It's All About Us

Chapter 21: "Brandon, meet Olivianna Aster."

1st January 2010

"Thank you for keeping an eye on him last night." Peyton Reed said, grabbing her son's hand to lead him out. "Hope he wasn't any trouble."

"Honey, Brandon has never been a trouble to us." The Reeds' elder neighbor, Mrs. Moore said, patting Peyton's shoulder. "We think of him as one of our sons, and I have triple the experience with that. Moreover, you needed to get your friend to the hospital urgently. So we understand."

"Still, it was New Year's, and I feel bad for disturbing you guys."

"Look, Pey, it was nothing, seriously." Mr. Moore said, joining them by the front door. "Brandon is one of the most calm boys I have ever met, we had no problem."

"Thank you for saying that, Mr. Moore."

Peyton smiled down at her son's gratefulness, who looked up and returned the gesture. 

"How is your friend though?" Mrs. Moore asked. "She looked like she was in labor, so is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's great," Peyton replied, nodding. "She and her baby girl both are great."

"Oh my! That's such a great news!" Mrs. Moore exclaimed as her husband nodded along. "Give both of them our blessings."

After Peyton and Brandon bid their neighbors farewell, they stopped by their own apartment to freshen up. The 11-year-old boy was excited to hear that his Mom was taking them to meet a baby, someone he knew was related to his best friend. 

Meanwhile, Peyton's mind swirled with thoughts as she got ready for the day. She was still struggling to grasp the revelations her friend Lillian had shared the previous night after they had driven home. The information that can completely change the trajectory of the most important case of her life.

But then Lillian's water broke, right there in her living room, and Peyton had to rely on her neighbors to take care of Brandon while she drew Lili to the nearest hospital.

Peyton's apartment was on the other side of their small town, so she wasn't worried of the news reaching John Greeley anytime soon. 

But she knew if what Lili had decided last night was to be done, then they needed to act fast.

"Mom, I'm ready!" Brandon shouted, breaking Peyton's thoughts and entering her room. "Can we go now? I wanna meet the little baby! Then I can tell Vis that I met his sister before him."

Peyton adored the relationship her son had with the eldest Greeley boy. They had become best of friends on the first day of kindergarten and has been at each other's side since. She also had an idea that maybe her son liked his best friend a little too much. 

But now, she needed to explain Brandon why he can't tell Travis about Lillian and her baby. 

"Hey, hun," She said, pulling him slowly by his arm. "Let's sit here for a minute, I need to talk to you."

They sat on the edge of her bed, side by side, and Peyton realized she hadn't really thought of what she was supposed to say. 

"So, hun, there's something I need you to do for me." She started speaking, trying to explain it in a simple way. "And I know you wouldn't agree with this, but it's very important."

Brandon waited, recognizing the seriousness in his mom's tone, understanding the importance of listening carefully.

"I know you tell Travis everything, but I need you to not tell him about Lili and her baby. Not just him, to anyone else."

"What?" Brandon couldn't believe her. "But Mom, I tell Vis everything! How can I not tell him about the baby? She is his sister!"

"I know, baby, I know." Peyton patted his back. "But you need to understand that Lili is going away, somewhere very far. She said goodbye to Travis before coming here last night, and he would be sad when you will meet him next time. Do you really want him to know that you met the little baby but he couldn't? He would just get more sad."

"But... but why can't Vis meet the baby?"

"Because, well..." Peyton thought it over. "If I tell you the truth, will you keep it a secret?"

Brandon hurriedly nodded, wanting to know the truth. 

"Okay, so some bad people are after Lili. It wasn't her fault in anyway, but if they catch her and her baby, then maybe they will hurt them both."

"Bad people are after Lili?" The young one exclaimed in shock. "Mom, why aren't you catching them? You can protect her and the baby."

"The only way Lili and the baby can be safe are far away from here." Peyton explained. "That's why they are going away, and no one should know that we met them before they left."

Brandon stayed silent for a  few moments, looking down at his fingers. "Vis was so excited, you know, he had always wanted a little sister. Now, he couldn't even meet her."

"That's not true," I replied, taking his hands in mine. "They will get to meet each other, maybe even in a few months. But for now, you can't tell him that you got to meet the little baby."

The 11-year-old slowly nodded, then turned to look at his mother with a determined look on his face. "Yeah, Mom, don't worry. I will not tell Vis, if that's what will keep Lili and the baby safe. He loves them both, so I can do that for him. I know he would understand when I would actually get to tell him."

Peyton quickly pulled her son close in a hug and gave him a forehead kiss. She was proud that he understands the importance of keeping everything a secret.

"So, you ready to go and meet the baby?"

Brandon nodded, enthusiastically and jumped down from Peyton's bed. "Yes, let's go!"

Peyton quickly grabbed some things from Lili's bag that she may need, then along with Brandon, she drove to the hospital.

After making a quick stop at the hospital's store, they both made their way to Lili's room. 

"Come in." They heard Lili's voice call after Peyton had knocked on the door, so they slowly opened it and went in. 

Peyton couldn't help but notice the loneliness in Lillian's hospital room. If yesterday's events hadn't happened, then maybe the entire Greeley family would have been by her side. 

"Hey guys," Lillian greeted, smiling down at Brandon who had brought a small teddy. "Hi Brandon, what you got there?"

"Hi Lili!" Brandon replied, noticing a small bundle of blankets Lili was holding closer to herself. "Is that the baby? Can I see her?"

"Could you lower your voice, please hun? The baby might be sleeping, and we wouldn't want to wake her up, right?"

"I think she would be waking up soon." Lillian replied, looking down at her baby. "The doctor said she will be hungry then, so expect her to be cranky."

"Mom, can you help me up?" Brandon asked, looking up at his mother. "I wanna see her."

"Yeah, Pey, let him sit beside me."

Peyton shook her head, but still helped her son up and sat him on the edge. Lili leaned down so Brandon can see the peaceful sleeping face in between the blankets.

"Wow." He whispered, his eyes twinkling. "She's very pretty."

"Thank you for saying that, Brandon."

They all stayed quiet for a minute, just adoring the sleeping baby.

"So, have you thought of any name for her?" Peyton asked her friend who looked up and bite her lower lip. 

"I think so." Lili replied, looking back at her bundle of joy. "I wanted to name her after my Nana, her name was Annabeth, but I also kind of made a promise to two important people. So, I had to get creative while thinking of a name for her."

Just then, the baby's face scrunched up so Lili started to coo at her. Still, her little eyes opened slowly and Brandon saw a very familiar blues staring up at him. The eyes that matched with his best friend's.

"Woah." Brandon whispered, looking up at Lili in excitement as she too smiled to herself. "What is her name?"

"Brandon, meet Olivianna Aster."

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