Hello, everyone. I know it's been a while. For those of who have not read my previous stories For Better or Worse or Sharing a Dream, I am sad to inform you that this is the third installment in that series. So this story will make no sense to you without having read those two. I would love if you read them now, and hopefully find your way back. If not, that's okay, too.
For those of you who read the first two and are returning, welcome back. This is a story that has always been in my head but I never thought I would write. But after losing my way and falling out of love with writing, I found myself wanting to revisit these characters. I felt I needed to write this, for me. For me to remember why I wrote in the first place. But I also realized that this story is for you, the readers, who enjoyed the first two. Who continue to go back to them. Who made it worth it to write them in the first place. So this is my thank you. Please enjoy.
Ladies, gents, or whatever you identify as, I give you Everything You Deserve (the For Better Or Worse TRILOGY).
Pairing: Mitchie/Alex (with Sam- OC)
As always, I own nothing.
The room was still and dark, slips of light barely peeking in through heavy, navy curtains. The only sounds heard were deep, slumbering breaths of the two sleeping women in the king-sized four-poster bed. Twenty-five-year-olds Alex and Mitchie Torres-Russo slept soundly.
Alex's arm was wrapped around Mitchie's torso, pulling her lover close. They'd grown accustomed to sleeping entangled in each other in the early stages of their relationship. Back then they were sharing a double bed, so there wasn't much room to share to begin with, but they also craved each other's touch even when they slept. Now they owned a California king bed, the largest bed possible, and they still didn't feel the need to spread out and give each other space. They slept in the very middle of the mattress, Mitchie's back usually pressed into the familiar curve of Alex's body. It was how they slept together the first night they ever spent with each other, and not a night went by since then without them cuddling in some way, shape, or form.
The bedroom door crept open slowly, creaking slightly. Tiny, bare feet padded across the plush carpeted floor, followed by a set of paws.
Eight-year-old Samuel crawled into his mothers' bed as gently as he could, trying not to stir either Mitchie or Alex. From the floor a small dog whined in protest of being left there. Sam turned and shushed him quietly. The dog tilted his head and looked at the boy with wonder but quieted all the same. He put his paws back on the floor and started to scratch behind his odd, large ears that stood straight up. His name tag swung from his collar, the name T-Rex etched across it.
Sam sighed in relief and crawled over to his mothers. He had climbed in on Alex's side, and when he reached her she stirred slightly as the bed dipped under her son's weight. Sam held his breath as Alex shifted, let out a sigh, and tightened her grip on Mitchie. After a moment she stilled again, and Sam smiled mischievously. They looked peaceful. It would be a shame if someone were to… ruin it…
"Moms!" Sam yelled loudly, jerking his parents awake.
"Jesus Christ, Sammy!" Alex groaned and released her wife, sitting up.
"Sam, why?" Mitchie asked, sitting up as well.
"April Fools!" Sam said between a fit of giggles. "I got you guys so good."
"Sam, you're supposed to play practical jokes on people, not scare the living daylights out of them," Alex said with a grumble as she flopped back down on her pillow and buried her face in it.
"Oh," he said, a little crest-fallen. An idea struck him, and he smiled wickedly. "Hey, Mama, pull my finger." He held out his finger to her.
Alex picked up her head again. "I taught you that one, son." She smirked before lying her head on her pillow once more. "Nice try, though."
"Dang it!" Sam fell back onto the bed, exasperated.
Mitchie smiled and grabbed his foot, wiggling it. "Good morning, by the way."
Sam got back up and crawled over to her. "Good morning, Mommy." He placed himself on her lap and wrapped his arms around her neck. "Can we have pancakes?"
"I don't know, can I have my good-morning kiss?"
Sam scrunched up his face. "Mom," he whined.
Alex picked her head up. "If I kiss you can I have pancakes?"
"Yup," Mitchie said, nodding. "Just you. None for Sam."
Sam rolled his eyes and groaned. "Fine." He placed a quick kiss on her cheek and looked at her expectantly. "Now can I have pancakes?"
Mitchie laughed. "Sure." She ruffled his unruly, dark curls lovingly. "Go bring T-Rex potty and we'll be down in a sec."
"Yay!" He hopped down from the bed and ran towards the door.
"Hey!" Alex protested, sitting up. "Where's my kiss?"
Sam turned around and rushed back to the bed. He stood on his toes and kissed Alex's cheek quickly before dashing out the door again, little brown dog chasing after him.
"Someone's chipper this morning," Alex said, turning to Mitchie.
"I know, I wish he'd give some of that energy to me," Mitchie said with a chuckle. "Come on, let's get down there. If we aren't in the kitchen by the time he comes back in he might start trying to make the pancakes himself again, and I don't feel like having my house burn down today."
"And I'm the only arsonist in this family," Alex agreed with a nod.
Mitchie smirked and shook her head at her wife. "I'm so glad those days are behind you."
"You and me both."
Sometimes Alex almost forget about the fact that she nearly burned down her high school by attempting to smoke in the girls' room… almost. After all, it was the event that almost ruined her life, but ultimately helped introduce her to Mitchie. A girl doesn't forget the event that helped her to meet the love of her life.
The women both climbed out of bed, Mitchie stretching and Alex yawning as they went. Together they walked to the door and down the stairs of their large California home.
After returning from Camp Rock all those summers ago Mitchie finally finished and released her first album. It was an instant success, and Mitchie's career skyrocketed after that. She and Alex had more money than they ever could have imagined after that first album and the tour that followed. Then came the second album, which led to more money and another tour. After that Alex and Mitchie decided it was time to finally relocate to California for Mitchie's career.
As soon as they reached the kitchen Alex put on a pot of coffee as Mitchie busied herself with the pancakes. They were from a box, so they were nowhere near as good as her chef-mother's, but what could she say? She was a singer, not a chef.
Sam came in from the backyard with T-Rex as Alex poured coffee for her and Mitchie into mugs. He went to the stove and peeked over Mitchie's shoulder at the pancakes.
"Where's the chocolate chips?" he asked with a frown.
"You're going to smother these in syrup, you don't need that much sugar," Mitchie told him.
"Well, that's going to be Shane's problem, so I say go for it," Alex said with a smirk as she retrieved the creamer from the stainless-steel fridge.
Shane had remained in Sam's life, as he said he would, and had actually become a pretty okay father. He took Sam every other weekend when he wasn't touring or doing some other celebrity thing. Recently he'd been judging a singing competition in Europe, but he'd gotten back that week, and it was his first time seeing Sam in nearly a month.
"What time is Dad coming to get me?" Sam asked.
"Around ten," Mitchie said. "Sam, can you please set the table for breakfast?"
Sam sighed but did as he was told, grabbing the utensils from the silverware drawer.
A few minutes later the three of them sat around the table, all enjoying the fruit of Mitchie's labor. Sam chewed his pancakes happily, dropping down a bite every now and then to T-Rex when his mothers weren't looking. Alex was the first to clean her plate, dragging the last delicious piece of bacon through the leftover syrup. She popped it in her mouth and sighed in contentment. Sam was next, doing the same. Mitchie smiled as she watched them, the memory of her first time trying syrup on her bacon flashing through her mind.
"Sam, did I ever tell you the story of how I discovered how amazing bacon and syrup are together?" Mitchie asked as she stabbed her own last bite of food with her fork.
"Only a bazillion times," Sam said and sucked a glob of syrup off his thumb. "You were pregnant with me, you saw Mama doing it, she made you try it, blah, blah, blah."
"And the rest is history," Alex said with a chuckle and downed the last of her coffee.
"Wanna lick the plate, T-Rex?" Sam asked the brown dog at his feet, reaching down to put his plate on the floor.
T-Rex wagged his tail in excitement, his whole body swaying with the movement. He was a funny-looking little guy. A long body, like a wiener dog, but not quite as long. His legs also weren't as stout, and his ears were bat-like, always up and alert. They had no idea what kind of breed he was because Alex had gotten him from the pound for Sam's fifth birthday.
"Oh, no," Mitchie said, grabbing the plate from her son before he could place it on the floor. "Last time you did that he got syrup all over himself. And I'm the one who had to give him a bath."
"Awe," Sam whined.
T-Rex whined as well as he watched Mitchie carry his almost-treat away, to the sink. Alex followed her with her dishes as well.
"Sam, go upstairs and brush your teeth and get dressed. Shane's gonna be here soon," Alex said as she returned to the table for the rest of the dishes.
"Okay." Sam hopped down from his chair. "Come on, T!" He ran out of the kitchen. The dog hesitated, sniffing the air to see if he could catch a whiff of any leftover food. When he determined there wasn't any he turned and followed his tiny owner.
Mitchie and Alex busied themselves cleaning their large, immaculate kitchen after breakfast. It was a chef's dream. Plenty of counter and cabinet space, a double oven, range with a fifth burner in the center, granite countertops, and all stainless steel appliances. Mitchie's own chef mother was jealous. After Mitchie, Alex, and Sam moved to California Connie and Steve gave up their tiny New York apartment and bought a home in Texas not far from where Mitchie had originally grown up. Their kitchen was nothing like Mitchie's, and it was something Connie voiced being jealous of every time she visited.
But, as nice as the kitchen was, it was a bitch to clean. Stainless steel had a way of showing fingerprints, and eight-year-olds seemed to always have dirty hands. So every Saturday morning after breakfast Mitchie and Alex cleaned their kitchen. It was something Alex deeply hated, and always tried to get out of, but Mitchie insisted. They had someone clean the whole house once a week on Wednesdays, but the kitchen always seemed to get dirty quicker than the rest of their home. So they did it twice a week.
When Alex finally finished scrubbing off the last of Sam's finger smudges from the fridge, she let out a long sigh and threw the Clorox wipe in the garbage. She wiped her brow and checked the time. It was ten after ten. That had only taken about thirty minutes. Not bad.
"Shane's late," Alex announced, leaning against the counter and looking to Mitchie.
Mitchie put the last dish in the dishwasher and pushed the start button. She straightened up and crossed her arms over her chest, meeting Alex's gaze.
"When is he not?" Mitchie asked. "I mean, the man was a year late in showing up to his son's life."
"Seven years later and I'm still surprised he showed up at all."
Mitchie nodded. "Me too."
The sound of running footsteps followed by the tiny clacking of nails on tile approached. Alex and Mitchie quieted their discussion of Shane as Sam skidded to a halt into the room. T-Rex quickly followed, tail wagging like crazy.
"Where's Dad?" Sam asked, out of breath. His chest heaved under his light blue Polo shirt.
"He's just running a little late," Mitchie said, reaching out to stroke his chin. She looked down at his shorts, noticing they were the ones she had just bought him. She frowned upon seeing a bright red spot on the right leg of the gray material. "What happened here?"
Sam looked down at his shorts then back at his mom sheepishly. "I had a marker in my pocket."
Mitchie groaned. "Sam, how many shorts do you have to ruin before you listen to me when I tell you to STOP DOING THAT?"
"This is the last time, I swear," Sam said quickly.
"You said that last time," Alex chimed in.
A long, slow ding-dong filled the house, and Sam's eyes widened with excitement.
"Dad's here!" he exclaimed, before dashing out of the room again.
"Quit running!" Mitchie called to his retreating back.
"Great, my favorite person's here," Alex said in a sarcastic tone. She put on a fake smile. "Let's get this over with."
"Just think," Mitchie said with a smile, "him being here means we get the house all to ourselves tonight."
"Oh my gosh, I can't wait." Alex grinned from ear-to-ear, showing slightly crooked front teeth Mitchie loved so much. "We can watch whatever we want on Netflix," she said wistfully.
Mitchie laughed loudly. "I was thinking we could be as loud as we want," she said with eyebrows raised and a sexy smirk. "But I like your, idea, too."
"Let's do both," Alex said, wrapping her arm around Mitchie's waist and pulling her close. "By the way, I never got my good morning kiss from you."
Mitchie beamed and wound her arms around Alex's neck. "Well, good morning." She gently pressed her lip against her wife's then pulled away quickly. "Come on, let's go hand over our son to his father so I can kiss you as much as I want."
"And all this time I thought Shane was useless. But look at him, coming in handy for once." Alex chuckled at her own joke and untangled herself from Mitchie.
When they reached the foyer, they found Sam had already let Shane in. Shane stood there, engulfing Sam in a huge hug. T-Rex ran around them in circles, barking loudly. No matter how many times he saw Shane, he went nuts every time. T-Rex hated men, and Alex got a kick out of it. He fit into their family just fine.
"I missed you, bud," Shane said, letting Sam go and taking a step back to look at him. "I feel like you've grown a foot since I saw you!"
"Really?" Sam asked, beaming. He glanced down at himself, then stood tall and threw his shoulders back, puffing out his chest.
"You're gonna be taller than me soon enough." Shane reached out and ruffled the boy's hair before turning attention to the two women standing a few feet away near the foot of the stairs. "Hey, good to see you."
"Welcome back," Mitchie said, crossing over and hugging him lightly.
"What'd ya bring me?" Alex asked with a smirk, walking over as well.
"Actually," Shane said, reaching into the inside pocket of his black leather jacket, "I did get you something." He pulled out a McFly CD with scribbles across the front. "You like these guys, right?" He held out the autographed compact disc to her.
She took it, eyes wide. "Shut up! How did you get this?"
"Danny's a judge on the show I was on," Shane explained. "I told him I had a friend who liked McFly and next week he came back with this. They'd all hung out that weekend, so he got Tom, Dougie, and Harry to sign it. Nice lads."
"Lads?" Mitchie raised her eyebrows. "What, you go to London for a month and suddenly you're speaking the lingo?"
"What'd you bring me, Dad?" Sam asked, tugging on his jacket sleeve.
"Sam, that's not polite," Mitchie corrected him.
"But Mama said it!"
"I was kidding," Alex said, still staring down at her signed copy of Motion in the Ocean. "I didn't think he actually had something for me," she muttered.
"Sam, I got you so much stuff that it's all waiting for you at my house in your room," Shane said, gaining a smile from his son. "Go get your bag, and we'll go check it out."
"All right!" Sam exclaimed and took off up the stairs.
"What, I don't get anything?" Mitchie asked jokingly. "I birthed your son."
"Didn't you just say it was rude for Sam to ask?" Shane smirked.
"Yeah, that's him. Do as I say, not as I do, ya know?"
Shane laughed and reached into his back, jean pocket. He produced a playbill for Wicked and handed it over.
"Thanks for suggesting I see it," he told her. "That's signed on the inside."
Mitchie excitedly flipped it open. "Like, I know I'm famous now and shouldn't be excited about an autograph, but this is still so cool to me."
Shane grinned and looked down to see T-Rex sniffing at his black Vans. He bent over and held out his hand, letting the dog catch his scent.
"Hey, dude. How ya doing, Rex?"
"Dad," Sam said, appearing at the top of the stairs with his backpack slung over his shoulder, "his name is T-Rex. I've told you before." He began descending the stairs. "After my favorite dinosaur, remember?"
"Yeah, Shane, how could you forget?" Alex asked. "I mean, you are the one who showed him Jurassic Park when he was four, which scared him so badly he slept in our bed for a month."
"He said he liked dinosaur movies. I thought he'd like it," Shane said defensively.
"Yeah, Land Before Time," Mitchie said.
"Jurassic Park is a cinematic masterpiece," Shane said as Sam reached him. He took his son's bag from him and slung it over his own shoulder. "Forgive me for trying to culture our son."
"Dad, can we go?" Sam whined impatiently.
"Yeah, come on, buddy." He placed his hand on the door. "Go hug your moms."
Sam threw his arms around Mitchie, who gave him a gentle squeeze. Next was Alex. She placed a kiss atop his head and patted his back.
"Be good," she told him.
"We'll see you tomorrow," Mitchie added.
"Bye, Moms. Love you." He followed Shane out the door.
"Love you," Mitchie and Alex said in unison as the door swung closed.
It was silent for a moment, until T-Rex let out a whine at his companion's departure. He scratched at the door, willing it to open again.
"Well, what do you want to do now?" Mitchie asked Alex, looking around the large, empty foyer. The house always seemed so still without Sam's energy.
"Wanna go eat the rest of the leftover Easter candy we hid from Sam?" Alex smiled mischievously.
Mitchie laughed. "Duh."
Shane placed Sam's bag in the backseat of his black Range Rover and held the door open for Sam to climb in. The boy frowned upon seeing his booster seat fastened to the seat.
"Dad, I'm too big for this," he protested.
"Actually, you're not," Shane told him. "According to your mother, at least. And I'm not going to argue with her. Besides," he pointed to outside the gate, to the group of irritating paparazzi gathered and taking pictures of them, "those guys will have these photos online within the hour. Do you really want your mom to call and demand I bring you home because I didn't do the one thing she asked me to do, which is keep you safe?"
Sam grumbled but climbed into his safety seat all the same. "Stupid paparazzi. I hate them."
"You and me both, kid." Shane connected the straps and buckled Sam in. "You and me both."
"Hey, Dad," Sam said and pointed to Shane's shirt. "What's that?"
"What?" Shane asked, looking down.
Sam lifted his finger and flicked Shane in the nose, and Shane stared at his son dumbfoundedly as he cackled in his seat.
"April Fools," Sam gasped in between chuckles.
Shane had to laugh as well. "Dang, Sam, you got me." He looked to his Apple Watch, and sure enough, it was April First.
He'd been so focused on the competition and then flying back immediately after it ended so that he could be there in time to see Sam he hadn't even thought about the dumb holiday. He'd arrived the night before and crashed in his bed immediately, somehow managing to hazily set an alarm before giving into exhaustion.
"I can't wait to tell Mama I got you," Sam grinned widely, and Shane noticed for the first time he'd lost another one of his bottom teeth.
When had that happened? And he hadn't been lying earlier when he said Sam had grown. It felt like he'd had a whole growth spurt over the few weeks Shane had been away. It hit Shane hard in the chest. He missed so much sometimes.
After once again checking that Sam was secure Shane closed the back door before hopping in the driver's seat. He adjusted his mirror and began backing out of the long driveway, pausing to allow the automatic gate to open. The men with cameras backed away to let him pass, snapping pictures the whole time. Shane threw his car in drive and sped away quickly, leaving the human leeches in his dust.
And there you have it. The first chapter. Today is a special day for me, and this is a story line that is dear to my heart. Thank you for continuing this journey with me. I'll try to update in a timely manner. For now, review if you wish. I'll be back soon.
Until next time,
DF