When the Past Returns

The Vacation

With June working hard around the house without the help of her siblings, Nikki and I decided it'd be good to get away. "What about Paris?" I ask, tapping the pen lightly on the notebook in front of me. "You think the kids would like Paris?" He asks, pulling me closer to him. "They might." I say, turning towards him.

We had a week of preparation then we were on a plane to France. June was delighted as were all the other kids. We stayed at Shangri-La Hotel Paris with 3 rooms. Nikki and I in one, Gunner, Tiggy, Storm, and Ash in the second, and June, Decker, and Frankie in the third. But, as soon as we got to the rooms, the kids clocked out for the day. They all fell asleep and didn't wake up for a good 9 hours. "We could never take them on tour with us when we're overseas." Nikki says, kicking off his shoes. "I know. They're small anyways. They aren't used to this. When was the last time they've flown somewhere?" I ask, pulling my jeans off. "Never." He says. "That's what I thought." I get into bed and crawl under the sheets. After 10 minutes of silence, I close my eyes, get comfortable, and drift to sleep.

I gently wiggle out of Nikki's arms and out of bed to check on the kids. I go into the room Gunner's in charge of and see all the kids asleep. Next, I enter into June's room. Frankie must be in the bathroom, I think to myself. I lightly knock on the door. "Hey, Frankie. You okay?" I ask, only opening the door a crack. "Yeah, but I can't reach the sink." She says, on her tiptoes. I go in, pick her up and she washes her hands. "Thank you, mommy." She says, then kisses my cheek. "You're welcome, baby." I say, putting her down and letting her dry her hands on the white towel before walking her back to bed. "What're we doing tomorrow?" She asks, climbing into bed and laying down. "You'll just have to see, pumpkin. Goodnight, Frankie-Jean. I love you." I tuck her in, kiss her forehead, and leave the room.

After our day at The Eiffel Tower and walking around, we were tired. With two grumpy small children the next day, we decided to just relax. Our sixth day, we decided to go to the chocolate museum. "Now, I want everyone to behave. Including you, Abby." Nikki says, stopping us before we walk in with our eager faces. "Welcome. Try a piece of our milk chocolate." A lady, nicely dressed, says, holding out a tray filled with chocolates. "Some are filled with strawberry filling." She says. I take mine and bite a piece off. "Oh gosh. This must be the strawberry filled." I say, covering my mouth. "Babe, you have a little filling right there." Nikki says, gently wiping my lip with his finger. "Thank you." I say, smiling. "Are you these all your kids? Are you together?" She asks, looking at us with a big smile. "These are our kids and it's slightly complicated. We're just together until somebody will really come deal with our asses." I say, watching Tiggy and Frankie. "That's a shame. You and him are really cute together. Maybe I can have him to myself then, yes?" She says. Look, bitch. Don't fucking say that in front of me. We may not be together, but I am still in love with him, I think to myself. I feel my fists clench at my sides. "Hey, mom. What's wrong?" Decker asks, holding my wrist lightly. He glares at the lady, but looks at me with love and care. "Nothing. Her chocolates taste bitter. Come on. We gotta catch up with the others, sweetie." I say, taking his hand and jogging towards our mob of children.

"Here's a sample of our dark chocolate." Our tour guide says, handing us each a piece chocolate with a gloved hand. "Oh god. Nikki, this is fucking fantastic." I moan, for a dramatic effect, and fall into him. "You're so weird. Why didn't I love you earlier?"he laughs. His arm wraps around my waist and pulls me close to him. "Thank you. What's next?" Nikki asks, keeping his arms wrapped around me. "This way..." he says, leading us down a narrow path. We try several more chocolates before leaving the places. Nikki separates from us eventually. "Where's dad?" Storm asks, holding Tiggy's hand. "He'll meet with us somewhere." I say, clearly very mad. "Wait, where's Decker and Ashtyn?" I ask before walking outside. "We saw them with dad last." Gunner says, turning to me and taking my hand. "Come on. They'll catch up, right? We're hungry, too. Those chocolates did nothing for us." Storm says, leaning against the wall. "I'll be back. It'll be quick. I just have to see if they're with Nikki." I say. "Oh, she said Nikki. That's never good." I hear June say as I walk away.

As I look for them, I run into a man and his two sons. "Sorry." I mutter and continue looking. "Wait, aren't you Abigail Cobb?" The man asks, his accent american. "Yeah? How do you know me?" I ask, backing away from him. "You were in music videos and tours with Mötley Crüe. Of course I know who you are." He says, his smile slightly creeping me out and reminding me of someone. "Holy shit. You're David's kid. Get away from me!" I say, running away. "Mom! Come here! Quick and quiet." Decker whisper yells from a corner. "Hey, why are you not with your father?" I ask, breathless. "We saw what happened earlier with the first sample lady so we came here to see what would happen." Ash says, holding my hand and rubbing my back. Decker demonstrates a better way to catch my breath by standing up straight, breathing in through my nose, and out through my mouth. "Thank you, sweetie." I say then kiss his forehead. We watch what's happening Nikki and Lola, the sample lady. Looks like I get here just in time, I think. "So, Mr. Nikki Sixx, what do you want to do to me? I'll do anything for you." She says, crawling on a table. "This is disgusting." I mutter, covering the kids' eyes. "That's great and all. But, I have a girlfriend that I love very much. I'd do anything for her. I quit shooting up for her. I quit getting messed up for her. I quit staying up at all hours of the night with all these women because I knew I had the one that mattered the most back at home. She and I have seven amazing children together and I wouldn't go back to change that. I'm glad I went through what I went through. Abby taught me that things happen for a reason and if you were to go back in time to alter something, it'd change everything that ever happened. I would give anything to stay with my Abigail. I don't need a girl like you, Lola." Nikki says, coming to the door. "Shit!" I mumble before we start stumbling backwards towards the windows opposite of the door. I fall and land on my face while Decker and Ashtyn hide behind the corner of the wall. The door opens and Nikki walks out. "Abby, what are you doing on the floor?" He asks, helping me up.

"Thanks. Uh, we were leav-" I start to say. "You were ease dropping on me, weren't you?" He asks, pulling me close to him. "No...." I lie, not looking at him. "Abigail, really? I know when you're lying to me." He says, pulling me to him. "Yes." "That's what I thought, beautiful."