tw ⚠️
We're currently on our way home from the mall. I just took Francesca shopping because we haven't done it in a while. Imogen decided to stay at home with Ben, while Leonel was at Taylor's hanging out with Ronan and his sister Juliet. Dalton's at work, so it's just the two of us.
"Mom, can we stop by and get some ice cream?" Francesca asked. "Sure."
I drove to the ice cream shop and pulled up. We went inside the shop and ordered our ice cream. We then had our ice cream. Just as we were about to leave, I heard a voice from the other side of the room.
"Oh my gosh, Ariana Grande, is that you?" a girl screamed and all heads turned towards me.
"Hi," I smiled.
"Oh my gosh, this can't be real!" the same girl squealed. I approached her and gave her and her little sister a hug.
"Hi Francesca," the younger girl smiled.
"Um, hi," Francesca said shyly. Unlike Imogen, Francesca had always been a little shy around the media. She's mostly an introvert, but she's gonna be loud around the right group of people.
"You're both so pretty," the girl complimented. "Thanks, you're both pretty too."
"I love Imogen's new album so much, I guess talent really runs in the family."
"Thank you so much, she's gonna appreciate it," I smiled.
"Can we have a picture?"
"Sure," I smiled. We then took a picture. They said thank you and we parted. We went back to the car and I began driving home.
"Mom, why is it so hard for me to socialize with people? What's wrong with me?" Francesca asked sadly.
"Francesca, there nothing wrong with you, baby girl. Who told you something's wrong with you? We all have problems socializing at some point."
"Everyone in class told me that, no one wants to be my friend. They're all calling me a spoiled little diva, they're accusing me of not wanting to hang out with them because I'm a pop star's daughter when in real life, I'm just anxious around people," she started to cry and my heart shattered.
"I'm so sorry, Francesca, I didn't know," I cooed. Right now, I wanted to give her the biggest hug, but I couldn't, because I was driving.
"That wasn't the worst part," she sniffled, "they told me that I'm just a mistake. Someone even told me that I'm not even your child because I'm so different from the rest of the family."
"Francesca, that's not true, baby girl. Your dad and I had always wanted three kids. You're the child we were trying hard for. You're the child that makes our family complete. You know, I had been struggling with infertility for years. Doctors told me that I can't get pregnant, even if I do, it's likely to end in a miscarriage. I've had two miscarriages, both happening before you were born, one in 2018 and one in 2022. After my second miscarriage, I was discouraged from trying for another child but somehow had Leonel. Your dad and I then decided to try for one more baby, but the doctor said that it's still risky and difficult for me to get pregnant. I had to take a bunch of medications to get my body ready. After many months of trying, I finally got pregnant with you and we were over the moon. I had a threatened miscarriage and nearly lost you, thank goodness you're alive."
"Really?" she asked with hope in her eyes. I smiled and nodded.
"You're really strong, I didn't know you had to go through all that," she said quietly.
"I had actually given up twice," I confessed, "I had two suicide attempts and survived both. I was okay on my first, since I was caught before I did anything, but I nearly died on my second. I was in a coma for two weeks, and the doctor said that I wouldn't make it. Your dad had even signed a consent form to get me off life support, but I woke up last minute. Your dad and Imogen are still traumatized by it, that's why they're both really clingy. I'm still haunted by guilt, because I put them through hell. Do you know why I often struggle to remember new things?"
She shook her head.
"It's a result of my suicide attempt. I overdosed really badly and my brain was damaged. I wish I didn't give up back then."
"I'm so sorry Mom, you're really strong despite everything that happened, I wish I could be as strong as you."
"I'm really proud of you," I smiled. I pulled up at the driveway and we got out of the car. I wrapped my arms around her and wiped her tears away.
"Don't let those bullies get in your way, they're not worth your tears," I said to her and she lightly nodded. I unlocked the door and we went into the living room. Imogen and Ben were nowhere around. That's when I heard soft moans coming from the second floor. I was pretty sure Francesca heard them too, because she was giving me a funny look. I could tell that she was trying hard to hold in her laughter.
"Oh my gosh, disgusting," she scrunched up her face and I laughed.
"Oh Francesca," I giggled, "you know that's normal when you're a grownup right?"
"Um yeah, but I didn't know teenagers do that too," she blushed.
"Actually, I was also 15 when I first had sex," I told her and her eyes went wide.
"Does sex hurt?" she asked shyly.
"It might hurt your first time, you might also bleed, but once you're used to it, it should feel good. It might also hurt if you haven't done it in a while or if he's huge."
"So if the guy has a big you know, it's going to hurt all the time?"
"You're gonna get used to it after a while."
"Are you talking about Dad?" she asked and I blushed. "How do you know?"
"I just figured it out because your album Positions sounds really horny," she laughed and I turned red.
"I knew it," she giggled. She knew way too much for a ten-year old. I heard Imogen's bedroom door creak open and she went downstairs with Ben. She was walking in a pretty weird way, just like how I would walk after Dalton railed me. When they saw me and Francesca, they both turned red. I decided not to say a thing or embarrass them, since having sex is a normal thing to do for couples.
"Um, hi Mom, when did you come home?" she asked.
"Around ten minutes ago," I answered. They both looked at each other and turned red.
"Hey, don't worry about it, it's a normal thing for couples, you know?" I reassured.
"Um, yeah, but please don't tell Dad," she begged. "I won't, don't worry."
"Promise?"
"Promise."