AFTER A LONG day at work, I drove to the bar. It was a schedule now. The bartender, Liam, became my best friend.

I sat at my usual seat at the circled table. "The usual?" Liam chuckled and I nodded, groaning.

"I have this massive headache. I just had to treat a total psycho patient at the hospital."

He raised his eyebrows. "Now I know I'm not the doctor here, but I don't think alcohol will help treat your headache."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh shut up and pour me a glass."

He went to go pour me a drink and I sighed.

//

Liam

I KNOW ALL about Skylar and Soda. Skylar tends to ramble while drunk. I've never met Soda before, but when I do I'll be sure to give him a piece of my mind. He broke Skylar, it's pretty obvious.

As I was fixing up her glass of whiskey, a guy entered and sat at the front of the table. He had movie star looks and I furrowed my eyebrows. Skylar told me about Soda looking like a movie star.

I walked over to him. "Whatcha gettin'?"

"Surprise me." He answered glumly. He had a sad look on his face.

"Do you mind if I ask you what your name is?" I questioned while pouring him some vodka.

"Sodapop." He replied while taking a drink of the vodka, downing it in one sip.

"I've heard quite a lot about you, ya know." I announced while cleaning a wine glass and laying it in the sink.

"Oh really? From who?" He asked and wiped the vodka off of his mouth with the back of his hand.

"A nice little lady on the other side." I smirked and pointed behind the shelf of beer bottles.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Please tell me it's not my ex-girlfriend, Sandy."

I chuckled. "No, way better. Go check for yourself."

He slowly stood up and started walking towards the other side of the table.

//

Skylar

I WAS TAPPING my fingers on the table impatiently. Liam better have a good explanation for not giving me my drink.

It's been ten minutes. I had my elbows resting on the table and buried my face in my hands. This headache was not going away.

I heard someone gasp and I slowly glanced up. My eyes went huge. "Well now my headaches even worse." I mumbled.

"B-Blue?" Soda stuttered and I gulped. Should I make a run for it now? I shot my head around at a smirking Liam and shot him a glare while flipping him off.

Soda sat in the stool beside me, and I slammed my head on the table while groaning.

I turned towards Liam. "You owe me two glasses of whiskey for this. Now."

"Yes ma'am." He saluted and went to go get my drinks.

He sat the glasses of whiskey in front of me and I downed the first glass in under a minute. Soda's eyes widened. "Please don't tell me I caused you to become an alcoholic."

I laughed sarcastically. "Trust me, you've caused me to be much more than an alcoholic."

I took a sip of my second glass and he bit his lip while sighing. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, Sandy and I are over."

I scoffed. "Said you the whole time we were married."

A small laugh escaped his lips. "Yeah, well trust me, we're done. She moved to Florida."

I sat my glass down and turned to him, immediately interested in the conversation. "Finally the rodent is gone! Why?"

"She got pregnant."

"And?"

"It's not my baby."

I grinned, "Karma's great!"

He rolled his eyes and I grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him right in front of my face. "Wait, you're telling me you tried to have kids with her when you already have kids of your own? You don't even go see them!"

He was speechless because of how I grabbed him and how close our faces were. I let go of his collar and he snapped out of it. "Actually, I do try to go see them."

"And why haven't you?" I asked, finishing my second glass.

"Because Sarah literally pushes me out the door and into my car." He replied dully, causing me to giggle. He cracked a smile when I started laughing and joined in.

"As much as I hate you, the kids deserve to see their father again. Do you want to come over to Sarah and Steve's with me to see them?" I sighed and started standing up to leave.

"Of course! What kind of question is that?" He exclaimed excitedly and practically ran out the door.

I rolled my eyes and hopped in my car. We both drove to Steve and Sarah's and when we got out he put his hands in his pockets and stared at me. "So, they.. live here?"

I sighed. "I want them back, but I can't leave them at the house by themselves constantly because of my work. It's not a nice neighborhood, and I don't want them getting hurt."

He nodded and we walked up to the porch. I knocked and when Steve answered, he looked like he saw a ghost.

"Sarah, am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?"

She rushed over and when she saw us, her jaw dropped. "Don't question just let us see the kids." I announced and pushed through them, Soda following behind me.

[Gracie and Ashton are nine now, and YES they are twins]

Gracie was sitting on the couch drawing on her notebook and Ashton was watching TV. They both looked up when they saw us and gasped. They ran over towards me and gave me a hug. "Mommy, I missed you!" Ashton kissed my cheek.

Gracie looked up at Soda and gave a small smile. "Dad?"

He got down on his knees beside me and took her hand. He looked at her and then he glanced at Ashton, who was sitting in my lap. "I'm sorry for not being there for you guys."

They both gave him a hug and I grinned at all of them. It was probably the first actual smile I've had in a while. Steve was watching us smirking and Sarah was..... well, Sarah was crossing her arms.

She flashed a fake smile. "Can I talk to you two for a minute?"

We both walked in their bedroom and when she closed the door, she glared at us. "Are y'all stupid?!" She screamed.

I laughed. "Calm down, Sarah. A father just wants to see his kids, big deal."

"Big deal?" She scoffed, "So he leaves out of nowhere and then pops back up into their lives and they forgive him and you do too? No biggie, though, I forgot."

I rolled my eyes. "When did I ever say I forgave him? Last time I recall, I'm still pissed off at him."

"And I've been trying to see them! You never let me!" Soda spoke up and Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Christmas is coming up in two weeks and you know what the kids want for Christmas?"

"What?" Soda and I asked at the same time.

"Their parents." She snapped.

Soda and I stood there awkwardly and Sarah sighed, "I know you hate him, Skylar, but for Christmas, can y'all please act civilized. Act like you two have always been married. For the kids. For YOUR kids."

I looked at Soda and he looked back at me. He nodded. "I'm willing to do anything for my kids. I'm up for it."

"Deal." I smiled and we all three put in our hands.

"1.........2............. FOR THE KIDS!!" We shouted and walked out. Steve and the kids were all standing there in the living room with weird looks on their faces. We all three laughed and sat down at the table. "Luckily, I fixed extra." Sarah chuckled.

"Yeah, but the chocolate cake is ALL mine!" Steve spoke and I glared at him. "Not anymore." We had a glaring war and Sarah muttered, "So childish."

We all started laughing and Steve sighed, "Just like the good ole days."