I want to thank you for taking the time to read my story, pleas feel free to leave a review or send me a message.
~Nonny
Theodore Raymond Grey stands in the middle of his parents entry way, hands tucked behind his back, face impassively set. His mother had asked him to come spend the week as a sort of vacation. She claims she has a wounder surprise for him and his sisters. The girls, Ella and Phoebe, were standing together gossiping about this and that; aside from making sure they were safe Ted didn't care what they did.
"I wounder when she'll be here." Ella says a voice little louder than the whispers of her older sister.
"When whom will be here?" He turned his attention from his inner monolog to his sisters. The girls grin at him with their cheeky little smiles and bat their eyes, feigning innocents.
"What was that big brother?" Phoebe asked with a voice so sweet it could give him cavities.
"What exactly are we here for?" Ted demands turning from his sisters to press his father's head of security, Taylor, for information. The infuriating man just shrugs. Ted runs a had through his disheveled hair, the same exact color of his father's. He looks like the perfect mix of his handsome father and beautiful mother.
"Baby boy, you came!" His mother, Anastasia Grey, greets him. She pulls her son into a hug and pats his unruly hair. "I'm so happy to see you. When I didn't hear back from you I wasn't sure you'd come." Ted is reluctant to pull out of her embrace, not wanting to hurt her feelings.
"Hello mother." He says warmly and returns her espouse.
"Good to see you son." Christian Grey, his father, says with a clap on his shoulder.
"Father." Ted nods to his old man. There had been a time when to two men would have exchanged hugs as well, but not lately. Not since...
"When will she be here?" Ella interrupts the awkward silence that spreads out between father and son. The girls each greet their father with kisses and smiles, they could never do anything wrong in their fathers eyes.
"Soon baby, don't be so impatient." Ana smiles warmly at her youngest child. She and Christian had wanted to have lots of children, to fill their giant house with the sounds laughter, music, playing, and the pitter-patter of little feet. But all three of Ana's pregnancy's had come with unforeseen complications, each worse than the one before. After Ana almost died giving birth to Ella Christian had refused to give her any more children.
Ana had begged and pleaded with him, swearing that she would consent to the elective c-section with any other children they might have, instead of trying to push them out herself. Her husband, loves her more than he had ever, or would ever, loved any one else. He refused to risk losing her. With out her knowledge or permission he had gone to the doctors and had a vasectomy.
This had been the cause of the first real fight between them since Ted's birth. Poor frightened five year old Ted had run to his mother's side, puffed up his little chest, and demanded that daddy not hurt mommy. Christian had stilled immediately and stared down at his son in wounder. The boy thought he'd hit his wife out of anger? Kneeling down he had taken his only son into his arms and given his solemn vow to never raise a hand to Ana in anger.
"Oh, she's here!" Phoebe exclaims, clapping her hands together the way she did when she was excited. Taylor opens to door in time for them to see a long black limo pulling up in front of the house. The family ascends the stairs to greet their guest, whom every one knew was coming with the exception of Ted.
The driver opens the door and ted holds his breath. Usually when his mother refused to tell him when she was inviting a girl to dinner it was because she was trying to set him up. On long thin leg, clad in flared black jeans that ended in a pair of high-heeled black pumps comes into view followed by a second. Long black legs like a spider, Ted thinks, If any more legs emerge I'm running for it.
Taylor steppes forward to offer his hand. A dainty, manicured, female hand is placed gently into his and the most stunningly beautiful woman Ted has ever laid eyes on steps out of the car. She is tall and slender, clad completely in black. A cascade of dark ringlets tumbles down her back in sexy waves. She smiles at Taylor and her deep brown eyes, the color of a perfectly brewed black coffee, move to inspect the waiting crowed.
A crowed it truly is, all of the household staff, including Mrs. Taylor (formerly Mrs. Jones) have come out to see what is causing such a commotion. Ted spies the housekeeper out of the corner of his eye and starts. He turned from the beauty before him to the women who helped raise him, tears are shimmering in her brown eyes, eyes the same color as the woman who is now hugging Taylor. His head snaps back around when her soft, sexy, ultra feminine voice exclaims, "Daddy, I missed you!"
Mrs. Taylor lurches forward and she and Jason hold their daughter between them. Ted watches in disbelief as Sophie, Taylor's daughter from his first marriage follows her younger sister out of the car and into their parents embrace. Ted's head is spinning! This goddess of a woman standing before him can't possibly be the scrawny little girl who followed him around for most of his childhood like a little lost puppy! This cant be...
"Saraphina!" Ella squeals with delight when she finally steps back from her parent's embrace. It really is Phina the brat! Her perfect face is smeared with running mascara as tears of joy drip down her cheeks.
"Ella!" The two girls embrace. They are almost the exact same age and had been the closest of friends. Ted had always preferred Sophie, the eldest of the two sisters, who is still talking to her father and stepmother.
"Phina, darling!" Ana coos, also hugging the brat as if she was something special. Phina had always been nothing but a pain in the butt, with her annoying crush on Ted she had spent most of her time under foot in the Grey's big house rather than at home in the smaller house on the other side of the property. Even Christian, who Phina had been afraid of, gives her a welcoming hug.
"How long are you staying? How was the tour? Are you dating any one rich and famous?" Ella showers questions down on Phina who answers them with enthusiasm. Ted isn't listening to a word any one is saying. He can not believe that the brat has somehow morphed from the thirteen year old girl standing in his driveway waving good bye as he drives off to collage (that was the last time he'd see her) to the stunning creature who is now standing in front of him.
"Hello Teddy." Her voice is low, almost hesitant as she greets him. His mouth opens and closes a few times before her can manage to get any thing out.
"Phina." Is all he can say as he nods his head
"It's nice to see you, your looking well." She tells him, but she isn't smiling at Ted the way she had at every one else. She is polite but reserved, and he knows exactly why; but Ted isn't ready to take that little trip down memory lane.
"You too." He looks her up and down, noting the perfect hour glass shape of her body, with large breast that would fill his hands nicely and wide hips that make him feel hot under the collar.
"Ugg, you two!" Ella exclaims, rolling her eyes. She grabs Phina's arm and steers her towards the open doors of the big house. "Just ignore him. You already know what an ass he is," Ella throws and annoyed glance over her shoulder at her big brother before disappearing inside.
"Still?" Sophie's voice sounds from beside him. Ted jumps. He hadn't noticed her standing so close, to busy watching the brat leave with his entire family in tow. "You'd think after all her success and the string of handsome, rich, famous boyfriends she'd have gotten over you. But no, she still has to harass you. It is like you have your own gravitational pull." Ted can practically hear her eyes rolling.
"How have you been Sophie?" He asks, lacing his fingers through hers without a second thought. They had always walked together this way; Best friends standing together against the world.
"If I have to hear one more of her melancholy, depressing songs I think I'll kill myself!" she exaggerates in that overly dramatic way she has.
"She really did it? The brat really became a famous singer?" Ted leads her around the house towards the open field where they used to hide in the long grass to escape their collective little sisters. Sophie heaves a sigh.
"Yeah, I guess she has. Well she is famous amongst those darkly depressed suicidal, self-cutting, emo kids any way."
"Is she that bad?" He remembers hearing her singing her heart out at the school concerts his mother had dragged him to, insisting that he needed to be there for her for 'moral support'. She hadn't been to bad back then. He had thought that since going away to Burklee to major in music, after all of those voice lessons and music classes, she could only have improved.
"no, she's not." Sophie acquiesces. "Her voice is phenomenal, but the songs! She only sings about being sad, depressed, and lonely. I'm not joking, her last album was titled 'Songs to slit your wrist too'." She gives a little bark of laughter. "The legal team was not to happy with that."
"No I can't imagine they were. Any suicides that happen to be attempted or commuted while listening to her songs would be blamed on her and she could be sued." Ted knows a lot about the law, being a lawyer and all. "She's tempting fate with that one."
"That's what I told her, and do you know what she said? 'Why should I care?' I'm not kidding you! She doesn't care what happens to her financially, or what they print in the press, as long as she gets to keep singing." Sophie shakes her head. "Enough about the brat, how have you been?"
Ted sits across from the brat at the dinner table. Sophie is to his right and Phoebe his left. The two gossiping women lean over him to speak to one another. His attention is on Phina as she speaks animatedly with her their respective mothers. She is all smiles and laughter, hands waving wildly as she explains about a stage malfunction that had caused her to fall from into the audience.
Gale gasps and he hand moves to cover her mouth, Phina chuckles. "I thought I was really in for it, but they caught me. Crowed surfing hadn't been my intention, but it was the most fun I had that entire tour." Her eyes move to Ted, as if she can feel his own gaze burning holes in her lovely face. "I hear you recently won a big case, it was in the news even in Paris." Her eyes flutter and she turn to Christian. "You must be so proud."
all eyes turn to Christian, who is sitting at the head of the table. He'd been deep in conversation with Taylor about Phina's security when all conversation stopped. Hie stormy gray eyes flick from the brat to his son then to his wife. "Of course we are proud of him." Ana smiles at Ted. "We have always been proud of every thing he does." Ted gives his mom a grateful smile, scowls at the brat and unceremoniously leaves the table.