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BITTERSWEET
::  lxvii. | kill me now

A week had gone by and that small family had a lot going on. For one, house hunting. Two, dinner with Jonny and three, a pre graduation party. Everyone felt as if time was going fast and they couldn't have a moment to breathe. Or maybe no one could believe that Cole was heading off to college and a new baby was coming soon.

Vanessa definitely did not see her life going this way.

She thought she was going to marry a nice guy (Miguel), have some kids (Cole was enough at the time), and just do life the way she intended after Cole was born. Then again, she didn't marry a regular person, she fell in love with a drug dealer who sent her a world of pain.

Then, out of nowhere, she met this spectacular woman who definitely sent her a world of heartache but it was nothing she wouldn't do again if it meant being where they are now. And that is house hunting, having a baby, and being engaged.

She literally thought she was going to be stuck on Miguel for the rest of her life.

She was glad she was wrong.

Vanessa just walked out the room with jeans, laced shirt, and combat boots. Even though she and Jennifer were just going to a little pizza parlor, she looked pretty snatched for a lowkey dinner with Jonny.

"Wow, looking good mom." Cole nodded with a smile.

"Thank you." Vanessa looked to jj, "And so does mama."

Jj playfully shrugged, "I try."

A chuckled escaped everyone's lips before jj and Vanessa carried on their way. Once again, Cole had the responsibility of watching her brother, which she never minds.

• • •

The two woman were just walking into the parlor when they noticed Jonny on the right, sitting in a booth. They headed that way and was greeted by Jonny who stood up to give hugs. After the hugs were given, jj and Vanessa sat in the booth while Jonny sat in the chair across from them.

"I'm glad we're finally able to do this." Jonny smiled, "Let's order."

Soon the waiter came over and took everyone's drink order. Jennifer ordered a water and red wine as well as Vanessa. Jonny just ordered a sprite. From there, they continued looking through the menu, deciding if they wanted to share a large pizza or not, and just continued to enjoy getting to know one another.

After a couple of minutes, a large pizza was decided. The conversations they were already having went from light and laughter to a bit of heavier topics. It's the fact that jj was so open about somethings because she doesn't take trusting people lightly at all. It's quite important to her and she felt as if a wall was coming down for her. It felt good.

Eventually after ordering their pizza, the conversation switched to Jonny. The two wanted to hear more about his life and if he's done sperm donating before. He's obviously done it since he's on the list, but jj and Vanessa just wanted to know more about it.

"How many times have you donated?" Vanessa ask, as she put the straw between her lips to sip her water.

His answer was quick, "Once." He continued, "Her name is beth and she's very sweet."

"Are you like her father figure?" Another question was asked.

He deeply sighed, "No, she has a dad. I'm uncle Jonny. I want to be in the kid's life just as an uncle."

Jj's brows were furrowed, "So it doesn't bother you?"

"Well, kind of but at least I'm going to be in their life. Besides, at the end of the day, i just want to help people who can't have kids on their own." He sighed, "Sometimes that's their only wish. So yeah, uncle Jonny's enough for me."

Jennifer nodded, "You're a kind person."

"Thank you." Jonny smiled, "I'm happy to be doing this for amazing people. So, how'd you guys meet?"

Vanessa chuckled, "Well, Jennifer found my daughter walking home and gave her ride."

"Technically."

Vanessa glanced to jj, "What do you mean technically?"

Just before Jennifer could respond, the waiter finally came with their pizza. Half of it was pepperoni and the other half was pineapple and black olives. It was clear which side was which, but everyone's open to new things.

After diving into the pizza a bit, the conversation continued.

Vanessa cleared her throat. Jonny and Jennifer awkwardly glanced up at each other.

Jonny was still chewing his food when he looked from Jennifer to Vanessa then back to Jennifer, "I think she wants you to finish what you were saying."

Jj sighed, "Figured. Ok, so i did run into Cole but before taking her home, i let her stay in my office at work."

"Why didn't you just say that three and a half years ago?"

"I don't know." Jennifer shrugged.

Jonny chimed in, "Maybe because she was taken aback by your beauty. She didn't know what to say so she started talking out her ass."

"Mhmm." Jj quickly nodded, "What he said."

Vanessa just took another bite of her slice, not saying anything else. She wasn't upset or anything like that, but jj couldn't tell, which gave Vanessa a bit of an upper hand. She knows jj folds a bit when she's upset, so easing her news that maybe good or bad was going to be a lot easier now.

As the dinner continued, everyone dove into their families. The two mentioned what Cole and Henry were like, house hunting, a bit of will. Then Jonny spoke about his side, he's living that single life and he has a small bird named Rex.

Everyone was just so open and having a good time. It was becoming clear to Vanessa and Jennifer that Jonny is the one. He's the missing link.

• • •

The next day was all about preparations for the pre graduation party that was going to be later that night. It was around ten in the morning after everyone had woken up, some earlier than others.

Jj was getting Henry ready for the day, Vanessa had the coffee on, and Cole was just getting out the shower. A lot of things were already planned ahead of time. The party decorations were already bought, some food, and others were bringing things. But Cole only graduates once and Vanessa wanted to get something nice for her. Also, there was a few surprise guests that she knew Cole would flip over about.

After pouring everyone's coffee, Vanessa began to head back to her room. She just like everyone else had to get ready for the day and well, run a few errands before the party. Only about half and hour later, she was out her room and heading to the door.

As she did, she ran into the whole gang who were lounging in the kitchen.

"I'm heading out, but I'll be back in a little bit." She went and kissed Cole's head. Then proceeded to give jj a quick peck on the lips and a hi five to lil Henry.

As soon as she left, Cole and jj had the job of setting everything up. But they weren't going to do that for at least another hour or so because the party wasn't anytime soon yet. Instead they began cleaning and tiding up the place before partying it up. In between that, lunch was ordered, which was subway.

About two hours later, that's when the two began setting everything up for the party. Jj was handling the condiments after she put Henry to nap, while Cole began decorating around the apartment.

By the time Vanessa got back, Cole and jj were just wrapping up with everything. Considering the time it was now then, everyone only had about an hour to spare before guests began arriving.

This pre graduation party wasn't just for Cole though, it was also for Mia. Since her dads are away all the time, Vanessa likes to make her feel apart of the family. That's not saying her dads won't be at the graduation, but generally speaking, they're only there for the big moments really. Her dads are quite occupied with their job all the time.

• • •

A little after that hour rolled around, guests began arriving. First to come was obviously Mia and a couple minutes later was Arlo and Ashton. The four musketeers.

Everyone was hanging in the living room just talking, reminiscing, and eating a little.

"Wait, wait —— " Ashton couldn't contain his laughter, "Do y'all remember that time with the frog we found and we talked mia into kissing it?"

"I would never put my lips on a frog!" Mia exclaimed, "At least not again."

"Again?!"

"Yeah." Mia looked to Cole, "You."

Cole playfully rolled her eyes as she playfully pushed Mia. The two siblings lightly chuckled at their friends and just when they were diving into another topic, the door bell rang.

Vanessa rushed out the bedroom, seeing the teens sitting on the living room floor.

Cole stood up, approaching her mom, "I thought everyone was here."

"Me too." Vanessa lightly shrugged, but in reality it was her first surprise for Cole.

Cole approached the front door and then opened it. Who she saw on the other side was someone she honestly did not expect to see.

Her mouth was wide open, a loss of words and Mia's. She was just as shocked as Cole.

"Good to see you too." He wrapped his arms around Cole in an embrace. As soon as he pulled away, his eyes connected with Mia's.

"Long time no see, Daniel." She walked up to him.

"Came to support my girls." He smiled.

Soon everyone introduced themselves to Daniel. Jj, Arlo, and Ashton. Everyone seemed to be getting along just fine and Ashton was just happy there was another guy there that was actually around his age because Henry doesn't count.

Daniel talked about college life, Cole talked about all the changes in her life so far and asked advice from Daniel. Of course the funny moments were mentioned as well. Especially the time when Vanessa met Daniel for the first time.

"Yeah." Vanessa nodded, "Shirt off and standing in the kitchen. What a great first impression, huh Daniel?"

He nervously chuckled, "I tired to bury that memory."

"Imprinted in my mind forever."

Just as things were picking back up, Vanessa had received a message. She pulled her phone out her pocket and saw Cole's second surprise had just arrived.

• • •

Vanessa stood up from the couch, "Cole you have another surprise downstairs. Just arrived."

"Mom, this party is already great enough." Cole headed to the door, "But thank you."

Everyone headed out the apartment and made their way to the first floor by elevator. Cole wasn't the only one who was curious of this surprise.

As soon as she opened that glass door to the entrance of the apartment complex, she couldn't believe her eyes.

Someone from her past was standing right before her. Someone who she thought she would never see again after going to separate elementary schools.

Cole slowly walked down the steps, steadily approaching the person in front of her who was leaning against a car.

"You really thought I'd miss your big day?"

"I-I can't believe you're actually here." Cole finally spoke.

"And I'm still waiting for that hug." Briella rose her brows with open arms.

As Cole wrapped her arms around Briella, Mia had the worst expression on her face.

With a shake of her head, she mumbled, "Kill me now."

Mia, cole, and Briella had a past. A past that both Mia and Briella want to forget. Cole on the other hand, she was in good graces with Briella, but couldn't be said about Mia.

With every truth, there's a story.

What was Briella and Mia's?

a/n:
im sneaky hehe