I sat outside Mom's apartment building, debating on whether I even wanted to get out of the car or not.

You need to.

You definitely don't need to.

I turned off my car and opened my door, stepping out of it. It looked as if there were even more people sitting outside, moping around, than last time I was here.

I let out a heavy sigh and walked to what used to be the place I called home, looking down at the doorknob. I wrapped my hand around it and twisted it, not being surprised when I was able to open it.

She never locks the goddamn door. Why does she never lock the door?

I opened the door and stood in the threshold, my eyes locked on her sitting at the table. I felt a sudden surge of anger rush over me.

"You're on your fucking phone, and you couldn't bother to call and see if we were alive?"

She looked up from her phone, taking a sip of her beer. "I could say the same about you."

"That is not my responsibility!" I yelled, "maintaining a relationship with you, that is not my job!"

"You are so much like your father," she laughed out, shaking her head, "thinking yelling gets a point across."

"Do you even care about Charlie and Thomas?" I asked, shaking my head.

"I'm sure you figured it all out, didn't you? I'm sure they're good. I'm sure you found a way to take care of them and yourself, because you're Superman, aren't you?"

"You're drunk," I angrily said, slamming the door shut behind me.

"You're a liar," she sneered.

"I'm counting six beer bottles sitting in front of you. You're drunk."

"For your information, I've only had three. Those are from last night."

"So impressive," I deadpanned.

"How are my boys?" She asked.

"They're not your boys," I said, shaking my head, "you lost being able to label them as your boys when you abandoned them."

"I did not abandon them," she said, pointing at me, "don't say that."

"You definitely did," I said, "when-when you leave your kids by themselves for hours with the door unlocked, yeah, I consider that to be abandoning them."

"Well, that's your opinion," she said, shrugging.

I watched her grab a clear bag and open it up, dumping out a white substance on the table. I chuckled, shaking my head.

"You're a junkie, Mom. You fit in great here."

"Watch your fucking mouth," she said, looking over at me as she separated her cocaine into lines.

"You know, Charlie and Thomas haven't even asked about you," I said, completely out of spite, "they don't care, Mom."

"Oh, really?" She laughed out.

"Really," I said, "you know, those kids finally feel loved. I'm watching them turn into kids I've never met before. Good kids, Mom. Thomas is trying in school now. Charlie's breaking out of his shell. They're good, and you don't even care enough to be happy for them."

"Why would I be happy for them?" She asked, shrugging, "they're not with me."

"Because you don't care!" I yelled, "you haven't even thought about texting me. Or calling me. You have done nothing. You had every opportunity in the world to do something, to get them back, but you did exactly what I thought you'd do. You chose the drugs, the alcohol, everything over them."

She looked over at me as she snorted a line, wiping her nose shortly after. "Yeah?"

"I wish I was surprised, Mom," I said, "I wish it came as more of a shock to me, but it doesn't. You've always been like this, and you will always be like this. But I'm not subjecting Charlie and Thomas to that ever again."

She nodded. "Well, good for you. Good for them. Good for everyone."

I bit down on my lip, nodding.

"You're gonna be getting some kind of papers, or something, soon. Charlie and Thomas are getting fostered."

"What?" She asked.

I shrugged. "You want your freedom, you're getting it."

"N-no," she said, standing up, "B-Brian-"

"It's too late to care, Mom," I said, taking a step back from her.

"Brian," she hoarsely said, "you can't."

I cleared my throat, looking away from her. "I can."

"Brian, no," she said, beating her hands against my chest, "you're not taking them from me."

I closed my eyes and simply let her, blinking back tears.

"No!" She sobbed, falling against me.

"They're not even yours to take anymore," I said, grabbing her shoulders to push her away from me.

She shook her head, her eyes angry and resentful.

"If you have any kind of love for them, you need to let it be," I said, my voice breaking, "they never deserved this."

She shook her head. "I deserve them."

I laughed, quickly wiping the tear from my cheek. "You have never deserved any of us."

Those words felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders, and I realized: I didn't deserve this. Not only did Charlie and Thomas not, but I didn't, either. I deserved something good, just like Charlie and Thomas.

"I'll see you around, Mom," I said, "take care of yourself."

"Brian, you're not leaving," she said, firmly grabbing my arm as I turned around.

I closed my eyes and sighed, ripping my arm away from her grasp. "Bye."

I opened the door and heard her scream my name one last time before I closed it behind me, making me sniffle and walk to my car.

~*~

"It's late," I worriedly said, biting down on my lip as I looked up at the decorative clock that didn't even work.

"He'll be back," Dad calmly said.

"You want me to go look for him?" Hero asked, looking over at me.

I shook my head. "No, thanks."

"You've got to understand, baby," Mom said, sitting next to Dad, "that was probably overwhelming for Brian. To have someone else offer to take the reigns for once. He's not used to that."

I bit down on my lip and sighed, resting my head in my hand. "Why did he-"

The door opened and I looked over at it, letting out a huge sigh of relief when I saw him step inside. I jumped up from the couch and ran over to him, attacking him with a hug.

"You freaking scared me," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"I'm sorry," he softly said, "and I'm sorry for getting frustrated with you earlier."

I rubbed the back of his neck, pressing a kiss to his cheek. I could smell the cigarette smoke and alcohol on him — I knew he'd gone back to his apartment.

"You okay?" I asked, looking up at him as I pulled away.

"Yeah," he said, grabbing both of my hands as he nodded, "I'm-I'm alright."

I smiled up at him and turned around, seeing everyone standing in the kitchen. Brian and I walked over to the island, earning Dad's eyes.

"You good?" He asked, "want something to eat? Drink?"

"I'm okay, thank you," he said.

Mom bit down on her lip. "Brian, we didn't mean to overstep."

"You didn't," he said, "I, um, I just panicked."

"I know," she said, nodding.

"Listen, I know the boys loved the offer," he said, nodding, "they'll love being here."

I looked up at him, my stomach in knots, because I knew he was about to break some kind of news that I had no desire to hear.

"But I can't," he softly said, shaking his head, "I just-I wouldn't feel comfortable living here. Not with me dating your daughter. I don't think that looks that great, to be honest. And I-I don't want you guys to think I'm, like, taking advantage of the situation to get closer to her-"

"Brian, no one thought that," Hero said, "man, come on."

"No," he said, "I, um, I found an uncle that I can live with. In the city. He's better off than Mom, and I'd just feel way more comfortable that way."

I sighed, folding my arms over my chest as I looked up at him. Why couldn't he just take the offer?

"I'm not going to try to push you into something you don't want to do," Dad said, "but the offer will always be on the table, just so you know."

"And I'll never be able to thank you enough for that," he said, "and for the boys. They deserve this."

"So do you," I firmly said, earning his eyes.

"Fran," he softly said, looking down at me.

I bit down on my lip and looked away, shaking my head.

"I'll still be around," he said, "I'll probably be here every day to see the boys."

"Yeah," I said, nodding as I placed my tongue in my bottom lip.

"You're always welcome here," Mom said, smiling a warm smile.

"Thank you guys for everything. Unfortunately, I think I struggled with knowing how exactly to respond to it."

Dad patted his shoulder as he walked past. "You should get some rest."

I let out a sigh, looking up at Brian. "So there's nothing I can say?"

He smiled down at me. "I'm sure there is, but I don't want you to try. It's better this way. I keep tip-toeing around you, being here all the time. I can go back to kind of the way I was before."

He wrapped his arms around my neck for a hug, and I accepted it, but still wondered why on earth Brian didn't think he was worthy of this.

~*~

"Where is Lily?" I asked, looking over at Fred.

"I haven't the slightest," he said, "probably somewhere with Josie, if I had to guess."

"I already checked her room," I said.

"Henry?"

"Yep," I said, "Lily!"

The upside of Fred and Alexis's home is that it was beautiful and ornate, but the downside — I got lost. Very easily. And so did Lily, apparently. Land nav didn't particularly run in the family.

I walked through the living room, letting out a heavy sigh. I stopped in my tracks when I saw her sitting outside, playing with her dolls.

I tilted my head over at the sight of Milo sitting in front of her, holding one of her dolls. I watched the corners of his mouth pull up into a smile, and that smile turned into a laugh.

I folded my arms over my chest and watched the pair for a few more seconds, but snapped out of it quickly. I opened the patio doors and cleared my throat, earning Lily's eyes.

"Hi, Mommy," she greeted, "look, Milo is playing dolls with me."

"I see that," I said, walking outside.

Milo looked up at me and smiled a warm smile, looking away quickly. "I got to play Moana."

"Um," I scoffed, squatting down, "you don't even let me touch your Moana doll."

Lily smiled a toothy grin at Milo. "Milo's special."

"That's a way to put it," I deadpanned, earning his eyes and a chuckle.

"Shots fired," he said, "wanna play with us?"

I looked down at him, fighting the bitter look on my face that I knew was there.

"Lily needs to get a bath soon," I said, nodding, "why don't you go inside and be getting everything ready?"

Lily leaned her head back with a sigh. "Mommy."

"I've been looking for you for thirty minutes with the goal of getting you a bath. Please go," I said, watching as she stood up.

She walked inside and I looked over at Milo, shaking my head. "What are you doing?"

"I'm playing dolls with her, Jesus Christ, Cecilia," he muttered, lifting himself up off of the ground.

I shook my head, standing upright. "O-okay, don't."

"I'm not allowed to play dolls with a child that specifically asks me to play dolls with her?"

"You're not allowed to get her attached to you," I said, looking up at him.

He chuckled, looking away from me.

"She doesn't need a father, Milo. She's got one."

"I'm not trying to be her father, Cecilia," he said, "but if we're on the topic, I sure as hell haven't seen him. Haven't heard of him."

"Because it's not your business. He is not your business."

"Cecilia, I will never play dolls with your child again. There. Are you happy?"

He attempted to brush past me, making me grab his arm. "You don't get to speak to me like that."

"You are a completely different person, Cecilia," he chuckled out, "you're a bitch to me, why can't I match that?"

"I was eighteen when you knew me," I said, "of course I'm different."

"And you're still blaming it on me," he said, nodding.

"I didn't blame it on you," I said, shrugging.

"Except for the fact that you have, every single time it's come up in conversation before."

I shook my head, looking away from him. "I don't care if you play dolls with her, but don't do that. Don't get her attached, like you do to literally everything that crosses your path."

He looked down at me, his eyebrows knitted together.

"Because I know you, Milo. You're going to leave in a week. You're going to go back to that life, that nine million miles an hour life that you live, and she won't hear from you again. She doesn't need any more inconsistency in her life."

"I've stuck around since the minute I saw you," he sneered, "I was supposed to be gone two weeks ago."

I looked up at him, shaking my head. "Then why aren't you gone?"

He leaned down to my height, toggling his gaze between my eyes. "Because I realized I fucked up. I tried to give myself a second shot. You just wouldn't take the chance on me."

He stood back up, shrugging. "It's been your cards on the table, C. Let me know."

He brushed past me and I scoffed, turning around to face him as I folded my arms over my chest. "Bold of you to assume I would ever take a chance on you again."

He leaned against the threshold of the French doors, his jaw taut.

"You are the most cocky, most self-obsessed, most narcissistic, most nothing-I-ever-do-is-my-fault person I have ever-"

He grabbed my face, pulling my lips to his. I wasn't shocked, but I was taken aback — had Milo gotten better at kissing, just within the past week?

I pulled away from him, shaking my head. "You continue to prove my point."

He smiled down at me, looking down at my lips. "You had things to do besides hurl insults at me, didn't you? I'm sure Lily's waiting on you-"

"Get out of my way," I muttered, brushing past him, and confusedly running upstairs to get as far away from him as possible.

~*~

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