Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Two

A Chapter by Brittana0909

Mackenzie’s POV

            “Kenzie? Where are you guys?” Ade calls when she comes into the house.

            “Back in the kitchen.”

            Red faced, she comes around the corner into the kitchen and says a quick ‘hello’ to my parents. I already told them what she called about earlier and now Anya has me pinned back down to a chair holding her.

            “Hey, baby bug, how are you feeling?” Adrianna runs her fingers gently through her blonde hair and I expect her to yell back like she did with my mom, but instead she gently tightens her arms around my neck before responding quietly.

            “Not good, mama.”

            “Do you want to try and lay back down with your brother and sister?”

            “No, I just want mommy cuddles.” Her little voice sounding softer and smaller than usual. She turns in my lap and rests the side of her head just above my heart, pulling her thumb back into her mouth.

            “What are we going to do, Ade?” I question as she grabs a bottle of water out of the fridge. “I’m so sick of dealing with lawyers and courts. Have I not dealt with them enough in my lifetime?”

            “I know, Kenz. We don’t technically know that it is her or if it’s just someone trying to start drama. I talked to John right after I found out and he said he was going to release a statement, but I am not sure if we want to release anything personally on our social media. If it is Dana or Kyle or anyone close to them, I don’t want them to think that we’re effected by this. I want them to think that we’re going on about our lives and not worrying about the drama.”

            “Mommies?” Conner calls through the house and my dad waves us to stay seated and he gets up.

            “We don’t really have a choice, but to keep going on with our lives with three sick kids, huh?” I try and joke, but know that the other two adults in the room don’t buy my act.

            What can I say? I’m nervous. It took months upon months to get the ‘no contact’ agreement to extend to Kyle’s whole family. Dana had been adamant about meeting me for lunch that day. My phone was going off for days before, during, and after. She left me multiple voicemails the day of when I didn’t show up. I got text messages and threats. She is crazy, so I’m torn when it comes to this.

            On one hand, if it is her then it’s breach of contract and we can get a full restraining order against her and be done with her for good. However, that’s a lot to deal with when we have three toddlers at home. On the other hand, I want it to be some random so we can do whatever we need to do to get them to stop. Quick and painless.

            “We’ll figure it out, babe. John has calls into his news sources and we’ll figure out who’s selling these pictures by the end of the night. After that, we’ll call Scott and figure out where to go from there.”

            She moves the chair next to mine and pulls me into her side, placing a kiss in my hair, when my dad comes back in with Conner.

            “Hey, Conner! How are you feeling?” Ade puts her arms out for him and he excitedly reaches for her. When she gets him, the little boy kisses her on the cheek and smiles up at her.

            “Mama! I am feeling better. Did you havid a good lunch?”

            “Have. Have a good lunch.” She rubs his back as he sits up at the table in her lap. “And it was okay. Thank you for asking.”

            We continue to talk with my parents for the next hour or so until Anya finally falls asleep and Autumn wakes up. Thankfully, Autumn’s temperature cooled to about ninety-nine degrees and Conner seems completely fine minus some lingering itching here and there from the chicken pox.

            Ade and I decide to make dinner together, which is rare for us. Usually one person is watching the kids while the other cooks, but since Anya is sleeping and Conner and Autumn are on the couch watching a movie, we take this opportunity to talk without little ears around.

            “Do you think it’s her, Ade?” I pull a noodle out to let it cool for a second before I check it. She pulls the kids’ face plates out of the cupboard before taking the pepperoni and vegetables out of the fridge.

            “I honestly don’t know. My head is telling me that it’s all some joke, but my gut is telling me it’s her. When John called a little bit ago, he said that he was close to getting an answer, so maybe after dinner we’ll get one.”

            After that, we kind of just worked in silence, except some small talk here and there. We talked about how her lunch went and while it saddens me that she doesn’t want to be friends with them anymore, she assures me that she has plenty of friends that she knows she can trust and for me not to worry.

            The three empty face plates are soon decorated for each child. The girls have long pasta hair with carrot earrings and cherry tomato necklaces. Ade cuts up the pepperoni to give them eyebrows and hair bows. Conner has pasta hair all bunched up on top of his plate with a carrot hat, cherry tomato cheeks, with pepperoni eyebrows and a bowtie. This is one of their favorite meals and it’s so quick and easy to make. Plus healthy!

            We’re not an obsessively healthy family. We don’t get a whole lot of fast food, but we do eat out. For the most part, the kids are good about trying new things, especially with Anya’s iron deficiency. We try to have them all eat a lot of foods with more iron to not just single her out.

            Adrianna calls the two oldest into the kitchen to eat and I pause their movie on the way to wake Anya. She’s been asleep for about an hour, but she also needs to sleep tonight, so getting her up for some food will help.

            “Anya, time to wake up.” I rub her heated back to gently wake her. “Come on, baby. Let’s go eat some dinner.” She lets out a pitiful moan and turns towards me. “We have to try and eat something, because there’s nothing in your tummy. Moms didn’t make anything too big, just some pasta and vegetables.”

            Her little head nods and she lifts her arms to be carried. We make our way back to the kitchen and see the rest of the family sitting at the dinner table. Ade plated some food for her and I as well and set them on the table.

            We get closer to the table and Anya’s arms tighten around my neck, a sure sign that she isn’t going to sit by herself. Not wanting another meltdown like earlier, I just sit down with her in my lap and pull her plate towards us.

            “Anya, are you feeling better?” Autumn asks her youngest sibling, who simply shakes her head ‘no.’ “Well, are you still scratchy?”

            “Itchy.” Ade softly corrects, but Anya again just shakes her head.

            “That’s good! Me and Conner aren’t scra-, I mean, itchy anymore eeder.” Anya rests her head on my chest and makes no effort to eat her dinner. I quickly cut up some pasta and try and feed it to her, grateful that she opens her mouth for it.

            “Conner and Autumn, I need you to listen to me while you eat.” Ade calls their attention and they both turn to look at her while shoveling more pasta in their mouths. “Mommy and I are so happy that you both are feeling better, but Anya is still really sick. After bath time tonight, which will be in your bathroom, you can finish your movie and then it’s bedtime in your own beds.”

            “What ‘bout Anya?” Conner questions, pointing to his twin.

            “She’s going to sleep with us so we can keep an eye on her.”

            “Okay. Can we say ‘night night’ to her before bed?”

            “Of course, baby boy.”

            Adrianna, Autumn, and Conner finish their food much quicker than Anya and I, I tell her that I’ll clear the table if she’ll bathe the two hyper ones. I’m positive I got the easier end of the deal, but I know she doesn’t mind. It’s around the time that Anya eats about half her plate that I can feel her getting heavier in my lap and her thumb goes into her mouth, refusing anymore food.

            “Don’t fall asleep yet, baby. We gotta take a bath and brush your teeth.”

            “Bath with you?” She mumbles against my chest.

            “You want to take a bath with me?” She nods and we make our way to the master bathroom, grabbing a fresh pull up out of her bathroom first. I make quick of stripping both of us as the bath fills up, because I know she’s tired and will probably fall asleep in the bath anyway.

            When we get in, she immediately snuggles onto my chest and places her head on my shoulder. Her breath coming in waves on my neck. Her arms fold into her sides and her hands rest in fists just under her chin. This has always been her go-to position since I was able to hold her in the hospital.

            All three kids are very much like me in this sense. We crave physical touch. Ade enjoys it, but she’s also fine being by herself in a room of people whereas the kids and I need someone near us; with us. It’s not even kissing and things like that, but like just sitting next to each other with our arms touching or our legs overlapping or walking next to each other with our arms brushing.

            I make quick work of washing her body while she is still awake and let her lay back down when I’m done. I slowly cup the lukewarm water and pour it onto her back to ensure that she doesn’t get cold, but also to help her relax and bring her temperature down. Conner and Autumn should be back at about one hundred percent when they wake up tomorrow, but this little one most likely will not.

            After I wash her hair, the two of us are lying in the tub when Adrianna comes into the bathroom.

            “Hey.” She whispers and I hum in response. “The other two are watching their movie. I just got a text from John though to call him when we can.”

            “Okay, can you grab her so I can dry off?” Ade quickly grabs a towel and I start to pass Anya up to her when she wakes up and starts crying.

            “Mommy! No!”

            “Anya, mommy has to dry off and so do you. C’mon.”

            “I want mommy!” It breaks my heart to hear her cry, but not for Anya, for Ade. It’s not easy to be rejected by one of your kids.

            “Yo sé que quieres mommy, bug, pero she’s going to get her pyjamas on while you and I get your pyjamas on, then mommy will come tuck you in for bed.”

            It took another thirty minutes for her to stop crying and finally fall asleep and only because I finally laid with her in bed. I leave the bedroom as quietly, cracking the doorway open just in case; walking out to find the living room empty and frown. Ade must have put the other kids to bed already.

            After saying goodnight and giving them their hugs and kisses, I meet Adrianna in the office. I practically fall into her lap and wrap my arms around her neck, pulling her into a much needed kiss and not pulling apart until air is necessary.

            “Sorry, just needed that.”

            “Kenzie Lynn, you never have to apologize for kissing me.” She gives me another kiss, before loosening her grip on my waist and letting her hands fall to my legs and hip. “Conner and Autumn wanted to come say good night before bed, but with Anya crying, I didn’t want them to get her more upset. Ready to call?” I simply nod my head, not trusting my words at the moment. “Whatever and whoever he says, I need you to know that I trust you, Kenz. I know you’re not actually talking to her.” I nod again.

            She dials the phone on speaker and it only rings twice before John picks up. “Adrianna?”

            “Hey John, Kenz is here too.”

            “Hi John!”

            “Hello Mackenzie. So, I’m going to skip over the small talk and get straight into what you both need to hear. I talked to my sources at E! because we all know that they’re the only real entertainment news source to trust and they said that they had a woman trying to sell them the pictures a couple days ago, but they wouldn’t take the bait.”

            “A couple days ago and we’re only just hearing about this? Usually they call you right away, how did this one go unnoticed?” I let Adrianna hold the conversation, content with just waiting to know who it was that sold the story.

            “I guess they talked to a new employee that hadn’t been informed on how selling information is handled. Anyway, they finally tracked down the paperwork and, I’m sorry, but it is Dana. They even have her on tape at the office.”

            “Are you f*****g kidding me?” Adrianna raises her voice and I slowly run my fingers through her hair, gently scratching at her scalp to try and calm her. “Alright. I’m telling you right now John, we’re not taking this lightly. I have all intentions of calling her out on her s**t and pressing charges. We’re going to call Scott right now and figure out where to go from here. Thank you!”

            “Alright ladies. Sorry that it wasn’t better news, but I’ll be sure to head-off any questions from the media for a while. Stay positive on social media and if you can’t be positive, Adrianna, don’t say anything.”

            “Yea. Yea. We know the drill. Thanks again. Have a good night!”

            “Good night, ladies!”

            “It’s her.” I exhale. “Why though? Why does she want to ruin our lives?”

            “I don’t know, my love, but we aren’t going to let her. Let’s call Scott, he already knows what’s going on and we’ll do whatever he tells us to do.”

            Again, the phone only rings twice before it’s answered. “Good evening, you two.”

            “Hi Scott!”

            “So, I take it we found out who it is..”

            “It’s her. John says there’s even video proof of her at E! trying to sell the story.”

            “Alright, well it’s in the contract that should the agreement be breached that a restraining order is made. After that we press charges. Ready for this?”

            “She can’t go to the media about the restraining order, can she?”

            “No, but everything gets leaked. The public will find out, but she won’t be allowed to talk about it and neither will you two.”

            “Fine with us. We just want this done.”

            “Okay then, tomorrow morning I will meet with an officer at your house and we can fill…”

            “I want to talk to her.” Where the hell did that come from? I see shock, fear, and anger all flash in Ade’s eyes. “I-I don’t.. not like that. I want to know why. M-mmmaybe if we know why she did it, then she’ll stop. Ade I want you there too. I want us both there to talk to her.”

            “Umm. Let’s not make any decisions tonight. Talk it over tonight and let me know in the morning. I’ll let you two get some sleep. Good night!”

            I get up off her lap and cross over to the other side of the desk, sitting in another chair facing her. There was a few moments of silence after the phone disconnected before either of us spoke. “What the hell was that, Mackenzie?”

            “Please do not full-name me. I don’t know what happened, but I just want to talk to her. I wantus both to talk to her. We have to put an end to this drama with her and this is really the only way I can see it happening.”

            She seems to contemplate things for a couple minutes and I let her have her silence to think. I am honestly not sure what her reaction or answer will be, but it doesn’t scare me. Not with Ade and with our family that we’ve made. It took me a long time to not be nervous to voice my opinion, but I don’t worry anymore.

            When I was younger, I was always terrified of people’s reactions to what I said or did. It’s no secret my parents and siblings weren’t the nicest to me, sometimes though rarely, taking their aggressions out on me. That’s the only secret Ade doesn’t know about. The only secret I’ll take to my grave.

            “Okay. We’ll talk to her. I’m only going so you don’t go by yourself. I don’t trust her, Kenz.”

            “Okay.” I nod.

            “And we’re going to meet somewhere neutral.” I nod again. “And the kids aren’t going!”

            “I completely agree with you, Ade. We can call someone to watch the kids tomorrow. Let’s text Scott and tell him; that way he can hopefully get something set up and everything can be done tomorrow.”

            “Okay. I’ll do that. Why don’t you go get ready for bed?”

            “Okay.” I whisper out while standing up and leaving the room. I know that it’ll take some time for Ade to be okay with my decision to talk with Dana, so I’m willing to give her some time to herself.

            I’m all ready for bed and almost asleep, cuddled into Anya, who seems to have cooled off a little, before Adrianna comes into the room. I don’t quite have the energy to open my eyes, but I feel a soft kiss on my temple.

            “I love you, Mackenzie Lynn.” Is whispered into my ear before she walks into the bathroom, sniffling softly on the way.

Adrianna’s POV

            I’ve been tossing and turning all night and turn my alarm off before it even goes off. I might as well take a shower before everyone has to get up for the day. Gently pushing Anya over towards Mackenzie, I notice that her color is back in her skin and she’s not nearly as warm as she was yesterday.

            I am beyond nervous for today. I’ve never seen this woman before and don’t really even know anything about her other than the fact that she’s Kyle’s sister. I guess her and Kenz met at a party and Mackenzie said they flirted a little, but other than that nothing else really happened. I guess Dana wanted to hook up, but Kenzie didn’t.

            It’s not that I don’t trust, Mackenzie. I don’t trust this Dana b***h. When Kenz didn’t show up to their lunch a few years ago, she threatened to help Kyle find the house and help him take the twins. We even considered moving before our lawyer, Scott, assured us that as long as our security system was set then we should be fine. She’s a fucken psychopath and needs help.

            I turn the water off and find a fresh, folded towel on the half wall outside of the shower. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I don’t even remember grabbing one before I got in. I pick it up and realize it’s warm. Mackenzie’s done this before. When I get in the shower, she’ll put a towel in the dryer to have it warm when I get out. Little things. Little things like this make my love for her grow even more.

             I check in the bedroom and see that Anya is still sleeping, but Mackenzie is nowhere in sight. Quickly, I decide to throw my hair up and dress in lounge clothes and find my girlfriend. It doesn’t take too long, finding her in the kitchen. We work in silence around each other, neither of us really knowing what to say to the other.

            “Scott called when you were in the shower.” Mackenzie finally speaks up as she pours the kids’ juice for breakfast. “We’re meeting at his office with her and her lawyer at ten. We’ll talk and then sign the order.”

            “Okay.” I’m trying to be normal about all this, but until it’s done, I’m just not sure how I’m supposed to act. My attitude is taking a toll on Kenzie though. She’s very perceptive of others’ emotions, even when you don’t even know what you’re feeling. “Kenz, I-.. I’m not upset with you. You know that, right?”

            “I know. You’re just nervous. I’m giving you your space to think.” She comes over and wraps her arms around my neck, mine impulsively falling to her waist. She looks up at me with such care and love. “I love you, Ade. I’m in love with you. Nothing that happens today will change that.”

            Leaning down, I pull her into a kiss. I really don’t have words for what she just told me other than that I feel that exact same way. I hope that the kiss expresses all my thoughts. When we pull apart, it takes her a second longer to open her eyes, but she has a smile on her face. “I love you, too.”

AGMJAGMJAGMJ

            “Okay, Ms. Sampson and her lawyer should be here any minute. Do either of you have any last minute questions?” Scott informs us as we wait in the conference room.

            “We don’t want her threatening either one of us or our family. If she says anything, we’re pressing charges.”

            “Yea, Ade and I talked about it this morning and if she continues to threaten us like she did before then we’ll feel safer pressing charges. Especially with the kids.”

            “I think that is a very good decision. I’m not sure how their attitudes will be when they come in, but we should be prepared for worst case scenarios.”

            We sit in silence for a couple more minutes, Mackenzie’s hand never leaving mine. When they enter, we remain in our seats, I don’t trust myself to say anything to her and I feel Kenzie’s hand squeeze tighter around mine when the door opens.

            We don’t really acknowledge each other while the lawyers go through the initial small talk. I can see Dana sneaking glances at Mackenzie, because unlike Mackenzie, who’s listening to John explain why everyone is here, I am sizing up the woman across from us. I don’t want any surprises.

            “I think my client, Ms. Jackson, would like to start the discussion.”

            Kenzie looks at me with wide eyes and I can tell that all of this is officially hitting her. She’s second guessing her decision to talk to Dana, but I squeeze her hand and kiss her cheek to offer some comfort and encouragement. “You’re fine, Kenz.” I whisper.

            She takes a deep breath and softly nods before speaking up. “I just want to know why?”

            “Pardon?”

            “Why did you do it, Dana? Why do you continue to do this?”

            “I just.. I guess I want a chance.”

            “But you never had one.”

            “Why?” Dana’s voice coming out panicked and rushed. “Why didn’t I? I would have treated you better than Kyle. I..I,” her voice raising, never breaking eye contact with Kenz and I move to sit on the edge of my seat, ready to jump in. “I would have worshiped the ground you freaking walked on! I was and still am so attracted to y-.”

            “You’re not Adrianna!” Mackenzie slams her hand on the table and takes the whole room by surprise. “You never have and never will have a chance, because you’re not her. I belong with her! She’s my soul mate, the mother to our kids. You were a fling, Dana. God! We didn’t even hook up! We kissed one time. Get over it!”

            “Why should I? What makes her different from me? Tell me!”

            It takes Kenz a couple minutes to calm back down before she answers.

            “Can you imagine someone who figures out why you’re so guarded? Imagine someone who stays; no matter what you put them through, no matter what they see, they always remain on the front porch waiting for you. The light never goes out, your outline always remains in the sheets. They become a part of you and you become a part of them; so much so that if something were to happen to them if would feel like a part of you broke too.

            “Dana, it’s not who you’re attracted to, ultimately, it’s about who you fall in love with. You fall in love with someone because of the details. Their kindness, their eyes.. their smile.. the fact that they can get you to laugh when you need it most. That’s why Adrianna.” She silently signs the paperwork for the order, picks it up and walks to the other end of the table, placing the paper in front of Dana. “If we ever hear from you again, we will take you to court for harassment. So, get over yourself and sign the damn restraining order so we can get back to our children.”

            Mackenzie walks out after this and I know why. She’s not mean to people. It takes a lot for her to be rude to someone. I hurry the rest of the meeting along and, as soon as we’re finished, quickly leave before anyone else is able to even stand up. The secretary motions towards a smaller conference room and I quietly knock on the door before opening, so I don’t scare her.

            She has silent tears falling down her cheeks and I walk up to her to give her a hug which she accepts before pulling apart quickly. “Uhh..” She wipes her face of the tears. “The kids are probably giving your sister and Becca a hard time, so we should get home.”

            She walks out of the room, leaving me alone, but I follow after her. We’re in the car for about ten minutes before she speaks up.

            “You know everything I said was true, right?” She’s crying again and I take her hand in mine, kissing the back of it in response. “I-I don’t care what she says or what the media says or my parents or your parents. We deserve each other and I can’t picture anyone else to spend my life with.”

            “Babe, of course I know it’s true. I feel the same way and so do our parents, where’s this coming from?”

            “No, not the Riveras. The Jacksons. I don’t know, but when we were in there talking with her, and even before she got there, I was just thinking. What life would be like if I stayed with Kyle. If I was with Dana. If I was with anyone else. And it was terrifying. I-It wasn’t me. It wasn’t us.”

            “Kenz, calm down.” She’s becoming panicked and taking quick breaths trying to get her points across. “Breathe for a second, then finish.” She listens and calms a little before continuing.

            “When we were teenagers, my parents hated the mere thought of you.” She lets out a sob and I have to hold back my own tears, because that time was really hard on both of us, but I know she got the worse end of it all. “Then your parents thought I was too codependent on you.” I go to speak, but she cuts me off. “I know they don’t anymore, but they did back then. Honestly, I used to lay in bed at night and wonder.

            “Wonder: Why is everyone against something that feels so perfect? Almost like in Indiana Jones, when you can’t look into the Eye of Mara or else you’re cursed or something.” I laugh at her always unique point of view, and because my brothers and I made her watch the Indiana Jones movies when she lived with us. I knew she never really liked them, but wanted my brothers to think she did.

            “I used to the think the same way.”

            “You did?” I pull into our driveway, past the gate, but wait until it fully closes before continuing to the garage. Once parked, I turn to face her and continue.

            “Yes, I did. I used to wonder why everyone had to be so negative about our relationship when we weren’t. It wasn’t like we were arguing all the time or that we were abusive to each other. We were happy and I could never figure out what was wrong with that to other people.”

            “Now look at us. We have three adorable kids…”

            “Very nice careers…”

            “Awesome families who support us and each other…”

            “Don’t forget you’re smoking hot.”

            “Ade!” She playfully slaps my shoulder and I smile knowing that she’s happy and laughing again. “I was trying to be serious.”

            “Babe, I am serious. You’re, like, way hotter than you’ve ever been.”

            “Oh, so I was ugly in high school?”

            “Not at all! You were, like, a nine in high school and now you’re a twenty.” I lean in to kiss her, but she starts talking.

            “You can’t be a twenty it’s on a scale from one to…” I cut her off, capturing her bottom lip in between mine and running my tongue over it.

            “No more talking.” I mumble and take my seatbelt off while she does the same. Our kiss turning heated and needy and quickly turns into a make out session in the front seat of our car.

            “Ow! Ow! Ow!” Mackenzie pulls away and my eyes widen. I wasn’t sucking that hard. “Cramp. Sorry.”

            “Are you okay?”

            “Yea, sorry to ruin the mood.” She blushes, her cheeks already flush.

            “It’s okay. We should probably get inside anyway. The kids should be down for their nap. We can catch up with Lilly and Becca. See where that couple is.”

            “Babe, you know they’re not dating. Don’t pressure them.” I just laugh in response as we make our way into the house, a piercing scream stopping our thoughts momentarily.

            “Owie! It hurts!” Conner cries and the two of us rush around the corner to see our little boy on the floor and four girls standing around him. “Mama! Mommy! It hurts!”

            “What happened?” Kenzie asks as I scoop Conner into my arms, hugging him close as he sobs into my chest.

            “We’ve been trying to get them to lay down for the last thirty minutes, but they keep running back out and throwing attitude about not going to bed. Well, Anya started jumping on the couch and Conner followed suit and when I went to grab him to get him off, he scooted back and fell over the back.” Lilly panics as she’s telling the story and I know she feels really bad.

            “What did he hit? Did you see?” Lilly shakes her head, but Becca speaks up.

            “He just slid off the back. His bottom is probably sore and maybe the back of his head, but he didn’t slam that as hard.”

            “It hurts, mama!” I run my fingers through his hair trying to feel for a bump. There’s a tiny one, but nothing major.

            “Baby boy, I know it hurts, but this is why moms tell you and your sisters not to jump on furniture. Right?” He only cries harder to my question. “Now, it’s time for a nap. For all of you. First, all three of you are going to say ‘sorry’ to Tía Lilly and Becca. None of you were listening to them or being very nice.”

            “We’re sorry.” The three kids say in unison and Autumn gives Lilly a hug before walking towards her room.

            “Go get in bed, baby girl, and we’ll be in to tuck you in.” She nods and turns into the playroom. “We’re sorry they were such a handful, guys, let us just get them into bed and then we can hang out.”

            Mackenzie picks up Anya and we effectively get all three kids in their beds and staying in bed before we meet with the two teenagers back in the living room. I start to laugh when I see their scared faces as we come into the room.

            “Chill, you two, you’re as bright as tomatoes with how bad you’re blushing. It was an accident.”

            “I just feel so bad. They’ve never gotten hurt while I’ve babysat before.” Lilly is practically shaking as bad as Kenz was in the car. “I just don’t know what got into them. Especially Conner, he almost never goes against the rules.”

            The four of us sit down and I notice that Becca sits a little further from Lilly than necessary, but glances down to Lilly’s hand that’s resting on the couch. They’re so obvious and are trying so hard to hide whatever is between them that they’re actually making everything very obvious.

            I sit down on the recliner and, without warning, Mackenzie just sits in my lap. Not that it bothers me, we usually don’t take up a lot of space when we’re together. I wrap one arm around her waist and pull the lever to lift the legs with the other before hugging her tight to me.

            “Well, they were sick all night and day yesterday and couldn’t do anything but rest and lay in bed, so they’re testing limits. How was Anya today after we left?”

            When we woke up, Anya’s fever was gone, but she was still extremely clingy to her mommy. She showered with her, sat with her while she got ready, and threw a major fit when Lilly and Becca showed up to babysit.

            I knew Mackenzie felt bad for me, because I couldn’t even look at Anya without her freaking out, but we’ve been through it before. A couple months ago, Autumn was that way with me. She didn’t want anything to do with Mackenzie or the twins for about a week. It hurt Kenz, but she understood that, sometimes, kids just go through phases.

            “She cried for about twenty minutes..”

            “More like screamed.” Becca interrupts.

            “Yea, for about twenty minutes she was really upset, but then we suggested to play outside and she calmed down. She still didn’t play for a while once we went out to play on the swing set, but she sat on the porch steps and watched us.”

            Mackenzie zones out, content on listening to the conversation going on around her, and starts messing with my necklace. She grazes the necklace and, in turn, my chest. She’s probably thinking a lot over everything from the last couple days.

            “What other fun things did you guys do?” I question. The kids always love when Lilly and Becca babysit, because they play a lot of imaginative games.

            The two of them share a glance and Becca quickly looks away and, I swear, I see a blush on her face. Her complexion is even more pale than Kenzie’s, so she can’t hid anything.

            “Umm…” Lilly starts. “N-Nothing major. We played outside for about an hour and then washed up. We played hide and seek until Autumn started crying, because Anya kept giving telling people where she was hiding.”

            “Yea, hide and seek is usually off-limits with Kenz and I for that reason.” I laugh and Kenz looks up at me, locking our eyes, and leans in for a soft kiss. It was quick, but I’ll never deny her kisses.

            “Aaand then we made little cracker sandwiches and fruit kabobs for lunch. All three of them ate and when we went to put them down is when anarchy occurred.”

            “Well, it sounds like it’s been a kind of roller coaster all day, but we’re sorry that you had to deal with all that. Hopefully, next time they won’t be as bad. When do you two start school? Excited to be going to the same college?”

            “Yes!” Becca exclaims. “We start at the end of the month. August 25th, I think. I’m just glad your parents talked my parents into letting me be in a dorm.”

            “Our parents were very cool with my brothers and sister and I getting dorms and fully experiencing college, even if it’s only thirty minutes down the road, so I knew Lilly would get one. Are you two sharing?”

            Mackenzie picks up on my tone, because she gently pulls on my necklace and give me the ‘I know what you’re doing and you need to stop’ look. I just kiss her on the forehead and turn back to the girls. I need this sapphic story to get going.

            “I think so. We put in that we wanted to share, so hopefully next week we’ll find out if we got it or not.”

            “I loved when I was in the dorms. Hang out with your friends whenever you wanted. Go to parties. Hook up with guys. Experiment with girls…” Both of them blush, but before anyone can continue, Mackenzie sits up a little and faces me.

            “Babe, I don’t think we left anything to the imagination before you went to college that needed to be experimented with.” My turn to blush. I was trying to get them and she’s calling me on my s**t, because that’s what Mackenzie does. “Am I wrong? Minus your random hook-ups before Nick, was there something that we didn’t do that you felt the need to experiment with another woman in college? Because I’m pretty sure we checked off a whole slew of fantasies that both of us had.”

            “Oookay, Kenz. Overshare. My little sister does not need to know that.”

            “You didn’t answer, Adrianna.” Oh no she didn’t. She did not just full-name me!

            “No.” I rush out in a whisper. “No, okay. You were amazing and I never needed to experiment with anyone else in college.” I quickly kiss her to try and put an end to the, now embarrassing, conversation. She just smirks and looks at me like she got the reaction she wanted.

            “Well, on that note, we should probably get going. We made plans with Becca’s brothers to go play football at the park.” They both stand up, but Mackenzie doesn’t make an effort to get up. This is odd for her, because, forever a Jackson, Mackenzie is notoriously hospitable to any house guest of ours.

            I gently coax her off my lap to stand up and see them out. She says ‘goodbye’ to them, but remains in the chair. When the three of us get to the door, I follow them out and quietly close it behind me. I hand them their pay and quickly speak up.

            “Hey, before you go, do either of you have plans for Friday night?” They shake their heads in response. “Would you two want to make some extra cash. I really want to take Kenz out, because I think all the drama this week is getting her down. I’ll give you both $200 for the night if you are able to stay overnight. We just haven’t been anywhere without the kids for a while and I want to show her…”

            “We really don’t need to know what you want to show her. We’ll be there though.”

            “Yay! Thank you so much. You two are amazing and we’ll be sure to talk to the kids about rules and behaviors before we leave.”

            “Okay, see you in a couple days, sis.”

            “Adiós. Te amo!”

AGMJAGMJAGMJ

            The five of us are cuddled on the couch in the theatre watching Frozen after dinner. The kids seemed relatively behaved after their naps, but there were a couple arguments along the way.

            Autumn and Conner are both on my lap, because Anya was refusing to share Mackenzie. The two blondes sitting next to us, Anya laying on her mommy’s chest, when she seems to get uncomfortable. Her little head starts moving around and suddenly she slams the back of her head into Mackenzie’s b***s.

            “Ow! Anya Janae, what was that for?” I pause the movie and turn the lights back on, which slowly brightens the room. The little girl looks up sadly at Kenz. “That really hurt me. Why did you do that?”

            “I was trying to get comfy.”

            “Well, then you can switch positions or get a pillow and lay next to me.”

            “But I wanted to have a b**b pillow.” Autumn and Conner laugh at their sister’s words, but if I would have been drinking something, I would have choked. That’s the last thing that I would expect to come out of my three year old’s mouth and I’m not even really sure how she came up with it.

            Luckily, Mackenzie reacts quicker than I do. “What are you talking about and where did you hear that?”

            She looks at me silently, but I know what she’s thinking, this is why we don’t let them watch television. Granted, I didn’t put up a major fight with the whole ‘no tv’ rule, but I did question why Mackenzie was so adamant about it. I guess, because my siblings and I never really had restrictions, but if she got this from television, then I’m definitely down with not having them watch it.

            “Tía Lilly said that Becca’s b***s were better than a pillow. Mommy’s b***s are bigger than Becca’s.” Anya now looking at us like we were crazy and glances over to the paused movie. She’s already done with the conversation and she knows she would have gotten in trouble already if she did something majorly wrong.

            “When did you hear this?” Now she decides to look guilty and she simply shakes her head, telling us that she doesn’t want to say.

            “Anya.” I warn, finally finding my voice.

            “Umm.. well, after we was apposed to be in bed for naptime, I wasn’t tired, so I played in the playroom and I hearded them, so because they were laying on the couch. Mama, does Tía Lilly love Becca like you love Mommy?”

            “I-I don’t know, bug. Why?”

            “Cause they were kissing and so I wakeded Conner up, but they were done when we went to look, so because they heard me talking and were in the playroom and then Autumn woked up so because we were all talking.”

            “I didn’t wake up, Anya. I was already awake. And that was evils dropping to listen to Tía Lilly like that! You’re gonna get in time out!” The little brunette in my arms looking very smug and her now crying sister.

            “Why would you tell her that?” I ask, effectively wiping the look off her face.

            “Well, that’s what mommy said when you were gone. She said that Anya evils drops too much and that it’s rude.”

            “Okay, we’re getting off subject.” Mackenzie states. “First, Anya you’re not going in time out, so stop crying. Second, you’re not in charge of your brother and sister or their punishments.” She points at Autumn who simply nods and leans back into me. “And it’s eavesdropping, baby girl.” She just nods again.

            “Which you were eavesdropping, Anya, and you weren’t in bed like you were supposed to be, so for that you’re not getting to finish the movie. You’re going to bed right now and mama and I are going to talk to you in your room.”

            “No! Mommy!” The tears pour down her red cheeks. “Mommy! Anna was about to meet Olaf!” Mackenzie simply picks her up and leaves the room while I press play on the movie and excuse us to the other two kids. I leave the lights dim and the door open as I leave.

            “No! I’m not going to bed!” Anya’s former cries now determined yelling. “I want to watch Frozen!”

            I often wonder how our kids all got such different personalities. Since they’ve all been raised together and with the same rules, how did they get such altering personalities?

            Mackenzie is practically fighting the little girl to get into her bed, the guard rail doing absolutely nothing from stopping the small blonde from climbing out of bed. I don’t want to undermine Mackenzie’s parenting though, so I simply stay in the background. Close enough to help, but not stepping in just yet. I’m just picking up random toys and straightening out the room.

            “Anya, you have two choices. You lay down right now and we talk about what just happened or you go straight to bed and we talk about it in the morning.”

            “No!” Anya attempts to move over the guard rail, but Mackenzie is quick to catch her and put her back in bed. “Ugh!” Before either of us can see it coming, Anya leans back and slaps Mackenzie across the face before falling onto her bed in tears. I’m not sure if the tears are from her act or simply because exhaustion, but either way she’s still.

            Autumn went through a stage where she was hitting everyone and everything shortly after we all moved in together, but it was mostly just hard taps and she was doing to get mine and Mackenzie’s attention. Nothing out of aggression or anger.

            Mackenzie silently walks out of the room, looking more in shock than upset. I, first, ensure that Anya is going to stay in bed, which she hasn’t moved since the incident, so I follow out the door. Mackenzie is just around the corner in the playroom and I stay just in the doorway of the bedroom to keep an eye on Anya.

            “Are you okay? Let me look.” I whisper and Mackenzie tilts her head up, revealing a very red left cheek. “I’m going to tell you right now, Kenz, I don’t know how to handle this one. We were spanked when I was little.”

            “No!” She panics. “We can’t spank her.” She worriedly looks back into the room towards the little girl, but doesn’t say anything. Emotions flash in her eyes though. Sadness and fear. I never understood why she has always been so afraid of spanking the kids, but we respect each other and, honestly, time outs have been working so far.

            “Well, what do you want to do, Kenz?”

            “Something’s going on with her.”

            “What?”

            “She’s been so defiant and clingy lately, but the other two haven’t. So, I think something is going on in her head, but I’m not sure what. I don’t know what to do, Ade, I just don’t want to spank her.”

            “Okay, well, we can worry about her behavior later, but I think right now she owes you an apology and she will be getting punished tomorrow. We’ll talk to her about Lilly and Becca and ask her if something is bothering her. Right now: bedtime.”

            While I’m sad that the whole incident happened, I’m kind of grateful that Kenzie’s cheek is still red, because it gives Anya something physical to show her that she hurt her mommy. When we walk back in the room, Anya is still crying, but not as hard.

            “Mommies!” She puts her arms up and makes a grabbing motion for Mackenzie, but the two of us just crouch next to her bed to talk to her together. Anya is hiccupping through her tears and trying her hardest to calm down.

            “Anya, you really hurt mommy.” I start. “Look at her face, her cheek is all red and it hurts her because you hit her and that’s not nice at all. Now, you will be getting punished for it tomorrow, because right now it’s bedtime, but first you need to say sorry.”

            “Sorry, mommy.”

            “Apology accepted, bug. Mama and I don’t like that you’ve been acting naughty lately, okay? But we still love you. We’ll never not love you, Anya. Let’s dry your tears and give hugs and kisses. Time for bed.”

            We take her to the bathroom and get her all cleaned up for bed and make sure to give her hugs and kisses before tucking her in.

            “Good night, baby bug. We love you.” I tell her while turning the intercom on. Kenz and I get to the doorway and turn the lights off before Anya responds.

            “Te amo, mommies. Mommy?” We pause and turn to face her and see that she’s, again, sitting up in bed. “I think I like my pillow more than your b***s.”

            We stifle our laughter and say good night again before shutting the door.

            “For the record,” I pull her into a hug in the playroom. “I like your b***s more than my pillow.” We both laugh into our kiss before joining the other kids for the movie.



© 2016 Brittana0909


Author's Note

Brittana0909
Honestly, I'm in such a slump with this story and I haven't been able to write in it for about two years, but it's a goal of mine to finish, because it's the first thing I've ever written. Any constructive reviews could help or anything that would be cool to write about in future chapters. Thanks!

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Added on June 12, 2016
Last Updated on June 12, 2016
Tags: fiction, adrienzie, babies, family, girlxgirl, hollywood, lesbian, lgbt, love, relationship, rwyb, soul mates, toddlers, twins


Author

Brittana0909
Brittana0909

Los Angeles, CA



Writing
Chapter One Chapter One

A Chapter by Brittana0909


Chapter Two Chapter Two

A Chapter by Brittana0909