Relentless

107

"What are you doing?" Colby asked as I sat on the floor with my paints all around me.

"Making Mia and I's Halloween costumes." I said and held up the purple bra and long sleeve yellow onesie.

We only had a few days left until Halloween at this point so I couldn't procrastinate on our costumes anymore.

"Oh...yeah you should model your costume for me...ya know..for scientific reasons." He said and pointed to the bra I was holding, "relax, Brock. You'll see it on Sunday." I said as he sat down next to me. "Fine, you want some help?" He asked as I started pouring some blue paint onto the paper plate I had laid out in front of me.

"Hmmm...just keep me company." I said and smiled at him. "Will do. Is Mia taking a nap?" He asked as I started painting blue stripes on the onesie, "yeah, she had an eventful morning of snacking and watching tv with me." I said with a laugh as I frowned.

"Can you pull up a picture of flounder..I don't think I know what he looks like." I said with a laugh. "Yeah, I think what you have going on is good so far though." He said as I shrugged, "it's gotta be perfect..everyone is watching." I said with a sigh as he showed me his phone.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, baby." He said as I concentrated on painting the onesie perfectly. "It's just nerve wrecking having so many eyes on you...especially under these circumstances. There's a lot of pressure." I said and bit my lip.

"I know..everything is going to be okay. I know the closer it gets to the release date the more nervous you'll be but I'm here to hype you up." He said and kissed my head. "What if nobody likes it.." I mumbled and chewed on my lip as I finished Mia's costume.

"I really don't see that happening..you're amazing Cora. Also you said Mia liked it and Mia is a tough critic so I think you're fine." He said as I grabbed the purple bra I was going to paint.

"Yeah, I just feel so jittery...I'll feel better once it's out." I said and shook my hands out so I could paint without them shaking.

"I seriously can't wait to hear it, Cor. It's going to be amazing." Colby said softly. "I hope so...shit what time does my dad land?" I asked and looked up at the clock.

"We have to leave in an hour, we have time." He said as I nodded and started to paint the bra to look like shells. "I'm excited to see him." I mumbled and focused on my painting. "I bet he's excited to see you, too." He said and brushed my hair from my face.

I finished the costumes then cleaned everything up so we could go to the airport to pick up my dad.

"Good morning sweet girl." I cooed as I pulled Mia out of her crib. "Mama." She mumbled and rested her head on my chest, "we are gonna go see papa, honey. Do you wanna see papa?" I asked as she yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Papa." She said as I carried her out into the living room, "yeah, then we are getting meatballs. Remember how yummy those were?" I asked and kissed her head. "Yummy." She said as Colby came over to us. "You girls ready?" He asked as Mia looked up at him sleepily.

"Dada." She said as he smiled and rubbed his thumb along her cheek, "hi princess, ready to see papa?" He asked as she smiled, "ya." She said as we started making our way to the car.

"So how's party planning going?" I asked Colby as we started driving to the airport. "None of your concern." He said and scrunched his nose as he squeezed my hand. "Should I be nervous?" I asked as he nodded, "oh absolutely." He said as I frowned.

"Nothing huge Colby...I'm serious." I said feeling a little nervous. "Don't worry about it, Cor. I know what you like. Just trust me." He said with a laugh, "okay...okay..I trust you." I said and looked forward as he kissed my hand.

When we pulled up to the terminal, my dad was outside waiting with his bag in his hand, "hey dad!" I yelled and got out of the car so I could hug him, "hey squirt!" He said and rocked me back and forth as he squeezed me tightly.

"Hey dad." Colby called out from the drivers side. "Hey Colby, how are you?" Dad asked as I grabbed his bag to put in the trunk. "I'm doing pretty good, you better hurry up and get in the car before Mia explodes." Colby said with a laugh as my dad opened the backdoor,

"PAPA!!!" Mia screamed as I chuckled and shook my head, "hey kiddo, did you miss me?" Dad asked as she giggled. "MISS YOU." She said as we both got in the car. "I missed you too...all of you." Dad said as we started our drive to Vinny's.

"How have you been?" I asked as he sighed, "busy, works been rough. I'm still on a break with Michelle, but we hang out occasionally. I don't know...North Carolina is pretty boring." He said as I frowned.

"Would you consider moving out here? We really miss having you around...plus Vinny is here.." I said and twisted my ring nervously. "No, I don't think your old man would fit in around here." He said as I shook my head.

"Sure you would, there's a place for everyone in LA." Colby said and took my hand in his, slowly rubbing it with his thumb. "I don't know...I think I'm more of a small town guy..although I would love to live closer to this precious girl." He said as Mia giggled.

"Yeah, she really loves you." I said quietly and brushed my hair behind my ear as Colby pulled into the parking lot.

"Just promise me you'll think about maybe moving out here?" I begged as we got out of the car, "I'll think about it." He said and took Mia out of her car seat so she could hug him.

I nodded and laced my fingers through Colby's as I took deep breath. I really didn't like the idea of my dad being alone on the east coast now that Vinny was here and he wasn't really dating Michelle anymore.

I felt bad again for leaving him alone.

"Hey, it's okay." Colby said gently and kissed my head as I started to hyperventilate, "I just need a minute." I whispered as we walked into the restaurant.

I wanted to go straight to the bathroom so I could calm myself down but it would be rude of me, so I just painted a smile on my face.

"Is that Dan?!" Vinny's voice boomed through the restaurant, "hey brother." Dad said and hugged Vinny as Mia squealed in his arms, "FOOD." She said knowing that if we were here we were going to get fed.

I shook my head and kept the smile plastered on my face as Colby rubbed my hip gently. "Hi Vinny...I don't mean to be rude, I just need to use the bathroom." I said quietly, trying to hide the shake in my voice.

"Okay sweetie, you know where it is." He said and nodded with a smile, then turned to talk to my dad.

I walked to the bathroom trying to keep my pace steady so I wouldn't worry anyone, but as soon as the door closed to the bathroom I let out a shaky breath and started to hyperventilate again.

I don't know what was wrong with me...I was just so worried about my dad that I couldn't take it anymore.

I was unwraveling again.

It's your fault he's lonely.

If you weren't so crazy he would still be with Michelle.

You're the reason he's miserable.

I crumbled against the wall as tears fell down my cheeks. I hated that this was happening right..I hate that I was still broken.

I cried for a minute before I was able to stand up and look in the mirror. "You can do this, Cor. Be a badass." I said and pointed to myself before turning the sink on and splashing my face with water.

This weekend was supposed to be happy. Seeing my dad was supposed to be happy.

I just needed to be happy.

I dried my face off and took a deep breath before opening the door and going to the table. I smiled at the sight of Mia coloring with my dad as Colby looked up and smiled at me.

"You okay?" Colby mumbled as I slid into the both next to him, "I'm okay." I said quietly and smiled at him as Mia held up a crayon to me, wanting me to take it. "Thank you sweetheart." I said then drew a heart on her paper.

When our food came out it felt like I was back home in North Carolina. It was a bittersweet feeling because I knew where we were and although I loved LA and it gave me everything I could ever want...

It just wasn't the same as being home.