Roomies - The Baby Years

Chapter 23

I just want to say a HUGE thank you to  @eveningSunset for reading #Roomies and voting on every chapter, you really got me in the mood for writing again! xx

Mine and Eli's relationship continued. Niall kept seeing Emily. Eli and Willa settled in court which gave Eli shared custody of Sophie which meant that she was going to be with him for two weeks then with Willa for two weeks.
It was the beginning of winter and I was standing on the porch of the house. I looked in through the open door and saw the handles Niall and I had placed on the door to the laundry room, and the carpet we had picked out for the staircase. Suddenly I felt an arm sneak around my waist and I looked to my left, where Eli now was standing. I leaned my head down on his arm, I couldn't quite reach up to his shoulder, and I sighed.

"You ready?" he asked and I shook my head slightly, which made him look down on me,

"What's wrong, Stella?" I looked up at Eli and felt my eyes beginning to water up, I did not want to start crying.

"Look, I love you and I want to be with you and I don't regret this, I will just really miss this place. This was where I became an adult. It's where I taught Ben how to swim, and ride a bike. It's where I stayed up countless of nights, looking at my newborn baby breathing. It's even where I broke my wrist, I'll miss it." Eli smiled and kissed me on my forehead, one of the most appreciated kisses.

"I know how much this place means to you and I understand that you will miss it. Do you want to take one more walk through?" I shook my head, "No, let's just go." I said and Eli nodded, "All of those memories will still be with you, babe. The house just made them easier to visualize." I knew he was right,

"Besides, we'll make new memories in the new house." He said and I looked up at him and then kissed him, god how I loved this man.

"I'm ready." I said and locked the door. Eli smiled and took my hand as we walked to the car. I jumped into the passenger seat and took one last look at the house, it was after all just a house. And now we were moving into a different one, where memories would be just as easily made.

We started the 1 hour drive to Oxford, where our new 6 bedroom house was waiting on Jackson Drive in Kennington. The house had a beautiful backgarden with a pool that had heating, there was a man cave in the basement and a beautiful master bedroom on the second floor. There was also a guestbedroom, and one bedroom for Sophie, and one for Benjamin. Eli had made one of the remaining bedrooms into a study for me, where I could write, with the dest by the window overlooking the garden.

Moving from Watford had proved quite complicated, and Niall's lawyers had argued that I made the move to keep Benji as far away from Niall as I could. That was definitely not why we moved. Eli and I made a decision together, and we both felt like it would be easier to be in a relationship if we lived together, and Eli would start school in Oxford. I did not want to live in his place, and he did not want to live in mine because it had been mine and Niall's. So the only other way to make it work was to move into a completely new house. Luckily for us, the couple who had owned the new house before us, had passed away by age and their children wanted the place sold as fast as possible. We didn't hesitate.

We arrived at the new house a bit after 4, and we started moving boxes around the different rooms. I finished setting up Ben's bedroom, and then I helped Eli with Sophies, so our kids could come here as soon as possible.

Then we started on our own bedroom and it ended with the two of us lyingin the bed, barely keeping our eyes open. Then there was a ring on the door, and we looked at each other.

"Did you tell anyone the address?" Eli asked and I shook my head,
"Only Niall, so he would know where to drop of Ben."
"Yeah I only told Willa..."
So there was two choices, Willa or Niall. I didn't want to see either one. The bell rang again and I sighed and made my way downstairs with Eli close behind. As I opened the door, I couldn't believe my eyes. In front of me stood Keli, a suitcase in her hand and her phone in the other.