Love, Clara / Tyler Seguin

Chapter 1: Just Wanna Live The Simple Life

Chapter 1: just wanna live the simple life

Life played many jokes on me throughout my life to the point where I thought I was simply cursed. Dramatic, I know. But when you look at the history I have with family and dating, it's not that unreasonable.

But here I am engaged to Tyler Seguin and attempting to raise two children with him in this crazy hockey life. If you told me this almost seven years ago when I met him in a bar, I would have laughed in your face but somehow my life went on this path.

I wouldn't change it for anything but there are some days that make me question my sanity.

Like today for example because I woke up and the first thing I heard was,

"Mom, Hunter ate my math homework!"

I crack one eye open and realize that Tyler isn't here which means I've slept in. When I roll over, Clara is standing there with one and a half year-old Hunter sitting on her hip. He does indeed have a piece of paper in his hand and some stuffed in his mouth, chewing cheerfully.

Her expression is a spitting imagine of her father with a hint of Tyler.

"I'm never letting him in my room ever again." She says, passing him to me when I sit up.

"What ever you say, Jellybean."

She glares and huffs once more before leaving the room. I hear her muttering French under her breath but I can't pick it out. Hunter is squealing and babbling nonsense while I walk downstairs to get make sure Clara is ready for school.

"I made a decision." She says, stuffing papers in her bag while I write a note for her teacher explaining that her brother did eat her math homework.

I wonder if I will get a call from the school.

"Oh?" I ask and she nods sternly.

"I'm going to stay with papa for the summer."

I stop writing and slowly look up at her. She's already staring at me, chin lifted in a challenge and daring me to argue. Part of me is hurt that she wants to spend the entire summer in Montreal when she could instead come to Ontario with Tyler, Hunter and I.

But I also know that her spending time with Jo is important for both of them.

So I shrug and say, "If that's what you want."

She looks surprised that I agreed with her so easily but she nods firmly and takes the note when I pass it to her. I watch as she walks over and kneels down to where Hunter is sitting in a bouncer.

"No eating my homework." She says in a serious voice but pats his head so I know she's not that mad.

Three knocks on the door signal that Maddie is here to bring Clara to school. A few months ago, Madilyn and Elliot worked out whatever issues they were having and decided to move in together just down the road from our house. Which means that on the mornings Maddie works, she brings Clara to school.

"Bye, mom." Clara waves and I wave back, telling her to have a good day. When the door closes, I turn to Hunter who's babbling nonsense.

"Just you and me today, dude." I say and he squeals and throws a toy in my direction.

. . .

"Someone commented on a picture of Hunter today saying that I got knocked up on purpose." I whispered one night. I didn't know if he was awake because my back was to him so I just waited. It was quiet for a moment before he sighed.

"I know."

I rolled over so I could see his face. There was just enough light coming through the curtains that I could pick out his expression. He looked tired that night and aged in more ways that one and I realized that he was only 27 and he already had all these things on his plate.

I wondered if he would grow to hate me for that.

"Do you think that?" I asked quietly and he didn't answer right away and my heart sunk.

"I don't think that." He said. "We both should have been being careful so neither of us are to blame."

There was a lingering question that hung over my head and I should've kept my mouth shut but I couldn't.

"Do you regret it?"

He didn't hesitate that time and took my face in his hands so I looked straight at him. "No. I never have and I never will."

. . .

Hunter is napping when Tyler gets home from practice. I'm laying on the couch watching TV and he plops down on top of me. He's not putting too much weight on me but it still makes me squirm.

"Are you watching Bubble Guppies?" He laughs and I shrug.

"It's actually not that bad. I can see why it fascinates Hunter."

He just laughs again but wiggles his eyebrows. "I can think of much better things to do with our free time."

He leans down to kiss me and just as his lip touch mine, the baby monitor crackles and Hunter lets out a loud wail. I laugh when Tyler groans.

I give him a cheeky smile and wink before sliding out from under him. "Bet you didn't have to worry about getting interrupted by a baby crying with your other girlfriends." 

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a/n:

so this is a sequel to "the trouble with faking it" !!

it's short but first chapter is just a little intro.

hope you all like and and let me know your thoughts :)

- alex