Maddison rushed over to them, throwing herself into Asher's legs hard enough that her feet left the ground and she was able to crawl into Asher's lap, with his help of course.
"What do you mean ‘Zeke left’?" Asher questioned as he wrapped his arms around his daughter so she wouldn't fall off.
She had nestled herself nicely in his lap so her legs dangled over the edge but she was able to look up at them both with her big blue eyes.
They adopted Maddison out of the orphanage when she was six years old, soon after Ezekiel had come up to them one day and asked if they were ever going to adopt another child.
It was completely random and out of the blue and had taken them both by surprise so much that they didn't know what to say.
They honestly hadn't thought about adopting again, but when Ezekiel explained that he was only wondering because he thought it might be nice to have someone to play w
Cailenstopped a ways back, pulling his coat tighter around him as the fall breeze blew and made him shiver.He was always surprised sometimes when he really looked at Ezekieland saw how much he's grown.Up until last year,it seemed as though he had missed the puberty bus until one day,Cailenreally looked at him and noticed he had grown about a foot and was stealing his cologne to wear.It was a bit of a shock that he quickly got over and went out to buy Ezekielhis own cologne along with some shaving supplies since he had noticed the boy had also started growing some scruff.It was something he never had a problem with in the first place because until now, he never had a single hair grow on his face, well aside from his eyebrows and his head, of course.Cailenknew he was going to be one of those teenagers that looked way olderthan they really were just because puberty decided to randomly
"Dude, she'll be here soon," Trippsaid, leaning across the island in the kitchen to reach for the bowl of crisps that Cailenhad put out. "Calm down or you'll start getting sweat stains," he added, scrunching up his nose in distaste.Tripp, if possible, had grown up to be even bigger than Ezekiel, though that wasn't much of a surprise with how much taller he's always been than Ezekiel. He still had his blonde hair,though it wasn't quite so golden anymore-more of a dirty blonde, and has acquired glasses over the years.Cailenremembers the first day he had come over with them on, the boy had been mortified but he's grown to love them, claiming the girls were really into the 'nerdy' look these days."And no girl likes sweat stains," Aireneadded from her spot at the island.Airenehad grown up to be quite the beautiful girl, her hair still a fiery red and her green eyes bright and enchanting.Ezekie
Both Matthewand Cailenlooked over to where the girls were sitting.It was instinctive now, whether it was your own child saying it or not, when you heard 'Daddy'or ‘Papa’, you look.Maddisonwas standing from her spot and making her way over to where Cailenand Matthewsat, a sheet of paper in her hands."Look, isn't my flower pretty?" she asked holding up the paper to Cailenwhere he saw a simple flower drawn on it.It was pink with big petals and a small green stem and looked like every other flower drawing she'd ever done but Cailenstill nodded along, smiling at his daughter."Yes, it's beautiful, love," Cailensmiled, his arms still bouncing Mishaup and down on his knee."But- But isn't mine beautiful-er?" Aariyahstood in a hurry, rushing over to them and nearly tripping as she held up her own drawing of an almost identical flower.Cailens
Cailenonly had to look over the boy's shoulder to see his brother saunter in, but Ezekieland Ellianahad to turn around and Cailencouldn't say he was exactly surprised by the reaction.Ellianagasped in surprise while Ezekieldarted forward and threw himself at his uncle.Williamchuckled and wrapped Ezekielup in a tight hug, rocking him back and forth slightly before letting go."Uncle William, you made it!" Ezekielsaid happily.It had been a while since Ezekieland Maddisonlast saw him."Papasaid he didn't know if you were coming," Ezekielexplained.William mockscoffed."Of course I will! I wouldn't miss my favorite nephew turning fifteen!" Williamexclaimed.Cailentook a peek over at Ellianato see a look of confusion mixed with awe and nearly lost it. He would never understandthe effect Williamhad on teen
"Hey, hey, it's the superstar, finally making an appearance!" Matthewcalled out when they entered the kitchen.Cailengrinned at this while Williamlooked a bit sheepish. He knew he was never around much and constantly apologized for it, but they all understood and were all proud of their friend."Shut up, I've been busy!" Williamdefended just as the two girls at the counter turned in their stools and gasped.They each climbed their way down from the stools, Aariyahalmost taking a tumble but she caught herself and then they were each latched onto one of William's legs, the older man chuckling."Uncle William!" Maddisonsquealed, squeezing William's leg tight.Williamawkwardly bent down as far as he could without hurting or squishing the small girls, reaching out to rest a hand on each of them."How are two of my favorite girls?" he asked.It was truly adorable how much they each loved
Arabella hurried down the sidewalk, her bag strap digging into her neck, the crying newborn baby a heavy weight in her arms.She herself was crying, silent tears that ran down her cheeks and froze there. Her feet were sore, her body exhausted, her head ached and she really just wanted to lay down right there in the middle of the sidewalk.She didn't care that it was the middle of the night, she didn't care if it was snowing, she was tired and she wanted to sleep, but she couldn't.She had responsibilities to take care of.She was almost there, to the orphanage. Once that was taken care of, then she could sleep. She didn't really have a place she could sleep, but she didn't care.She would find the closest dumpster and sleep there.Arabella stumbled a bit when her foot hit a crack in the ground. She held the baby tighter so as not to drop him and continued on her way.She didn't want to do what she was about to do.She had already become attached to the little blue-eyed bundle of joy t
Cailen sat on the hard chair that is outside Ms. Willow’s office, his little legs hanging off the edge, not even coming close to the floor.His arms were crossed over his chest, his face pointed at the ground in a scowl. He was listening to the words that were currently being shared between the adults inside the office because the walls of this place were very thin."He's too much to handle," the familiar voice of his current foster mother said.Cailen huffed, he was not.Everyone who was interested in adopting a child first went through the phase of being a foster parent, mostly to test how well they could take care of a child so the child wouldn't be left to an unsuitable home, but also to see how well they meshed together.So far, he wasn't very good at that part."He's always getting into trouble at school and I can't afford to leave work every day to go and get him."It wasn't everyday, Cailen thought to himself."What are you saying?" Ms. Willow’s voice asked, sounding very tire
Two years later, Cailen sat in the exact same spot.This time his feet just skimmed along the floor, his face in a scowl again, his hands clenched the ends of the armrests in frustration as he listened in to the newest addition of the list of reasons why no one wanted him."He's just so different," the man said.He heard Ms. Willow sigh."He's not like other boys.""Okay," Ms. Willow cut him off.She sounded fed up which only made Cailen feel worse.Ms. Willow was a nice person, the only thing even remotely close to a parent he had and he was causing her distress. But it wasn't his fault. He was only being himself.He couldn't help it if he didn't like toy cars and baseball. He couldn't help it if he didn't like playing with the other boys at school. All they talked about was baseball and other sports.He liked playing with the girls at school. They did more stuff that he was interested in. He couldn't help it."I'm sorry, but he's not normal," the man said.Cailen didn't even bother