The Hook-Up (Part Two)

Chapter 285

"Quit being cute and let me ride back with you!" Presley yelled at them with her boyfriend trailing behind her. She pushed the two of them playfully and then jumped in the car with her niece and nephew.

"I'm sorry..." the boyfriend smiled at Lauren.

Lauren and Bruno shrugged their shoulders getting into the front of the car.

"What are we doing at the house?" Lauren asked. "Since I have no idea whatsoever what's going on..."

"What we've been doing all week." he told her.

"That is?" she asked.

"Sit around and get a tan." he told her touching her skin cheek. "Or sleep. Whichever."

"Can I do both?" she asked reaching for his hand squeezing it.

"Yeah. We can do both. You wanna sleep with the babies?" he asked.

"Yeah. Can you make sure they sleep until like 5?" she asked.

"I can do that." Presley said to them interrupting their conversation.

"Are you sure?" Lauren questioned turning around to see Ezra holding onto her hand through his sleep.

"Yeah. I think we can." Presley answered.

"We can do it." her boyfriend answered.

"But aren't you taking the other two, too?" Lauren asked about Zyah and Njah.

"Umm...yeah. But the twins are just going to sleep, right?" Presley asked.

"Everlee is walking now and she's going to want to get up..." Lauren paused. "But we'll be close so it's okay."

"Why are you trying to scare her away from taking our children away for a few hours?" Bruno asked her with a smile.

"Umm...I don't know." Lauren answered. "You have a point..." she answered as they pulled int the long crowded driveway facing the beach.

Lauren turned to pick Ezra up to take him into the house with him still sound asleep while Bruno reached over to get Everlee who started to scream from being woken up. Everyone turned to look at her and Bruno gave Lauren a nervous look. You can do it. She mouthed to him watching him hold her tightly whispering in her ear as she started to cry even more. "He's got it." Lauren told everyone that was standing by her. "Give it a few minutes. I don't know what I'm going to do when he's gone." she said walking into the front of the house placing Ezra in a pack and play they had already set up.

"How are you going to handle the tour, Laur?" Presley asked.

"We haven't really talked about it yet." Lauren answered. "We just figured out that we're not going to get a divorce." she told her over the high pitched screams of her daughter. "I can't deal with that anymore..." Lauren interrupted going to get Everlee. "Bruno?" Lauren asked quietly seeing him standing outside bouncing her gently. "Let me try...." Lauren told him reaching out to take her.

"I think she might have a tooth coming in too..." Bruno said reaching for his daughter's mouth touching her gums while Lauren held onto her bouncing her in a different way than he was.

"Yeah. I just don't get how she's so far ahead than he is..." she told him. "I mean..I guess we just know what he's gong to be like..." she paused. "When you're gone..." she almost sniffed away her tears realizing that they were going to be apart for several weeks. Lauren was able to calm her daughter down feeling her wrap her legs around her mother and lay her head on her shoulder chewing on her mother's finger.

"When I'm gone, mama.." he said leaning in to her. "You're going to be an amazing mother and you're going to get through it. I'm going to get through it and if you need me I'll be there for you..."

"How?" she asked him. "You weren't there for the last one.." she asked. "I mean...I didn't really need you then. We just started dating and I'm not getting upset about that...."

"Woah...calm down, Laur." Bruno smiled at her. "I wasn't going to go there at all..." he told her holding her hand walking with her toward the edge of the beach.

"I just thought..." she started.

"Stop thinking like we're going to get in a fight about everything, baby. It's okay. You gotta put your guard down." he told her. "I know it's hard..."

"It is." she told him digging her toes into the sand starting to feel a little nervous and unsure about being alone with him for some reason.

"Hey..." she felt his hand hit her waist lightly.

"I'm sorry." she shook her head leaning her face into her daughter's hair. He kept her close to him not saying a word to her.

"I'm going to fix it for you, Lauren." he whispered to her.

"I just thought it would go away now that this happened...." she told him. "I thought that this would just make it all go away. Me being afraid of you every once in a while and me worrying that she'll just show up and that something will happen. And nothing has happened to make me feel the wrong way about what we chose..."

"Lauren...." he titled her head up a little to look into her eyes. "It will be okay." he said touching her eyes as she closed them feeling tears fall down her cheek.

"I really don't feel good and I think she bit off the tip of my finger." she told him opening her eyes.

"Then let's get you back to the house so you can sleep with your babies." he smiled at her kissing her lightly. "And then we can find that missing finger." he said running his finger through the loose side braid she had on her shoulder.