• Hopelessly Devoted •

• One ~ Mum •

"So, Mrs Corsie, what's next on your agenda?" I looked away from the kids and smiled softly. I knew what was next for me but I have yet to tell everyone, even Ma. Do you how hard it is to keep a secret from someone who knows when you're hiding something? It's really fucking hard man and it doesn't help that Steph is giving me the cold shoulder because of it. Damn that woman always knows how to get what she wants.

"So uh, this has to stay between you and me okay?" Any looked at me curiously but turned serious when she saw I was being serious. I was just about to open my mouth when the front door opened.

"Hello?" I smiled softly at the sound of my wife's voice and looked at Amy. She reached over and placed her hand on mine softly.

"Kitchen Rach." After getting a response from Amy, I heard Rach close the front door and the sound of footsteps coming towards us.

"I promise I'll tell you soon, preferably when we're alone." She looked at me sympathetically and nodded her head gently. The kitchen door opened and I smiled widely when I saw that my wife had brought company but they haven't seen me yet because of where I was sitting. As you can probably tell, I still haven't gotten used to saying 'my wife' but I mean, can you blame me? Have you seen who my wife is? Like, damn.

"Dang Chris, I thought you'd be happier to see me?" Christen jumped about ten feet into the air and looked over at me in shock. I just managed to stand up before she came running straight for me. I chuckled softly and met her halfway as she pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Momma, momma, momma." I let Christen go and smiled softly when I saw Amelia running towards Rach. I looked out at Lucas to see him looking in watching their interaction sadly. I know Rachel and Amelia's bond affected him a lot seeing as Rach has been there for her since the day she was born. It put a bit of a strain on his relationship with Rachel and for a while she was too engrossed by Amelia to realise it until Ma called her out on it one evening when everyone was over for a BBQ. She tried mending it but they're not as close as they used to be.

I excused myself and made my way outside. Lucas looked over at me and sighed softly. I motioned for him to come over and he did so without a second thought. I glance towards the house to see Rachel looking out sadly and I could see how guilty she felt. "She's trying you know. I get the whole cold shoulder vibe you got going on trust me, but cut her a bit of slack kid. I'm partially to blame for all this as well so don't just be mad at her. I did keep you from her for over five years. I'm not sorry that I did it though." Lucas looked at me weirdly and I sighed. I motioned for him to follow me so we could talk more away from the ears of the others.

We sat down in the grass at the end of of Amy's garden as Kelley and Becky joined the two boys in a game with Amelia running around between them all. Lucas leaned his head against my shoulder and I smiled softly as I kissed the top of his head gently. "She thought she was ready to be a mum when I got pregnant with you and deep down I knew she wasn't but she was persistent on starting a family. So, when she up and left one day I knew I should've listened to my instincts." I looked towards the house and smiled softly as I watched Amelia in her element with everyone all around her.

"It was hard when she left. Really fucking hard. I hated her for it for so long. Ma and Luce were way worse though. Myself, Ellen and KB had to physically restrain them from going after for her. It took so long to get over her and as I prepared to have you she was always on the back of my mind. She should've been doing it with me. She should've been to all the doctor scans and appointments with me holding my hand to reassure me it was all going to be alright. And then you came along. You made everything that much easier to handle." He lifted his head from my shoulder and looked at me with watery eyes. I sighed softly and brought my hand up to his cheek. "You made all the pain so worth it bubs. You changed my world so much and I couldn't be more grateful for you. I don't tell you it enough but I love you so much bubs and I'm so proud of you. I know this has all hit you hard but I promise you that I'll always be in your corner. You and I, we've been a package deal from the day you were born and everyone knows it. I mean, you're literally my mini me." He chuckled lightly as stray tears fell from his eyes. I wiped them away with my thumb and I smiled softly when he did the exact same for me.

"I know it doesn't seem like much to you, but she is trying. I'm not telling to forgive her, deep down I don't think I've fully forgiven her either, but I would really appreciate it if you made your tension with her less obvious when we're around everyone. She's a great mom Lu, just give her a chance to prove it to you. She might surprise you." I saw him look towards the house and turned my head to see Rach making her way towards us cautiously. I smiled softly towards her and stood up from the grass. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pecked her lips gently.

"Everything okay here?" I leaned my head against her shoulder and looked down at Lucas. He smiled softly and nodded his head as he stood up.

"Ya, it is now. Thanks mum." I winked subtly at him as a thank you before he walked away. I felt Rach's breath hitch and I looked up at her.

"Did you hear that? He called me 'mum'. He hasn't done that in nearly a year. Does this mean I'm finally getting through to him? Oh my god. Babe! This is huge." I chuckled softly as she jumped around the place giddily and looked towards Lucas. I saw him watching us with a small smile on his face. I mouthed a 'thank you' to him and he nodded his head softly.

The rest of the evening went by smoothly with no major bumps. Amelia had the time of her life getting to meet new people and Lucas really enjoyed his time with the two boys. He spoke more to Becky and seemed to stay by her more. I smiled softly knowing that he picked the best person to confide in seeing as she was the exact same to me. It comforted me knowing that he was in safe hands with having Becky and Ma there to guide him whenever he needed them. He was definitely my son in that way besides the fact that he was a defensive midfielder but there's no hard feelings between us. He knows I can still kick his ass if it came down to it.

"Hey mom, Ma texted." I broke out of my trance to see Lucas holding my phone up to my face. I smiled softly towards him and took the phone from him. I looked down at my phone and opened Steph's message.

Ma🥰;
Papers were finalised today all you need to do is sign them and it's official. Stop by the CFA when you're back so they can make a statement but don't worry about that for now. Enjoy your time with your family and I'll see you when you get back. Love ya kiddo x

To Ma🥰;
Thanks Ma, really appreciate you doing this for me. I'll stop by Monday when I bring Lucas to training and we can talk then and get everything sorted. I'll see you soon, love you xx

I smiled softly and pressed send before locking my phone again. I put it on the porch and went to join everyone else in the grass. Amelia was laughing uncontrollably as she held on to Luke for dear life as he ran around the place like an airplane. Kelley, Ryan, Lucas and Amy were playing a game of soccer tennis while Chris, Rach and Becky opted to sit on the grass. I smiled softly at the sights before me as my kids enjoyed themselves with my second family.