I'm SO Grounded

Laura's Pov

So it's been a week or so since we went wedding dress shopping, and today is the day I'm calling Chad to talk things out. I've been talking to my mom and Nila about this a lot, and Nila helped me plan a time to have this conversation with Chad.

I'm honestly super nervous about this phone call, but Cal is gonna be there with me. Having a real conversation with Chad hasn't been easy for me since Cal and I started dating, so I'm worried about how this will go.

Of course I want to have a relationship with Chad, but it all comes down to whether or not he can accept Cal into the family. Johnnie has always accepted Cal and the boys with open arms, but Chad is so standoffish and it really threatens Cal.

When I was younger, I always imagined the day that my future husband would go to Chad and ask for my hand in marriage, and Chad would respect him enough to say yes, but I didn't get that. Cal asked Johnnie, my mom, Nila, and my siblings, and they all said yes. But when he went to ask Chad, he shut him down. Cal doesn't know I know about that, but Ash told me about it.

Cal and I are currently sitting in our bedroom waiting for Chad to call. It's pretty late here, but I told Chad to call when he got up. Which according to Nila, is usually around 8 or 9 on the weekends.

After a little bit, my laptop started ringing and I saw Chad was facetiming me. I looked at Cal and he nodded. I hit answer and Chad said, "Laura. Sweetie. I'm so glad you answered. I'm so glad you agreed to have this talk with me."

"Yeah. I um. Just thought it would be good to kind of clear the air before my wedding day. After talking to mom and Nila, I figured we both deserve to talk these things out, and we'll take it from there. And I'm making you aware of this, Cal is in here, so if you were gonna say anything slick about him, don't." "I wasn't going to say anything bad about him. I know he's a good guy Laura."

"And why would I think that's your true opinion?" "Because I never thought Calum was a bad guy. How else did you expect me to react to a guy who's going to take you to the other side of the world?"

"I expected you to respect my decision and accept Cal the same way everyone else did. Do you think it was easy for mom when I told her I was moving to live with Cal? Hell no it wasn't. But she understood. She knew that we loved each other and that this was the best thing for us. It broke my heart to leave everyone behind. But no matter where I am, I'm still gonna love my family and do everything in my power to keep in contact with them." "Laura. I'm really sorry about the way I acted. But that's in the past. I'm trying to do better. No matter how much you hate me, you're still my daughter and I love you. Just because you shut me out, doesn't mean I will stop doing everything I planned for you. I kept putting money into your wedding fund because I knew you and Calum were gonna get married. Even if at the beginning I wasn't comfortable with it, I knew it was inevitable. So I saved the money, and I hoped I was saving enough to pay for your honeymoon. I know you think I'm a horrible man, but I'm trying to prove to you that I'm still the same guy you looked up to when you were a little girl."

"Well I hope you know money isn't going to buy back my love." "I know sweetie. I've got a lot to make up for. I'm just glad you're letting me try to fix things and that you even invited me to the wedding."

"I did that for Nila. But I'm doing this for me. I know you're trying to fix things, and I really appreciate that. There is not a very high likelihood that we'll completely go back to how we were, but I'm willing to give it a shot." "You're really gonna give me another shot?"

"Of course. I mean, you are my biological father and I really did look up to you when I was younger. But you need to respect Cal and the boys." "I will. I promise. But I do have one question."

"What is it?" "Who's walking you down the aisle?"

"I was thinking Johnnie would. But, depending on how things go, I might let you and Johnnie both do it. We'll see how things go, okay?" "I honestly wasn't expecting you to even give me the chance to walk you down the aisle. Of course. I'll do everything I can to fix this with us. Hopefully I'll be able to make it up to Calum and the guys too."

Cal stuck his head in the camera and said, "The only way you can make it up to me and the boys is if you treat Laura with respect. We're her family, and we're not going anywhere." "I'll do everything I can Calum. Hopefully I'll be able to gain your respect too."

"We'll see what happens." We talked to Chad for a little while longer and soon we hung up. I set my laptop on the nightstand and laid my head on Cal's chest. He said, "How are you feeling after that?"

"Honestly? A lot less stressed. He seems to really want to fix things. The way he talked with you shows me that he is gaining respect for you and the boys and trying to right his wrongs." "I'm glad it went so well. I was worried about it."

"Yeah. Me too." "I didn't expect you to say there was a chance for him to walk you down the aisle. I didn't even know that was a possibility."

"Yeah. I talked to my mom and Nila about it, and they think that I should at least keep an open mind with it. I mean, he's my father. Sure, Johnnie has been more of a father to me in recent years than Chad, but he's still my father. The bond I had with him as a little girl was something I never thought would be broken." "Well maybe the bond isn't broken, maybe it's just a little chipped."

"You're so cute." I got comfortable on him and soon we were both asleep, with a lot less stress.