(Gxg) This Is How You Get Her Back

vingt-deux

Knock knock.

"I'll get it."

Lauren just nodded. It's already dinner time, and she still hasn't said a word since the Elijah and Juliet incident this morning.

I walk over to the door, and I'm surprised by two of my favorite people in the world.

"Logan! Ally!" I exclaim as I hug each of them. They embrace me back with a laugh, immediately sending a grin to my face. "I missed you guys!"

"We missed you, too. Especially did little Ally over here."

Ally brings her arms up, as if asking me to carry her. Because this girl has me whipped, I crouch down and lift her up.

"I missed you, kiddo. What brings you here?"

"Little Alessandra's sleeping over for a few days while Logan's out of the state," I hear Lauren's monotonous voice behind me. "Hey Logan. Hey kid."

"Who pissed in your cereal, Lau?" Logan asks with a quite bothered look on his face.

"Don't piss me off, man," Lauren warns, making Logan scowl.

"Aunt Lauren, hi!" Ally greets in an attempt to lighten my girl's mood.

Lauren finally smiles. And genuinely at that. "Hi, Alessandra."

I know that wasn't meant for me, but it warmed my heart to hear her say my name in such a warm tone.

"Asshole, Alessandra, and little Alessandra, I'll go ahead. I got work. Take care of my princess, okay? You know her school routines," Logan says. We say our quick goodbyes and he leaves.

I carry Ally to the dining table and have her sit on my lap. Lauren walks towards us and sits across.

"How are you, Ally?" I ask.

"I got a star today! See!" She holds her hand out and shows me the red stamp behind her palm.

"Wow! I'm so proud of you, Ally! How did you get it?"

"I got the highest score in our quiz!"

"It's an Alessandra thing," I joke. "All Alessandra's are smart."

She laughs. I glance at Lauren, and I catch her looking at us warmly. But she looks away as soon as she realizes I can see her.

"Do you want dinner, kiddo?" I ask Ally. "I didn't make enough lasagna because I didn't know you'd come, but I can cook mac and cheese or onion rings or something."

"It's okay, aunt Ally. Dad and I ate already. But do you have ice cream?"

"We have cookies and cream. Is that okay?"

She nods eagerly. "That's my favourite! My second favourite is strawberry!"

With a smile, I stand up and sit her down on my chair. "Cookies and cream ice cream, coming up!"

I open the freezer and check for the tub of ice cream. Opening the container and realizing that only a quarter of it is left, I decide to give the whole thing to my favorite kid. I stick a spoon inside and walk to the dining table to find Lauren laughing again.

Lauren has sauce on her cheek while Ally has a bit of lasagna on her shirt. Judging by the view, the two are using spoons as catapults to hit each other's faces with lasagna. Looks like I'm babysitting two kids tonight.