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Post by Tiff on Jun 22, 2011 20:46:30 GMT -5
Monte let himself into Avery and Gracie's house the afternoon Avery left for basic, he'd promised his brother that he'd check in on Gracie and the girls while he was away every couple of days, everyday if he could manage it. He slipped upstairs to the nursery and peered into Devyn's crib, smiling down at her as she stared back up at him. "Hey, pretty girl." He put the side of the crib down and picked the little one up, cradling her in his arms "You're daddy has little faith in me." He shook his head. "He doesn't think I'll be able to find time in my busy schedule to come say hi to my favorite, most reliable girls in the world." He winked, though she wouldn't know what he was saying or what a wink was for that matter. "It's going to kill me to leave ya."
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Post by Kelli-wa on Jun 23, 2011 3:34:36 GMT -5
sorry, i hadn't seen this yet!!
Gracie had heard the door and figured it was Monte or Tally, maybe Zane, coming to check on her. She wasn't really in a very happy kind of mood, but she was alright. She wanted Avery back already, and it was killing her to know it would be six months before she got to see him. She walked out of the bathroom, but she couldn't find whoever had come in. She panicked a little and walked hurriedly upstairs to the nursery. When she got there she saw Monte and relief washed over her. Then she heard his words, It's going to kill me to leave ya. She licked her lips, "So you are going to leave?" she asked lightly, leaning against the doorframe.
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Post by Tiff on Jun 23, 2011 7:38:03 GMT -5
Startled by Gracie, Monte jumped and cradled the infant against his chest to protect her from potential harm. He turned to look at her and licked his botton lip. "I..." He sighed. "I honestly haven't decided, but I'm leaning closer and closer to leaving." He looked down at Devyn who looked right back up at him. "Maybe it won't be forever or a complete fall off the face of the earth, but..." He glanced up at Gracie. "You miss him already don't you." He turned his eyes back to Devyn so his eyes wouldn't reflect what was in his head and heart. If he left there wouldn't be a beautiful soul left to miss him after a day away or six months or ever.
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Post by Kelli-wa on Jun 23, 2011 13:56:52 GMT -5
Gracelyn nodded at his answer. It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but she guessed that wasn't what Monte had ever been about. She shook her head lightly and walked over to stand beside him, watching her daughter closely. Looking back up to Monte, she licked her lips, he was right. She did miss him, she couldn't take her mind away from him, even when she had two beautiful baby girls to keep her mind busy, in the very back of her brain, Avery was always there, the image of him leaving from the previous twenty-four hours. She nodded and looked back down to Devyn to keep herself from crying. "You know the girls will miss you if you leave, right?" she asked, still not looking at him. It was too hard, it just reminded her of what she didn't have next to her anymore.
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Post by Tiff on Jun 23, 2011 21:49:19 GMT -5
Monte glanced up her and then back down, he knew it would be too hard for her to look at him, sure she could tell the two of them apart, but even with their differences, they were still identical, nothing would change that. "I know they'll miss me, but there are things I can do to keep them from missing me too much." He lied, he knew monetary gifts and trinkets couldn't replace the person, Gracie was living proof of that. Avery gave her a house and two girls and filled the house with nice stuff and still Gracie missed him. "You don't think I should go?"
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Post by Kelli-wa on Jun 24, 2011 12:56:34 GMT -5
Gracie shook her head at his first statement, she knew that wasn't true, and she knew that he knew it. She didn't say anything, she just shook her head. Licking her lips, she looked back up at him, as much as it hurt, she couldn't just stare at the baby their entire conversation. Tears were welling in her eyes and she sniffed before she turned away, headed for a laundry basket that she'd laid right inside the door earlier that morning. She'd been doing busy work to keep her mind off of Avery being gone, and right then seemed like a good time to fold the tiny outfits and put them away. "Of course I don't think you should go." She licked her lips and looked up at the wall, "I want my girls to know their uncle as more than a phantom that only shows up every once in a while to give them things that they probably don't need."
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Post by Tiff on Jun 25, 2011 17:27:10 GMT -5
Monte took a deep breath and looked toward the door, away from Gracie. "How would you think Tally would feel if she wanted to disappear for a while, but weighed her decision heavily on if you approved or not?" He wasn't trying to make her feel guilty or upset her, he just wanted to come to terms with his decision on his own. "Avery didn't give my feelings a second thought when he chose to go into the military. He just decided and that was the end of that, I know he's not going off to war and that he's changed his career in the military from a potentially risky one to a low risk job, but still, what happens when the military decides they need him to go to Seattle or Paris or wherever to do what he's going to do. Just because he's going into meteorology doesn't mean they'll need him here." He glanced at Gracie. "At least if he does have to go elsewhere he'll have you and the girls to take with him, but he can't take me too, then what? I'd be a phantom uncle who can only show up on major holiday's and other rare occasions to bring them gifts that they probably won't need."
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Post by Kelli-wa on Jun 26, 2011 4:49:50 GMT -5
Gracie shook her head, "Tally wouldn't leave me here alone!" she said, raising her voice just a bit, not meaning to. She shook her head, setting it in her palm for a second before looking back up at the wall. "I'm sorry. This is just a different situation entirely. You're talking about something that he's doing to help his country and raise a family. You just want to disappear because you aren't man enough to handle the issues you've had with girlfriends past and that's just ridiculous," she said, starting to fold the clothes from the basket. She knew she sounded harsh, but she didn't care. "And the difference between us leaving to go somewhere else is that we won't just leave you hanging, never talk to you, not even send updates on how we're doing. We'll be in full contact, Monte, one of us will be at least." She shook her head again, wishing he would just think about it all the way around. As he started talking about Avery's traveling job making him the phantom uncle she lost it once again, "Yeah, but then it wouldn't be by choice!" she shouted, which probably wasn't a good idea, since Harper was still asleep. Sure enough, it had frightened her, causing her to start crying. Gracie sighed, feeling bad now. She walked over to the crib and picked up the now very awake child and started to rock her in her arms. "Shh, it's alright, baby, momma's sorry. You're safe." She licked her lips and looked up at Monte again. "If you just leave, they'll think you don't want to be here. Don't you get that? They won't be able to understand that you're off 'searching for yourself'. All that will be going through their little heads is 'Why doesn't Uncle Monte want to know who we are?' or 'Why does Uncle Monte not come over and play with us?'"
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Post by Tiff on Jun 27, 2011 15:53:35 GMT -5
Monte wanted to fold into himself with Gracie's words, he knew what he should do, what would be right for the twins, for Avery, maybe even for Gracie, though he didn't think she really cared one way or the other, however, he couldn't tell her straight out that he'd stick around once Avery came back, he wasn't persuaded. Maybe if he went off on his own he'd still be in contact, maybe not disappear off the face of the earth but coming back to Riverside? He didn't think he'd be able to make the trip back more than once or twice a year. He continued to hold Devyn as Harper wailed from the crib and then in her mother's arms. "I don't think they'll notice." He cleared his throat. "Do you want me to feed them or anything?" He knew he was on the losing side of the argument and didn't want to continue to argue with her.
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Post by Kelli-wa on Jun 27, 2011 20:01:37 GMT -5
Gracie sighed at his words. I don't think they'll notice. She didn't get why he could think that they wouldn't notice that their uncle didn't care enough to come around what but once or twice a year. She licked her lips and shook her head again, "They'll notice, Monte. Kids always notice." She shook her head at his question. "No they just ate before you got here, that's why they were in their cribs. I was hoping to get some things cleaned up, which is why they were in their cribs." She got Harper to calm down and licked her lips, giving a small sigh. "So Avery told you that you can't come around anymore if you're planning on leaving, right? I'm not letting them get confused when as soon as Avery comes back and you leave. They won't get it, they'll miss you." She licked her lips, trying not to cry again, I'll miss you... She didn't want to let him know that, though. She wouldn't say it unless it was the last option.
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Post by Tiff on Jun 28, 2011 13:12:41 GMT -5
Again Gracie managed to drive a stake through his heart with her words. He felt instantly guilty for coming over and inadvertently stirring up the girls, when Gracie was trying to settle them down and get things done around the house. He walked Devyn back over to her crib, gave her a kiss on the forehead and set her back into the crib. "I suppose you want me to leave then?" He pulled the side of the crib back up and stepped away. "I can do that, I promised Avery I'd come help you out, but that doesn't have to be for the girls. I'll do stuff around the house, vacuum, dishes, laundry and that way I won't have to confuse the girls when or if I decide to leave. He walked right up to Gracie, there was the smallest trace of tears in his eyes. He kissed Harper's forehead and then stayed uncomfortably close to Gracie. "I'll just go fold their clothes downstairs." He said, remaining where he was for another moment before finally turning, lifting the basket of clothes and walking through the door.
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Post by Kelli-wa on Jun 29, 2011 2:47:11 GMT -5
Gracie let out a sigh as he spoke, that wasn't what she wanted him to say. She was almost bawling now, but she refused to do that, not while he was in the room. She watched as he put the little girl back into her crib, kissed Harper and walked away with the laundry basket, she was speechless. As soon as his body cleared the door frame her tears were very apparent, and her crying was quite loud. She held Harper against herself, still rocking her, even though she was the one crying now and not the baby cradled in her arms. "Avery, what am I supposed to do? What do you want me to do?" she asked quietly into the air. She held the little girl close, trying to calm herself down. Finally she put Harper back in her crib. She Put the side of the crib up and turned on the baby monitor before going down to the living room where she found Monte. She sighed, "Look, I don't want you to leave. Not now and not later. I know you probably don't understand why we're so adamant about you staying, but we just..." She shook her head again, she was going to cry if she went any further. She looked down at the ground, trying to gain composure back.
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Post by Tiff on Jul 3, 2011 0:40:57 GMT -5
Monte sat on the couch picked up the first onesie he would ever fold and set it next to him. He was set in his ways, his mind made up. He'd help Gracie out with everything except anything directly involving the girls. He didn't want to hurt them and the best way to avoid that was to stay away altogether until he figured out what he was going to do when Avery returned. He heard Gracie click the baby monitor on and heard her leave the room. He expected her to avoid him out of anger, but was shocked to see her sit beside him, evidence that she'd been crying still on her face. It broke his heart and stirred something inside of him that he didn't want to touch or think about. He kept folding while she spoke, building a teetering tower of tiny clothes on the arm of the couch. He looked up after she spoke and frowned, seeing her so upset hurt worse than possibly Aya no longer wanting to pursue a relationship. That feeling he'd been trying to push far away, tried not to touch or think about was bursting at his hem lines, he was jealous of his twin, envious that Avery had everything going for him and most of all angry at himself for allowing himself to fall for her. It shouldn't have happened, Aya was supposed to be there, Serena was supposed to fill the void and he knew that going off to New Orleans wouldn't staunch the feelings that wanted to flow or fill the hole where Gracie had somehow managed to fill without meaning to.
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Post by Kelli-wa on Jul 3, 2011 0:51:40 GMT -5
He wasn't saying anything, but she couldn't figure out what she wanted to say. She shook her head again, trying to find the proper words to express how she was feeling. She gathered her nerves, sighed and looked back up at Monte, licking her lips. "Look, I don't want to take the girls away from you. It seemed like a good idea when Avery and I first talked about it, but it's really just not fair. To you or the twins." She ran a hand through her hair and thought of how else to tell him what she was thinking. "I can't do it by myself. Not right now anyway. I--" she was starting to choke up again, it was about to bubble out, but she took a deep breath and then started again, "I'm sorry. I just don't really know what to say to convince you that we need you here." It might not make much sense to him, and he probably didn't get why he was needed, but it was true. Avery needed him, maybe not physically, but emotionally. He needed to know that his brother was okay, she needed to know that her brother was okay. "Are you hungry? I can make us some lunch..."
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Post by Tiff on Jul 3, 2011 1:10:18 GMT -5
That had to be the sexiest thing in the world, the way Gracie's tongue came out of her mouth, just a slightly different shade of pink than her lips, and went from one side of her mouth to the other. As she ran her fingers through her hair he couldn't help imagine her words in a different context where things were far different from reality. Where the twins were his, the relationship was his, all he would have to do to end this callous argument would be to take her into his arms kiss her and start singing that Maroon Five song 'Never Going to Leave this Bed', promise her he'd never leave and the 'Avery' in the story wasn't his successful twin brother but maybe someone unimportant, like a lawyer or anything but the twins father, his brother, and the love of her life.
He finished the basket of baby clothes and was purely thankful he'd worn especially loose shorts. "Are you going to regret my being in their lives for six months if I decide to go?" He wasn't sure how to answer her question about lunch. He would enjoy watching her cook, he would enjoy feeling like more than just a brother in law or imagining that he wasn't just a reject in her eyes, but how would it help him? "Do you have anything else for me to do?" He asked, sorely, avoiding her lunch question, grasping onto straws of hope that she might show signs more than brotherly love or at least insist.
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