Through Love Alone

36: Remedy for a Broken Heart

"Have you been hiding?" She asked, smiling. "Have you been hiding?" She asked again, now launching a full blown tickle attack.

"No!" I begged, laughing.

"Hmmm," she replied, still going. "I didn't hear that."

"N-no!" I said louder, as my stomach got tired from all the laughing.

"Ohhh ok," she winked, stopping and pulling me up onto her hip. "Are you excited for the party today?"

"Yes," I responded.

"Guess what?" she asked.

"What?"

"Arizona's making you a lemon cake," she smiled.

"No way," I smiled shyly.

"Yes way. It's gonna have daisies on it," she added.

Daisies have always been my favorites. I call them 'happy flowers'. They look like tiny suns.

Amy then moved us both into the kitchen where Mom was cutting the pineapple.

"Good morning!" I sang

"More like good afternoon!" she laughed.

"Hey, it's only 11:30," Amelia defended. "She still made it to morning."

"Sureee," she replied.

"What time is everyone coming?" I asked.

"Not until around five," she replied. "I just wanted to get everything ready early rather than later. It's gonna be nice out today too."

"Yea, do you want to go to the beach for a little while?" Cora chimed in.

"Of course," I smiled, already loving how this day was starting.

"Okay," she smiled. "Go put your swimsuit on and I'll be ready in 20!"

*

Soon enough, the two of us made our way down to the beach. I held tightly to the bags of sandwiches and fruit that Cora had made while she carried the towels and sunscreen. While Cora's dark skin didn't burn as easy, I am incredibly pale for someone who literally lives on the beach!

I stood as the waves crashed over my feet. As the water rode out with the tide, I thought about how mama always said that it reminds her of Mer's eyes. I missed Auntie Mer.

"I'm hungry," Cora said, breaking me out of my head before my thoughts continued to spiral. "I'll race you to the sand," she smiled.

I immediately ran off, not giving her any time to catch up.

"Hey! No one said start!" she called.

"Too bad!" I laughed.

"Ok miss sassy," she laughed back with her eyebrows raised.

"What can I say? I spend a lot of time with Auntie Amelia."

"That checks out," she smiled, nodding her head.

We ate our sandwiches in comfortable silence until a voice called out to us.

"Hey girls!" Mama called. "Time to go back in to start getting ready! People will be here soon."

"Ok!" I called back.

We packed up our things and headed back up the sand, dusting our feet off before going in the house.

"Race ya up the stairs," Cora said, immediately taking off and leaving me in the dust.

"Hey!" I called after her.

"Paybacks!"

Addison POV:

*2 Hours Later*

"Hey Zona, can you grab me the salad," Amelia asked.

"Oh look at you being all healthy," Cooper mocked, a plate full of chicken nuggets and mac and cheese in front of him. Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"Hey," he said to his wife. "Kids know where it's at!"

"Whatever," Charlotte laughed.

The adults sat together at the dining table, while Clara and her friends sat together on the small pink table off to the side. The party was a big hit so far! And as always, Callie's cooking is amazing! Pete also cooked the potatoes and chicken wings which were also great!

"Hey everyone," I said, tapping the side of my glass with my fork to get everyone's attention. "I just wanted to thank you all for all your support of Clara and I. I am so proud to get to be her mother officially, and I am so grateful to have amazing friends to be with us. You guys are my family. So, let's all make a toast to the girl of the evening!"

With that, the glasses and cups were raised up to toast my girl. She blushed from across the room as I smiled at her, giving her a wink.

After dinner, the chatting continued, now more spread out. Some people were outside, while the girls were in the living room singing to Taylor Swift. Callie tried to put on some Latin and 80's music but Sofia shut that down immediately. I wonder when Clara will grow into the "I'm embarrassed of mom" phase.

As I sat watching the events, I heard the doorbell ring. Charlotte gave me a half smile as I walked to the door to answer. Mer was on the other side of the door. Instead of letting her inside, I stepped out of the house, closing the door behind me to meet her on the front steps.

"Addie," she began.

Suddenly the sadness that had been masking my other feelings faded away to reveal the anger I had towards her for her walking out.

"You should've called," I said simply, cutting her off.

"I know," she began. "I'm sorry. For everything. And you're right. I should've stopped being an ass and picked up the phone."

"I didn't think you were coming back," I added, turning away so she couldn't see the tear fall that I was trying so desperately to hold in.

"I'm here now. I hope it's not too late."

"Me too," I sighed. "Here, come in. Clara will be happy to see you."

I opened the door, letting her in the house. The only people who knew about our situation were Cora, Charlotte, and Amy. Clara immediately ran to Mer upon seeing her, wrapping her into a big hug. That's what I thought my reaction would be. I felt a pang of guilt that it wasn't.

As she greeted the others, I could feel Amelia and Charlotte's eyes on me, as if to ask if I was okay.

"Mommy! Auntie Mer's here!" Clara smiled excitedly.

"I know baby," I smiled back, before turning away and sitting down on the couch.

Amelia turned to me in conversation.

"Well, there's something I didn't see coming."

A/N: Thanks for reading! While I would love to jump right back into happy MerAdd, I just don't think that would be realistic with all these characters have gone through. I hope you are enjoying! <3