Addison POV:
I heard my ringtone sound and immediately lunged for the phone. Before I could pick it up, Amelia slapped my arm, grabbing the phone with her free hand.
"No," she said. "You can't keep doing this to yourself."
"Amy, what if it's her?" I protested.
"Addie, you know I want it to be but I just don't think you can keep getting your hopes up. She might not text back."
"So what? You're suggesting I give up?" I snapped.
"No, Addie. Of course not. I'm just worried for you. You need to take care of yourself too. You've got two kids to care for, as well as a demanding career, and now this," she replied.
"I know," I sighed. "Just- let me have the phone," I said softly.
"Okay," she said, giving it up.
I looked at the phone, the pit that was momentarily filled with hope sinking back into its emptiness.
"Addie?" Amy tried.
"It's coop. He's confirming times for the party."
"I'm sorry," Amy said, wrapping her arm around me and leading me to the couch.
It was late at this point, and both kids had gone to bed.
"Can you stay?" I asked Amelia.
"Of course," she replied.
"You've always been truer than my 'real' family," I smiled softly.
"Hey that's my line," she said, nudging me. "Love you Addieee."
"Love you too," I smiled, nuzzling my head into her lap.
"And I'm taking this for myself," she winked, taking my phone into her lap and turning the ringer off.
I rolled my eyes before giving up my fight, setting my focus on rerun of Criminal Minds on the TV.
**
We stayed together in comfortable silence for about 2 hours, blowing through a good 2 and a half episodes of the show. Amelia insisted it was a sin to leave the episode half watched, but I had an early morning at work tomorrow.
I stood up to head to my room, and Amelia to hers. Even though she moved out, she'll always have a room here. Before going our separate ways, Amy handed me my phone. The screen lit up as I tapped the screen, seeing a message notification for 50 minutes passed.
It was from Mer.
"Amy," I said, pulling her arm my way before she could keep on her way. "Mer messaged."
"And?" she replied, raising her eyebrows expectantly.
I read the message silently before handing her the phone to read for herself.
// Addie, I'm sorry to have left you waiting so long. I miss you very much. I just don't know if I can make things right. I don't want to hurt you more than I have. Send Clara my love. //
Amelia handed the phone back, saying nothing. I opened the space bar, typing out my reply.
// I don't think I can do this without you. //
Clara POV:
I walked down the steps on Thursday morning to see Mom, Auntie Amy, and Cora down stairs completely focused on decorating. I remained undetected by the trio as I watched them hang a variety of pink and purple balloons, daisy streamers, and set out pots of flowers. Not until Amelia moved the flower pot to the living room did she see me poking my head out from behind the couch.
"Have you been hiding?" She asked, smiling. "Have you been hiding?" She asked again, now launching a full blown tickle attack.
"No!" I begged, laughing.
"Hmmm," she replied, still going. "I didn't hear that."
"N-no!" I said louder, as my stomach got tired from all the laughing.
"Ohhh ok," she winked, stopping and pulling me up onto her hip. "Are you excited for the party today?"
"Yes," I responded.
"Guess what?" she asked.
"What?"
"Arizona's making you a lemon cake," she smiled.
"No way," I smiled shyly.
"Yes way. It's gonna have daisies on it," she added.
Daisies have always been my favorites. I call them 'happy flowers'. They look like tiny suns.
Amy then moved us both into the kitchen where Mom was cutting the pineapple.
"Good morning!" I sang
"More like good afternoon!" she laughed.
"Hey, it's only 11:30," Amelia defended. "She still made it to morning."
"Sureee," she replied.
"What time is everyone coming?" I asked.
"Not until around five," she replied. "I just wanted to get everything ready early rather than later. It's gonna be nice out today too."
"Yea, do you want to go to the beach for a little while?" Cora chimed in.
"Of course," I smiled, already loving how this day was starting.
"Okay," she smiled. "Go put your swimsuit on and I'll be ready in 20!"
*
Soon enough, the two of us made our way down to the beach. I held tightly to the bags of sandwiches and fruit that Cora had made while she carried the towels and sunscreen. While Cora's dark skin didn't burn as easy, I am incredibly pale for someone who literally lives on the beach!
I stood as the waves crashed over my feet. As the water rode out with the tide, I thought about how mama always said that it reminds her of Mer's eyes. I missed Auntie Mer.
"I'm hungry," Cora said, breaking me out of my head before my thoughts continued to spiral. "I'll race you to the sand," she smiled.
I immediately ran off, not giving her any time to catch up.
"Hey! No one said start!" she called.
"Too bad!" I laughed.
"Ok miss sassy," she laughed back with her eyebrows raised.
"What can I say? I spend a lot of time with Auntie Amelia."
"That checks out," she smiled, nodding her head.
We ate our sandwiches in comfortable silence until a voice called out to us.
"Hey girls!" Mama called. "Time to go back in to start getting ready! People will be here soon."
"Ok!" I called back.
We packed up our things and headed back up the sand, dusting our feet off before going in the house.
"Race ya up the stairs," Cora said, immediately taking off and leaving me in the dust.
"Hey!" I called after her.
"Paybacks!"
Addison POV:
*2 Hours Later*
"Hey Zona, can you grab me the salad," Amelia asked.
"Oh look at you being all healthy," Cooper mocked, a plate full of chicken nuggets and mac and cheese in front of him. Charlotte rolled her eyes.
"Hey," he said to his wife. "Kids know where it's at!"
"Whatever," Charlotte laughed.
The adults sat together at the dining table, while Clara and her friends sat together on the small pink table off to the side. The party was a big hit so far! And as always, Callie's cooking is amazing! Pete also cooked the potatoes and chicken wings which were also great!
"Hey everyone," I said, tapping the side of my glass with my fork to get everyone's attention. "I just wanted to thank you all for all your support of Clara and I. I am so proud to get to be her mother officially, and I am so grateful to have amazing friends to be with us. You guys are my family. So, let's all make a toast to the girl of the evening!"
With that, the glasses and cups were raised up to toast my girl. She blushed from across the room as I smiled at her, giving her a wink.
After dinner, the chatting continued, now more spread out. Some people were outside, while the girls were in the living room singing to Taylor Swift. Callie tried to put on some Latin and 80's music but Sofia shut that down immediately. I wonder when Clara will grow into the "I'm embarrassed of mom" phase.
As I sat watching the events, I heard the doorbell ring. Charlotte gave me a half smile as I walked to the door to answer. Mer was on the other side of the door. Instead of letting her inside, I stepped out of the house, closing the door behind me to meet her on the front steps.
"Addie," she began.
Suddenly the sadness that had been masking my other feelings faded away to reveal the anger I had towards her for her walking out.
"You should've called," I said simply, cutting her off.
"I know," she began. "I'm sorry. For everything. And you're right. I should've stopped being an ass and picked up the phone."
"I didn't think you were coming back," I added, turning away so she couldn't see the tear fall that I was trying so desperately to hold in.
"I'm here now. I hope it's not too late."
"Me too," I sighed. "Here, come in. Clara will be happy to see you."
I opened the door, letting her in the house. The only people who knew about our situation were Cora, Charlotte, and Amy. Clara immediately ran to Mer upon seeing her, wrapping her into a big hug. That's what I thought my reaction would be. I felt a pang of guilt that it wasn't.
As she greeted the others, I could feel Amelia and Charlotte's eyes on me, as if to ask if I was okay.
"Mommy! Auntie Mer's here!" Clara smiled excitedly.
"I know baby," I smiled back, before turning away and sitting down on the couch.
Amelia turned to me in conversation.
"Well, there's something I didn't see coming."
A/N: Thanks for reading! While I would love to jump right back into happy MerAdd, I just don't think that would be realistic with all these characters have gone through. I hope you are enjoying! <3