grayson dolan

I walked up to the front door and it was slightly open. I probably caught Vivian right before she has to go to work.

"Hello?" I pushed the door open and there was no response. "Vivian." I walked towards the kitchen and still no response.

Where is she? Her car is still here. Did she take an Uber to work? Is her car broken?

"Daddy!" River ran down the stairs with her hair all messed up and tangled, more than it usual is.

"Hey, baby!" I kneeled down and pulled her into my arms. "How've you been?" She pulled away and tugged on my jacket collar.

"Lonely."

"Lonely?" I asked.

"Mommy's been away."

"How so?" I continued to furrow my eyebrows.

"Mommy left yesterday."

"Yesterday? Have you been by yourself since yesterday?"

She nodded her head.

"Wha-?" I stood up my and looked at the door, no one was there. "Mommy left you here all by yourself for a whole day?" I asked her again and she nodded. "Oh my god." A tear fell from my eye and I pulled her into my arms.

"Don't cry daddy!" She wrapped her arms around my neck. "I missed you." She kissed my cheek.

I love this kid!

"Grayson?" I turned around to see Vivian standing in the doorway in a tight dress with a baby bump showing. "What are you doing here?" She took a step closer to me.

"What are you doing? Where were you?" I put River down and she hugged my leg. I tried not to yell, I didn't want to scare River.

"J-just getting something from the backyard." She stuttered.

"River, why don't you go upstairs and pack some clothes in a bag?" I kneeled down to River and she nodded. She ran up the stairs and I just looked at Vivian.

"What the fuck did you do?" I whispered and took another couple steps closer to her.

"I told you-"

"Vivian!" I snapped. "You left our three year old daughter here by herself for a whole day with no one around. No parents, no one to give her food, nothing. Do you realize how fucked up that is?" I was growing more and more mad.

"She's a big girl, she can take care of herself." She yelled back.

"You can't be fucking serious right now!" I was so struck at how insane Vivian was sounding. "She's three years old, Viv. She needs a parent to take care of her. She was probably crying for hours and hours and no one was here. You weren't fucking here!" I yelled, not caring how loud I was.

Soon Ethan came into the house in a hurry and was surprised to see Vivian standing in front of me.

"Ethan, go upstairs and help River to pack. She's coming with me." I said without taking my eyes off of Vivian. Tears started to fall from her eyes. Ethan nodded and ran up the stairs into River's room.

"Grayson-" She tried to speak.

"Who were you with?" My arms were crossed. She was confused and shook her head. "Who were you with, Vivian?"

She looked down at her baby belly and then back up at me.

Her new baby daddy?

"You're unbelievable." I ran my hands over my face and turned around to take a few steps away from her. "You-" I couldn't even finish the sentence.

"I was lonely. You were gone and I needed someone." She tried to reach for me.

"You were lonely!?" I yelled. "I left you and my daughter thinking she would be safe with you. I was away from my family and all I wanted was to see you guys again, I was a mess! You ruined this and now we can't fix this."

"Grayson, please!" She begged.

"You're irresponsible, you're a terrible mother for leaving our daughter." I walked closer to her and pointed at her chest.

Tears fell down her cheeks. She knew what was coming.

Ethan and River came down the stairs and she ran right to me again. Her arms wrapped around my leg, which gave me comfort.

"I'm taking River away from you. I'm going to get full custody because clearly you don't know how to be a good person right now." I picked River up and began to walk towards the door.

"No!" Vivian cried out. "River, baby!" She reached for our child, but I shielded River from her.

I closed the door behind me and didn't look back. Ethan placed River's backpack in the back trunk while I grabbed the car seat from Vivian's car.

Ethan began to place the car seat in the back seat and made sure it was strapped in.

"Grayson!" Vivian walked out of the house and ran up to me and River. "Please just let me say goodbye to her." River had her head turned the other way.

I walked around the car to avoid Vivian. She continued to follow me and beg to hug her daughter who she abandoned.

I placed River in the seat and gave her my phone so she could watch some of her favorite TV shows. I made sure the door was locked before closing it. Ethan got in the car as well.

"Grayson, please, I love you." She cried out.

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath to keep strong.

"You don't Vivian." I put my hands on her shoulders and pushed her towards the garage door. "Move on." I brought my hands back to my side and backed towards the passengers seat.

I put my seatbelt on and Ethan started the car. My eyes were locked on Vivian's tears and I continued to take deep breaths.

Ethan pulled out of the driveway and began to drive us back to his home.

"You alright?" He asked.

"I don't know." I shook my head and whispered. "This is a whole mess. I don't want River to feel like she's in the middle of everything." I ran my hands over my face.

Even more thoughts ran through my head. I didn't know what to do. I said I was going to get full custody, but I really need to focus on what River wants. All of this is about her anyway.

Ethan pulled back up into his driveway and we both got out. He walked towards the trunk and grabbed River's things while I unbuckled River from the car seat and took my phone from her.

She rested her head on my shoulder while Ethan opened the front door. Jordyn was still here, but she changed into some work clothes.

"How'd it go?" She asked softly.

"Not good." I shook my head. "We can get out of your guys' hair by tonight. I can find a hotel for the both of us." I motioned to River who was still in my arms.

"No, no, stay here. Have the guest room and stay as long as you need." Jordyn walked over to me and put her hand on my arm.

I let out a light sigh while looking at River. "Thank you." I looked back to Jordyn and Ethan.

I put River back down on the ground and kneeled down to her, once again.

"Can you get me your brush from your backpack?" I asked her and she ran over to her bag.

I, along with Jordyn and Ethan walked into the living room and we all sat on the couch. River ran back over with her brush and sat right next to me on the couch.

"Ready to untangle?" I looked over her small shoulder and smiled.

"Yeah!!" She raised her hands up. I handed her my phone again so she would be distracted.

I lightly began to untangle her brown hair with the brush. It was such a mess. Vivian or I will always brush her hair every morning and night, but River hasn't had anyone do it in a whole day.

"Why happened?" Jordyn asked, concerned for River.

"Vivian left her home alone with no supervision, no entertainment, and no food or water for a full day."

"Are you serious?" Her eyes were wide.

"She was off was her new baby daddy while her current child was probably crying for hours." Just talking about it made me more mad, but I didn't take it out on River's hair.

"What are you going to do now?"

"Try to get full custody, maybe. I just need this little one to be safe." I brushed over every hair to make sure I got every tangle, which I did.

"You're all set." I patted her back and she began to laugh. If you just touch her, she thinks you're tickling her and she over reacts.

I leaned back on the couch and threw my head back. This situation wasn't even close to be over yet, but it felt good to relax a little bit.

"I think I just need to spend the day with her to make sure she's actually okay."

Jordyn and Ethan both nodded.

"I think that's a good idea. Take all of the time you need." Jordyn stood up. "Well, if I don't leave now, I'm gonna be late for work."

"Me too." Ethan stood up as well.

"Thanks for letting us both crash here. You two have a good day." I said to them both as they were walking towards the front door. They gave me a smile and opened the door.

As the door closed, River situated herself so she leaned back on my leg.

"Hungry?" I asked her. She put the phone down and turned to me with a giant smile. A smile that gets me every time.

I'm just glad she's safe and in my care again.