Where'd my readers go? Thanks to the two of you that reviewed last time. I really appreciate it! I'm trying to start updating more but sometimes it's just hard for me to think of what to write about. I appreciate those of you that have stuck around!
Brynn sat up in her makeshift bed, ripping the scratchy blankets off of her legs. The four year old had never felt so home sick, and it was worsened by the fact that her parents were across the country filming for their new roles. Her eyes surveyed the unfamiliar room in hopes of finding someone who could comfort her.
When she realized that Cat was no longer in the room with her, she began to panic. The only time Brynn had been in Cat's house was with her parents, and that had been for mere hours at a time, not nearly long enough for her to familiarize herself with the small townhouse. Her eyes began to fill with tears as she stood up from where she sat on the small blowup mattress, taking small, tentative steps towards the door to the room.
"Auntie Cat?" Brynn's raspy voice echoed through the halls of the silent house.
Tears filled her eyes as she padded down the hall, uneasy about where she was going or how she was going to find her aunt. She gripped onto the sleeves of her father's plaid shirt, desperate to take in any amount of comfort that it had to offer. Jade had prepped Brynn for this short separation by packing a few of Beck's plaid shirts for her to wear as pajamas; just like she had done last time Beck had left. But this time, it was much harder on the young Oliver. Not only was she separated from her parents, but she was in an unfamiliar house where she was slightly uncomfortable and almost always unhappy. She didn't want to play or watch her beloved Disney movies, she only longed to cuddle up with her parents in their warm bed and listen to them tell her just how much they loved her.
Brynn's footsteps sped up as she became more frantic, tears beginning to spill from her big blue-green eyes. She searched every room she stumbled upon; the living room, the kitchen, even Cat's bedroom, but she was nowhere to be found. Finally, Brynn heard the sweet, familiar sound of Cat's singing voice floating throughout the house. Brynn tried to yell out for her, but a sob arose from her throat instead.
"Brynn? Sweetheart, where are you?" Cat's voice came from the other end of the hall, where a light began to shine as she opened the door to her office.
Brynn darted to the source of the light, her arms stretched out as she began sobbing uncontrollably. As she reached the door to the room, she was instantly swooped up into Cat's loving embrace, her head resting against Cat's chest.
"What's wrong, sweetie? What is it?"
Brynn only cried in response, her small body shaking with each sob. She had never longed to see her parents so much; then again, she had never been away from both of them for so long.
"Hey, it's okay. You're okay, baby." Cat began to rock Brynn back and forth as she rubbed small circles on her back. It didn't take long for the small girl to melt into Cat's embrace, her sobs quieting down into whimpers. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"
Brynn picked her head up and used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears; her face had begun to sting from the incredible amount of tears.
"Mommy and daddy.." She mumbled, sniffling in between each word.
"You miss them, don't you? Oh, sweet girl." Cat cooed as she gently brushed a piece of hair out of Brynn's face, running her fingers along the side of the girl's delicate features.
Brynn nodded as she took in a deep breathe, unable to steady her breathing after the episode she just had. Although Cat's love was enough to sooth her crying, she still wasn't able to stop missing her parents.
Cat carried Brynn into the living room and snuggled up with her on the couch, not once letting the little Oliver leave her embrace. Although Cat had begged and pleaded with Jade to let Brynn stay with her while they were gone, she now felt like Jade was right when she told her she would have no clue how to handle Brynn at times. She had done well enough at handling Brynn's moodiness throughout the day, letting her play alone when she wanted to and forcing her to at least eat half of her food when she refused to do otherwise, but she now felt defeated, not knowing how to soothe Brynn's seemingly endless crying.
"Do you want to watch The Three Musketeers?"
Brynn simply shook her head in response, tears still falling down her porcelain face. At any other time, watching Mickey, Donald, and Goofy parade around on the TV screen would have put her in a trance, but now she wanted nothing to do with it. She rested her head against Cat's chest and allowed Cat to trace small shapes on her back. For a while, it seemed that Brynn would ease back into sleep. That is, until her crying began to worsen all over again.
Cat looked over at the clock, worried about disrupting Beck and Jade so late at night. It only seemed right to let their daughter call them, as it didn't seem she was going to calm herself down at this rate. She picked up the phone and dialed Jade first, knowing that the worried mother would pick up in a heartbeat, thinking something was wrong.
"You've reached Jade Oliver, leave me a message and I'll consider calling you back.. Maybe." The phone went straight to voicemail.
Brynn perked up at the sound of her mother's voice, soothed by the familiar sound. She reached for Cat's phone and put it to her ear, listening for Jade to say more.
"Leave her a message, baby. She'll hear it when she turns her phone on." Cat encouraged her.
"H-Hi mommy," Brynn stuttered, her breathing still uneasy from crying, "I m-miss you and d-daddy. I love you so much. Auntie C-Cat is trying to help me not cry. I'm not so b-brave, mommy. Come home now."
She returned the phone to Cat's possession and continued to cry into her aunt's embrace. They sat like this for a few minutes, Cat talking about Brynn's favorite things in an effort to take her mind off of her parents, and Brynn shrugging it off as she continued to cry for the comfort that only her parents could bring to her. Suddenly, Cat wrapped a blanket around Brynn and carried her back into her office, sitting down at her computer once she got there.
"What we doing?" Brynn sniffled, confused by the sudden change of scenery.
Cat opened up her laptop and logged onto her old Slap account, she hadn't used this thing in years as everyone had moved on to new social networks. Brynn watched with pure interest as Jade's profile came onto the screen, an old picture of her mother with her black hair and teal streaks gracing the screen.
"Mommy.." She whispered, not once tearing her eyes away from the screen.
Cat smiled as she opened up an old video that had been posted to Jade's account, a still image of Jade and Beck appearing on the screen. Jade's hair was long and curly, her teal streaks replaced with purple ones, much different from her now short, jet black hair. Beck was sitting beside her, a gray beanie covering his dark hair. He was wearing one of his plaid shirts, a style that he still wore to this day. Cat clicked play, the calm hum of the video filling the room.
Brynn smiled as she saw what was happening on the screen. Beck stared at Jade, a smile plastered on his face and guitar in hand. Jade looked back into his loving gaze and laughed, earning a small chuckle from her then boyfriend. "Alright," Beck laughed as he began strumming the guitar.
Jade began to sway to the music, the smile slowly fading from her face. Beck's smooth voice started to flow from the speakers as he sang, earning another smile from Jade.
Brynn eased up at the sound of her father's voice, a small smile appearing on her face. It was a smile that much resembled Jade's, although Brynn's eyes squinted just like Beck's did when he smiled.
"Plucked her eyebrows on the way, shaved his legs and then he was a she.." Jade began singing along, their voices going together seamlessly. Beck then stopped singing, his eyes closed as he kept strumming on the guitar. Jade's voice was still strong as she sang, her eyes closed, body moving to the beat of the music.
"But she never lost her head.." Beck's voice returned as the pair continued singing, Jade turning her head to look at him.
Brynn's smile grew even wider as she watched the two of them sing together, a sound that she was used to hearing almost every day. Hearing their voices had a calming effect on her; it was almost as if they were singing to her.
"Doo, doo, doo, doo-da-doo doo…" Jade began singing on her own. It wasn't long before Beck joined in, causing Jade to turn and smile at the sound of his voice. Beck returned the smile as he gazed at her lovingly. The two of them continued like this for a few seconds until Beck stopped strumming on the guitar, their singing voices fading out as they stared at each other.
The small, tan girl reached up and touched the frozen image of Beck and Jade smiling at each other, as if she were trying to touch them. Her smile faded as she realized they were no longer singing, but a small trace of a smile still lingering as she stared at the screen.
"Again, please." Brynn's raspy voice whispered, still weak from crying.
Cat complied with the child's command, pressing play on the video once again. This went on for minutes, Brynn easing back into Cat's embrace with each passing second. The tears that had once fallen down her face had now disappeared, leaving dry tear streaks all down her baby face. Eventually, Cat felt Brynn's breathing even out, her eyes closed.
"Thank God." Cat sighed, gently picking Brynn up and carrying her back to her temporary bedroom.
The red headed girl was pleased with herself for easing Brynn back to sleep, even though she thought it would never happen.
She gently eased the sleeping toddler back onto the bed, careful not to wake her. As soon as she placed the blankets over Brynn's sleeping form, the small girl began to stir, whimpering and turning on her side, her arms stretched out in front of her. Before Cat could begin to panic, Brynn's hands made their way around her blankie, pulling it close to her face. She slipped her thumb into her mouth and eased back into a peaceful sleep, earning a sigh of relief out of Cat.
A quiet ringing noise could be heard from the other end of the house. Cat tensed up as she slowly shut the door to Brynn's room, praying she wouldn't wake her up. After she successfully shut the door, she retreated back to her office where she picked up the phone.
"Hello?" She whispered, still afraid of waking Brynn.
"Is everything okay?" Jade's voice filled the phone, earning a cringe from Cat. She quickly turned down the phone's volume.
"Yes, she's fine now. We watched an old video of you and Beck singing on The Slap and she eased right back to sleep. I'm so sorry I called, I just had no idea how to-"
"Don't be sorry, Cat. I told you she's tough to handle." She could almost see Jade smirk as she spoke.
"She loves you guys a lot, you know."
"Almost as much as we love her. Now, about this video she watched.."
"Oh, it was the one of you two singing, you know, that one song!" Cat struggled to remember the name of it.
"Wild Side?" Jade questioned, causing Cat to perk up instantly.
"Yes, that's it! She kept touching the screen when you two would smile at each other."
"Well is inappropriate as that song is for a precious four year old to hear, I'm glad you calmed her down. Have her call me in the morning, okay?"
Cat agreed to do what she was told, saying goodbye and hanging up the phone seconds later. She smiled, proud of herself for handling the situation the way she did. Beck and Jade had told her multiple times that Brynn was not the easiest kid, but she had insisted that she could handle it. Although Brynn did have her father's laid back attitude most of the time, she was easily wound up and moody, just like Jade.
