(Unedited)

Sequoia

Should I be worried?

My mother is sitting in my living room, in all her glory. Wannabe French posh and all, I think I should start panicking now or asking questions.

Either that or run for the fùcking door because my mother is a lot

"Mama, what are you doing here?" I ask, looking at her then to uncle B who had a huge grin on his face. What the hell was he doing here? Although I really didn't mind, its just the last time I checked he stayed in Virginia with my mom's side of the family. Either she picked him on the, way to harrass me or he was already in town. My mother's eyes skim passed me and looks behind me, probably staring at the almost six foot one tall white boy towering over me.

I realize that I've never, I mean never mentioned Justin to her and now I regret it,

so very much

"Who is this chéri? " she asks, ignoring my question. Her slight accent not going unnoticed, I nervously fumble with my fingers that were placed in front of me. "Well?"

He's the plumber! I wanted to yell. No he's the building manager! My brain suggested right away, he's anything but my boyfriend I wanted to cry but I didn't. I shouldn't be making up excuses but if you have a conversation with my mother for more than 2 minutes, you will understand very quickly.

But I had to do it

Before I could even open my mouth to give my mother the truthful answer, Justin steps from behind me and introduces himself. "Hi ma'am, I'm Justin bieber. " he says giving her one of his charming smiles, his straight white teeth on display. Okay, so good so far just don't mention that you're m- "I'm her boyfriend, nice to finally meet you."

I should've warned him.

My mother's eyebrows shoot up at now she's speculating every part of Justin's body, nervousness suddenly takes over my body and I just stand in my place like a statue "Well, nice to meet you Justin. I'm Camellia Deveuex- Smith but I only go by smith. I'm divorced "

He is too

Justin nervously chuckles and looks back at me quickly before turning to my mother who had a shít load of questions for him, jumping straight to probably the only one on her mind. "So how long have you and my daughter been dating?"

"Uh, 3 months?" Justin states, well more questions, which causes my mother to raise an eyebrows at the both of us. I nervously clutch on to Justin's arm, avoiding eye contact with him but instead locking eyes with my uncle who still held a cheerful smile.

I almost forgot about him.

"three months? " my mother almost sneers, I glance at her again and this time we look each other in the eyes. She looks at me with an undescribable emotion in her eyes that almost made me want to turn away, but I don't. "And you haven't told me about this man , Cheri?"

Justin glances down at me with a confused expression, I'm guessing he thought I've told her about him but I didn't want to tell her. She would have him checked out, found out that he was married, then personally fly here just to tell me about myself. I didn't need that.

"I was going to tell you mama, I was bu-" I started to lie but my mother put up her hand to silence me, obviously I complied because she's my mother and I had to give her respect.

"Do not make up some bullshit excuse Sequoia Amelia Smith, I want the real reason why you're just now telling me about this man."

This man.

My mother's hazel eyes bore into mine as she waits for an answer, but I wasn't sure what to say. Oh well , I didn't want to tell you because you probably would've found out he's married. No, if I tell her that now she would have a fit; hell if I even told her Justin was going through a divorce right now, she would lash out.

Lie Sequoia, lie!

"Well, we weren't as serious as we were now. So I didn't want to tell you about him and it turned out to be just a fling."

Technically, this thing wasn't a lie. Justin and I weren't serious at first, I was just his fùck buddy with the title of being his side piece, And that isn't something to be very proud of; but it was the truth.

Mother looks at me skeptically, and Justin frowns. He was so confused, lost even, to why I was lying to her but I gave him a look that said I'll explain later. She sighs before nodding her head, "very well, I guess. Nice to meet you Justin. " yes. "But I do have questions for you. Would you mind , Justin? " she asked motioning for justin to have a seat at my dining room table.

I look up at Justin worryingly and hesitantly let his arm go , he slipped his arm from around me and followed my mother to the dining room. It made me upset that my mom would question Justin like he's applying for a job , then again she did that to every body I was dating. That's the only reason I've had only one boyfriend, my mother scared off the others before they all got to know me. It was sad really, growing up, girls in my school would have boyfriends or even crushes, but not I. Whenever my mother would even sense that I liked someone she would tell me;

All men are cheaters, they'll break you. Don't let them break you.

I hated when she told me that but, I had no choice but to listen because she would tell me everyday. The only reason she told me that was because my father was cheating on her, so she thought that every situation was similar to hers; but its not.

I wish she would see that.

I had listened in on most of what I was able to hear, and I was worried. I didn't want him to slip up around my mother, or I didn't want her to disrespect him. I sigh as I start to have a seat but suddenly I was picked up into a bone crushing hug. My once somber mood turning into happiness, I gasped and noticed it was Uncle B who was hugging me, I giggled and threw my arms around his neck like I was a little girl again. Christsake I am twenty two, well, I just turned twenty two but I felt like I was pushing thirty.

Uncle Brandon had always been my favorite , being only twenty nine, he was only one member of my mother's large family back in Virginia and he wasn't the bitter family member either. He would always play with me, even if I asked him to play dress up. He would always find a way to squeeze into the clothes hidden in the attic of my grandmother's house but that had stopped once we left for France, I never saw him after that. Only at the family reunion we attended when I was merely a fourteen year old girl going through puberty.

"Princess quoia! " he grinned excitingly after he pulled away from our hug, I smiled wide at the nick name he'd always called me. It may seem horribly cheesy but I'm sure everyone has that family member that they absolutely adore and Uncle B happened to be mine.

"B, oh my god, what are you doing here?" I questioned as he let me down on to my feet, he towered over me with a grin. He scratched his trimmed beard and shrugged.

"Your mom stopped in town, your grandmother wasn't happy by the way." he pointed out, I laughed and nodded my head knowingly because my mother and grandma always butted heads; I heard it was worse when my mother told her that she was moving to France. "And she told us she was coming to visit you, so I jumped at a chance to see my favorite little niece. "

"I know I'm your favorite. "

"And I came here to meet with this woman I met over the internet, " he admitted shamefully, my eyes widened and I swatted at his arm.

"Brandon! You could get catfished, you've never watched the show?" I scolded the twenty nine year old like he was only five, but he just chuckled and nodded his head.

"As I recall, I'm a grown man" he says, giving me a stern yet playful glare. I end up chuckling, its hard to consider him grown. " And I have, she's legit. I learned how to Skype people, we Skype almost everyday. " he blushed, and I cooed playfully. Brandon had probably found someone worth his time, after running through women for years. I remember being younger, seeing him with different girls every time I saw him; I always asked the girls are you his wife? But they would always just laugh it off because I was a little girl. "She owns a photography company, she's 30 and I'm going to see her tomorrow. "

"Well as long as you stay safe, I approve. I don't want you to end up on 60 minutes. " I joke , smirking up at his tall figure, he chuckles and shakes his head yet again. We were silent long enough to hear my mother, laughing. Like, legitimately laughing. I haven't heard her laugh in years, and when I turned my head to find her hugging Justin as they both sat in their chairs, it surprised me even more.

And I was confused, my mother was warming up to Justin. She's never been the type to warm to anyone that quickly, I wonder what changed. "Well ain't that something, mellia is actually smiling like she used to." Brandon says from behind me, I nod and watch with folded arms as my mother pulled away from Justin and patted his hand.

Justin suddenly turns to me and motions for me to come to him, making my smile widen even more. I immediately walk around to couch and end up standing next to my chair as I listened to my mother laugh. "Sequoia darling I'm upset that you haven't told me about this charming man sooner, what are you hiding?"

he's married my mind whispers but I just shrug , I feel Justin's hands pull me into his lap. I comply and sit in Justin's lap with my arm around his neck. "She didn't think I was worthy of her time before then." Justin lies easily to my mother, I look at him and notice he looks pained or hurt. "Apparently , she didn't have a thing for police officers."

Oh, that's really a lie. I had more than just a 'thing' for him, especially if I was still fùcking him after weeks of me- let me just, stop.

Mother looks at me with a sense of pride in her eyes, "Well, that's my babygirl. Not giving men a time of day, just like I taught her."

And that, was yet another lie

But of course, she didn't need to know that, right?

***

My mother and I were alone, this time and I was somewhat happy about it. Now, we had time to talk to each other about things that needed to be discussed. I avoided trying to ask about my father, but it was eating me alive and I just wanted to know; where is he and how was he holding up? Did he have another woman? Was he eating, my father hadn't really been a great cook. And most importantly, is he alive?

The last time I spoke to him was when I graduated college, he called to congratulate me. I was extremely happy of course, but the call only lasted 3 minutes; probably less. But me being the twenty year old I was then, I was satisfied with him even making an effort to call me. Let alone remember that I was graduating that day. Hell, he barely even remembered my birthday , but when he called and said congratulations that had been the highlight of my life. However, that was almost two years ago, I haven't gotten anything from him since then.

I knew that my mother would hate me to bring him up but I had to ask, "Mama, how's.... How's daddy? " timidly might I add. But that question caused the long living look of sadness and hurt to return yet again, she suddenly reached forward and gripped my hand.

"Sequoia you're not little girl anymore so I can't hide this from you any longer." she says giving me small sad smile, I sat up even straighter in my seat preparing myself for whatever she had to say."your father , he- he obviously left us years ago but there's more to it."

I nod, although I didn't quiet understand. There shouldn't be much to it, he left us and its as simple as that. "More?" I question, my voice low because Justin and Brandon were still in close proximity.

"Yes, for a while now I've know but you don't know. Your father was gone because he was obviously cheating but during the time he was cheating, he slipped up." so wait he- "in the process he manages to get a woman pregnant, that was 15 years ago."

That was expected but it was still like a shot to the heart, the whole time I was missing him; hoping that he would show up to my birthday parties, or even small celebrations for my mild achievements , getting on high honors every report card marking. But he wasn't there, he never was and he didn't know that I did everything for him. Every 'A' I received was for him to acknowledge my very own existence, but that wasn't enough.

What was enough then?

Nothing.

My father had been taking care of his other family the whole time my mom and I longed for his presence. Almost like he just threw us away to take care of some baby born out of adultery. Now that- that hurt.

"Oh," I finally croaked out, snapping myself from my rant. My mother gives my hand a reassuring squeeze and I give her a small smile,"I knew something was off when he didn't show up for our daddy -daughter dance." joking was the next best thing I could do right now, only because I could picture my eleven year old self sitting in the living room waiting for my dad to show up. Remembering how I had gone all out for this, I had mother do my hair just how he liked it and I even pestering her into buying me a new dress.

I had it all planned out too, how we would dance together in the gym with all the other girls and their daddies. How we would make memories, but that never happened. My own father had stood me up, and my mother knew this would happen. She let me sit in the living room until almost eleven at night to wait on him, my smile diminishing as each hour passed.

And that was the first and last night I would cry myself to sleep .

"I'm sorry Sequoia, I should've told you sooner. " she ignores my joke and looks at me with glossy eyes, but she quickly blinks them away. She sighs deeply, "theres more also, I- I've been keeping this from you for a reason and I feel bad about it. "

This really had me perched on the edge of my seat with a curious glint in my eyes, I was sure of it. "in a way, I kept your father away from you." This time I tensed in my seat, why would she do that to me and she knew I've been trying to get his attention for years."I feel like I pushed him away when I told him to stay away from us, but he - he was hurting us, you. S much as you tried to hide it, I saw it bèbè. The disappointment behind your eyes every time he didn't show up on time or even when he hasn't showed up at all. It was killing me."

Why is she blaming herself? She shouldn't, I would do the same for my child if I were in the same situation. My mother did what was best for me, and I appreciate that so much. Although she could be a controlling woman, she still made decisions that would help me not hurt me.

"Its okay mom, nothing is your fault."

It was my father's fault, and I knew it. My mother didn't do anything wrong but deep down I wanted to force myself to believe my dad is the bad guy but I can't.

Is it bad that I still think my father is a great guy after everything he's done?

Justin

Sequoia was awfully quiet after camellia left with her brother, Brandon. It was bothering me, usually Sequoia loves to talk to me about anything but she doesn't even say more than one word. I hate it too, but I can't force her to talk to me; I'm not going to be like that.

"Babe," Sequoia calls out from beside me, we're laying in bed now and she's curled up in her own ball. I him in response as I look up at the dark ceiling, I feel her move beside me until she's sitting up in the bed. "Why aren't you holding me?" she nearly whimpers, now I knew something was wrong; Sequoia never acted like this. Ever.

I furrow my eyebrows and turn my body towards her, I couldn't see her face that well but I knew she had her signature pout on her lips. "Come here," I said opening my arms to her, she immediately welcomed herself into my embrace with a sigh; her beautiful scent greets me and I start to feel like I can sleep better. Laying in bed without her in my arms is torture for me, I've grown accustomed to holding her close to me;

And- Jesus I've turned into a fùcking sap

For awhile we both lay in silence before I decided to speak "Sequoia?" this time she hums faintly, almost as if she was half asleep; I felt bad for disturbing her but I had to ask her. "Why-didn't you tell your mother about me, us?" I'm guessing my question woke her up because Sequoia sits up and I see her eyes thanks to the little flash of light coming through the windows.

"Justin, my mother is a difficult woman. " she starts to explain, then swings her leg on the other side of me so that she was straddling me; I didn't mind one bit. "you and I, our relationship was difficult , so I wasn't sure what to tell her about us. I couldn't tell her I was fooling with a married man, she would've been on my head."

I nod, I understood that her mother was difficult and I had a feeling I knew how she would react if she finds out I'm still technically a married man. Camellia is a scorned woman, as soon as she finds out, I bet she would forbid her daughter from seeing me. Although Sequoia is old enough to make her own decisions, camellia would probably order Sequoia to return to France with her.

"I understand baby, I wouldn't want to see how that played out. Did you see how she reacted when I told her I was twenty seven ?"

Sequoia laughs from above me and mutters yeah, probably remembering when Camellia smacked her for being with someone older then speaking in another language; which might I add, left me in confusion. "speaking of today, you did well." she teased playfully, but little did she know I was scared shitless of her mother. Camellia was an older and even meaner version of Sequoia.

"Thank you, I didn't have to try." I lied , even though I was nervous around her mother and Uncle. That woman is very observant and her uncle is bigger than me, and I considered myself huge. But after a while they warmed up to me, camellia was quick but tough. The woman shot down everything I said to her within moments of speaking .

"I know you didn't, but I'm curious as to how you did it."

"You know, I'm great and she thought I was handsome. I think your moms a mil-"

"Oh my fùcking god! Justin go to sleep." Sequoia exclaimed, climbing off of me and laying beside me. I chuckled and sat up on my elbow.

"Come on Sequoia, I don't want to go to sleep. Besides, its good to have conversations at ..." I trailed off and looked at the digital clock's bright green numbers "2:45 am."

"Justin." she warns over her shoulder, I grin and decide to tease her even more. Sequoia is easy to annoy,its also entertaining to make her midly mad; if she's extremely angry , its not fun anymore.

"I want to be your 2 am thoughts." I tease, making fun of younger kids thinking a time difference makes you behave differently; They're idiots that need to stay off the internet.

"Justin, sleep."

"Fine."

And as always, I listen.

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I just wrote this chapter to explain Sequoia's fucked up family, its probably boring but I promise the next chapter won't be.

Anyways, I don't know what else to put in this lmfao. So byee

Comment and vote pls