If I stay

Continued

I wake up to North tossing a rubber ball at my face. I furrow my eyebrows and shoot a glare towards the little girl. I had accidentally fallen asleep while watching a princess movie with her. It's still playing, so I know I hadn't been asleep that long. Maybe five minutes at the most.

I stretch and hold my arms out. When North gets close enough I snatch her up into my arms and pull her against my chest. She let's out a fit of laughter that's very high pitched. It hurts my sensitive ears. I flinch and let out a little laugh. "Easy, baby. Daddy'll go deaf before grandma does." She tugs at my cheeks and stretches them. I've really got to clip her nails sometime soon. They're getting sharp.

"I'm gonna...." North's face lights up when I start my sentence. I flip her underneath me on the couch and she laughs. "Tickle you!" I tickle her weak spots. Like her mother, she's ticklish everywhere. Her screams get louder but I can't help but keep tickling her.

I laugh, and eventually stop. It takes her a moment to settle her laughs down enough to even sit up. Her pig tails are falling out, and her curls are going everywhere. She's the spitting image of her mom, all except for her brown eyes that are like mine.

"North!" A boy's voice fills my ears. I snap my head to the sound to see who had called for my daughter. Coen.

Lucas, here recently has adopted Coen. He's almost five years old, and has the bluest eyes I've ever saw. He throws his arms around North and picks her up. They've clicked since the day Lucas brought Coen home.

Lucas struts into the living room soon after. I had been up and around for nearly two hours waiting on him to show up to get started on the border control set up.

"You're late." I utter. Lucas smiles.

"You showed up." Cocky. I let out a frustrated breath. Of course I'm here. I have to keep the rest of my pack protected. "I'm just kidding. You know what they always say, a Kings never late, everyone else is simply early." I cannot help but let a smile crack on my face. That was genuinely funny. I'll have to use that on my mom next time she pressures me into being somewhere on time.

"Guys!" I yell. Coen and North both stop and look at me like I had just told them the world had ended. I cannot get anything done with these two playing around.

Lucas is equally as stressed out as I am. He pushes his hands through his hair and let's out a sigh. "Coen, why don't you go help Peyton and Haley make a cake? Take North with you, though." It catches their attention. Coen quickly takes North's hand and practically drags her out of the office.

"So," Lucas says, typing up the chart onto the computer. "Are you going to tell me what happened between you and Peyton?" I clench my jaw.

"It was nothing." I utter, focusing on my work. I'm sure Peyton has ran her mouth about how I had gotten with her. Who hasn't gotten with her? Since the day I ended it, she's been trying to find someone else to take my place.

"I don't think sleeping with her is nothing. Are you and her together and you're keeping it from me?" Lucas pushes. I clench my jaw. Be with that...bitch? I growl lowly.

"It was just a fuck." I seeth. I'm appalled by him even considering that I'm over Taylor. I keep shooting glares at Lucas and her raises his arms in submission.

"Sorry man, but I'm just going off what Peyton told Anne." He adds. I ease up on him. I don't really tell him anything very personal anymore.