Soul - Colby Brock

One Hundred and Twenty-Six

"You ready Gracie?" I whispered to her as she took a last bite of cereal. Gracie jumped down from the kitchen island seat, her bag on her shoulder, shoes on, and jacket hanging from one arm.

"Yes." she replied smiling. I pulled a jacket on myself and grabbed her hand. We walked out of the apartment. I'd purposely turned Colby's alarms off so he didn't wake up to take Gracie to school. Gracie had her own alarm and she woke me up, as I'd asked her to.

We got into the car I rarely used in the huge garage below our apartment. Gracie hadn't had to go to school for the past month since she moved. Apparently, her school allows that? Gracie was doing some doodles on a notebook as I drove. Her eyes were so trained on the page.

When we stopped at a red light, she held up the paper for me to see. It was actually pretty good considering she's six. We continued on to the school where she hopped out of the car. I followed her lead.

"Who's going to pick me up?" she asked as she looked around the playground ahead of her. (btw I'm English so I'm basing this off of my schools... America's system is confusing to me).

"I'm not sure, yet. Do you see Kiera anywhere?" I referred to her best friend. She'd talked about her a lot lately. My eyes scanned around.

"Yes! She's right over there! I'll see you later, mom." Gracie gave me a quick hug then darted away. I watched her attack Kiera with a hug. Kiera turned to look at me, sending a wave my way. I waved back and smiled before getting back into my car. On the way home, I got Colby's favorite drink from Starbucks to apologize for completely ignoring him so I could take Gracie to school. 

I walked into the silent apartment, surprised Rose wasn't awake yet. She tended to be an early bird. I put my jacket on the hook, my shoes on the rack, and my keys on a little table beside the door. As I was taking the coffee to Colby and I's room, I noticed the nursery door was open.

When I slipped inside, I saw a blonde-haired boy in the closet. Frowning, I quietly placed the cup down then slipped my arm around whoever it was' neck. They immediately gave in to me. "Octavia, it's just Sam." he said panicked.

"Why you gotta look like an intruder, dimwit?" I asked as I let go of him. He rubbed his neck and gave me a guilty look. "What are you doing here?"

"Kat and I bought some stuff for Rose and I knew you'd left so I wanted to surprise you with it." he replied still shaken up from my scare. He motioned to the cute teddy bear sitting beside a few other toys and two dresses.

"Oh my god, Sam! Thanks so much!" I gave him a hug which he returned.

"It's no problem. Is Colby awake?" I pulled away and closed the closet doors for the time being. I'd have a closer look at the stuff later on when Colby could do it with me.

"I don't think so." I picked up his coffee, leading Sam out of the room with me.

"Well, my job here is done. Um, I think you guys should have your key back. I just don't feel right having it. That certainly won't be able to happen again." he chuckled, the key stretched toward me.

"You don't have to but I understand. Thanks again, Sam." I took the key from him and shoved it into my pocket. Sam waved his hand in dismissal before turning to go to the main room.

"I'll see you later, Octavia."

"Bye." I waved at him then turned to go into my room. Colby was asleep on his side - facing away from where I would be if I was still in bed. I snuck to his bedside table and placed the coffee there. He seemed to shuffle a little but was nowhere near waking up. It wasn't late enough for that. I kissed his cheek then headed back to the nursery. Rose wasn't far off waking up based on her constant head turns. I walked into the master bedroom. Colby had shuffled onto his back. He was still peacefully asleep. I crawled across the bed to him. He sort of reacted but fell back into sleep seconds later. I sighed and leaned down, kissing his lips.

It took about two seconds to get him to respond. He kissed me back, wrapping his arms around me to hold me where I was. I pulled back slowly opening my eyes. "Hi there." he chuckled. 

"Hey. I took Gracie to school." I said quickly. His mood changed almost instantly.

"I was gonna do that. How did you keep me asleep?" he asked confused as he sat up straight and picked up his phone. He hadn't noticed the cup yet.

"I may have disabled your alarms last night. Anyway, I got you coffee... enjoy!" I leaped up and ran out of the room before he could protest against the stuff that'd happened that morning. I started making breakfast for the both of us and coffee for me, considering he had his own.

As I was plating the stuff up, I heard Rose crying. Cursing under my breath, I rushed into the nursery. She was half-rolled over on her side so she was crying for one of us to help her. I giggled and rolled her back before picking her up. She needed feeding anyway. I took her to the kitchen with me, finishing what I was doing and placing the plates in front of two island stools.

I left them there so that I could feed Rose. Colby hadn't emerged from our room yet, which only worried me a bit. "Breakfast!" I called out to him. I took Rose back to find Colby was sat on a stool eating his food. He was still wearing his joggers and no shirt.

"Because I love you and you bought me coffee, I'm gonna let it slide." he said to me as he took Rose from my arms. He wasn't far off finished with his meal. "So everything went smooth? Gracie got there ok?" I nodded my head while eating. Colby was making faces at Rose that she was doing her best to copy.

"You're adorable, you know." I complimented as I took the plates to the sink. He was smiling at me when I turned around. I managed to steal the child from him and stick my tongue out at her. She did it back, making me smile more.

"So are you." he whispered in my ear. He was suddenly right behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist.

"Mm, and so is Rose. But what she also is, is hungry." I said as I turned to him. He just smiled and kissed my cheek before walking to the couch. I took Rose back to the nursery where I fed her.

GUYS I entered the Wattys! I wasn't going to do it but eventually, I decided fuck it and did it. If you waaaant you can help me win! Also, I'm doing slightly better but not really. Can't explain.

Enjoy the rest of the story I have to offer you.