A Hidden Picture

Bonus chapter

~ Annalise ~ a year later

The sun shining down on my face makes me groan as I wake up.

Turning over, I'm met with the relaxed face of a dead asleep Reed.

My body feels like it melts into the mattress.

His messy unruly hair is falling over his forehead. His plump lips are slightly open, a little drool darkening a spot against his pillow. I chuckle to myself.

My eyes drift to the head of brown curls in the crook of his neck.

Lila is asleep, tucked on her side in Reed's chest. His arm hugged around her.

This is one of the reason's I like waking up early sometimes. I let my eyes roll over the lines running down Reed's lips as he looks peacefully asleep

They just look so adorable like this and it makes me want to squish them. Like a really tight hug from a rush of cuteness overload.

Last night I had fallen asleep with Lila asleep on my chest as I watched Netflix on my laptop. Except in her sleep she switches between using both of us as her personal pillows.

My breath gets caught in my throat when Reed's eyes crack open just a bit. 

Now matter how many times I look into them there is something so breathtaking about his eyes, especially the moment he opens them in the morning, with the sun shining down into the pools of green.

They remind me of a growing plant who has just seen sunlight.

Once his eyes focus and he blinks a few times, he extends his arm and slides his hand onto my waist, pulling me closer to him so that Lila is smushed between us.

I wish I could see an ariel view of this moment.

The three of us.

Warm and cozy in our bed with the sunlight passing through the sheer white curtains.

The two of us with our daughter between us. If we were to be seen in an ariel view photo I feel like it would look like two parents wrapping their daughter in love as she rests softly and calmly.

And it sounds like a lovely picture.

~

"She still asleep?," I ask Reed as he walks into the living room.

He runs a hand through his hair and nods before plopping down on the couch, tugging a throw blanket over him.

I smile and shake my head as I continue to sort through his CD boxes.

We moved into this new place almost a year ago and things are still a bit of uh...well. A mess.

A few years ago this guy in one of Reed's classes taught him how to invest in exchange for free tickets to the college football games and so after the money started building he was finally able to rent a space to open the store. The building is in the city center where all the stores and shops and apartment buildings are.

And above the rent space is a two bedroom apartment. So here we are.

I still have two more years of extra schooling to do and for now I'm focusing on studying and Lila since our expenses are able to be paid for by the profit Reed makes from the store. So I don't have to worry about getting another annoying side job.

"You know...I was thinking," he begins.

I glance up to him as I continue putting things away. "About...?"

He stares at the ceiling as he thinks, his pouty bottom lip pulled into his mouth as he thinks. "What if I got you pregnant so many times to point where we're raising an army."