Way Way Back

1. Dinosaurs

A/N: IS IT TOO LATE FOR THIS LOL

ahh someone messaged me asking about a sequel and GUYS this story is something i think about soso much that i've sort of always had a sequel in mind but i just never could sort it out enough to write it. but when i got that message i was like yanno what grace just sit down just write it just do it (nike)

ITS NOT GONNA BE LONG AT ALL bc i'm not good at writing long things i never finish y'all probably know... the scandal is the longest thing i've probably finished

but yeah you should probably for sure read the scandal before this because it has the whooole background (all the WAY WAY BACK). it's my most popular story on here and i still get activity on it sometimes and it makes me so happy so thank u to anyone who voted and commented and everything on it ilysm

now the storÿ

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The party wasn't for Rome. The party was for Olivia.

I never really did birthday parties myself, so I naturally didn't do anything big for Rome's first and second birthdays. We had the cake and the presents and I took a hundred pictures of her for the memories, but I didn't see a point of inviting other babies and going all out with decorations and all that other bullshit because she wouldn't remember it and she wouldn't care. We had a good time, just her and my parents and me.

But then her third birthday came and Olivia asked if she could throw her a party. I said yes because I always said yes when she wanted to do anything for Rome, since it didn't happen too much. She was getting better, seeing her more and trying to be her friend—not her mom, but her friend. It was fine. Olivia didn't know how to be a mom, and that was fine. If she could be Rome's friend and Rome was happy with that, then that was all that mattered.

And she was happy. And it almost hurt.

The room was decorated in pink and gold and white, nearly too fancy for ten little kids, but great for pictures, which Olivia had her mom take of everything and everyone. Olivia had Rome an outfit custom made, a glittery gold tutu and a shirt with her name on it in cursive, also very glittery. Her headband had a rose on it and her shoes did too.

I never dressed her up that much, and I thought she wouldn't like it, and then she loved it. She twirled around in it and kept calling for me to watch her do fake ballet. As much as I always loved seeing her happy, I didn't like feeling like I was doing something wrong when I decorated her room with yellows and oranges and blues and got her dinosaur toys and airplanes—she said that was what she wanted. But after that party I was sure she would ask for more pink and more bows and more Barbie dolls. It wasn't fair that Olivia knew her better than me.

I did always try to accept those things, though, because if Olivia and her were growing a solid relationship, that wasn't something for me to be upset about. I did an okay job of dealing with that, too, since the last few months of Olivia actually trying to make an effort.

The problem was that when Olivia was making more time for Rome, that meant Rome was spending time with Olivia's boyfriend too, and even though Ray was a nice guy, and I liked him, I was jealous that my daughter liked him so much. I was also probably a little jealous Olivia liked him so much.

When I found out Rome had been hanging out with both Ray and Olivia, I tried to talk to Olivia about it.

I said something like, "I just don't know if you should bring him into her life so much... 'cause kids can get attached and I don't want her to get hurt if it doesn't work out, you know?"