.:Author's Note:.
Jonathan at the top. ❣️
Please excuse any mistakes. I'll properly edit this later.
***
Winston's POV:
"Can we get this shoot started?" Jonathan spoke quietly into my ear, causing me to jump since he seemed to appear out of nowhere. I quickly turned around to face him, immediately noting how he looked royally pissed off. "I want to get this over with."
"Yeah, sure we can." I answered after a few seconds. "I can tell the models to get into their demo outfits and have their makeup done. I'm sure we can finish in maybe two hours, hopefully, less. But something is bothering you. What's wrong, hon?"
Jonathan thought my question over before clenching his eyes tightly in frustration. "We'll talk about it after we finish here. Fuck, I need a blunt." He replied before walking away.
I frowned as I watched him leave, muttering something under his breath as he went. It probably wasn't the right time to point this out, but he was hot as hell when he was mad. Unfortunately, I had to dismiss that thought and focus on the fact that he most likely wasn't going to be in the right frame of mind today. Not only did I have to move today's events along quickly, but I also needed to get to the bottom of whatever had turned my boyfriend's mood sour. Fuck, it was going to be a stressful day.
"Okay, ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between, we need to get started. I want my models dressed and face beat in the next forty-five minutes." I called out, causing a large bustle of movement. "Everything you'll need is in the rooms. Our lights and background need to be set up in the meantime. I'll do rounds in about twenty minutes to make sure everyone is on track."
I received small choruses of understanding as everyone started doing what they needed to do. I searched through all of the chaos to find Jonathan, but he had successfully disappeared. After ten minutes, I figured he'd just show up when he was ready to. I did, however, send him a text letting him know that I needed him. Still no response.
"Excuse me." Someone voiced as they gave my shoulder a few, quick taps. I turned around to see who it was and came face to face with a short, brunette woman with long wavy hair. "Hi. I'm Amanda Vasiliev, the photographer. You must be Winston." She said with a smile.
"Yes, I'm Winston. It's nice to meet you. Vasiliev? Would you happen to be related to Marilyn?"
Amanda laughed as she nodded. "She's my wife."
"Oh." I said after a moment of surprise. "Wow. Not what I was expecting."
"Is that going to be a problem?" Amanda questioned, her demeanor suddenly changing from friendly to hostile.
"What? Of course not! This is the twenty-first century. Plus it would be hypocritical since my partner for this project also happens to be my boyfriend."
"You're dating Jonathan?!" She asked, now the one who seemed surprised.
"You know him?"
"Yes! Jonathan and I-"
"I would appreciate it if you didn't discuss personal matters in a place of work." Jonathan's gruff voice distracted me from the conversation I was having with Amanda. "Don't you have something to do, Mrs. Vasiliev?"
"I've been trying to find you for the longest!" I told him as he stopped beside me.
"Sorry, Win. I needed to go outside and catch some air."
"Jonathan, can we please talk?" Amanda cut in desperately before I could respond. I looked at the two in confusion. Now, more than ever, I was intrigued about how they knew each other. Were they ex-lovers?
"I have nothing to say to you, Amanda. Let's just remain professional and get the next few days over with quickly."
The way they spoke to each other made me believe that they were ex-lovers, who happened to end on bad terms. What the hell was up with people from the past just popping back up into our lives?
"Fine. I'll drop it for now. But we're working together; you can't keep blowing me off." Amanda said with a sigh.
"Oh yeah?" Jonathan laughed humorlessly. "Watch me."
***
Despite the hiccup when we began today, I'm happy to say that the demo photoshoot went surprisingly well. Jonathan was able to brush off whatever was on his mind in order to focus on getting the job done. We finished in record time, and around noon, we were able to let everyone go for the rest of the day.
Now it was Jonathan and I left, going through the pictures that Amanda had taken. They had yet to be photoshopped, but the raw images alone looked amazing. I knew my boyfriend wouldn't admit it, but Amanda had a way with a camera. Mr. Montego was right when he said she was the best in the business.
"Jonathan, do you think Mr. Montego wants to see a selective few of these pictures or should we just give him all?" I questioned, frowning seconds later when I didn't get a response. Looking up from the computer, I realized that Jonathan wasn't sitting beside me like I had originally thought. He wasn't even in the room.
Pushing the rolly-chair back from the desk, I got up in search for my partner. It didn't take me long to find him. All I had to do was follow the sound of his angry voice as he spoke to someone whom, as I got closer, found to be Amanda.
"I just want to see them. Please!" She was crying as she spoke to him.
"Over my dead body!" Jonathan snapped back, making her jump. I'm not going to lie, it sort of made me jump too. Angry wasn't even the proper word to describe him anymore. He was livid.
"Jonathan, please. You don't even have to tell them who I am."
"You are no one to them, Amanda. I refuse to welcome you back into their lives when you ran at the first sign of trouble."
It was totally wrong of me to be eavesdropping, but I couldn't help myself. It wasn't like they were being hush hush with their conversation anyway.
"You and I both know that I loved Miranda and those girls, but I couldn't stay. Leaving them in your care was the best decision I've ever made!" Amanda declared, eyes turning red with anger instead of sorrow. "But I'm back now, and I want to see my daughters!"
Oh, wait a minute...
"You may be the one that gave birth to them, Amanda, but you will never be their mother." Jonathan replied in a voice that was so icy cold, it made me shiver. "Don't you ever make the mistake of claiming them again, or I promise you, you'll be sorry."
I quickly and quietly snuck away after that, trying to process all of what I just overheard. Not only did the information leave me shocked, I was also slightly confused. Question after question began to run through my head. Did this mean that Amanda and Jonathan weren't involved romantically? What happened between all of them, including Miranda and the twins? What was going to happen next?
"Hey, you okay?" Jonathan's voice snapped me out of my thoughts as he placed his hands on my shoulder. I jumped, turning around to face him quickly.
"I should be asking you that." I teased despite how serious I was.
"Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine." He answered, making me frown. I pinned him with a look that made him internally sigh. "You heard?"
"Almost everything." I responded truthfully. "You two weren't exactly being quiet."
"I know." He sighed. "Listen, let's get these pictures to Mr. Montego and head back to my place for lunch. Macy is making meatball hoagies, and that gives me time to explain everything to you."
"Okay." I agreed before we packed up our things and headed out.
***
"What the fuck did you just say?!" Macy's incredulous question made me pause mid-bite into my meatball hoagie. I stared, wide-eyed as her calm composure turned angry in two-point-five seconds. It was almost scary. She really was related to Jonathan.
"You heard me, Pebbles." Jonathan sighed. "Amanda is back."
"Where is she? I want to kick that bitch's ass!"
"Okay, I get that you two have some history with this Amanda. But really, kicking her ass?" I asked with a laugh. Macy turned to me with a fierce glare that made me gulp. Before she could respond to me, Jonathan cut in.
"Pebbles, don't bite his head off." He chuckled. "I haven't explained the whole situation to him."
"Fine! I'll do it for you. That bitch, Amanda, walked out on our family when we found out that Miranda had cancer. She said some shit about being unable to handle her wife's sickness- knowing that she wasn't going to make it- and take care of kids she didn't really want in the first place. Can you fucking believe that? The day I see her is the day I'm going to rip her a new asshole. Fuck! Now I'm upset and can't even finish my hoagie!"
"You know what, how about you go take a break, Mace? Maybe have a nap. I'm sure all you just did was confuse Winston even more."
I didn't want to say it out loud, but that was true. Macy growled lowly as she rolled her eyes before taking up her sub and walking away.
"Fine, but I'm eating in my room." She called over her shoulder, causing Jonathan and me to laugh. Once she was gone, he pushed his hoagie to the side and turned to face me seriously. I did the same, placing my sole attention on him.
"I'm just going to lay everything out." He began, making me nod. "Okay. As you know, Miranda was- is- my best friend and Amanda is her ex-wife. About seven years ago, Miranda came to me asking if I would be their sperm donor since they wanted to have a baby. Of course, I agreed because who wouldn't do such a nice thing for their best friend? Anyways, for reason that I will say later, Miranda thought it would be best if Amanda were the one to get pregnant.
In the beginning, they both seemed so happy with the decision. They were even more ecstatic to find out that they were having twin girls. Months later, April and Alysa were born and they were the perfect family, in my eyes anyway.
But shit hit the fan when we learned that Miranda had uterine cancer. She tried to hide it, wanting to avoid treatment and let the disease kill her from the inside-out. No matter how much we pushed her to do something about it, she just wouldn't. She was as stubborn as a mule. I guess Amanda couldn't handle her wife's ready-for-death attitude because one day she just up and left.
The girls were barely one-year-olds. I couldn't let Miranda raise them on her own, deal with an MIA wife, and go every day knowing that it could possibly be her last, all at once. I had to step up from being their uncle to actually being their father. Macy and our parents helped as much as they could, but nothing prepared us for when Miranda kicked the bucket three years later.
I'm glad that she got to spend at least four years with her girls, but I can't help but be sort of mad at her for knowing that she could've gotten treatment and spend much more time with them. Still, she left me with the greatest gifts I could ever ask for, my girls, and I would never try to shame her name.
Amanda, on the other, I would gladly piss on her grave. She's got a lot of nerve just popping back up and asking to see the twins like she has a fucking right. I want my girls to believe that their mother was someone who loved them unconditionally, not someone who abandoned them at the first sign of inconvenience." Jonathan finished with a tired sigh.
"Are you going to be able to work with her?" I asked after taking a moment to process everything.
"I will if she doesn't bring up my kids again." He answered, a slight bite in his tone.
It fell deathly quiet between us after that. I watched as Jonathan tried to hide the fact that his eyes were red with tears that he refused to let fall. Placing my hand on his, I gave him a comforting squeeze, unable to really say anything. He returned my gesture with a stressed smile, eyes crinkling as he looked down at his sub.
In that moment, I realized that Jonathan had just as much weight on his shoulder as I did.