"Robert erm grandpa . . . I don't know what to call you," I said nervously and  sat on the couch.

"You can call me anything you like, it doesn't matter. What does matter is . . . what do you feel about all this?" Robert asked curiously while putting down some books on the desk and I shrugged.

"It's all weird and I honestly don't know what to feel. I like you because you're nice to me and I dislike you because you weren't nice to my mum," I said bluntly and he sighed wearily. "Like come on, you shouldn't have done that . . . She needed support then."

"That's fair, although I did apologise to your mum after your brother was born. We didn't mean to abandon her, it was just a lot to take in," he said earnestly and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Then why did you abandon her if you didn't mean to?"

"It's because your mother, George, had great plans for her future. She was very ambitious and then suddenly getting pregnant at what? Sixteen? It felt like we failed to raise her properly," he said in a barely audible voice and swallowed hard.

I couldn't fathom what my mum went through with total abandonment from her parents at such a young age. But at the same time, I did feel that my mum should have been more careful. It was reckless of her to do what she did and I swore to her that I wouldn't have sex until I got married. Not that I had any problem doing it before, my mum was so pleased when I promised her. She didn't want me to get pregnant in my teens like her and I agreed completely. I was such a child, how would I be able to raise a kid on my own?

And if the kid turned out exactly like me, then oh the horrors!

"What did grandma think of my mum?" I asked curiously and Robert smiled ruefully.

"You grandma recovered quickly from the news and started planning about baby shower, shopping for the baby and all of that stuff. I had to control her to be a little strict on your mum," he said, chuckling lightly and then finally looking at me. "Your grandma was something else and in many ways, you remind me of her."

"But grandma was evil, wasn't she? She left you when you took Clark in, that's horrible!" I exclaimed, appalled that he would compare me to an old woman such as her.

"No, she didn't leave me because of Clark. She had no problem with me providing shelter to an orphan, she was just tired of marriage. She wanted the big break in her life, so she left me. She'll come back soon when she runs out of money," he said nonchalantly and we both burst out laughing.

"What's going on?" I heard Clark's voice and my head whipped towards the door.

"Robert was telling me about my grandma, have you ever met her?" I questioned and he shook his head in denial. He sat next to me on the couch and I averted my eyes back to Robert. "What's grandma like, Robert?"

"Oh, she's fierce, bubbly, cheerful and still acts like a young girl," he replied with a hint of humour lacing his voice and passed me one of the books kept on the desk. "This is how your grandma looked like, here."

I placed the book on my lap, took a sharp breath and flipped the page. I narrowed my eyes at the picture stuck on the colourful page of the scrapbook and nudged Clark. "What?"

"Here look, doesn't she seem a bit familiar?" I asked and slowly realization of who she was sank in me.

I had already met my grandma! She was that old lady who screamed 'Bomb!' at the airport. She was the one I later met at the bar because of whom I landed in jail! That vile, conniving, old hag was my grandma!

"Yeah," Clark whispered in disbelief and I could see from the looks of his face that he recognized her too.

"Your poor grandma, I hope she's alright. I hope she comes back soon, poor soul wouldn't be able to live on her own," Robert said in a sorrowful voice and flipped through the the pages of a book.

"But she's in Hawaii now, merrily shaking her coconuts!" I blurted out and Clark quickly placed his large hand over my mouth to shut me up. Robert quirked an eyebrow in question and I slowly shook my head. "Nothing."

Clark grabbed my arm tightly and led me out of the study room while flashing a tight, innocent smile at Robert.

I jerked my arm away and hissed, "Robert is clueless, we need to tell him!"

"No, it's better this way," he said and paused. "I kind of had the feeling she was your grandma. I did tell you earlier, didn't I?"

"I'm nothing like her!" I shouted furiously. "I wouldn't leave my husband hanging like that!"

"Yes, you would. You would do anything for a trip to Hawaii," Clark said truthfully and a tiny part of me believed him.

"I mean it's Hawaii . . . Fine. At least now I know where I got my absurd genes from---"

"George," I heard Ian's voice and both Clark and I turned around. What on earth?

"Ian, you son of a bitch! What do you want?" I asked flippantly and Ian smiled apologetically.

"I'm so sorry, George. Please give me a chance, I want to talk to you. Please, George . . . I really want to talk to you," he pleaded and I shrugged casually.

"Okay, I'll hear you out," I said dismissively and kissed Clark's cheek. "See you soon, Brownie dear."

Clark scoffed and I grinned brightly. Ian and I exited the room and I turned my head to take one last glimpse of Clark. His hand slowly lifted to his cheek, his little finger twitched and suddenly his hand dropped down when he felt I was watching him. Our eyes locked into each other's as we both stood rigid in our spots.

"George?"

"Yes, coming!" I shouted, quickly winked at Clark and followed Ian outside the mansion.

Ian and I strolled on the cobblestone streets in a very uncomfortable silence.

I cleared my throat in an attempt to break the silence and Ian took it as his cue to speak. "George, I don't want you to be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you, Ian, I'm disappointed. You're my sweet friend and I expect you to not hide things from me. This situation could have turned worse if Clark would have turned all his anger towards me instead of my brother. He could have thought that I-I was somehow involved in this shitty mess---"

"Which you're not and I know Clark wouldn't have been mad at you only because Zach is your brother," he said sensibly. "Zach, Clark and I were best friends until Ally came along and everything just fell apart. I wanted to tell you, but I just couldn't."

"You could have at least informed Clark! He's your best fricking friend!"

"I tried my best, but he wouldn't budge. He trusted Ally and loved her too much to believe me. Even when I helped Ally---"

"Wait, what? You helped her?!" I interjected and he gawked at me like a deer caught in headlights.

He cried out, "I had no choice! Back then, Zach was my best friend too. I-I didn't know what to do, I was stuck. I regret what I did back then and I'm sorry. It felt like I had no choice."

"You had a choice, Ian! You could have saved Clark from all that humiliation, you could have done---"

"I know! I know that! But everything is done for good! Now what should I do?" Ian raised his voice and my eyes widened. This was the first time that he had ever raised his voice. I could see how vulnerable and peeved he was at the same, odd time.

I caught his arm and made him sit beside me on a bench under the massive tree. A leaf fell on his shoulder and I brushed it away. His nostrils flared and I gently squeezed his hand.

"It's alright now, let's start fresh," I said finally and he intertwined our fingers before I could pull my hand back. He rubbed his thumb over my knuckles tenderly and I asked, "Okay?"

"Okay," he whispered and slowly leaned towards me.

* * *

A/N :

The above banner is made by me <3

Anyway guys, Saving Brownie is ranking higher! It's currently in top fifteen in the what's hot list for humor genre and my goal is to reach top ten! If you are liking this story then do vote so that this book can rank higher!