wife, Grace, and their daughter, Madi.
Madison and Aaliyah were up in one of the free bedrooms Deborah had designated as a supposed 'playroom' and James was inside with his brother and Grace, talking to both of their parents about something. 

Asher's mood had completely changed from what it was this morning and he had been crying for most of the day which is why I decided to take him outside for a bit. Right now, we were in the back garden, Asher in my arms as I rocked him sideways, holding him firmly against my chest.
I kiss the top of his head, sorting through my thoughts while trying to process the whole Bryson and Aaliyah situation. I didn't know what was going to happen or what to do about it.

"Penny for your thoughts?" a voice says from behind me, causing me to look up to see Nathan approaching. I smile at him softly, noticing he was offering me a can of Coke, knowing I didn't like to drink much, but I shake my head at him. He chuckles and then opens it up for himself to take a sip until he reaches me, close enough to talk with me properly. "What's up, Ri?" he asks and I sigh. 

Nathan and I were definitely close. He helped me a lot when I was pregnant with Aaliyah and I was thankful for that. Honestly, I'm glad James's family are as supportive as they are. The only person who was never truly fond of me was Robert, but he had his reasons.

"I don't know," I mumble, not wanting to have to bombard him with more of my issues. "I guess life just isn't treating me in the exact way I want it to right now," I tell him. He nods his head, stretching his hand over to ruffle Asher's hair.
"Hey, little man," he says, despite the boy being asleep. Nathan chuckles but keeps his hand where it was, stroking through his hair softly. "He's really growing, isn't he?" he asks me, and I nod my head.
"Growing is one way to put it," I murmur.

He studies my face for a moment, probably contemplating over whether or not it was worth asking me about it more, but after a while he shakes his head and moves his hand to my arm.
"Sometimes life doesn't go the way we want it to, Riley," he tells me, making me look at him as I tilt my head to the side slightly. "Sometimes we're met with obstacles in the worst possible times. Home truths are revealed, accidents happen, lies are told, people we thought we were closest to become villains . . . and it can get to the point where all hell breaks loose and you feel like the entire world is against you." 

He stops to stare at me for a moment before sending me a soft smile, looking down at Asher once again and then going back to stroking his small and short curls. "But sometimes those things are what make us stronger. Life never goes the way want it, Ri. We expect things to happen but they never do and we wonder why. But you just need to remember that at the end of the day, everyone's going through things and that you're not alone. You've gotten past tonnes of things before so you'll be able to get through whatever it is this time."
"It's just annoying when things don't go to plan though, you know?" I say to him, making him exhale as he allows his eyes to travel down to mine. "It just puts things in one tight knot."

"Well think of it this way," he continues as I bite my lip, still rocking Ash in my arms. "Aaliyah wasn't planned either, but giving birth to her is one of the best things that ever happened to you, right?"
"Of course," I respond, breathing out lightly. He nods his head.
"Exactly. Everything in life happens for a reason, Ri, and sometimes that's not always a bad thing," he says.

I guess he was right. But even so, I still have no idea how I'm supposed to deal with this, considering Aaliyah won't even look at me or James.

"Do you remember this?" he asks, taking his phone out of his back pocket. I watch him curiously, eyebrows furrowed until he shows me a picture of myself and Asher from two or so years ago, immediately making my heart simmer.

"It was on the night of yours and James's wedding, in the evening when we went down to the beach," he tells me, making me bite my lower lip. "It came up on my phone a couple days ago when I was scrolling through pictures but either way . . ." he drifts off, making me laugh slightly as he rambles the same way his younger brother tends to. "I have no idea what's going on but my point is, life is full of ups and downs. When it seems like you're at your lowest, you just need to remember the good times and the good things in life. For you that would be marrying James, having Aaliyah, having Asher . . . Do you understand?" he asks, causing me to nod my head.

"Yeah, I understand." I whisper.
"Good. Now I'm gonna head back inside. Do you want me to go and get James?" he asks me but I shake my head.
"It's okay, I'll head inside too. I think I should put Asher down for a bit," I tell him. He smiles softly, nodding.
"Okay. But you know I'm always here for both you and James if you need someone to confide in, right?" he questions, causing me to nod once again.
"I know. Thank you."