Jayden's (POV):
The day had gone by quicker than I had expected. The majority of the day had been spent getting to know my parents. Which had been an eye opening experience for me. They spent the day retelling me everything that had happened before I was even born. I learned that not only were my mom and Alex best friends before they met my mum and Aria. But also Aria and my mum were childhood friends as well as royalty. It was an amazing story of two sets of best friends finding each other. Their story made my mind drift towards my own mates and a feeling of guilt gnawed at me as the day went on.
I knew I was being a little harsh when it came to Jasmine and Aurora. But at the same time they could have told me earlier, well Aurora could have said something. The more I thought about it though the more I realized that she couldn't have said anything. Nothing she could have said or done would have made this situation any easier on me. I knew I needed to apologize to them and at least give them the opportunity to talk with me. But me being as stubborn as I am had waited until there was only a few hours left in our visit.
After spending the day getting to know my parents I still wasn't sure what to call them. It was weird calling them mom, I mean I had just met them. But at the same time it was like my instincts were telling me to. For now though I decided to call them by their first names until I dealt with everything going on in my head. By the time we got back to the house the sun was starting to set. As we exited the forest I could see the house in the distance. All the blinds were open and the lights inside the house made it glow in the distance. Dylan and Ivy walked quietly beside me hand in hand as we made our way into the house. The living room was quiet but there was laughter coming from a room further into the house.
"I think they are all in the pool room." Ivy said as she walked further into the house. "How about we grab some drinks for everyone." She said as she made her way into the kitchen.
"Sounds like a plan sweetheart." Dylan said following closely behind her.
"So when do you have to head back?" Ivy asked softly as she began putting cans of assorted drinks into a cooler.
"We were supposed to head back after dinner but I don't think I'm ready to go yet." I said quietly.
Ivy's head snapped towards me faster than I could blink. "Really?" She said with a large smile. Her small body practically vibrated with happiness.
"Yeah I think I'll call my m-..." I paused for a moment thinking over my words, "I'll call home and let them know what's going on."
Ivy set the last can of beer into the cooler and closed the lid. After wiping her hands on a tea towel she walked towards me. Her hand rested on my forearm before she spoke. "You know you can still call her mom. What she did to us was horrible and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. But she raised you to be an amazing young woman and I can at least be thankful for that." Ivy said as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. Out of everyone here Ivy had every right to hate every single part of Vivian and what she did to their family. But as I studied her face I didn't see any hate in her eyes. The only thing I could see was the love that she had for me even though I was practically a stranger to her.
"I just don't know what to feel right now." I whispered, taking in a shaky breath. "I don't want to disrespect either of you by calling her my mom but it's hard to just turn it off."
"We don't expect you to cut her out of your life just like that, we just want the chance to be a part of your life." Dylan said as she placed a hand on my shoulder. "We talked to Gabby just before Aurora told you about your mom. There's a possibility that even Vivian is being controlled. Not that it makes me any less angry about the situation but there is a possibility that she did it against her will."
