Better or Bad (Sequel to Lizzy Walker - Adopted Story)

Up All Night

The evening struck and we got ready for bed. Our kids fell asleep from all the fun. I carried Breanna and wrapped blankets around her. She was still sleep as I kissed her cheek. A door closed. I walked out of the room and Bryce closed Jace's door. We chuckled quietly and got under the blankets. We shared a kiss before drifting off to sleep. Bryce turned off the nightlight.

*****

We slept for two hours till we heard a cry. I groggily opened my eyes. Bryce did the same. What's that? Another cry was heard. I rolled out of bed. "Babe, wake up." I whispered. He sighed. "What's going on?" He asked. I shrugged. "I don't know but let's check on the kids." I said. He nodded, rolling out of bed. We didn't know who was crying so we went to both rooms. I came in Breanna's and she was moving around. She let out a few cries altogether. I looked at her in awe. I gently shook her. "Breanna! Breanna!" I said softly. Tears wept from her eyes. She finally woke up and breathed heavily. I kissed her forehead. "It's ok, mommy's here." I said. Bryce walked in. His jaw dropped, seeing her tear stained face. "What's wrong, princess? What happened?" He asked frantically. She sniffled. "It's my other mommy." She cried. I raised an eyebrow. Other mommy? My brain clicked. Sabrina. "What about her?" I asked. Breanna wiped her eyes. "She used to yell at me whenever she's drinking." She told me. Our jaws dropped. Say what?! Sabrina used to yell at her? "Why would she yell at you?" Bryce asked. I rubbed her hair. "If I'm not doing better at school or if I disobey her, she yells and throws things around." She explained. I hugged her. She hugged back. "That will never happen again. We'll never scare you like that. You're with mommy and dad." I said in a soothing voice. Bryce hugged me from behind. I smiled softly. "I'm sorry I woke you up." She said. We scoffed. "Don't worry about it." He said. I nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We wanted to see if you both are ok." I said. She nodded in understanding. We parted. Jace yawned and came beside the door. "What's happening?" He asked. I sighed. "Your sister had a nightmare and we came to check on her." I said. He sat beside Breanna on her bed. "Are you alright, Bri?" He asked. She nodded, smiling a bit. "Yeah! I am." She said. Bryce chuckled. "Little man, how are you awake?" He asked. He smiled nervously. "I wasn't exactly fake sleeping." He said. I laughed. He nodded, smirking. I'm so glad my daughter's ok. Breanna would never deal with any bullshit Sabrina put her through anymore. A kid should feel loved unconditionally. I smiled. "My babies are so cute." I said. Jace groaned. "I'm not a baby, mommy." He whined. I chuckled. Breanna smirked. "I'm mom's favorite baby!" She said, hugging me. I laughed and hugged her. His jaw dropped. "No! I'm mommy's baby!" He said. He joined the hug. Bryce scoffed. "What about daddy?" He asked. They got off me and hugged him. He chuckled and kissed their cheeks. They parted. I took a deep breath. "Alright, time to go back to bed!" I said. They groaned softly. I playfully rolled my eyes. "Yeah yeah but mommy needs her beauty sleep." I said. Bryce smiled. "How about they stay up till 12?" He suggested. I raised an eyebrow. "Hon, stay up till 12? It's 9 right now. This can't happen right now then they fall asleep at 12." I said. The kids wrapped their arms around my waist. "Please mommy! Please! Can we? Please!" They begged. I inhaled a deep breath. Bryce chuckled. "Fine. You can stay up around 9 to 10 then it's time for bed." I said. They cheered and jumped on the bed. We laughed. This will be a long night.

During the hour, the kids watched TV and ate leftover dinner. Me and Bryce cuddled in the kitchen and kissed. This felt beautiful. He smiled. "We're the up all night family." He joked. I chuckled. "I know! Yet they need sleep for school tomorrow." I said. He nodded in agreement. "Make sure not to burn the biscuits." I whispered. He scoffed. "What? The kids love my biscuits!" He said. I smirked. "Kids, do you like daddy's biscuits?" I yelled. A moment of silence was present. "Nope!" Jace yelled. I bursted into laughing. Omg! That was freaking crazy. Bryce fake pouted. "Ok fine. I do burn them." He said. I smiled deviously. "Kids, you love mommy's pancakes and cream?" I yelled. "Yeah!" They yelled. I laughed more. He chuckled. "Why babe?" He asked. I stopped to catch my breath. "Sorry, I had to." I said. My phone buzzed. I grabbed it and noticed Simone's caller ID. I smiled. I missed her so much and wonder how is her and Zack. I answered. "Hello?" I said. "Hey, Liz! I missed you so much. It's been a while." She said. I laughed. "Missed you more, girl." I said. "How are the babies? And the Bf?" She asked. Bryce chuckled. "Simone?" He whispered. I nodded, chuckling. "They're great! We're up around 9 because Breanna had a nightmare and it earned them a chance to stay up till 11." I said. She giggled. "Is she ok?" She asked. "Yup! How's Zack?" I said. "Still himself but alright. We talked about going to Las Vegas for Valentine's Day. Can you believe that?" She said, sounding cheerful. I sighed happily. "Ah, Vegas. Hope you can put your money where your mouth is." I joked. She laughed. "Don't quote Katy Perry." She said. I smirked deviously. "It's what you get for waking up in Vegas." I said. "We won't gamble or anything, we're just gonna enjoy our time together." She said. I sighed. Me and Bryce haven't thought about our valentine date. I'm not sure where we could visit. "Me and Bryce will figure out what to do." I said. "Better hurry, Valentine's Day is like Christmas." She slightly joked. I playfully rolled my eyes and chuckled. "Bye girl." I said and hung up. Bryce looked at me. "What she say?" He asked. I smiled. "Her and Zack are going to Vegas for Valentine's Day. We haven't even discussed what we'll do." I said. Bryce smirked. "Luckily, I thought about this three weeks ago." He said. I crossed my arms. "What?" I said. His hands intertwined with mine. His creamy hazel eyes stared into my eyes. "How would you feel if we had a Valentine's Day party to celebrate our engagement?" He asked. I shrugged. My brain clicked. I smiled widely. Bryce laughed. "Really? I'd love it!" I squealed. I hugged him. He hugged back. A valentine engagement party? Wow, my fiancé's amazing. We parted. "All our family and friends are invited! It'll take place here, we'll get decorations and- I cut him off. "Whoa, slow down hon. How are we gonna get everything done this week? We even have to keep the house in shape and especially, get dressed ourselves." I said. He kissed my forehead. "I know. That's why I called in special help." He said. I raised an eyebrow. "Who?" I asked. He chuckled. "You'll find out. Now...where's the kids?" He said. We left the kitchen and found them asleep on the couch. Disney was still playing. I looked at them in awe. I checked my phone clock and it's officially 10:56. Bryce turned off the TV. We carried them upstairs to bed. Breanna snuggled next to her JoJo Siwa doll I got her for Christmas. I smiled softly and kissed her cheek. I quietly closed the door. Bryce closed Jace's and we walked back to our bedroom. I climbed under the blankets. He wrapped his arm around me. We fell in a deep slumber...till

*GLASS BROKE*

The sound of a glass broke instantly woke us up. Bryce yawned. "What the hell is that?" He asked. I shrugged and rolled out of bed. He groaned. "If one more low-life thug breaks in this house baby, I'm getting a gun. Period." He growled. My jaw dropped. Gun? No way in hell we're keeping a gun in here. "No, Bryce! We had this conversation so there will be no guns in this house." I said, sternly. He huffed. "Then who is it?" He said. I shrugged. "If it is someone, the alarm would be going off by now." I said. My brain clicked. Uh no. They're so grounded. I ruffled my hair and ran out of the room. "Lizzy, wait!" He said. He followed behind as I raced downstairs. We made it to the living room. Our jaws dropped. The TV was on and the kids were in the kitchen. Broken glass was on the floor. I growled. "Why wouldn't the alarm go off now?" I said sarcastically. Jace huffed. "I told you not to get more water, Bri." He said. Breanna pouted. "I was thirsty!" She said. "Stop. You two know better than to stay up during 11. You're both grounded meaning no staying up till 11- I cut Bryce off. "If you sneak off again, you'll be here the whole weekend." I said. They sighed sadly. "We're sorry." They said. I looked at them in awe. "It's ok! Now, head upstairs to bed." I said. "I'll pour you some water from a plastic cup." Bryce told Breanna. She nodded and left. He poured water in a red solo cup. We looked at each other and chuckled. "Feels like a weird night." He said. I nodded in agreement. "All we need to think about is throwing another party." I muttered. He nodded, kissing my forehead. Valentine parties, kids disobeying, waking up around 11. What else is new?