I'm New York City

thirty five

I woke up to the sounds of laughter out in the hallway. I could hear running and immediately knew that was Ivy. Joe was chasing the girls back and forth in the hallways while they all laughed.

"Dad!" I heard Sage yell and I heard a thug, thinking they all fell onto the floor.

"Shhh, we don't want to wake up your mom!" Joe exclaimed.

I then heard them walking away, their voices fading, most likely heading downstairs. I sat in bed, a tear fell down my cheeks. Why don't they laugh like that when they're with me?

Thinking about it, Ivy was getting in trouble and Sage was going through some struggles and even snuck out without me knowing. What kind of mother was I to them? I still remember the night I talked to Joe on the phone about what happened with Sage and ended up in the hospital. I've never been so terrified in my life. I don't even think it was about the part of seeing her in the hospital, but it was not seeing her in her bedroom.

I went downstairs and the girls were helping set up for breakfast. Joe smiled at me as I walked over to him and we shared a kiss. "Ew!" the girls gagged, making us chuckle.

When we sat down at the dining table, I expected Sage to sit next to me like she always does, but she sat on the other side of Joe instead. Ivy took her seat next to me, hugging my side. I gave Ivy a sincere smile, but I felt sick to my stomach seeing Sage so far away from me at the table.

Joe and I planned on going shopping today without the girls today to get presents. I've been buying gifts all year so I could be stalked up and obviously get an early start, now our storage room is overfilled. I still wasn't done shopping for my girls though.

"Why can't we go with you?" Ivy asked, as I finished applying my makeup.

"Because, your father and I want some time to go out for ourselves, babe. We won't take too long," I assured her, only to receive a groan.

I walked into Sage's room where she was playing a board game on the floor. I laughed to myself, thinking about how she would play board games when she was little. She always preferred playing by herself because she could always win.

"You gonna be okay, baby?" I asked, sitting down on her bed.

Sage smiled, nodding her head as she kept playing. I bent down to her level on the floor and gave her a kiss on the forehead, smoothing her hair down. I walked out of her bedroom, meeting Joe who closed out bedroom door.

"Ready, love?" he asked, holding out his hand. I nodded, letting out a deep sigh as we walked downstairs, heading out to the car.

We had gotten a good amount of presents for the girls. We also finished buying gifts for most of our family members who we were going to be seeing this year. While we were out, I've constantly been texting Sage on how they were doing and what they were up to; mostly getting how annoying Ivy is at the moment as a reply.

"How long do you think those two can last together alone?" Joe chuckled, putting the last of the bags into the car.

I shook my head, knowing it wouldn't last any longer until the whole place comes burning down. We both hurried and got back into the car, eager to go back home to our girls.

"How has Sage truly been?" Joe asked as I laid my head onto his shoulder.

I let out a deep sigh, "You tell me. She's, she's okay... now at least. I just don't know how to deal with her right now. I don't know if it's just because she's a teenager, or what," I confessed.

"She's going through a lot of things at this age and none of it is your fault," he kissed my head.

When we arrived back home, I was surprised to be greeted by a quiet house. Sage was sitting on the couch, on her phone while Ivy was sitting at the kitchen table, playing on her iPad. Joe quickly put the bags into the office and I went to greet the girls.

"Well, are you not gonna greet us?" I laughed, holding my arms out.

Ivy was the first to get up from her seat and gave me a big hug, rubbing her face into my stomach. I laughed, pushing her back from how much it tickled. Sage slowly walked over, not looking up from her phone.

"Hey, get off that phone and give your mom a hug!" I demanded, holding my arms out.

Sage sighed, turning her phone off and fell into my arms. I let out a deep breath, swaying us back and forth as I laid my head onto hers. She was going to be taller than me any second now. I knew that Sage was always going to be tall like me, but surprisingly, Ivy didn't get those genes and was considered an average height.

Joe insisted that we all go out for dinner tonight, which meant the girls would definitely encounter paparazzi. We had a minute before we all needed to get ready, finishing hiding all of the gifts. I had just finished taking a shower and headed towards Sage's room to check if she was getting ready.

"Oh my god, stop!" I heard a laugh from the other side of the door.

Sage was definitely a teenager alright. I remember gossiping to my friends when I was in high school and how my parents would constantly tell me to tone it down while I was on the phone.

"Sage?" I knocked.

I heard shuffling on the other side and she opened the door with her phone still up against her ear. "You getting ready?" I asked.

She nodded her head and walked towards her closet. "No, that's what I was telling you the other day! But anyways, you'll do fine," she sighed.

I sat down onto her bed, still wondering who she was on the phone with. She looked over and me, awkwardly and then said a quick goodbye on the phone.

"Who were you talking to?" I asked, leaning my head to the side.

"Just my boyfriend," she basically mumbled making me almost lose my breath.

"Excuse me?!" I stood up.