{sotc to be added later}
Mack opened her eyes, feeling disoriented and confused. Looking around, she realized she was in her room - more specifically she was in her bed. Was that a dream? She lifted the covers, finding herself in pajamas she didn't remember putting on. What the fuck?
Shaking her head, she climbed out of bed and put her feet into the slippers that stayed beside her bed. The room was dark, even the led lights under her bed were off and she normally left them on. She looked around but she was alone in the room. How did she get here?
She sat back on the edge of the bed. She remembered going into Camdens room and finding the letters. She vaguely remembered fainting, she thinks. Had Zayn been writing to the boys this whole time? Camden had to know if they were in his room but did Coastas know? Was he okay? Was Camden? She attempted to clear her head and shake the thoughts away as the door to her room opened, revealing a stressed out Ashton.
"Hey Doll, you're awake."
"What happened? Did you change my clothes?"
Ashton awkwardly shuffled between his feet, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. "Yes I did, I didn't know how long you'd be out for and I honestly don't think that's a conversation for you and I to have."
Mack tilted her head, "What are you talking about?"
Ashton left the room again and before Mack had a chance to follow him, her twins came into the room each carrying stacks of papers. "Hi babies."
"Hi Momma," they answered quietly in unison.
It was silent for a few seconds; the two boys sharing looks, almost debating in their own unspoken language. Mack looked expectantly at the two children, waiting for one of them to make the first move.
Camden took a deep breath and stepped forward to his mother, delicately holding out the stack of papers in his hands. "Daddy has written to us every week since he left. Tia Leslie was giving us the letters but now that you're not friends, Auntie Isabel was bringing them. They stopped when you and Ashton kissed."
Coastas handed Mack the stack he held before stepping back behind his brother. Mack didn't know if she was more shocked about the papers she now held or the fact that her normally loud-mouthed, pomeranian of a son was stone cold silent. She looked down at the letters in her hands, vaguely skimming through a few of them. They were all kind. Most of them were just Zayn checking in - on the boys, on her, on their wellbeing. A few times, he mentioned a young girl, his daughter.
"You two know about your sister?" Mack asked, lowering herself onto the couch and trying to control her breathing.
"Yes Mama." Coastas nodded, not looking up from the floor.
"Please don't be mad at us. Coastas just found out today but I've always gotten the letters." Camden took a determined step in front of his brother and Mack's heart swelled watching her boys stand up for each other - then immediately deflated when she realized it was against her.
She placed the letters on the coffee table in front of her and waved her boys to come to her. Each twin climbed up and snuggled into a different side of their mother. Mack wrapped her arms tightly around both of them.
"My sweet boys. I would never be upset with you for having contact with your father. I shouldn't have made our personal grown up issues a problem for you two to figure out. It wasn't fair to you. What happened between me and your Dad was something that hurt Momma a lot, but I should not have made him a villain to you guys. He always loved you."
She paused to kiss each boy on the top of their curls. "Now, with that being said I wish you boys had just come to me and told me, we could've done this together. Tia Leslie and Auntie Isabel did not need to be involved in these things and I will be talking to Auntie Isabel about this after you. I am your Momma, it is my job to be involved in your lives - especially about something this big. If you want to talk to your Dad, we should've done it together. We could've FaceTimed him or we could've visited. That's not your fault though, I should've always given you that option, and we have it now. I'm sorry babies, I did not do a good job with this. I promise to be better."
Coastas sniffled beside his mom, "I love you Mama. I love you very very much. I love Ashton and Issac too. But I want to meet my big sister, and I want to see my real dad."
Mack nodded rapidly, "Of course baby, of course. I'll get in contact with him in the morning and we can figure all that out then okay?"
Both boys nodded.
"Okay, can you guys go to your playroom or your rooms while I talk to Auntie?" They nodded again and off they went running.
Mack took a few moments to compose herself before she felt a level of rage rise in her that she didn't realize she had. Stomping downstairs, she slowed when she heard voices in the kitchen. She wanted to have learned her lesson about being nosy but instead she tiptoed and stood beside the doorway listening. She could recognize Isabel's voice, obviously, but there was a new voice she wasn't registering.
"-anyway, fuck if I know where he went. I just wanna see you again. I've been so bored here, ugh. I miss you." Isabel had pitched her voice slightly higher, like the girls Mack and her had made fun of so many times before. Mack held a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.
"I know babe, I'll see you soon enough. You're gonna do what I said right? You always take care of what I need."
That voice was not the voice of Glen, her boyfriend of two years, so who was on the other line? Immediately Mack felt sick to her stomach, this wasn't right. No, this wasn't right at all.
"Of course baby, you take care of me, I take care of you. But I gotta go now, I heard someone on the stairs earlier."
Mack backtracked to the last step and then entered her kitchen as if she hadn't heard that whole conversation. "We have to talk. Now."
She walked around the island so they could look at each other head on. There was an unfamiliar fire between the two that hadn't been there ever. Anyone looking in from the outside would think these two were lifelong rivals which had never been the case.
Isabel, failing to not to be suspicious, looked up and flipped her phone over. She's never done that before. When she saw Mack looking at it, she flipped it back over and let the screen rest upwards but left her hand close to it, hoping she could catch anything that might happen.
"Were you delivering letters from Zayn to my kids without talking to me about it?"
Isabel rolled her eyes. "He's their dad."
"Were you. Delivering letters. To my kids. Without. Talking to me. First."
Isabel's phone dinged with a text.
t
you got anything yet?
She locked the screen and faced Mack again.
"You're being dramatic. They're not just your kids."
Mack's eyes widened and she took a calming breath that did nothing.
"I'm sorry, was Zayn there holding them after every nightmare? Doing whatever he could to make ends meet? Killing himself to keep a roof over their heads? Was Zayn there when Camden got chicken pox? Was Zayn there when Coastas had the flu?"
"Those things don't matter. Didn't realize we were playing Parent Bingo. He tried to be there for his kids and I helped. You're mad for no reason. You're always mad for no reason."
Isabel's phone pinged again.
t
need info b4 2mrw, get back to me asap
Mack looked from the phone to Isabel and rolled her eyes. "Do you need to get that or?"
"There you go again, mad for no reason. Is Ashton not fucking you or what? What's going on?"
Mack let out an incredulous laugh. "What's going on is a person I thought was my best friend is doing shady shit behind my back and just expects me to be okay with it and somehow I'm the bad guy when I'm," Mack paused to gasp and do jazz hands, "shocker! Not okay with it."
"You're mad that I let my nephews reunite with their father. You sound insane."
Isabel's phone went off again and she groaned and walked into the living room, finally answering it.
Mack's shock couldn't even be explained. "WE'RE NOT DONE!" She followed behind Isabel with a fervor. Isabel stood in front of the fireplace and Mack stood behind the couch, angrily placing both hands on the couch in front of her.
"YES WE ARE. Hello?"
"HANG UP THE FUCKING PHONE, WE'RE HAVING A CONVERSATION!"
"Give me one second hun, MACK IS LOSING HER SHIT BECAUSE SHE'S A SHIT MOTHER AND EVERYONE ELSE HAS TO PICK UP HER SLACK!"
Isabel paced back and forth in front of the fire. There was a look in her eyes Mack couldn't place. It was something between guilt and panic.
"I'M A SHIT MOTHER? REALLY? YOU FUCKED OFF FOR YEARS, THE BOYS BARELY KNEW THEY HAD AN AUNTIE ISABEL!"
"GOD FORBID ANYONE HAS A LIFE, yes you heard that right, she's a shit mother."
Mack chose to ignore the comment into the phone, she'd be invested in this fight too.
"I'M NOT SAYING YOU CAN'T HAVE A LIFE BUT FUCK WHAT IF WE WANTED TO BE APART OF IT?!"
"THAT WASN'T A CHOICE FOR YOU TO MAKE! IT'S MINE!"
"SO WAS THE CHOICE TO LET ZAYN BACK IN THEIR LIVES! IT WAS MY CHOICE! I AM THEIR MOTHER! YOU HAD NO MOTHERFUCKING RIGHT!"
Isabel choked out a spiteful laugh, rolling her eyes. She leaned her head back and snapped it forward again to face her 'sister'.
"OH YOU'RE BOLD TO TALK ABOUT RIGHTS! YOU KISSED ASHTON WHEN YOU KNEW HE WAS MARRIED!"
Mack was floored. Where the fuck was this coming from?
"That is not fair. You know that's not fair."
"SURE IT IS, YOU KNEW ASHTON WAS MARRIED, YOU KNEW HE WAS HAPPY BECAUSE HE TOLD YOU AND YOU STILL HAD TO FUCK THAT ALL UP, YOU FUCK EVERYTHING UP!"
Mack took a step back from the screaming match. She covered her mouth with her hand. She did not know who was standing in front of her anymore.
"You're the fucking worst Mack. Everything has to go your way or no way. Yeah, I did deliver Zayn's letters. He reached out to me and told me that he knew you would never let the boys talk to him after what happened with y'all and asked me to help get him in contact with his sons. You wanna be this big bad single mother, and you're weak. Everyone always has to step in and save poor Mack. You fucked Talia over just because you could."
Isabel made a show of hanging up the phone, and shoulder bumped Mack on her way out the door. "We can try this talk again tomorrow when you're willing to take some responsibility. Love you, mean it."
With that final statement, she slammed the door behind her. It felt like hours passed, but it had definitely only been a few moments before Ashton pulled a still shocked Mack into his arms. "I love you, that's why we're together. No other reason."
Mack nodded into his chest and took a deep breath. "I know. I love you too."
____________________________________________________________________________
hey babies
remember that time i called yall teasers? that was a yikes
also sorry i keep disappearing i literally have no excuse a bitch be going thru it lmaoooo i cant even really vent here like i used to about it either yike yikes
cute lil fam moment
not much ashton in this my bad
anyway whos ready for brunch? not i
love yall for trues
bh, asiah, a literal whore for takami hawks