Taylor Townsend sat perched on a chair in her boyfriend, Ryan Atwood's kitchen, anxiously gripping a cup of coffee in both hands.
In a few minutes she'd be meeting Ryan's twin five year olds for the first time since their birthday party last week.
Taylor was a little nervous. She honestly didn't know what to make of the whole situation. She'd shown up to surprise her boyfriend at his new apartment and had walked in on him dancing with his ex-girlfriend in the midst of a hoard of screaming children.
Naturally she'd been angry when he'd explained what was going on. How could he have not told her that he was a father!
Ryan had kept the kids a secret from her for two and a half months although she supposed that was nothing compared to the five years Marissa had hidden them from him.
Still, it upset Taylor. Boyfriends and girlfriends were supposed to tell each other everything, were they not?
"Hey." Ryan said, walking into the kitchen and taking a seat next to Taylor. "How's it going?"
"They're late." She replied instantly, eyes fixed on the clock. "They were supposed to be here at 11:30. It is now 11:46. They are sixteen minutes late."
"Oh, they're always late." Ryan said airily, leaning back in his chair. "It's hard to be on time when you have two little kids to get ready. Don't worry, they'll be here soon." He made a move to put his arm around her but Taylor shrugged away uncomfortably.
She wasn't sure how to act with Ryan yet. Part of her was furious for not telling her about the kids while the other pat felt bad for him for being thrust into such a difficult situation.
She was trying to put it all behind her and forgive him so things could go back to normal although she realized that with two small kids in the picture, things would never be the same again.
"What are their names again?" Taylor asked, mostly to fill the awkward silence that had washed over the kitchen.
Ryan's shoulders relaxed and his face brightened as her began to talk about the kids. "Nate and Lucy. Nathaniel and Lucy actually but nobody calls him that. They're five years old and they're in kindergarten . They love stories and the park and music. Nate's kind of quiet and shy, a bit like me. Lucy is the total opposite. She's chatty and energetic and generally just a wild child. They both play soccer and Lucy does gymnastics too."
"Wow!" Taylor laughed. "I asked for their names not their life stories!"
Ryan smiled at her widely. "A dad never passes up an opportunity to brag about his kids!"
Her grin vanished suddenly and she put her face in her hands. "Oh god, don't say that!" she moaned.
"What?" Ryan questioned in confusion.
"Dad." She groaned. "I'm not ready for you to be called dad. You're only 23 for goodness sake! You can't be a dad."
"Better get used to it!" he teased her. "Any minute this house will be filled with little voices yelling 'DADDY!' at the top of their lungs!"
Taylor giggled, leaning into him and said casually, "Marissa's not staying is she?"
"No I don't think so." Ryan answered. "As far as I know she'd just dropping the kids off and leaving."
'Good.' Taylor inwardly thought to herself. She wasn't very happy about the long amounts of time that Ryan had been spending with Marissa since arriving in New York.
He'd sworn nothing had happened between him and his ex-girlfriend but Taylor wasn't so sure.
There'd defiantly been something going on at the twins' birthday party; the dancing had proved that. Taylor pushed the thought to the back of her mind and reminded herself to trust Ryan. He'd never lied to her before after all, aside from the Nate and Lucy thing. She had no reason not to believe him.
"What if they don't like me." Taylor worried out loud.
"Course they'll like you." Ryan grinned. "Nate and Lucy like everyone! They've already made friends with the doorman, the guy who collects the garbage and the crazy old cat lady across the hall."
"Really?" She asked, allowing a small smile to spread across her face.
"Don't worry, they're going to love you." He made another attempt to put an arm around her shoulders, this time successful.
Taylor nodded. "How often do they stay here anyway?"
"Oh, you know, whenever." He replied vaguely. "We don't really have a set schedule. Sometimes I go get them after school. Usually I take them places on the weekends. If Marissa's working I get to watch the kids then. I go visit Nate and Lucy at their house a lot too. I go over for breakfast or dinner"
"At Marissa's?" Taylor inquired sharply.
"Well, yeah." Ryan drummed his fingers on the table top uneasily. "That's where they live. It's easier if I go there because they already have all their toys at Marissa's. Plus her apartment's bigger than this one. They have more space to play and run around."
"Hmm." Taylor gave him a look and was about to voice her opinions when the doorbell rang.
Ryan seemed to heave a sigh of relief as he escaped her wrath. "That'll be them."
Taylor followed him down the hall slowly, hanging back a little. She was an only child and had never really been around kids. She didn't know what to expect.
"They'll love you." Ryan assured her again before opening the door. "Hey guys!"
"DADDY!" Two tiny yellow-haired kids leaped into Ryan's arms, dropping their matching backpack to the floor in excitement.
Taylor couldn't help but notice how cute they were. They little girl, Lucy, was an exact replica of Marissa only smaller. Nate looked more like Ryan with his large intelligent eyes and small ears. Both kids were dressed neatly in brand-name children's clothes. They reminded Taylor of child models.
The kids chattered away to Ryan about school and the street fair they'd went to and the subway ride to his house.
He listened intently, nodding and smiling, all his attention focused on his son and daughter.
He was like a totally different person, Taylor noticed, when he was with the kids. Ryan hadn't stopped grinning since they're walked though the door.
It made her smile to see him so happy.
Taylor tore her eyes away from Ryan and the twins to survey Marissa who leaned casually against the doorframe looking as beautiful as ever, a large bag of toys hanging off her arm.
"Hey Ryan." She greeted him, stepping forward into the room.
"Hey." He smiled back, setting Nate and Lucy on the ground. "What cha got there?" He gestured to the bag.
"Everything you'll need today!" She smiled. "I've packed their favourite books, a few movies, some Barbie's, about a thousand toy cars, a container of play dough, markers and paper and a puzzle in case they get bored."
Ryan laughed, punching Marissa's shoulder gently. 'Should keep them busy for a few minutes anyway."
Taylor watched the two parents with a twang of jealously in her chest. Ryan and Marissa would be forever connected through their kids. Every birthday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Marissa would be there and so would Nate and Lucy. It would never be just her and Ryan again.
"Hey Marissa!" Taylor interrupted their conversation in a chipper voice. "Long time, no see! How's it going?" Not waiting for a response, she turned away from Marissa and bent down to talk to the children.
"Hello there." She addressed them sweetly. "My name's Taylor. I'm your daddy's girlfriend. He's told me so much about you two! I just know we're going to get along great!"
The twins looked Taylor up and down with a disgruntled look on their faces, then looked at each other.
"Gorkin frubel." Lucy said softly to her brother, eyes darting to Taylor.
"Weyer ahmid depwat." Nate whispered back.
"Aren't they just the cutest?" Marissa came up beside Taylor and slung an arm around her shoulder. "They've invented their own secret twin language! Usually they only use it if they're up to something and don't want anyone to find out what."
She smiled falsely at Taylor before turning back to the others. "Well, I better go, I have to get to work. Natey, Lucy, come give mommy a hug!"
"Bye mommy!" The twins shouted, throwing their arms around Marissa's neck. "Have fun at work!"
"Thank you, have fun with daddy."
"We will." Nate nodded seriously. "I love you mommy."
"Me too mommy, I love you too!" Lucy exclaimed, jumping up and down.
"And I love you guys." Marissa laughed, getting to her feet. "Bye Ryan. Taylor."
"Bye." Ryan gave her a quick hug. "See you later."
"Bye." Taylor waved, glad that Marissa was finally leaving. 'Don't hurry back!' She said under her breath. Taylor closed the door then looked down at the kids who were glaring at her with identical scowls on their faces. 'Whoa!' Taylor gasped. You could really tell they were twins when they did that.
"You guys hungry?" Ryan asked, taking Nate and Lucy's hands and pulling them away from Taylor. "Let's go make some lunch!"
"Peanut butter and banana please!" Lucy shrieked, running down the hall. "And do you have any juice? My favourite kind is apple juice but I like orange juice too. Except when it has pulp. Pulp is yucky. Mommy says it's good for us but I don't like it. Natey likes orange juice the best. He doesn't even mind the pulp. He says it tastes like an orange but I still think it's yucky. Apple juice is way better! Do you have any apple juice?"
Ryan smiled and opened the fridge. "Today's your lucky day Luce cause yes, we do have apple juice! We have orange too Nate. No pulp."
"Yay!" Exclaimed Lucy, climbing onto her chair. "I'll have apple and Nate will have orange, right Natey?"
"Yes please." Nate asked politely as he took a seat next to Lucy. 'And peanut butter and banana too please Daddy."
"Coming right up!" Ryan pulled out a loaf of bread and began rummaging in the cupboards for peanut butter.
"Smooth or crunchy?" He asked the twins.
"Smooth." They replied in unison banging their little fists on the table.
"Daddy, your berry phone is ringing!" Nate picked up Ryan's blackberry and stared at the screen intently.
"It says wh-o-uh-k." He sounded out the word that flashed across the screen.
"Thanks kid." He ruffled Nate's hair and took the phone from the little boy. "Work. I better take this. Taylor would you mind finishing the sandwiches?"
"Sure." She grabbed a knife and began slicing bananas, straining her ears to hear Ryan's conversation in the next room.
"Hello?…"
"Yes this is Ryan…."
"I completely forgot about that…."
"They're there now?…"
"I've got the kids today though…."
"No…."
"No…."
"Of course not…."
"Okay…."
"Yes…."
Yes, I'll be there…."
"Okay…."
"Bye…."
"What's going on?" Taylor demanded as he stepped back into the kitchen.
"Thank was work." Ryan sighed exasperatedly. "There's this huge, important meeting today that I have to be at that I completely forgot about."
He frowned. "I'm going to have to go in for a few hours. Taylor, would you mind watching the kids for me? I know it's a little unexpected and I can call a neighbour if you don't feel up to it but…?"
"Sure, I'll watch them." Taylor said bravely. "It'll be a great chance to get to know them."
"Really? You'll do it?"
She nodded nervously.
"Thank you soo much!" He kissed her cheek. "Here's my work number in case there's an emergency." He scribbled it onto a scrap of paper. "I'll put Marissa's number on here too."
He handed her the little piece of paper which she shoved in her pocket and picked up his brief case. "Everything should be okay. I'll only be gone a little while and the kids have tons of toys to play with."
"We'll be fine." Taylor promised. "They seem like great kids."
"They are." He smiled, grabbing his cell phone and quickly kissing each child on the head. "Be good for Taylor guys."
"BYE DADDY!" They called after him as the door slammed shut.
"Bye." Taylor said sadly. Today was not going exactly as she'd planned. The kids didn't seem to like her very much and now Ryan had left her here alone with them.
She gulped and set a sandwich down in front of the boy and girl. "Well, I guess it's just the three of us now."
"Yep." Lucy said gleefully, catching her brothers eye. "Just us!" The twins smiled widely at Taylor, a slightly evil look in their eyes. "We're going to have so much fun with you Taylor."
So school is starting tomorrow which means I won't have time to update as often as I'd like. Expect 2-3 chapters a week from now on. I wish it could be more but with six hours of school a day plus homework, I probably only be able to update on weekends. Sorry. Stick with me!