"Mummy, up!" Noelle fussed loudly as I sorted out the food we had ordered for breakfast.
"Shh, darling," I said picking her up.
"Mama," Noah babbled, crawling towards the sofa and using it to lean against as he stood himself up.
"Yes, Noah?" I smiled, stroking his head.
Noah smiled and babbled to himself.
"No!" Noelle pouted.
"Why are you so fussy this morning?" I laughed lightly to Noelle.
"No!" She yelled, leaning forward and pushing Noah away from the sofa, making him fall over, hit his head aginst the table and start crying.
"Hey!" Joe said, picking Noah up, "Noelle, that's not nice and you know better."
"No!" She shook her head and scrunched her face angrily.
"Shh, it's okay," Joe said to Noah who was continuing to cry as Joe held him.
"I think you need to go for a time out," I said, carrying Noelle to the room her and Noah were sleeping in.
"No!" She screamed, swatting at me and kicking her legs.
I ignored her attempts to swat at me and put her in the cot before closing the door and leaving the room.
"What's her problem this morning?" Joe groaned.
"I have no idea, but I'm not having it," I laughed lightly.
"See, you're okay," Joe cooed to Noah as he stopped crying.
About five minutes later, Joe went to check on Noelle and she had calmed down, so he carried her back through.
"'Elle, you know you can't hit or push anyone," Joe said.
Noelle cuddled her face against Joe's shoulder as I held Noah.
"Should we just relax today?" Joe suggested.
"Yeah," I nodded, leaning against Joe as he sat next to me on the sofa, "I don't feel really motivated to do anything," I shrugged.
"Same."
Noelle and Noah started to get along again, so they played on the floor with the toys, only squabbling a few times on sharing toys. Joe found a movie to put on the television and we both collapsed on the sofa.
"This is relaxation," Joe hummed, smiling.
I nodded in agreement, slowly closing my eyes to rest a bit.
"Mama," Noah said as he crawled to the sofa, wanting to be picked up.
"Come here, love," I said, picking him up.
He dozed off as I held him and I soon followed, taking a short nap.
°
"Ah, I don't want to leave!" Joe groaned as I packed our bags.
"Me neither," I shook my head.
Joe came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing the side of my neck.
"Mama!" Noah babbled and giggled as he crawled across the bed, motioning for me to pick him up.
Picking him up, Joe playfully poked his nose as he rested his head on my shoulder.
Noah babbled and giggled as Joe played with him over my shoulder.
"Come on, let's get you to bed, we leave in the morning," I smiled, patting his bum.
Joe went and warmed a bottle up for each of the kids, a treat for them because we're on holiday.
"Yay!" Noelle cheered giddily as she realised what Joe was doing.
"You have to calm down before you can have it though," Joe said.
After handing me a bottle, Joe picked up Noelle and we both gave them their bottles as they started drifting to sleep in our arms. Not long after finishing their bottles, both Noelle and Noah were fast asleep in their cots as Joe and I finished whatever little packing there was.
"Mm, I love you Minxie," Joe hummed before changing into his pyjamas.
"I love you too," I smiled, focusing on zipping the bags and moving them off of the bed.
We crawled into bed and Joe opened his laptop and edited the vlog from when we walked down to the seaside.
My mind started wandering off as I watched Joe edit.
After this holiday, we'll return back to everyday life. Does that mean I'll return to being my paranoid self? And why have I suddenly started being paranoid again? I just have a gut-feeling about Rory being back, and I have no idea why, but it terrifies me. I know I have Joe, but he has to go to meetings and we have to get on with our everyday lives and sometimes that means not being with each other, and then I feel vulnerable and unprotected.
"Minx?" Joe asked waving a hand in front of my face.
"Hm? Sorry," I apologised.
"Should I keep this intro or do a new one?" Joe asked again before playing the intro of the video.
"Keep that one," I nodded.
"Okay," He nodded.
I am just a paranoid mess. I am starting to just overthink everything. I'm sure Rory's still locked away and I have nothing to worry about, anyway, if he 'loves' me, like he claims he does, he wouldn't hurt me or the kids, right? And Joe can protect himself, yeah? I don't know. But anyway, I think, or hope I guess, we'll be okay.
But still, I never thought I could hate someone as much as I hate Rory. I still have nightmares about him sometimes, but they've never been bad enough that I've woken Joe up, except for when we were first dating and he slept over.
I remember the first time I had met him and his family, I was sure that they were going to be another kind, but rich, family that James works with. However, I soon learned the reality behind the family, or actually, just Rory. No one's ever gotten under my skin as much as he does and it urks me, especially because he is aware of that too.
"Minxie, are you okay?" Joe asked.
"Um, yeah, I'm fine," I nodded convincingly, "Just lost in my own thoughts."
"Alright," He nodded, continuing to edit.
I leaned over and turned off the lamp on the bedside table next to me, before curling up next to Joe and watching him edit the vlog and focusing on that instead of wasting any more of my time thinking about Rory.
"Goodnight," I yawned as I started dozing off to sleep.
"'Night, love," Joe said, leaning down and giving me a kiss on the forehead.
°
a/n: ahhh! I'M SO EXCITED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!! Love you all loads and thank you so much for reading! It means a lot, so thank you! X
