14 years - Axl Rose x OC

50

"I want Jesus to take me out this life, baby

And I talk to Jesus

And ask him if he'll think of saving me."

I talk to Jesus - Lana Del Rey

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---February 8th, 1993

Little birds chirped from outside the window, an orange-bellied robin landing on the window sill, peering into Axl and Lita's house. Lita was in the kitchen, watching the bird tweak its head, looking from one side of the room to the other. Sharon had her arms around her mother's neck, Lita holding her against her hip. Using her other arm, Lita finished dressing another cupcake, letting her daughter put some rainbow sprinkles on top to decorate.

She kissed the side of her head, picked up the metal tray of cupcakes, and placed it in the dining room where the rest of the food was. Today they were celebrating Sharon's first birthday. (And by proxy Axl's 31st.) She put Sharon down, since the little girl was extremely close to being able to walk. She'd stand for a few seconds, run quickly in one direction at first, slow down into a walk, and then lose her balance and fall to the floor.

The first time Lita saw it, she laughed, but then Sharon started crying and she realized that the little girl would need extra practice before she could get situated running and walking outside or in public. Sharon grabbed the leg of a dining room chair, holding it while she peered up to her mother. At one years old, her little orange curls had become a tight coil, the shine in her bright green eyes never faded, and she positively glowed around every person.

Sharon Rose had the looks of her father but had the same character as her mother.

Lita finished arranging a few flowers on the table and other lunch meats when the doorbell rang. Throwing a birthday party for a baby wasn't as difficult as she thought it would be. There were no RSVPs to be sent out to school friends or neighborhood kids, since Sharon couldn't utter any other word besides "Dada". All Lita needed to do was call a few friends of hers and Axl's, ones who've known Sharon the longest, and they'd come together to celebrate the two lives.

Lita raced for the door, watching Sharon from the distance as she slowly hobbled in her mother's direction. She didn't peek through the metal hole, simply opening it wide to embrace Melissa in a hug. With her was her boyfriend, who Lita only met a few times, but anyone associated with Melissa in that capacity was always a good man.

"Where's the birthday girl?" Melissa asked, the radiant smile on her face gleaming as she looked into the house, spotting Sharon hiding behind the wall at the end of the hall. Melissa walked in, crouching down before the girl and embracing her in a tight hug. Lita closed the door behind the two, asking them what they were to drink and walking into the kitchen to grab it.

"Oh, just some water. I'm driving," Melissa laughed, holding Sharon in her arms. Lita brought out their drinks. "Where's Axl?" she asked, taking a sip. Upon hearing her father's name, Sharon uttered multiple "Dadas", searching for him and rustling in Melissa's arms.

"He's just upstairs finishing up something," Lita shrugged, taking a large gulp of her soda. Lita hadn't paid much attention to Axl this morning. She woke up, kissed his cheek like normal as he slept soundly on his side of the bed, farthest away from Lita as he could be, and started baking for the party. She knew he had woken up when she could hear him and Sharon trying to converse. From the bottom of the stairs, Lita could hear Axl asking her to say "Dada" and "Momma", though she could only get the first out properly. She went up the stairs and helped Sharon out of her crib just as Axl told her: