I Still Believe (Criss Angel Sequel from very 1st book *Believe*)

*18*

It wasn't until Johnny was 2 years old and while Criss was at work busting his ass as usual that my parents pulled up into the driveway and walked up to the house and hollered up at the house and told me there was no sense pretending that I wasn't home because they knew I was at home, and that they wanted to see me and their grandbabies, and they were tired of the cold shoulder treatment, that 10 years was long enough to hold a grudge on them for their mistake, and they just wanted to be a family again. I was holding my little man when I went to the door and told Angela to call her daddy and tell him that he needed to get home, that I needed him to be here.

Angela went to the table and grabbed my cell phone and quickly dialed her daddy's number, Criss was just getting cleaned up from his afternoon show, and asked what was going on back at the homefront, expecting to hear my voice on the phone, but instead heard Angela telling him that I told her to tell daddy that he needed to come home right now, then she added that there were two strangers at the door arguing with me about them being family. When Criss heard Angie tell him that, he knew it was my parents and said he was on his way. 

Angie ran to the door with Spike racing beside her and told me that he was on his way...I sat Johnny down and told Angie to take her brother upstairs to play with there toys together and not to come down until after daddy and I were done speaking with the strangers. Angie shook her head and held onto Johnny's hand as they went up the stairs. Johnny broke himself from his woobie blankie, but he still had his binky in his mouth off and on, but not as much as he used to which was a plus for both of us. I walked out the door and told them that it wasn't up to me and that Criss would be here very shortly, then maybe we could talk and see if we all could come up with an understanding/agreement...if my husband wasn't still holding a grudge on my father.

But as we all seen and heard Criss spinning his wheels in the driveway and slamming the driver's door as he stormed to the front porch I could tell he wasn't happy with them being on our property. I pulled him to me and told him that I wanted to talk to him alone right now before he blew his Greek temper all out of proportion. Criss growled at me and pushed his way past them both and went in the house, and glared at both of them as I closed the door behind me. I kissed him and told him I knew he had the right to be pissed off at them, but it has been 10 years, and for better or worse they were my parents, and all they wanted was to have a second chance and be apart of the family and to meet their grandkids.

Criss looked at me and said he didn't want them to be apart of his family because they tried to kill the family that he wanted! And the only reason they would want to come back into my life again was that they were fucking bored and needed me to cause me more pain and irritation, and to pass it down to our kids, and he wasn't about to let that happen. I wrapped my arms around him and asked him if he had the slightest thought that maybe my parents were being honest and just wanted a second chance to have their family back. 

Criss didn't look at me, but he held onto me and gave a deep sigh and slowly said he would give them one fucking chance, but if they fucked up even just a little bit they were out and he was so fucking done with them permanently, then he kissed me and called to our kids, then looked right at me as I opened the door to invite them in, and pointed at them and said just because he was agreeing to give them a chance didn't mean he liked or approved of them, and told them both flat out, not to expect him to be nice or hospitable to them, because he couldn't stand them, for all the shit they put me thru.

Angela skipped down the stairs and left Johnny to go down himself, but after he went down the third step he sat down and began to cry as he called out to his sissy for help and to wait for him. Angela stopped and rushed back up the stairs before we could tell her to, and wrapped her arm around him and walked him down the stairs so he wouldn't fall, then she picked him up and carried him to Criss, and said while she was giggling that her baby brother was heavy. Criss scooped them both up and kissed them, then he turned to my parents and they got to see them both for the first time up close, Angela hid behind Criss's arm but Johnny looked at them both with his big beautiful hazel eyes and gave them a silly smile and gave a partial wave to them as he popped his binky in his mouth with his other hand.

I went over to Angela and told her that it was alright, that they were my parents and her other grandparents. Johnny wanted down, so he walked over to my mom and sat down on his tushie and looked up at her then raised both of his arms for her to pick him up as he said in a garbled tone with his binky still in his mouth, uppie. My mom smiled down at him as a few tears began to fall and lifted him up very tenderly and gave him a loving hug and smothered him with grandma kisses, as she told me that's exactly what I used to say when I was a toddler. Angela was older and was a little more leery of them, but after a while, she went over to them too, but for some reason, they both were afraid of my father, but he did give them both a hug anyway as they both thanked Criss for letting them in.