Sand In My Boots - Morgan Wallen Story

Chapter 22

Morgan got out of Ellie's room, closing the door quietly behind him.

"She was fast asleep," he whispered, making his way to the kitchen where I was snacking directly out of the fridge. "Some water with that, Winnie The Pooh?" he joked, pointing at the red t-shirt I was wearing that was now a little too tight to reach the end of my stomach. I pulled on it slightly, trying to cover myself up and he laughed at my fruitless efforts.

"I'm so hungry, you don't understand," I complained. "I was the same way with Ellie." He laughed.

"It looks good on you," he said, kissing the top of my head.

"What does?"

"The little baby bump, probably even more efficient than a wedding ring," he joked.

"You're a dick," I rolled my eyes, giggling.

"Hey, I offered the wedding too! You didn't want it," he chuckled.

"Yeah, not like that! Hey girl, let's get married so you stop being jealous of them other hoes," I said in his accent, jokingly. "How romantic."

"So, does that mean that if I make it romantic you'll say yes?" he asked. I felt my cheeks flare up.

"I don't know, I guess we'll see," I said, shrugging shyly. He smiled.

"Hey why did you tell Ellie we couldn't go to my mom's house?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I mean, we can go visit her, but I don't think that's what she was asking."

"But you do plan on moving to Tennessee, right?"

"In your fucking frat house? Yeah, I don't think so."

"We can sell the house and buy a new one, Aubrey. It's not about the house," he said.

"I like Vermont, my life is here."

"I have a kid in Tennessee!"

"And I have a kid in Vermont!" I said in the same tone.

"It's not the same thing, you know that," he said, dismissing my comment. I raised my eyebrows and tilted my head, warning him to tread lightly.

"And why exactly is that?"

"Because she doesn't have a dad! You get to move away, I don't!"

"Wow, I can't believe you just said that. You're an asshole," I mumbled.

"No, that's not- You know what I mean," he said defensively. "You can't expect me to be a full time parent to two kids who live 11 hours away from one another!"

"Frankly, I don't expect anything from you, Morgan," I said dryly.

"That's not fair," he said as I started walking towards my bedroom. He grabbed my forearm semi-roughly and pulled me back in his direction. "Stop!," he said, aggravated. "Stop running away from me! Every time we have a disagreement you shut me out! Why do you keep doing that?! Why can't we just talk and compromise like normal people?!"

"Because everyone in my life has fucking failed me, Morgan! My mom abandoned me and my dad died, and even Josh bailed on Ellie and I as soon as he got the chance! You want me to blindly jump into this crazy adventure with you! Drive into the sunset and never look back! Well, I can't do that! I don't trust you," I admitted, feeling tears well up in my eyes. He sighed.

"You don't have to fucking yell at me, Aubrey. I'm not def," he snapped.

"You've been here an hour and we're already fighting," I sighed. "This is exactly what I mean. What if I move across the country for you and we just end up fighting all the time? What then?" I said, my voice breaking. He took my hand into his and gently stroked it with his thumb, exhaling slowly.

"You're upset, and hormonal, and that's normal. I'm not trying to fight with you," he said softly. I looked down, trying to hide the tears that were rolling down my cheeks. "Do you want me to leave?" he asked. I shook my head no and he sighed, kissing the top of my head gently.

"I know you don't trust me, I get it," he continued. "I'm going to do everything I can to change that, but can you please just be open minded?" he asked.

"In what way?"

"Come look at houses in Nash' with me. Maybe there will be one you like. And if you don't, I won't twist your arm. But, either way, I want you to feel comfortable at my house and right now I know that you don't. Would that be a good start? And we can take it from there," he suggested. I nodded faintly. "Just talk to me when something's wrong, Aubrey. I'm on your team, you don't have to be so guarded with me."

"I'm just trying to keep Ellie safe and happy," I admitted. "I don't want her childhood to be unstable and messed up like mine."

"And rightfully so, but it won't be, I promise. Plus, I sincerely think that little girl likes me more than you do," he chuckled. I sniffed, wiping my eyes softly and giggled.

"She really does like you," I admitted.

I heard my phone vibrating against the kitchen table, cutting our conversation short.

"Hello?" I picked up

"Have you given what I said any more thought?" Jared asked.

"I told him," I said. "He knows I'm pregnant."

"Is that Jared?" Morgan asked. I nodded. "Put him on speaker phone," he requested and I obliged.

"Hey, Jared?" Morgan asked.

"Morg- Are you guys together? Are you in Vermont?" Jared babbled, seemingly confused.

"Yeah, I'm in Vermont, buddy. I just wanted to let you know that your secretary will not be coming into work anymore," Morgan said.

"Excuse me?!" I asked. He winked at me.

"You owe me one for, you know, harboring a fugitive," Morgan added.

"What do you mean?" Jared asked.

"You let my pregnant girlfriend hide under your skirt, asshole," he joked.

"Aubrey, you told him that I knew?! Not cool!" Jared said. This phonecall is fucking chaos. "Fine, whatever you need," Jared said before quickly hanging up.

"What the fuck was that about?" I asked.

"I told you I was gonna take care of you. There's no way I'm gonna let my pregnant girlfriend kill herself at work. Especially considering she doesn't need to. Now go get undressed, I'm drawing you a bath," he ordered.

"So bossy," I said, walking towards my room to get undressed.

"You're welcome!" He yelled jokingly as I walked away.

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This is super short and fairly uneventful but I felt like it might help the readers understand Aubrey's reactions a little better! Let me know what you guys think or what you would like to see happen over the next chapters!

XO 

LadyBug