Man...I'm so excited for these last chapters of LWMB- I MEAN WHAT???

Pfft I'm just kidding..I think? I just know this story is gonna go under MAJOR editing when it's done.

Sorry if it's short :((

••••3rd POV••••

"Thanks Kayla, I'll see you soon." Iris smiles at Kayla as she gets out of her car. "Bye Iris, remember to tell me how Oliver reacts when you tell him." Kayla smirks. "Yeah, yeah." Iris giggles, shaking her head as she closes the car door.

Iris uses the key she was given to open the front door. When she did, she saw Oliver and Richard cheering together as they watched a game. Iris smiles at this. She was glad that Oliver opened up to his dad.

Richard notices Iris first. "Welcome back Iris, how was your day?" He asks her. Oliver turns around and smiles when seeing her. "It was great, thanks for asking." She answers, smiling at him and Oliver.

"If you're hungry, we made hot dogs." He says. "Oh, I'd love to have one." Iris smiles. "Great! Oliver, why don't you show her where they are?" Richard looks over at his son knowingly. Iris raises an eyebrow, confused. "Right! Follow me, Iris." He says and Iris follows him into the kitchen.

When Iris wasn't looking, Oliver looks back at his dad who gave him a thumbs up. Then they walk into the kitchen where the hot dogs are.

"So-"

"Oliver-"

They look at each other, realizing they said that at the same time.

"You go first."

They laugh, realizing they did it again.

"Okay Iris, go ahead." Oliver tells her, chuckling. "Well as you know, Kayla and I went to the mall," he nods, "and we saw Terrence there. He invited me to hang out with him on Friday!" She exclaims, smiling.

Oliver's smile falls. "H-he did?" He mumbles. "Yeah...that's okay, right?" Iris raises an eyebrow at Oliver's strange behavior. "Y-yeah, of course." He forces a smile. Iris smiles back at him and Oliver goes back to fixing up her hot dog.

"So, what did you want to say before?" Iris reminds Oliver. "Oh..just wanted to ask about your day, that's all." He stares at Iris for a while, "Anyway, I'm gonna head upstairs now...I don't know why I told you that but, um, yeah.." Oliver stutters. "Um..okay?" Iris laughs.

Oliver walks out of the kitchen into the living room where his dad is. "How'd it go?" Richard asks his son. Oliver doesn't answer, just stares off into space. "Oliver?" His dad cocks an eyebrow, concerned. No response. He puts a hand on Oliver's shoulder and he jumps slightly, looking up at his dad.

Richard sighs, realizing what must've happened. "I'm sorry Oliver, it'll be okay. Just go start getting ready for Ruby's recital." He tells him, patting Oliver on the back. Oliver leaves to his room in silence.

*****************

They walk out of the theater, all of them laughing and smiling wide. Ruby is up on her dad's shoulders, beaming happily. Oliver is holding a bouquet of flowers for her. Mrs. Sullivan is telling Ruby how great she did.

And even if they didn't realize it, to everyone around them, they looked like one big happy family.

But sadly, today's the night when Richard is leaving. He was supposed to leave the next day but apparently his job needs him back earlier.

They were heading home now. Richard was driving while he and Mrs. Sullivan were talking up front. Ruby was asleep. And Oliver hasn't spoken to Iris since she came back home.

She was confused as to why. She noticed it earlier before they left to the theater. They were all watching a movie together and normally, Oliver would be making comments, whispering theories about the movie to Iris, or even letting Iris rest a head on his shoulder. But today, he sat on the other end of the couch. Purposely. And she didn't know why.

*****************

Oliver had woken Ruby up by the time they got home. Ruby began crying when she remembered her father was leaving.

After he had put his belongings in his car, Ruby gave him a long hug as they said their goodbyes. Richard started tearing up also, especially when he told Ruby he'd visit again soon.

Sasha and Richard shared a hug, saying goodbye. Seeing how the kids have opened up with him made her happy so she wanted to plan them to all meet again some time soon.

Richard and Oliver shared the longest goodbye, seeing as how they always had a strong bond. Even if Oliver did dislike him for a while...

"Take care, dad." Oliver told him, smiling at his dad. "You too, Oliver. Take care of your mother and sister, okay? You're the man of the house." Richard chuckles. "Will do, dad." Oliver laughs. "And don't give up on Iris. You didn't tell me all about her for hours for no reason. Something tells me she feels the same about you, but she hasn't realized it yet." He tells his son, smiling as he gives Oliver a pat on the back.

Richard moves on to Iris. "I know we haven't known each other for long but you're a good kid, I'm gonna miss you. You fit in so well with them all so I consider you family now too." He smiles down at her and Iris can't help but feel honored. "Take good care of yourself, Iris." He tells her, smiling.

"You too. I hope you get home safe. And, thank you for not giving up on Oliver, I knew he'd open up to you eventually. It's nice seeing him happy around you." Iris says and glances at Oliver, a big smile on her face. Richard chuckles, "I'm glad you like seeing him happy." He says.

After a minute of silence, Richard swallows hard before sighing softly. "Take care of my family for me...I don't think I'll ever get the chance to again." Richard says, smiling sadly, leaving Iris confused as he drove off.

Iris stayed up late, thinking about what Richard had said to her. She just hopes that he was okay.

Little did she know.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heyooo! I love cliffhangers...not really? Only for my stories cause I torture my friends when they read it and I don't tell them anything cause y'know spoilers 🤷‍♀️ I'm no Spoilerman.

..woman?....girl??

Anyway, if you enjoyed this chapter please like, comment, and leave feedback!! Thanks! Bye bye!

~FT💖