Sarah
The weekend goes by uneventful thank God. The kids and I have a good time hanging out at home being bums, and just spending time together with the four of us. It's something we haven't done in a while and we really needed the time to reconnect.
After the kids are in bed, I watch the videos that were posted of the 5sos show in Sheffield and it makes me so happy to see Mikey putting it all out there. It seems like he was doing extra, just to prove a point to me that he's holding up his end of the promise. I look at the one video that I was tagged in over and over again, and I want to cry. He's talking to the crowd and tells them, "So, my girlfriend is going through some shit right now at home, but she made me promise to give you the show of your lives! Am I giving you the show of your lives?" The screams are overwhelming and I can't help but smile as I tweet out my gratitude.
5sos_moms: thanks to all who tagged me. I'm so glad he did what he promised. U guys matter most rn!
I'm immediately retweeted and liked and receive a ton of tweets in return. A few are nasty, but most of them are really sweet, and those are the ones I focus on. A few ask if everything is okay and if Grace is okay, so instead of replying to each one, I send out one last general tweet
5sos_moms: everything and everyone here is fine thus far. Tysm for the concern.
I log off twitter and drift off to sleep.
When I wake up to Michael's voice on my alarm, I can't help but smile. That's why he's my alarm sound! I get the kids up and off to school and head into the office. I blast Sounds Good Feels Good on my drive in and I am on top of the world right now. Sure, I miss Michael, but I am happy right now. I have three great kids, a job that I love, even if it wasn't really what I wanted to major in. It's in the music industry and that's ultimately where I wanted to be. I have nobody bringing me down, nothing and no one could stand in my way. Even the familiar face I hoped to never see again, standing on the sidewalk outside the doors to the building.
After parking the car, I walk inside. I'm not intentionally ignoring him. It's not my fault there's a separate entrance from the parking garage! I don't care anyway.
I get up to the office and let James know that Damien's out front, and that everything's fine so far.
"I really wish - " he starts.
"I told Michael everything. He knows," I interrupt. James nods with a smile on his face.
"What convinced you?" he asked.
"Ashton."
"I'm not surprised." Very true. If anyone keys in to what the people around him are going through, it's Ashton Irwin. And he just has this way about him that you can't help but listen to. I start to chuckle, then answer James' unspoken question.
"I was always Mashton, from the start. It's kinda funny that those are the two I'm closest to now." Not so "funny" if you think about why, but still. I like the way things have turned out.
I go about my work and just as I'm about to go to lunch, I spot something in the contract with First Direct Arena in Leeds that doesn't sound quite right. I take it in to James to show him, then head out to lunch. When I walk out the front doors, I'm astounded to see Damien still out front.
"Sarah?" he asks. Damnit. Okay, I am not going to let him bring me down. The sooner I find out what he wants, the sooner this can end.
"What do you want Damien?" I ask him with a stength that I forgot I had.
"Can we talk?"
"About?"
"Come on Sarah, don't be like that." This is what I wanted, to find out what he wants.
"Fine. You're buying my lunch though," I tell him. I feel good right now. Strong, empowered. He nods and walks alongside me. I pass by my normal Italian place I usually go, and just hit up the nasty pizza joint up the road. Don't kill me. I love pizza as much as anyone else, but this really is nasty. It's just that this is the best that Damien deserves. Hehe I know I'm a bitch sometimes. It feels great to get that back.
As soon as we're seated, I ask him again what he wants.
"I heard about your husband. I'm sorry." I just nod, wanting him to hurry up so I can go find out what's up with Leeds. "I miss you Sarah." I almost choke on my pizza. You've got to be kidding me!
"What the fuck do you WANT Damien? I have a boyfriend who I'm madly in love with, I have a great job, three amazing children, I'm happy. Now what do you want?" I'm tired of asking.
"You." Ah hell. Not again!
"Me?! After what I just told you? After 20 plus years? If I wouldn't take you back then, what makes you think I will now?"
"Oh, I have my ways of getting what I want! You'll see!" He gets up walks out. "See you around Sarah!"
I look down at my disgusting pizza in front of me and feel like I'm going to throw up, like legitimately! I toss the nasty cardboards and make my way back to the office. This is what he likes to do, leaving me wondering, thinking. He wants me to think about him. I'm not giving him that satisfaction. Not this time. I've had more than my share of being manipulated and controlled. Never again.
As soon as I'm back in the office, I go to see James. Why am I not surprised to see Damien in there talking to him? But honestly, what can he do? James can't fire me, only Mikey, Luke, Ash, or Calum can. Not that I've ever done anything to give them a reason to, anyway. He's just trying to get under my skin. And I'm not going to let him. I sit back at my desk and start on the Nottingham contract. I looked over all of these before we went to Australia, but now that they're out there, James wanted me to look them over one last time. And I'm glad I did. I'm dying to know what the deal is with Leeds.
When Damien finally leaves, he has a cocky smile on his face as he walks out the door.
"Sarah? Come in here please?" James asks. I walk into his office and have a seat.
"First off, great job on the Leeds contract. The wording is messed up a bit and gives them a loophole to try to screw us. I'm going to get on the phone with them in just a minute to straighten this out." I can't stop the pride I'm feeling. I'm actually doing this. And I'm doing good at it. I forgot how it feels to do something good and get acknowledged for it. I love this!
"But there's another very important matter at hand," he continues, temporarily bursting my bubble. "That guy is trouble. Big time trouble." Tell me something I don't know! "I don't know if the things he was telling me about your past are true," oh fuck. "But they're irrelevant to me. You've been here for three months are are doing remarkable. That's all that matters. But he has got some serious issues. I am worried for your safety and for the kids. I don't want you staying at your house alone right now until we know more about his plan." Shit. I really don't want to disrupt the kids like this.
"How can we do this without the kids knowing?" I ask him. When it comes to the kids, I'm not afraid to ask for help.
"Well, I have an idea. And it's one I don't think you'll complain about!" I'm all ears.
"After I talk to Leeds, I'm going to retype the contract. But there's not enough time to get everybody to sign it that needs to and get a copy to the arena unless we do it in person." Wait that means... No way! Please say what I think you're going to!
"Make arrangements for the kids at friends houses for the week. You're flying to England tomorrow to see 5sos!" YES!!! Oh my god, I love my job!!
