Review Replies:
StellaAthena36 - Yep, I'm totally okay! They've been split since I was like two or three, my brother even younger. I lived with my mom for schooling/etc. for elementary and middle school, always visiting my dad in Maryland and then spending weekends/etc. when he moved to the next state over from where we were. They've got joint custody, so I spend a week at one house then a week at the other for highschool, because my mom moved to the same schooling district for my stepsister that moved halfway across the country to live with us and her dad, instead of her mom, for high school. I'm used to it all, it's been like this way all my life.
^ As for the cliffhanger thing, I got your review for the chapter after that, but yes, I of course plan to let my readers die :) (I'm just joking but cliffhangers happen sometimes)
^ Now for the review on the latest chapter, you'll see very soon what role Whitney will play in the upcoming More Than A Girl, Part III of the More Than What You May Think series. (And, as always, I pove hesring from you and hearin your feedback on my stories!)
Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan. And so, accordingly, I do not own any works credited to that name. (Or to related names. i.e. Uncle Rick.)
Previously on More Than A Mortal:
"Mom said that the man she knew, Warren, was a great man. But the father I knew was a man who went by many different names." I said. "I named her after the mother I was always so grateful for, and the father I always wished I had." Mom nodded.
"Whitney? You don't seem too surprised by the fact that your daughter all of a sudden has a baby, when she wasn't even pregnant." My uncle said, standing from his chair and making his way over.
"The Greek gods are real, Liam. Jay's dad was one. And so was Lyric's biological mother." Mom said.
"What did you think all of the weird events of late have been, Liam?" Mika asked from the kitchen table, looking up from her book. "And everything unexplainable that has ever happened?"
"You knew about the gods?" I asked.
"Somewhat. Someone somewhere in my family was a demigod, and bits of knowledge have been passed down." Mika said.
"Wait, does this mean you've all got the Sight?" Chelsey asked. "Can you all see through the Mist? I mean, it would make sense, it would attract the gods more. That's what attracted my mom."
"I know I do. And I'm guessing Mika definitely does. Liam might, but he's my brother, so it'd make sense. I'm guessing Orianne and Ben can, too." Mom said.
"Lee, when are you going to tell them? You too, Kiernan. You shouldn't hide it for very long." Jay said.
"But everyone's so happy and in a good mood. Can't we just wait a little longer?" I asked.
"I don't think you should." Chelsey said. "The longer you wait, the harder it will be."
"Yeah. I barely waited to tell Cypress when my dad told me I was dying, and that was hard enough. Don't put it off, Lyric." Nikita told me. Cypress slipped an arm over her shoulders. I looked to Kiernan.
"I'll tell when you do." Kiernan said. I took a deep breath as Ben entered the living room from the hall.
He stopped and looked around at all of us. "What the hell is going on?" Ben asked. He caught sight of mom. "Aunt Whitney, why are you holding a baby?"
Mom gave her back to me, and I took her. "She's my baby." I said.
"So my cousin is a slut." Ben said.
"Excuse me?" I asked, voice void of emotion.
"You came here to try and get us to raise it, didn't you? Because you don't want to." Ben said. "Well, we don't need another child here. Orianne was enough." The ground shook, very noticeably.
"Benjamin Tucker, that is enough out of you!" Liam exclaimed.
"Well, you came here for something, didn't you?" Ben asked. The shaking intensified.
"I came here because I wanted to be with friends after all of the events of late. I came here because I wanted to be with my family. And for your information, I'm not looking for someone to raise her. Jay's already going to. And I'm no slut. I've only ever slept with one person. So I suggest you shut the hell up, before I lose control and bring this roof down on all of our heads." I told him. My voice held absolutely no emotion as I spoke.
"Lee, please, try to stop the earthquake. Don't let anyone else get hurt because our cousin is a bastard." Jay said, setting a hand on my arm. The earthquake slowly stopped as I took deep breaths.
"Lyric, baby, what do you mean, Jay's going to raise her?" Mom asked. There was a look of dread in her eyes.
"I'm dying. I've got about a few days left, and there's no stopping it." I said. Mom's hand flew to her mouth. Everyone was dead silent.
"I suppose it's not a good time to mention that I've got about as much time left as her?" Kiernan ventured in the silence. The silence got seemingly more silent.
"What? How? No. No, this can't happen." Lydia said finally. She seemed extremely close to tears, barely holding herself together. "I can't lose my brother. I can't lose one of my best friends."
"Why does this have to happen?" Maddie asked. She was crying, tears streaming down her face. "What happened?"
"I really don't know what happened. I can just feel it. Something snapped, and I'm too broken to fix." I said. "As for Kiernan..."
"As for me, I wasn't fast enough to get to the infirmary." He said. "I was out helping hold the border, and I took a hit to the side. I didn't get away fast enough, mostly because of the ancient immortal who held me and Jay hostage to get Lyric." I shuddered. Kiernan pulled up his shirt to show off the spiraling black veins. The poison was a little farther than it was when I had last seen it. Everyone else was silent.
Moments later, when the silence had become unbearable, I spoke. "Can we please stop thinking about all of this and just be happy or something? I did not come here to sit through an awkward silence."
"Why don't we introduce everyone, so that we can all know who is who?" My uncle suggested. "And then we can figure out rooming arrangements."
"That sounds fantastic." I said.
"Well, I'm Liam Tucker, owner of Blackmeadow Range." Liam started.
"Jay Tucker."
"Whitney Tucker."
"Lyric Warren Tucker. And little Whitney Warren Tucker." I said.
"Maddie Landon."
"Lydia Ashton."
"Richard Ashton."
"Mary Ashton, and that's our son Mason."
"Kiernan Ashton."
"Chelsey Dare."
"Nikita Caliya Beckett."
"Cypress Creek."
"I'm Mika Tucker. And that's Orianne." Mika said.
"You forgot Sinda!" Orianne exclaimed.
"Who's Sinda?" I asked.
"I'm not too far along, so we don't know what the gender will be yet, but Orianne is dead set on the fact that she's right and it's going to be a girl." Mika said. "And if it is, her name will be Sinda Nalia Tucker. If it's a boy, we've decided on Sage Tucker."
"Oh, that's wonderful news." I said. Mika smiled.
We took the next few minutes to figure where everyone would sleep. It was finally decided that Jay would stay in Ben's room, Mom would take the couch in Liam and Mika's room, Maddie, Lydia, and Chelsey would sleep in Orianne's room, Kiernan's parents and Mason would stay in the guest room, and Nikita and Cypress would take the living room. Kiernan and I would get the little room off the hall, as it had a foldout couch. Liam went to get Orianne's old crib from the basement for us to use for Whitney. Then we all decided to rest, and that we would go out and do something later.
When we went into the little room, Kiernan immediately went to start setting up the couch, folding it out and putting sheets and blankets over it. I wanted to help, but I had a baby in my arms.
"Lyric." I looked to the doorway to see Mom standing there. She gestured for me to come over there, and I went over to see what she wanted. She stepped out into the hall, and I followed.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"I was going to ask if you wanted me to go out and get some things for her. Has she been fed yet at this point?" Mom asked.
"That would be great. And yeah, I fed her, once. I don't know what was going on while he had her. But I don't think it was anything too bad, because he was mostly just using her as leverage." I said.
"You fed her? Did someone have to teach you how?" Mom asked.
"Yeah, Nikita told me how to. She learned from her mother when her brother was born. But I think I'd prefer formula." I said.
"Alright. I'll go and find some things. So far, though, she seems to be a very quiet baby." Mom said.
"Yeah." I agreed. Mom hugged me and then left to go the store. I went back into the room with Kiernan.
"What did your mom want?" Kiernan asked as I set Whiney in the crib Liam had brought up.
"She was asking if she should go get some things for Whitney. That's what she's heading out to do." I told him, sitting down on the couch beside him.
"That's nice of her." Kiernan observed.
"Yeah." I said, leaning against Kiernan. He slipped an arm around me. I closed my eyes.
"So, our lives have been crazy since we met each other." Kiernan said.
"Yeah. Crazy." I said. "Know what else is crazy? How much I really want to take a nap right now." Kiernan laughed.
"How about this: I'll stay awake and watch Whitney, and you take a nap?" Kiernan suggested.
"Sounds good to me." I said, moving so that I was laying down on the folded out bed. Kiernan remained sitting against the back of the couch, and I put my head in his lap. I could feel him start playing with my hair as I drifted off to sleep.
I was awoken later by Kiernan smoothing my hair away from my face, kissing my forehead, and leading down to whisper in my ear. "Come on, Lyric, it's time to get up so we can go out to dinner."
I opened my eyes slowly, and Kiernan leaned back to look at me. "Can't we just stay here? And sleep?" I asked. "This is literally my first day back from hell."
"The whole reason we came here was to spend time with your family and friends." Kiernan said.
"I know. I'm getting up." I said, getting off of the bed. "See? I'm up." Kiernan laughed.
I went over to the crib and gently picked Whitney up. She was sleeping soundly, and was absolutely adorable in the little pajamas mom must have gotten her. I picked up her green blanket and wrapped her up in it.
"Come on. We're going to Texas Roadhouse." Kiernan said. I smiled wide. I loved Texas Roadhouse.
Kiernan and I ended up in the backseat of Liam's old van that he didn't often use. Nikita and Cypress were in the two seats in front of us, and Chelsey was driving. Jay was driving Mom's truck, with Maddie in the passenger seat. My uncle was driving his truck, with Lydia, Kiernan's parents, and Mason. Mika was driving herself, Orianne, and Mom.
Our table, luckily, was ready when we got there. It was really more two tables, just pushed together.
I ended up seated on the very end, and had Whitney in a baby carrier on a chair beside me. Kiernan was sitting beside me, and Jay was across from me, with Maddie beside him. On the other side of Kiernan, it went Cypress, Nikita, Kiernan's parents, Mason. On the other side of Maddie, it went Lydia, Chelsey, Mom, Mika, Liam. Orianne sat at the very end, on either side, instead at the actual end.
We had a fun night at Texas Roadhouse. We all talked and laughed and ate for an hour or two. At one point, Whitney started crying, and Mom came with me outside to calm her down, but after that, she remained calm. Not sleeping, but awake and watching everything. Orianne and Mason seemed to love her, both constantly getting up from their seats to come over and look at her, much to the dismay of their parents.
When we were done eating and had gotten back home, we all went to our separate rooms, it being late. I set Whitney down gently in the crib, and laid down beside Kiernan on the fold out couch. They were more comfortable than people usually gave them credit for. Kiernan wrapped an arm around me, and I laid my head against his chest. He kissed my hair softly, and my breathing slowly evened out as I fell asleep.
I woke early in the morning. Kiernan was still asleep, so I gently untangled myself from him. Checking the time, I found that it was six a.m. Someone else was bound to be up, most likely Liam. Living on a farm would do that to you.
I gently picked up Whitney from her crib. She was still sound asleep. Going over to the things Mom had gotten yesterday, I retrieved some things to heat Whitney's formula. Better to get her used to it before Jay had to take care of her.
When I went out in the kitchen, I found Liam standing at the counter, eating a bagel. He moved over so that I could use the space by the stove.
"She's a beautiful baby." Liam said when I checked the bottle against my wrist to make sure it wasn't too hot.
"She really is." I murmured, holding the bottle up for Whitney. She sucked on it eagerly.
"And you really like this boy? We don't need to bring together the family to hurt him?" Liam asked. I laughed.
"No, I really like him. He's very sweet." I said. "I love him."
"Good. I would hate to have to hurt the boy when his family is here." Liam said. I laughed again. "So, what plans do you have for the day?"
"I don't know. Just hang out with everyone, I guess." I said with a shrug.
And that's how it did go. I spent the day talking and laughing and hanging out with all of my friends in the living room, before it got a little warmer out and we migrated to the porch and surrounding grass. Orianne and Mason played a game nearby, while Mom and Kiernan's parents sat on the porch with us. Liam had to run into town for a couple things, so that we could have a barbecue, and Mika was over with Orianne and Mason, watching them and making sure they didn't go too far. Ben stayed in his room, most likely sulking after his father yelled at him.
Nobody went to bed until really late, but by about one a.m., I was getting extremely tired and wanted to go to sleep. I said goodnight to everyone, and went inside, but not before getting tight hugs from everyone. No one wanted to say it, but we all knew tomorrow was the last day for me, and Kiernan, too.
When I got inside, I put Whitney in her crib, grabbed some clothes, and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. It had to be quick in case Whitney woke and began to cry.
I had only been in the shower a few minutes, and was rinsing the soap out of my hair, when someone entered the bathroom. I immediately went to cover myself, even thought shower curtain was very not transparent. As if reading my thoughts, the person spoke up. "Relax, it's just me." It was Kiernan.
I poked my head out the side of the curtains to look at him. "What are you doing in here?" I asked.
"I didn't realize you were in here at first. But when I saw the shower running, I knew it was you, because you're the only one inside." Kiernan said.
"It could've been Ben." I told him.
"He would've used the upstairs bathroom." Kiernan reasoned. I shrugged.
We were silent for a moment, before I asked "Why are you still in here?"
Kiernan gave me a smirk. "Well, I was wondering if I might join you?" He asked. I blushed deep red. We had a baby, and him being suggestive made me blush. Ugh.
"I have to take a quick shower so that I can get back to Whitney. She's in the crib." I told him matter-of-factly.
"Actually, I asked Lydia to watch her for a little while. She's been dying to hold her niece." Kiernan told me.
"Whatever. Just get in here." I told him, returning to rinsing my hair, even though the soap was long gone. Moments later, he was with me, wrapping his arms around me to hug me close to him.
"I love you." He whispered against my hair.
"I love you, too." I told him. I leaned back a little and kissed him. He kissed me back.
I pulled away after a few minutes. He opened his mouth to protest, but I placed a finger on his lips, effectively cutting him off. "I need to finish my shower." I told him. He grinned.
"Maybe I could help you with that." He said seductively. I laughed.
"You'd like to think you'd be helping, but you'd just be getting in the way." I told him. He pouted, before leaning down to whisper in my ear.
"What if I promise to behave myself?"
I can say that he definitely did not behave himself.
After that much longer than planned shower, Kiernan and I made our way to our room to get dressed. I was very glad that everyone was still outside.
When we got into our room, I changed into the shirt that Kieran had given me on Halloween. It seemed forever ago. Kiernan smiled at my choice in night wear, changing into only a pair of sweatpants.
"Could you go get Whitney?" I asked Kiernan as I sat down on the edge of the fold out couch.
"You can't?" Kiernan asked, starting toward the door. I knew he was just teasing.
"Are you kidding? I think every single one of them probably knows what just happened because someone else was watching the baby and not me. I do not fancy going out there right now." I told him. He laughed and went to get her.
Kiernan came back a few minutes later, and he had a bit of an uncomfortable look on his face as he handed Whitney to me. "What happened?" I asked him.
"Well, your mother had some things to say. As did your brother. And your uncle, and your aunt, and my mother and father." Kiernan said. I laughed at him and he pouted.
I set Whitney gently down in her crib, and climbed onto the fold out couch beside Kiernan. He wrapped his arms around me, and I slung one of my legs over his and nestled my head against his bare chest. He smiled against my hair and whispered. "I love you."
"I love you, too." I whispered back, lips against his chest from the way I was lying against him.
So, anyone else catch that extra reference to the book that I said I got the names for Kiernan, Orianne, and Mika from? Hint: It's another name. Technically, two, as Sinda and Nalia were two different people. Actually, three different people? I dunno. (I'll put the name and author of the book in the next chapter, at the bottom, so that you can check it out if you want.)
Thank you to anyone who has reviewed, followed, or favorited! You are not inclined to do any of those things if you do not wish, but it would be much appreciated! I send my love to all of you!
Oh, I just thought I should let people know - I am going to the Ed Sheeran concert at Gilette Stadium tomorrow and I'm excited. I don't listen to him that that much, but I do really like his music, and I get to bring along a friend. I think she's even more excited than I am, but she really likes Ed Sheeran and she hasn't been to many concerts in general.