Custody Granted (Scömìche)

Nine

I had only lived with Scott and Mitch for a day and I was already grounded. 

Well, I technically wasn't grounded because the guys weren't legally my parents, legally at least. I guess you could call it being grounded since I'd been told not to leave the house without a trustworthy adult, even though my broken foot kept me from leaving anyway. Maybe they saw it as grounding me, I saw it as common sense at this point. 

That being said, my first week in the Grassi-Hoying household wasn't too bad. 

When I woke up the morning after my little escape artist act, Scott fixed me a bowl of cereal and took me to see a doctor for my foot. While Scott was watching me get my foot fit into a cast, Mitch went with Kirstie to the mall to buy me some clothes of my own. I trusted their judgment since I wasn't really picky with what I wore anyway. Of course when I walked through the door, crutches and all, there was a plethora of flannels, t-shirts, jeans, shorts and any other item of clothing I could think of. I wasn't even sure it was all going to fit in my closet, and that thing was really big. 

I didn't leave the house much after that day. It was too hard for me to get around on crutches, so I spent most of my time lying down on the couch with my foot on top of a stack of pillows. The guys and Kirstie, who I was starting to really like, did their best to entertain me. We listened to music (which included a lot of Beyoncé, which I now know how amazing and wonderful she is), watched movies and they even sang for me a few times. Avi and Kevin came over a couple times as well. I still haven't gotten to know them very well, but I'm not painfully shy around them like I was. Things were going really good that first week. 

But of course, all good things have to come to an end. 

I woke up on the couch one bright Saturday morning to the sound of purring in my ear. I opened my eyes to see Wyatt wedged between my torso and the couch cushion, staring at me with his large yellow eyes. 

"Heeeyyy Wyatt," I said picking him up and pulling him onto my chest. The little guy had grown on me in the past week, since we'd had lots of time to cuddle and get to know each other. I stroked the top of his head as I grabbed the remote from the coffee table next to me and switched on the TV. Spongebob was on, of course, so I quickly changed the channel before Scott or Mitch heard. 

Just as I was settling on a show to watch, there was a knock at the door. I waited a few seconds, but neither Mitch or Scott got up, so I picked Wyatt up in my arms and hobbled on one foot over to the door and opened it. There stood a very tall man wearing a suit and tie, holding a large manila envelop. He had a Bluetooth device around his ear and he looked down at me with an aggravated expression. 

"May I help you?" I said looking him up and down curiously. 

"Are you Alex Zimmer?" he asked raising one eyebrow. I nodded and he stuck his hand out toward me. "Jonathan Grissom, attorney at law. Is there an adult around that I could please speak to?" he asked looking into the apartment. 

"They're both asleep," I said. Clutching Wyatt closer to my chest. 

"Well could you wake them? It's a very important adult matter," he said eyeing Wyatt with disgust. Wyatt let out a low his and the man took a step back. 

"If it's an adult matter, then how do you know my name?" I asked. 

"That's confidential information. Please let me speak to an adult," he said annoyance in his tone. 

"OK then, Jonathan. Give me a moment," I said mocking his uppity tone. I shut the door and hobbled to Scott and Mitch's room, grabbing my crutches on the way and balancing Wyatt on my neck. I walked in to find both of them asleep in each other's arms. To be honest, it was really cute and it made it so much harder to wake them up. I crutch-ed my way over to the side of the bed and shook Scott's shoulder. He groaned, but his eyes didn't open. I shook him again and called his name. Wyatt jumped onto the bed, landing on his chest. 

"Scoooootttt," I called softly. 

"Wha?" he mumbled still leaving his eyes shut. 

"There's a man at the door who needs to speak to you. He says it's a "very important adult manner". He says he's a lawyer," I said scoffing at the end of the sentence. Scott groaned again, then rubbed his eyes. He blinked a few times before focusing on me. 

"Ugh, fine tell him I'm coming," he said. I nodded and crutch-ed my way out of the room and back to the front door. 

"He's coming," I said snootily. 

"Greeeat," he said. I rolled my eyes and turned my back to him. I made my way back over to the couch and sat down, leaving the door open. Just as I turned the TV on, Scott came out of his room wearing a pair of jeans, his red flawless flannel and his black beanie. 

"May I help you sir?" Scott asked, his voice still tired. I lowered the volume on the TV and listened intently as the two adults began whispering at the door. I couldn't pick up much except that they were talking about me and it was very serious. I could hear Scott's tone getting really annoyed at the man, he even cursed a couple times. They were still talking when Mitch woke up half an hour later and trudged out into the living room. 

"Morning babe," he said giving me a sleepy smile. 

"Morning Mitch," I said stil trying to listen, even though the conversation had moved into the hallway and the door was shut. 

"Where's Scott?" he asked looking around the room. 

"In the hall talking to some lawyer guy about me," I answered. "Now shh, I'm trying to hear what they're saying," I whispered as I put the TV on mute. 

"Alex, you shouldn't eavesdrop on people. Besides, you're too far away to hear anything good," Mitch scolded, adding a chuckle at the end. "I should probably go make sure he doesn't kill the guy though," he added. He headed towards the door, but as he was about to open it, Scott came storming inside, his face red and his fists clenched. Mr. Grissom followed him into the apartment holding out the envelope which I could tell had been crumpled and thrown at some point during their discussion. 

"Mr. Hoying please try to understand that I'm not doing this because it brings me joy. I'm required by law to make sure that the girl is in the care of her legal guardian," he said. 

"Not when he's almost fucking killed her!" Scott shouted. Mitch's eyes widened as did mine.

"Hold on. What's going on?" Mitch said wrapping his arm around Scott's waist. Scott moved away from Mitch, his body filled with anger. 

"We're being sued for letting Alex live with us without her father's permission," Scott stated angrily. 

"By who?" I asked. Scott turned his gaze to me, his expression filled with pain. A chill ran down my spine. He didn't have to say it out loud for me to know the answer, but for Mitch's sake, he did anyway. 

"Your dad," he whispered. 

Heyy!! I haven't written you guys an author's note in a while! How are you enjoying the story? Let me know in the comments. I'm not sure how long this story is going to be yet, but it's already longer than any of the other Scömìche stories I've written so far, so I guess that's a good thing. I'll try to update soon! :) 

-M.D.

P.S: MITCH FUCKING GRASSI TWEETED ME FOR THE SECOND TIME AND IT WAS AN ACTUAL SENTENCE THIS TIME AND I JUST HAD TO TELL YOU GUYS BECAUSE NONE OF MY FRIENDS REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW BIG OF A DEAL THAT IS FOR ME!!! XD