p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;"A/N:/span/strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;" Hey guys! Alright... so I have to confess something... Brace yourselves.../span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;" /span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;"This is the second to last chapter of the story. But don't go getting upset and sappy on me yet! I have a sequel I plan to launch so you won't have to wait long to see what comes Jai and Kayla's way next! The next chapter will be the final chapter, and I'll be posting the first chapter for the sequel in a few weeks. I need time to finish my current book, as some people are wanting to take a look at it when it's done./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;" /span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;"If you don't already know, you can get updates and sneak peeks on future chapters by following me on Instagram (tiggermom023) and Twitter (tigger_mom023). I've also started a blog on Tumblr called Quotes on Pretty Paper where I write a quote each day on a piece of scrapbook paper that I have, snap a picture, and post it along with whatever I choose to say (which usually isn't much) for that particular day. You can find that at Tumblr dot com / blog / quotesonprettypaper (take out the spaces and replace the dot with an actual period and you'll be good!). I do quote Divergent among other things… and I also take quote requests here and there./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;"Anyway, hope you like this chapter! Have fun reading! xo/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;" /span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;"Chapter Sixteen – Barriers/span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 5pt 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;"Kayla/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;"I sat at my mom's kitchen table, the morning after I'd come here, eating a bowl of cereal when she sat down beside me. I hadn't told her anything when I got there, so she only knew that I was upset and wanted to stay with her for a little while./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""So, do I want to ask what happened between you and Jai?" she asked cautiously./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""We had a fight," I said simply, giving her the heartbroken look I couldn't help but show. I was deeply hurt, and even if I'd wanted to I couldn't have hidden that from her. There wasn't a facade big enough for me to put on that could have hidden that from her, she knew me too well./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""About the miscarriage?" she asked. I shook my head. "About what?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""The press, the things being said about me, my depression over the baby..."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Basically everything all rolled into one."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Yeah, but he's also gotten really distant because my depression went downhill... a lot," I added./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""But that's normal being in the position you're in, to be depressed about everything I mean. Maybe he just isn't sure how to handle it all the time, so he does what he thinks is best by distancing himself until you feel a little better. Maybe he just doesn't want to make it worse."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Mom, who's side are you on?" I asked defensively./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Kayla, stop." she gave me her 'don't go there' look and I quickly realized I was being a little dramatic. "Think about it, how many other serious relationships has he been in that you know of? One, right?" I nodded. "Gemma?" I nodded again. "Okay, and maybe she didn't have the same issues you have. Maybe she didn't have a miscarriage and she is used to the press and paparazzi or whatever. Maybe this is his first rodeo with this sort of thing." I opened my mouth to speak but she stopped me. "I know he's a butt from time to time, but all men are. Your father even had his moments." she genuinely smiled at me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Moments like this?" I asked in disbelief./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Yes, moments like this. I gave birth to a stillborn child before you were born. It shattered me and left an impact for a emvery/em long time. Your dad didn't know how to handle it, so he backed off for a while... gave me some space. We fought, I yelled, and he even let me swear at him. But once I hit my breaking point and I fell to the floor in tears he was right there next to me, his arms around me and telling me it was going to be okay. That he'd be right here beside me." I sat there silently, amazed that she'd never told me this story before. "And that, baby, is exactly what I see in Jai for you."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""He did after we got into the fight about Gemma and I told him about the baby. We both cried, actually."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You two will get through this." she patted my arm as a form of comfort. "Once you both calm down, you'll talk it through and get on the same page. Then you guys will be happy again. Maybe after that, you should just take some time away from everything so that you can reconnect a little better than before. It might do you some good – both of you." she went upstairs. I sat at the table and ate my breakfast then got changed to go for a run. When I got back, I checked my phone. Nothing./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;"Over the next week, I occupied my time painting, watching movies, sewing, and whatever other craft I could occupy my time and mind with to not think about Jai. I was still hurt, but I wanted to talk to him about all of it so we could fix things. I knew I didn't want to lose him over this. I still loved him, after all. I had just gotten out of the shower when I heard a knock at the door. I quickly threw a bra on and put on my white and purple flower summer dress, threw my wet hair into a messy bun, and went to get the door. When I opened it, Jai was standing before me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Hi," he said with a small smile on his face./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Hi," I replied, returning the same smile./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Can we talk?" he asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Sure, c'mon in." I let him in and closed the door behind him. "What're you doing here?" I asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""I flew out here to talk to you." I was a little surprised./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You flew out here just to talk to me? From LA to Pittsburgh?" I asked. I wasn't buying it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Well, and to try and convince you to come with me and work this out." he smiled at me. "I'm sorry about the way I've been acting. I-"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You've never been in a situation like this before, have you? Dealing with someone who has severe depression, that kind of thing." I asked plainly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""No," he sighed. "I haven't." I walked over to him and hugged him. "You're not mad at me?" he asked. I chuckled and shook my head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""I talked to my mom the morning after I got here, and she reminded me that depression isn't something everyone has dealt with." I smiled at him before planting a kiss on his lips./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""That explains the phone call I got that night telling me to give it a few days and then fly out here." he smiled at me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""She called you?" I asked, smile still apparent on my face. He nodded and I giggled. "Typical mom. It's a good thing she loves both of us." I touched his nose with my finger and then kissed where I'd touched./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;"We spent the rest of the week with my mom before flying back to LA. When we got back, we decided to go spend a week in Australia to get some RR, as Jai had put it, and began packing to leave. We had planned on staying in a hotel, but after he talked to his parents they insisted on us staying in the guest bedroom there so there was less chance of us being swarmed by the paparazzi... and after losing the baby and being hounded by them the way we have been, his mom told us it seemed like we could both really use it. When we got off the plane, his parents were waiting to welcome us. Jai introduced me and his parents hugged me just as they'd hugged him. After getting our bags and getting into the car, his mom spoke up./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""So Kayla," she turned in her seat to look at me. "Have you been to Australia before?" that alone told me that Jai hadn't told her how we met, and I grinned at him for it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Yes, I have. I actually met Jai the last time he was here. I was here for the summer, staying with friends, and he rescued me from drowning at the beach." I explained. I saw Jai shake his head, but couldn't imagine why./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""emJai Stephen/em, you should have brought her to meet us while you two were here!" she tapped his knee – the closest thing she could reach of him. I could tell by her look that she'd have preferred an arm, shoulder, or possibly even the back of his head and I let out a giggle./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Mum, we weren't even serious then! We were just dating." Jai defended himself./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""That emis/em true..." I added./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Since when has that stopped you?" she challenged, and I saw Jai's mouth close immediately and look in his lap. I smirked, thinking I could learn a lot in the short week we're here./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Sorry, mum. You're right." I looked shocked for a minute before my expression turned into a giggle as he was being scolded by his mom for not bringing me to meet them sooner./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""But in all fairness, I haven't taken her to see Vashti and the kids yet, either," I remembered him talking about the Whitfields, so when the words left his mouth I immediately made the connection./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You need to do that too then," his mom replied with a smile. "Maybe your godkids can convince you to stay longer than a week." he grinned at her and she glanced at me, seeing the similar grin on my face as he had on his. We settled into the guest room and enjoyed dinner while I got to know his parents and vice versa. His mom gave me a big hug and we sat and had a heart to heart away from Jai and his dad about the baby after dinner. She told me that the only other girlfriend of his she'd ever met was Gemma and that she was happy her son had me in his life. "He needed a reason to believe in love again," she told me. It made me feel good inside knowing that I helped him believe in love again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Did you have a good talk with my mum?" he asked as I came into the bedroom to get ready for bed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Yeah, I did." I smiled at him before going into the bathroom./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Her and dad are starting to get attached to the idea of us, you know. My dad told me today they won't be surprised if we're announcing a wedding in a few years." I heard him in the bedroom as I washed my face in the sink./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""And what do emyou/em think about that?" I asked, gauging his reaction./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Only time will tell." was all he said. I sighed in defeat, but not loud enough for him to hear. I rinsed the soap off my face, used the hand towel to dry it, and opened the bathroom door. I kissed Jai before walking over to the empty side of the bed. I changed out of my clothes and into the short shorts and tank top I had sitting on the bed before climbing in next to Jai./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You know, you could just sleep in your underwear like you do at home." he grinned./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Behave yourself. We're at your parent's house." I warned him with a smile./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""But baby," he whined. "do I have to if I do this?" he leaned down and softly kissed a line from my shoulder up to my neck and stopped at a sensitive spot. I began to get the tingly turned-on feeling I always get whenever he does this and I giggle./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""I don't want them to hear us!" I confessed, moving away from his kiss so he couldn't continue. He pouted at me, which was too cute for words. It almost made me melt and give into him. emAlmost/em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Babe! They won't hear us, I promise! Come on!" he was trying so hard to convince me. I looked toward the door and didn't answer him. This must have been just what he needed because I was knocked out of my thoughts by the feeling of his hand traveling fast up my leg, no intention of stopping in sight. Looks like he knows just how to win. After an hour and a half of us acting like rabbits, we finally snuggled to one another and went to bed – naked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;"The next morning I was awoken by kisses on my shoulder again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You are insatiable sometimes, Jai Courtney." I turned to face him with a grin on my face. He was grinning right back at me, letting out a chuckle./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""I can't help it, laying next to you. You're beautiful, sexy, smart, you put up with my bullshit, you don't let anyone treat you like a doormat, you're flat out perfect for me." he'd given me so many compliments, I couldn't help but blush./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""emAnd/em it's so cute when you blush," he added, making me turn redder as he kissed my cheek./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You are something else." I giggled as I kissed his lips. "We need to get up for the day though." I put an abrupt halt to our make-out session as I got out of bed, grabbed my outfit for the day, and bounced to the bathroom naked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You're gonna be the death of me, woman!" Jai laughed jokingly. I opened the bathroom door just enough to see him and for him to see part of my face and I stuck my tongue out at him before closing the door just as fast as I'd opened it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Keep it up, Kayla." he laughed. I got dressed, brushed my teeth, and put some acne lotion on my face before I came out of the bathroom and pounced my boyfriend in my mid-thigh length jean shorts and red and gray striped tank top./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Or what, Jai?" I asked, straddling him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Or you're going to have to fix your hair and get dressed all over again," he said impishly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Down boy." I hovered half an inch from his face before getting off him and heading for the door. "See you in the kitchen for breakfast, honey!" I called out as I closed the door behind me. I knew he was damning me without even being able to hear him because he'd have to take a cold shower after my teasing all morning. I was sitting at the table when he came down and shot me a playful glare before wishing his mom a good morning and sitting next to me at the table./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Just you wait, I'm gonna get you back for that," he promised me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Get her back for what?" his mom asked and I put my hand over my mouth so she couldn't see the smile that would not leave my face./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Nothing mom," Jai said quickly and I giggled./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You're gonna get her back for nothing?" his mom made a confused face. "That doesn't make any sense." she brought a plate of breakfast for each of us and set them down, one in front of him and one in front of me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You don't wanna know," I said. "Trust me." I grabbed my fork and butter knife and began to cut into the pancakes on my plate. Thankfully, his mom didn't press the subject further and we had a nice, quiet breakfast. After breakfast, Jai told his mom we were going out, and off we went – just me and him. I had no idea where we were going, and he wouldn't tell me, but when I saw Vashti sitting on the porch while Jesse and Indigo ran around the yard playing, I knew exactly what was going on. I watched Jai shut off the car and run to catch up and play with the kids as I got out and walked up towards Vashti./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Hi." I smiled./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You must be Kayla." she smiled at me as she leaned in to hug me. "It's so nice to meet you, finally!" I felt so special, and in that moment I realized that I didn't need to feel down about the discussion Jai and I had about being serious. I knew that if we weren't serious, he'd have never brought me over here./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""It's nice to meet you too. Jai has told me so much about you guys." I said. I wasn't sure if I should mention that he'd talked a great deal about Andy as well because I didn't want to upset her or anything, so instead, I left it at what I'd already said./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""I've heard a lot about you as well. I was very heartbroken to hear about the miscarriage." she put her arm around my shoulder as she said it. I'm sure it was to offer comfort and support. It was so wonderful to see so many people that he knew reaching out and being so kind to me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Thank you. It was and still is, very hard to deal with. Not as much now as it was before, of course, but still." I didn't know what else to say, so I left my words at that./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Grief in itself always hurts, no matter how much time passes. You'll always find yourself missing their beautiful face." she hugged me again. It was so comforting to know that Jai had such a strong support system and that as long as I was in his life, I would as well. The people he calls family – blood and not blood-related – are some amazingly wonderful people and it's a very happy thought to know that./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You are so strong," I said simply. "Jai has told me about what you've been through and losing Andy the way you and the kids have..." I paused. "I could never imagine being so strong."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You never know how truly strong you are until you emhave/em to be, sweetheart. This time hasn't been easy, even knowing that someday I'll see him again, but I still have two kids I have to be strong for. I need to drag myself out of bed sometimes, but once I see their smiling faces I remember there's still part of him here on this Earth, and that's something. You know?" she explained. I nodded and hugged her as we watched Jai play with the kids./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Is he always a kid at heart?" I asked with a giggle. It was adorable watching him around his godchildren like this. He was amazing./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Around them, yes. I've heard stories from when he's not been around them, but you can be sure that when he's around them, he's going to be that way." she chuckled as Jai brought the kids up to us. He introduced me to them and vice versa before Vashti mentioned going in the house to relax for a little while. So, we all went inside and talked while Indigo and Jesse occupied themselves coloring at the kitchen table. Occasionally Jai would excuse himself from the conversation to go sit with the kids and color, but I didn't mind. Vashti and I were getting along wonderfully, and I was loving every minute of it. My mind was pulled out of the conversation with Vashti when the kids started asking Jai if we could stay in Australia longer than a week. I giggled and looked to him for a response, waiting a few moments before hearing him give in and tell them yes. I let out another giggle and smiled at him. He got up and walked over to me, placing a kiss on my forehead before he sat down next to me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""I was just thinking, why don't we make arrangements to stay in town until two weeks before Christmas? Then we can go spend Christmas with your mom before we go home." Jai suggested. It was a great idea, and I told him so. After that, we decided that was what we'd do./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;"So, the next two months were spent in Australia getting to know Jai's parents, spending time with them as well as his friends, and going to visit Vashti, Jesse, and Indigo. It was a very eventful couple of months, but we still got our 'alone' time to help us strengthen the connection we'd been mending for awhile now. We were lucky enough to not have to deal with paparazzi while we were there, which was a definite relief. I was very happy to see we wouldn't have to deal with them. Our little vacation was exactly like my mom had said – we both needed it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;" /span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;"This is the second to last chapter of the story. But don't go getting upset and sappy on me yet! I have a sequel I plan to launch so you won't have to wait long to see what comes Jai and Kayla's way next! The next chapter will be the final chapter, and I'll be posting the first chapter for the sequel in a few weeks. I need time to finish my current book, as some people are wanting to take a look at it when it's done./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;" /span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;"If you don't already know, you can get updates and sneak peeks on future chapters by following me on Instagram (tiggermom023) and Twitter (tigger_mom023). I've also started a blog on Tumblr called Quotes on Pretty Paper where I write a quote each day on a piece of scrapbook paper that I have, snap a picture, and post it along with whatever I choose to say (which usually isn't much) for that particular day. You can find that at Tumblr dot com / blog / quotesonprettypaper (take out the spaces and replace the dot with an actual period and you'll be good!). I do quote Divergent among other things… and I also take quote requests here and there./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;"Anyway, hope you like this chapter! Have fun reading! xo/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;" /span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Georgia;"Chapter Sixteen – Barriers/span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 5pt 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;"Kayla/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;"I sat at my mom's kitchen table, the morning after I'd come here, eating a bowl of cereal when she sat down beside me. I hadn't told her anything when I got there, so she only knew that I was upset and wanted to stay with her for a little while./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""So, do I want to ask what happened between you and Jai?" she asked cautiously./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""We had a fight," I said simply, giving her the heartbroken look I couldn't help but show. I was deeply hurt, and even if I'd wanted to I couldn't have hidden that from her. There wasn't a facade big enough for me to put on that could have hidden that from her, she knew me too well./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""About the miscarriage?" she asked. I shook my head. "About what?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""The press, the things being said about me, my depression over the baby..."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Basically everything all rolled into one."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Yeah, but he's also gotten really distant because my depression went downhill... a lot," I added./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""But that's normal being in the position you're in, to be depressed about everything I mean. Maybe he just isn't sure how to handle it all the time, so he does what he thinks is best by distancing himself until you feel a little better. Maybe he just doesn't want to make it worse."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Mom, who's side are you on?" I asked defensively./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Kayla, stop." she gave me her 'don't go there' look and I quickly realized I was being a little dramatic. "Think about it, how many other serious relationships has he been in that you know of? One, right?" I nodded. "Gemma?" I nodded again. "Okay, and maybe she didn't have the same issues you have. Maybe she didn't have a miscarriage and she is used to the press and paparazzi or whatever. Maybe this is his first rodeo with this sort of thing." I opened my mouth to speak but she stopped me. "I know he's a butt from time to time, but all men are. Your father even had his moments." she genuinely smiled at me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Moments like this?" I asked in disbelief./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Yes, moments like this. I gave birth to a stillborn child before you were born. It shattered me and left an impact for a emvery/em long time. Your dad didn't know how to handle it, so he backed off for a while... gave me some space. We fought, I yelled, and he even let me swear at him. But once I hit my breaking point and I fell to the floor in tears he was right there next to me, his arms around me and telling me it was going to be okay. That he'd be right here beside me." I sat there silently, amazed that she'd never told me this story before. "And that, baby, is exactly what I see in Jai for you."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""He did after we got into the fight about Gemma and I told him about the baby. We both cried, actually."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You two will get through this." she patted my arm as a form of comfort. "Once you both calm down, you'll talk it through and get on the same page. Then you guys will be happy again. Maybe after that, you should just take some time away from everything so that you can reconnect a little better than before. It might do you some good – both of you." she went upstairs. I sat at the table and ate my breakfast then got changed to go for a run. When I got back, I checked my phone. Nothing./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;"Over the next week, I occupied my time painting, watching movies, sewing, and whatever other craft I could occupy my time and mind with to not think about Jai. I was still hurt, but I wanted to talk to him about all of it so we could fix things. I knew I didn't want to lose him over this. I still loved him, after all. I had just gotten out of the shower when I heard a knock at the door. I quickly threw a bra on and put on my white and purple flower summer dress, threw my wet hair into a messy bun, and went to get the door. When I opened it, Jai was standing before me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Hi," he said with a small smile on his face./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Hi," I replied, returning the same smile./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Can we talk?" he asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Sure, c'mon in." I let him in and closed the door behind him. "What're you doing here?" I asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""I flew out here to talk to you." I was a little surprised./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You flew out here just to talk to me? From LA to Pittsburgh?" I asked. I wasn't buying it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Well, and to try and convince you to come with me and work this out." he smiled at me. "I'm sorry about the way I've been acting. I-"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You've never been in a situation like this before, have you? Dealing with someone who has severe depression, that kind of thing." I asked plainly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""No," he sighed. "I haven't." I walked over to him and hugged him. "You're not mad at me?" he asked. I chuckled and shook my head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""I talked to my mom the morning after I got here, and she reminded me that depression isn't something everyone has dealt with." I smiled at him before planting a kiss on his lips./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""That explains the phone call I got that night telling me to give it a few days and then fly out here." he smiled at me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""She called you?" I asked, smile still apparent on my face. He nodded and I giggled. "Typical mom. It's a good thing she loves both of us." I touched his nose with my finger and then kissed where I'd touched./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;"We spent the rest of the week with my mom before flying back to LA. When we got back, we decided to go spend a week in Australia to get some RR, as Jai had put it, and began packing to leave. We had planned on staying in a hotel, but after he talked to his parents they insisted on us staying in the guest bedroom there so there was less chance of us being swarmed by the paparazzi... and after losing the baby and being hounded by them the way we have been, his mom told us it seemed like we could both really use it. When we got off the plane, his parents were waiting to welcome us. Jai introduced me and his parents hugged me just as they'd hugged him. After getting our bags and getting into the car, his mom spoke up./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""So Kayla," she turned in her seat to look at me. "Have you been to Australia before?" that alone told me that Jai hadn't told her how we met, and I grinned at him for it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Yes, I have. I actually met Jai the last time he was here. I was here for the summer, staying with friends, and he rescued me from drowning at the beach." I explained. I saw Jai shake his head, but couldn't imagine why./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""emJai Stephen/em, you should have brought her to meet us while you two were here!" she tapped his knee – the closest thing she could reach of him. I could tell by her look that she'd have preferred an arm, shoulder, or possibly even the back of his head and I let out a giggle./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Mum, we weren't even serious then! We were just dating." Jai defended himself./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""That emis/em true..." I added./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Since when has that stopped you?" she challenged, and I saw Jai's mouth close immediately and look in his lap. I smirked, thinking I could learn a lot in the short week we're here./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Sorry, mum. You're right." I looked shocked for a minute before my expression turned into a giggle as he was being scolded by his mom for not bringing me to meet them sooner./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""But in all fairness, I haven't taken her to see Vashti and the kids yet, either," I remembered him talking about the Whitfields, so when the words left his mouth I immediately made the connection./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You need to do that too then," his mom replied with a smile. "Maybe your godkids can convince you to stay longer than a week." he grinned at her and she glanced at me, seeing the similar grin on my face as he had on his. We settled into the guest room and enjoyed dinner while I got to know his parents and vice versa. His mom gave me a big hug and we sat and had a heart to heart away from Jai and his dad about the baby after dinner. She told me that the only other girlfriend of his she'd ever met was Gemma and that she was happy her son had me in his life. "He needed a reason to believe in love again," she told me. It made me feel good inside knowing that I helped him believe in love again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Did you have a good talk with my mum?" he asked as I came into the bedroom to get ready for bed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Yeah, I did." I smiled at him before going into the bathroom./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Her and dad are starting to get attached to the idea of us, you know. My dad told me today they won't be surprised if we're announcing a wedding in a few years." I heard him in the bedroom as I washed my face in the sink./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""And what do emyou/em think about that?" I asked, gauging his reaction./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Only time will tell." was all he said. I sighed in defeat, but not loud enough for him to hear. I rinsed the soap off my face, used the hand towel to dry it, and opened the bathroom door. I kissed Jai before walking over to the empty side of the bed. I changed out of my clothes and into the short shorts and tank top I had sitting on the bed before climbing in next to Jai./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You know, you could just sleep in your underwear like you do at home." he grinned./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Behave yourself. We're at your parent's house." I warned him with a smile./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""But baby," he whined. "do I have to if I do this?" he leaned down and softly kissed a line from my shoulder up to my neck and stopped at a sensitive spot. I began to get the tingly turned-on feeling I always get whenever he does this and I giggle./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""I don't want them to hear us!" I confessed, moving away from his kiss so he couldn't continue. He pouted at me, which was too cute for words. It almost made me melt and give into him. emAlmost/em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Babe! They won't hear us, I promise! Come on!" he was trying so hard to convince me. I looked toward the door and didn't answer him. This must have been just what he needed because I was knocked out of my thoughts by the feeling of his hand traveling fast up my leg, no intention of stopping in sight. Looks like he knows just how to win. After an hour and a half of us acting like rabbits, we finally snuggled to one another and went to bed – naked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;"The next morning I was awoken by kisses on my shoulder again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You are insatiable sometimes, Jai Courtney." I turned to face him with a grin on my face. He was grinning right back at me, letting out a chuckle./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""I can't help it, laying next to you. You're beautiful, sexy, smart, you put up with my bullshit, you don't let anyone treat you like a doormat, you're flat out perfect for me." he'd given me so many compliments, I couldn't help but blush./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""emAnd/em it's so cute when you blush," he added, making me turn redder as he kissed my cheek./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You are something else." I giggled as I kissed his lips. "We need to get up for the day though." I put an abrupt halt to our make-out session as I got out of bed, grabbed my outfit for the day, and bounced to the bathroom naked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You're gonna be the death of me, woman!" Jai laughed jokingly. I opened the bathroom door just enough to see him and for him to see part of my face and I stuck my tongue out at him before closing the door just as fast as I'd opened it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Keep it up, Kayla." he laughed. I got dressed, brushed my teeth, and put some acne lotion on my face before I came out of the bathroom and pounced my boyfriend in my mid-thigh length jean shorts and red and gray striped tank top./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Or what, Jai?" I asked, straddling him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Or you're going to have to fix your hair and get dressed all over again," he said impishly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Down boy." I hovered half an inch from his face before getting off him and heading for the door. "See you in the kitchen for breakfast, honey!" I called out as I closed the door behind me. I knew he was damning me without even being able to hear him because he'd have to take a cold shower after my teasing all morning. I was sitting at the table when he came down and shot me a playful glare before wishing his mom a good morning and sitting next to me at the table./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Just you wait, I'm gonna get you back for that," he promised me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Get her back for what?" his mom asked and I put my hand over my mouth so she couldn't see the smile that would not leave my face./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Nothing mom," Jai said quickly and I giggled./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You're gonna get her back for nothing?" his mom made a confused face. "That doesn't make any sense." she brought a plate of breakfast for each of us and set them down, one in front of him and one in front of me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You don't wanna know," I said. "Trust me." I grabbed my fork and butter knife and began to cut into the pancakes on my plate. Thankfully, his mom didn't press the subject further and we had a nice, quiet breakfast. After breakfast, Jai told his mom we were going out, and off we went – just me and him. I had no idea where we were going, and he wouldn't tell me, but when I saw Vashti sitting on the porch while Jesse and Indigo ran around the yard playing, I knew exactly what was going on. I watched Jai shut off the car and run to catch up and play with the kids as I got out and walked up towards Vashti./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Hi." I smiled./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You must be Kayla." she smiled at me as she leaned in to hug me. "It's so nice to meet you, finally!" I felt so special, and in that moment I realized that I didn't need to feel down about the discussion Jai and I had about being serious. I knew that if we weren't serious, he'd have never brought me over here./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""It's nice to meet you too. Jai has told me so much about you guys." I said. I wasn't sure if I should mention that he'd talked a great deal about Andy as well because I didn't want to upset her or anything, so instead, I left it at what I'd already said./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""I've heard a lot about you as well. I was very heartbroken to hear about the miscarriage." she put her arm around my shoulder as she said it. I'm sure it was to offer comfort and support. It was so wonderful to see so many people that he knew reaching out and being so kind to me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Thank you. It was and still is, very hard to deal with. Not as much now as it was before, of course, but still." I didn't know what else to say, so I left my words at that./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Grief in itself always hurts, no matter how much time passes. You'll always find yourself missing their beautiful face." she hugged me again. It was so comforting to know that Jai had such a strong support system and that as long as I was in his life, I would as well. The people he calls family – blood and not blood-related – are some amazingly wonderful people and it's a very happy thought to know that./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You are so strong," I said simply. "Jai has told me about what you've been through and losing Andy the way you and the kids have..." I paused. "I could never imagine being so strong."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""You never know how truly strong you are until you emhave/em to be, sweetheart. This time hasn't been easy, even knowing that someday I'll see him again, but I still have two kids I have to be strong for. I need to drag myself out of bed sometimes, but once I see their smiling faces I remember there's still part of him here on this Earth, and that's something. You know?" she explained. I nodded and hugged her as we watched Jai play with the kids./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Is he always a kid at heart?" I asked with a giggle. It was adorable watching him around his godchildren like this. He was amazing./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""Around them, yes. I've heard stories from when he's not been around them, but you can be sure that when he's around them, he's going to be that way." she chuckled as Jai brought the kids up to us. He introduced me to them and vice versa before Vashti mentioned going in the house to relax for a little while. So, we all went inside and talked while Indigo and Jesse occupied themselves coloring at the kitchen table. Occasionally Jai would excuse himself from the conversation to go sit with the kids and color, but I didn't mind. Vashti and I were getting along wonderfully, and I was loving every minute of it. My mind was pulled out of the conversation with Vashti when the kids started asking Jai if we could stay in Australia longer than a week. I giggled and looked to him for a response, waiting a few moments before hearing him give in and tell them yes. I let out another giggle and smiled at him. He got up and walked over to me, placing a kiss on my forehead before he sat down next to me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;""I was just thinking, why don't we make arrangements to stay in town until two weeks before Christmas? Then we can go spend Christmas with your mom before we go home." Jai suggested. It was a great idea, and I told him so. After that, we decided that was what we'd do./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span style="font-family: Georgia;"So, the next two months were spent in Australia getting to know Jai's parents, spending time with them as well as his friends, and going to visit Vashti, Jesse, and Indigo. It was a very eventful couple of months, but we still got our 'alone' time to help us strengthen the connection we'd been mending for awhile now. We were lucky enough to not have to deal with paparazzi while we were there, which was a definite relief. I was very happy to see we wouldn't have to deal with them. Our little vacation was exactly like my mom had said – we both needed it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /p