𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐒 • 𝐉𝐄𝐍𝐙𝐈𝐄

0.30

"So– what are you going to do?"

"I've organised a place I'm going to rent for the next couple months. My kids, they're gorgeous, and I can't leave them. I love them too much already, which I don't even understand. I want to be in their lives, Mom."

"As you should," She said gently, "I'm proud of you for that."

"It's what any decent man should do."

"I know, honey, I know." She blew out a breath.

"Can you... Can you come stay for a bit? You and Dad? I need help around the house, and I know you'd want to meet them–"

"I'll book a flight right away," She interrupted, "Your father and I need a break from working anyway. The company is always telling us to disappear." I could tell she was smiling, excited at the prospect of coming back and seeing me again.

"Thank you, Mom." I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. For me, asking for help was always hard.

"No problem, J. I'll help you decorate the place too. Make it child friendly. It'll be great."

"I knew you would say that." I genuinely smiled.

She laughed. "Alright, I've got to go, dinners boiling over. But I'll talk to your Father about this, and send you through flight details after. If you can pick us up from the airport, that would be great."

"Yeah I can do that," I replied, "I have a rental car for a bit."

"Perfect. Take care, love. Promise."

"I promise, Mom," I rolled my eyes at her antics, "Message me later."

"Will do. Bye bye, J, Love you."

"Love you too, bye." I replied, and pulling my phone from my ear, I hung up.

˚✧₊⁎༄

˚✧₊⁎༄

POV: Mackenzie Ziegler

˚✧₊⁎༄

˚✧₊⁎༄

Despite me being woken up at seven AM by two extremely enthusiastic five year olds, my morning was very bright and cheerful compared to normal. Hayden had already left (Sunday was golf with the boys day) and I had the bed to myself.

The kids had a boundless energy that I knew could only be cured by exercise, so after a quick Saturday morning breakfast of toast and hot chocolates, we braved the cold for a bike. I ran next to the kids as they pedaled, something we had taken to doing a couple years ago and never looked back. Sometimes, running in the cold with the kids by my side was my only way of clearing my mind of absolutely everything.

The rest of our day was very, very eventful. After our bike I whipped both kids through the shower so they were nice and fresh, and dressed them in their painting clothes. We spent most of the morning at the table acting like artists; me painting some elaborate flowers, Max painting some shapes that slightly resembled machinery, and Brea painting our family and friends, complete with Johnny included. Both kids stated that their art was for Johnny, which made me smile. They were smart, kind kids and it made me very proud.