Growing Up

Chapter 9

"Rish, why did Sophia just run away from us?" Chris asked once he and Carly got close enough to his ex.

"She had some homework to do with her friend. What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to introduce you both to Carly... I thought Sophia might want to get to know her since we are having a kid." Chris replied. Mariska nodded for a moment before looking directly at Chris.

"You haven't contacted her in 6 months, after telling her that you didn't want her. That's the real reason why she ran away. Don't come near us again, okay? Because our kid just got happy and I don't want her to get depressed again." Mariska warned before she grabbed a water bottle and walked away.

"What is he doing here?" Kelli asked, and Mariska sighed.

"Just wanted to fuck everything up. As usual."

===

Sophia and Koda at a snack in the kitchen as Donna made dinner. She was humming softly, but she was listening to the girls' conversation.

"I don't want a little brother or sister. And if I did, I'd want my mom to be having a baby or adopting one." Sophia sighed.

"I bet that Carly Golden would be that nasty stepmother from Cinderella," Koda replied, a goofy smile on her lips. She was trying her hardest to make her best friend not as upset about this all, but unlike every other time, she was failing at making Sophia laugh or at the least, smile.

"Koda, thanks for trying, but it's not going to help. Chris has moved on and I bet he and Carly are going to have a girl. Then he can replace me with that perfect little girl."

"She won't be blonde though, Soph. Carly is most likely a bottle blonde." Koda smiled. Sophia rolled her eyes before standing and taking her plate over to the sink. She sat it in the sink before turning around and leaning against the counter.

"Do you think I should've talked to them? Donna, what would you do?" Sophia asked because she knew that Donna had been listening.

"I was in the same place as you are. My Dad left me and my mother when I was a kid. He tried to come back and have me join his family, but I said no. I haven't regretted it a day in my life because I know that my life is better off without him. I wouldn't have been in Manhattan the day your mother put out the want ad for a housekeeper, and I wouldn't have been able to watch you grow into a beautiful young woman." Donna smiled.

Sophia sighed before walking over to her and hugging her tightly.

"So I guess that maybe ignoring him is what I'm meant to do. Maybe I'll meet someone other than Koda that will change my life for the better." Sophia spoke, before stepping back and smiling when she saw Koda sticking her tongue out at her.

===

Mariska went back to her trailer where they usually tape, and she went in to start changing to head home and spend the rest of the night watching movies with Sophia and Koda. When she was just starting to unbutton her shirt, someone knocked on the trailer door before opening it.

"Rish?" Chris' deep voice questioned, and she was wishing that he would have never started to call her that.

"Chris, I'm changing. Go away." She huffed.

"We need to talk, Rish. About Sophia."

"She is almost 16, Chris. She can make her own choices. And she chooses to not be involved with you and that Carly. Is she even legal?" Mariska spat. She quickly pulled her shirt off before pulling on the sweater that she had worn in this morning. She was watching Chris as she changed because she didn't want him to try and sneak a peek, which was one of the factors that led them to sleep together and creating Sophia.

"She's 23," Chris spoke, and he rolled his eyes when he heard his ex laugh.

"She's not too much older than your daughter, Chris. Why couldn't you have found someone more your age?"

"Because you hate me." Chris groaned. Mariska felt like her chest had an elephant sitting on it. It felt so heavy, and hearing what he said made her feel weird.

"Rish?"

"Don't force our kid into meeting Carly. And I won't force her into seeing you. She made up her mind six months ago. She said she didn't want to be apart of the crazy life you are living. And she doesn't want to be a part of it still."

"Is she doing better?" Chris asked, as Mariska finally got changed all the way. She walked over and tapped his back with the toe of her boot. He stood and followed her into her trailer. She sat down on the couch that Sophia has claimed as her own, and Chris sat on one of the chairs.

"She transferred schools. She has a best friend, Koda, who spends more time at my brownstone than she does at her own house. She got her braces off, and we are working on deciding if contacts would be something she would want. Oh, and she's starting to look like a teenage girl."

"Why did you have her transfer schools?" Chris asked.

"Because then she wouldn't get beat up for reporting what was happening to her. She loves her new school. It teaches the same stuff, but it's more about keeping the students safe. Not just anyone can go there."

"She should've just tried to push through."

"You are a boy, Chris. Soph is a girl. What she has gone through is not something that you can just get over as easily as fights with guys. You used to tell me stories of getting into a fight with one of your friends and as soon as it is over, you are both back to being friends."

"Don't coddle her, Rish."

"Don't you dare tell me what to and to not do in regards to our child. She is my daughter, and I need to stop referring you her as ours. Because she isn't. So get the hell out of my trailer and leave our kid alone."