CHAPTER FOURTEEN
London coils into her seat as she colours the unicorn's mane deep purple. I select a dark pink crayon and place it beside her hand.
"What about some pink highlights?"
"Um." She ponders. "Alright."
She drops the purple crayon and picks the pick one. She presses harder to make the dark pink pill in the spaces she missed with the purple.
"You did this to yourself," Blake shouts.
London slips a little more under the table and sighs. Her blue eyes meet mine as she blinks away the tears. I place my hand on hers and softly stroke her skin.
"She's my daughter, not yours," she retorts.
"Then where the hell have you been then? London's been asking about you for weeks."
"It's none of your business. I'm here, aren't I?"
London's lip quivers and my heart clenches. She places the crayon in the colouring box and rests her head on my chest. I wrap an arm around her body and lace my fingers through her hair.
"It is scary when they fight."
"There's nothing to be scared about, they're just, eh, talking through some things."
"You can't keep dropping in and out of her life because it's hurting her. For once, can you think about anyone else but yourself?"
"I can't believe you're calling me selfish! You're the one who had them take my daughter away, my daughter. I'm her mother, her actual mother. You are not her father and you'll never be her father."
"You're a mother?" He erupts with laughter. "Where were you when she needed you? You left me to raise her when you couldn't do it. I'm more of a parent than you'll ever be."
Tori sops while I squeeze London tighter.
"Next time you leave, leave for good," he growls.
"Let's water the veggie garden outside."
"Okay." She nods.
I stand up and her legs wrap around my waist. She nuzzles her face into the crook of my neck and sniffles. London grips onto my shirt and whimpers.
"Everything is going to be okay." I pat her back.
We move outside and I close the sliding door. You can still hear their voices but it's muffled.
I place her on the grass and she clings to my leg as we walk to the hose. She grabs her pink watering can and places it by my feet. I fill the can halfway and she carries it to the garden patch.
London dumps the water on the seedlings and smiles.
"One day, we're going to have heaps of vegetables!"
"Mm, that'll be yummy."
"Do you want to look for oranges? I bet we could pick a couple today for afternoon tea."
"Yes." She nods.
London skips to the orange tree and I swing her into the air. She points at an orange and I nod, so she picks it and holds it close to her chest.
"When will Mummy and Daddy stop fighting?"
"Soon, baby girl! They're worried about how to take care of you."
"Don't make me leave." Tears swell in her blue eyes. "I want to live here with you. Mummy cries all the time and she gets angry at me."
I brush the tears from her cheeks and kiss her nose.
"You won't have to leave again, I promise."
We collect three more oranges from the tree and wander into the house. London clings to my torso, so I carry her into the kitchen and we place the oranges on the counter.
"Can you help me peel these?"
"Yeah." She nods.
I place London on the counter and we peel the oranges. She peels a bit of the skin off before handing me the orange and giggling.
"That's a good effort!" I grin.
Once the oranges are peeled, London bites into a slice and squeezes her eyes.
"Is it sour?" I burst with laughter.
"It's delicious." She grins.
She takes another bite and the juice dribbles down her chin.
Tori walks into the kitchen and brushes tears from her cheek. Blake storms past her and removes the shopping list from the fridge and shoves it into his pocket.
"Daddy look, we found oranges."
He relaxes as a smile slides onto his lips. Blake stands in front of her and grins.
"These look delicious! Can I have one?"
"Yes." She grabs a slice and Blake opens his mouth.
"Mm, delicious!" He grins.
Blake kisses her head and takes a few more slices before grabbing his wallet and keys from above the cupboard.
"Be good while I'm gone, I love you both."
Blake kisses our foreheads before racing out of the house. Tori leans against the bench and tugs on a smile. Her eyes are still red and blotchy from crying.
"Can I have a slice?"
"No." London shakes her head.
"How about some colouring in?" She eyes the table.
London frowns, so I poke her sides to make her giggle.
"I thought you were making a get-well card for Buttercup because she was feeling unwell."
"Oh, Buttercup is fine."
"What about a tea party? I can make a watermelon and mint ice tea." I grin.
"Can I play with the tea pots?"
"Yes you can." I nod.
"Hm, okay."
I place London on the floor and she goes into the end cupboard and pulls the tea seat out. We decided to buy a second hand tea set so that London can practice her pouring skills whilst having fun. I've consumed a lot of tea because of it.
London hands me the tea pot and I fill it with cold water. I toss the tea bag in and she carries it outside. Tori takes the tea cups and lingers in the doorway.
"Aren't you coming?"
"No, you spend time with her."
"Thanks."
A smile slides across my lips as London giggles. I wish I could protect her from the pain but that's the hardest part about being a parent, you can only hold them when they cry.
I grab meat and vegetables from the fridge and chop them up. It's tossed into the slow cooker with stock that smells delicious.
Tori places the tea set on the counter and bites her lip. Tears trickle down her cheek which makes my heart clench. I slide a box of tissues down and she bolts her cheeks.
"I don't know how I ended up with the short end of the stick. She my daughter and I'm not raising her like I should be. She calls you mum, and she's confused."
Anger courses through me but I stare at the table and sigh. I can't lose my cool in front of Tori because it isn't worth upsetting that sweet little girl.
"Of course youdon't say anything," she grumbles, "you took everything from me. London, Blake, the house, the life I was supposed to have. I bet you think you're better than me."
Her comments hit me harder than a slap to the face.
"You had three men waiting to give you everything, but you screwed around and lost them all, including my brother! So yes, I think I'm better than you, and I think it's ridiculous how you treat your daughter which you claim to care so much about."
Tori glares as my heart pumps adrenaline through me.
"If you want to be a good mother, then stop running away every time something bad happens. Stop complaining, play with your daughter and actually be there for her."
"Where do you get off saying this to me? You're no better than me."
"When will you learn?"
Tori points her nose into the air and I groan.
She's never going to learn, and so I'm happy London is growing up with us as her parents because she needs a stable environment, people who love her.
I walk around the counter and tug on a smile for Lo.
"Come inside, it's time for a bath."
London pouts as she looks at the tea seat.
"We can have a tea party in the bathroom."
"Yay," she cheers.
London collects the tea seat and walks inside. I take the items from her and look at Tori.
"Say goodbye to your other mother because she's leaving."
"But I have another twenty minutes."
"No, you don't."
Tori gasps but I stand firm.
She sinks to London's level and the crocodile tears being. London is tugged to her chest and she whispers how much she misses her.
We escort Tori to the front door, and thankfully, she leaves without a fuss.
Logan would be horrified if he saw the way Tori was acting.
She snapped, and I love it! Next chapter on Tuesday 😊💕