Unavailable {S.S}

27

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"Daniella", she says hesitantly as she looks between Anthony, Sebastian, Chris and I. She swallows harshly as she focuses solely on me. There was an awkward silence that filled the air as we all stood there in silence. Thankfully Anthony was the one to break the silence, clearing his throat, "Would you like to come in?"

She hesitated at first but nodded her head, her words failing her. She steps into the house as I take a step back. I look over at Sebastian who was staring down at my mother, his eyes cold and stern. "Can we—can we talk alone, please", she finally says as he grips the handle of her bag. Anthony and Chris nod their heads towards me and head into the kitchen as Sebastian stays back. He turns to me and his eyes soften, "Are you going to be okay?", he places his hands on my shoulders as he looks into my eyes. I nod my head and hug him, "I'll be okay", I tell him as he nods and walks into the kitchen to join the boys. "At least I hope I will", I whisper to myself.

I turn back around to see her looking around the house, "We can talk in the living room", I say with no emotion in my voice. I don't even wait for a response or a nod as I walk into the living room. I sat down on the bigger couch as she took a seat on the same one, farther down from me.

There was an obvious tension circulating the air between us, and it was uncomfortable to say the least. I took a second to really look at her, not being able to recognize the woman I once knew to be my mother, but who had now become just another stranger in this world. "Why are you here?", I blurt out as I play with the hem of my sweater. She looked taken aback by my tone, but I could've cared less after what she's put me through.

I put my finger up and tell her to wait as I quickly walk into the kitchen, "Whatever you guys do, don't mention my father, okay? She can't know about Mark and she doesn't deserve to", I whisper to them as they nod their heads, assuring me that they wouldn't mention him. I nod my head and walk back into the living room, taking a seat where I was seated only moments ago.

"Dani—"

"It's Daniella. Only friends and family can call me Dani", I tell her as she folds her hands on her lap. She lets out a laugh as she looks at me, "Well I'm your family, so I can call you that", she says, thinking she accomplished something. I scoff as I turn my body around to face her completely, "Last time I checked family don't turn their back on each other and make their life a living hell. I've found my family right here, and you're not apart of it anymore"

"What?! How dare you talk to your mother like that!", she yells as my eyes stare at her in rage. "I have every right to talk to you like that! You lost your rights as my mother the day you shunned me and turned your back on me. This is all your fault and I've realized over these past few months I'm not the one to blame, I didn't do anything wrong, you did. You're just too scared to admit that you messed up, and you found the perfect opportunity to blame me, instead of yourself, so no one would find out the truth"

"I did no such thing!", she denies my accusations. At this point I stood up from the couch, my anger rising. "Are you delusional?! You'd literally do and say anything to avoid the truth, and in all honesty, I feel bad for you. You made your own choices when you were younger, and you suffered the consequences, so how dare you blame your own child for your unfaithfulness. It's sickening and very low of you, and it shows who you really are as a person", I say, my voice raising slightly.

"You know what, a few months ago, even a few weeks ago, I was still hurting, wondering what I had done wrong or what I could've done differently to avoid what happened, but now that I look at it, I'm happy it happened, because I got to find out the truth and I got to find out who you really are, and you are not my mother. So I'm actually very grateful for all of this, because it gave me an opportunity to remove you from my life and it gave me clarity. It made me realize how awful of a mother you were to me and it made me realize that when I have my own children, I will love them unconditionally, and I will do anything for them, because I'm going to be a better mother than you ever were to me. My children will know what it feels like to be loved equally, cherished, adored, protected, supported. They'll have parents that are there for them and parents that don't lie to them", I yell at her as I feel my eyes glaze over with tears.

"Children? You need to find a man before you attempt to have children, Daniella", she laughs. I laugh right along with her as her face contorts into one of confusion. "I have found someone and I love him more than anything in this world, and I would do just about anything for him. He's my life and I wouldn't have been able to get through any of this without him, and without my family. So the jokes on you, because I've found my happiness and they're standing in that kitchen right there", I inform her as I walk around the couch to get the boys. I make them stand beside me as I look down at her sitting on the couch. "This is Chris, and he's one of the sweetest, most down to earth people you will ever meet, and he's so incredibly talented, and he's my brother", I say as I grab Chris' hand in mine. I look to my left and smile, "And this is Anthony. He's the jokester of the group but gives the best advice in any given situation. You'd be lucky to have him in your life, and he's my brother", I say as I grab his hand too.

They each squeeze me hand before hugging me, as I smile. I let go of their hands before pulling Sebastian next to me. "And this", I smile widely at him, my heart racing, "This is Sebastian. He always puts everyone around him first and he's the most selfless person I know. He loves his family and friends unconditionally and I'm so lucky to be loved by him. This is my boyfriend, and I love him with every bone in my body", I cry as grip onto his hand. He brings my hand up to his lips as he kisses it reassuringly.

With tears still evident in my eyes I grab all three of their hands in my own as they circle me all around; Chris on my right, Anthony on left, and now Sebastian behind me. "These people", I say as I feel my throat tighten. "They're my lifesavers and my family and I love them so goddamn much. I don't need you anymore, not after what you did and I realize that I'm much better without you in my life. They make life worth living and they've helped me through so much in such little time and they accepted me into their home and their family without hesitation and for that I'll forever be grateful for", I say as a few tears roll down my face.

She nods her head and stands up to look at all four of us, "It's clear that I'm not wanted here", she comments as she walks towards the door. "Why did you even come here?", I ask her as I let go of the boys. She sighs as she grabs the door handle, opening the door, "I thought that maybe you would've apologized and we could've patched things up, but I've come to realize that won't ever happen"

"Why did you expect me to apologize for your mistakes?", I ask her. She shakes her head, "Goodbye, Daniella", and with that she slams the door shut. I stare at the door for a few seconds as tears come rolling down my face. This was it. I knew deep down inside that this was the last time I'd ever see her, and I was okay with that. I was at peace with what happened. I got my closure.

"Dani? You okay?", Sebastian says softly as places his hand on my shoulder. I don't turn around right away as I nod my head. I finally turn around and look at the three most important people to me besides my real father. "I love you guys so much. Thank you, for everything", I say as I run up to hug them. They all wrap their arms around my much smaller frame as we stand there for a few seconds, "We needed you just as much as you needed us", Anthony says as she lets go first. "I lost my family only to gain an even better one", I say as I pull myself together. "Okay we're going out to celebrate!", I yell.

"Celebrate what?", Sebastian laughs as he looks at me. I shrug my shoulders, "Celebrate new beginnings, life, family! Celebrating each other!", I smile at them. "My treat!", I say to them as they grab their sweaters, "To new beginnings", we call out as we get into the car.

"To new beginnings", I whisper to myself as I smile.