I'm so sorry that it's up later than I said. I had a choir concert yesterday so I was busy all day. I hope you enjoy this last chapter and I can't wait to hear all of your thoughts. Again, Happy Holidays and be safe!
Sterling, where exactly are we?" A confused Demi Lovato asked her friend.
"We are in one of my favorite places in the world. It's one of my favorite places to go to. Come on, let's go eat." Sterling grabbed Demi's hand, pulling her along to a place called Delilah's. It was a small little restaurant/ diner that was in the center of this small town.
Once they entered the diner, Sterling led Demi to a table near the back, but with a good view of the town. Before either could utter a single word a tall white haired lady came into their view. "Well, long time no see, stranger."
"I've been busy Delilah." Sterling smiled at the seemily friendly woman in front of them.
"I bet. And who is this lovely lady Mr. Knight?"
"Sterling flashed a grin towards Demi before introducing her. "This is Demi Lovato. We work together on Sonny with a Chance."
"Well, welcome to my restaurant Demi. Any friend of Sterling's is a friend of mine. We don't get many stars around here, especially since this one never brings them around." Delilah said, pointing her thumb at Sterling.
"I'm glad to be here. We had a nice place just like this in the town I'm from in Texas. It was one of my favorite places to go to." Demi shook the elderly woman's hand.
"Well, hopefully we'll be seeing more of you then."
"Most definitely. If I have anything to do with it that is."
"You will. I'll give you two a minute." And with that parting goodbye, Delilah was gone.
"Sorry about her, she likes to pry into personal lives."
"I like her… a lot. But what I want to know is how you found this place?"
"I'm not quite sure honestly. I was driving through here one night a couple years back, it was late and I was upset. I knew if I didn't get something to eat I would have fallen asleep at the wheel. So, I saw that this diner was still opened and went in for some coffee. Delilah was… interesting to say the least and ever since then, I've come back whenever I could. It has that small town feel to it, you know?"
"I can feel it."
"Feels like home." Sterling whispered.
Demi nodded. "That's one of the things that make me miss Texas."
Instead of acting shocked at this confession like most would, Sterling nodded and said. "Me too." That was one thing so great about Demi and Sterling's relationship, they understood each other.
Delilah came and got their order shortly after. The two ate with the casual conversation most are presented with on a date. Once they were finished and the check was laid out on the table, Sterling got up to go pay. "So, you and Sterling, huh?" Delilah asked, sneaking up on Demi.
"Oh, no, we're just friends." Demi replied casually.
"I wasn't born yesterday dear. With the way you two stare at each other and talk to each other, I'm surprised you're not pouncing on one another constantly."
"I… um… actually have a boyfriend." Demi blushed at her blunt comment.
"Yet here you are on a date with a different boy."
Demi opened her mouth to correct the owner, but she quickly cut her off, "Don't deny that this isn't a date. Sterling has never and I mean never, brought anyone else in here before. We all thought he was a loner you know. We thought he had no family or friends. So, you must be pretty special for him to bring you here."
"Alright, Demi, you ready to go?" Sterling asked as he came back to the table.
"Of course, let's go." Demi smiled.
"It was good seeing you Sterling. Visit us more often. And bring this little lady back with ya. We like her." Delilah pulled Sterling in for a hug.
"It was great seeing you too."
"Demi, it was a pleasure. Hopefully we'll see you soon."
"It was a lot of fun. I really like this place." Demi returned the hug Delilah had given her.
As the two teens walked out of the diner they heard from behind them the owner call out, "Don't forget my advice! I'm always right!"
Demi put a big smile on her face as she laughed at Delilah's words. Sterling gave her a quizzical look, "What was that about?"
"Just an inside joke. C'mon, start the car, I'm ready to jam."
Sterling laughed and did as he was told.
About a half hour later they were seated in their seats at the concert. The concert was being held at an outdoor theatre where the pavilion held seats but the back was just a lawn for people to sit on and watch from there. As the concert started, Demi and Sterling both were singing and dancing along to every song. As Demi's favorite song started to play, she instantly lit up. "Sterling! This is my favorite!" Demi screamed over the noise.
"Well, then, you should get up and sing it." He laughed at her horrified face.
"Very funny, but I'd rather not."
"Your loss…" Sterling yelled as he belted out the lyrics to the soft song.
Demi quickly put a hand over his mouth to hush him. "Too bad this is a slow song."
"Then I guess we should dance." Sterling didn't give her a chance to respond. He pulled her close to him and started to twirl her around. The song was coming to a close and Sterling knew what he had to do. The final cord was lingering in the air, Sterling leaned down and gave the girl he loved a sweet and passionate kiss.
Demi tried to fight it, but knew that it was hopeless. She caved. She let Sterling kiss her. She let her feelings for him show through her façade. She let herself kiss him back. As they stood there in the pavilion kissing, Demi knew that this was the best night of her life."
xXx
"He kissed you! Just like that? Dad had game!" Blake grinned. "I definitely got my charm from him."
"Yes, yes you did. But you got your good looks from me." Demi winked.
"Yeah, yeah whatever."
"So, did you and Dad ever go back to the diner?" Charli broke in.
"We went constantly. That was the place your father told me he loved me. He proposed just down the street in a small gazebo. We heard our wedding song while eating dinner one evening. We went all the time. I still go sometimes."
"How come you've never taken us?"
"We can go whenever you want." Demi offered.
"So, what happened after the kiss?"
"Well, things were awkward for a moment, but fortunately, Sterling's favorite song came on and let's just say his singing got us out of that phase."
"I thought that Dad was a good singer?" Blake commented.
"He is, normally, but he can be bad when he wants too."
"As much as I love the mother-son bonding, what happened next?" Charli said wanting to get on with the story.
"You really want to hear this, don't you? The concert was over a couple of songs later and we headed backstage to meet the band. We stayed and sang with them for about two hours before heading back to our designated homes. We didn't talk about the kiss at all, it was never brought up. I think we were both too scared of ruining the good vibe we had finally gotten back. I do remember however, that once I got home I instantly updated my Twitter status to Best night of my life. About five minutes later, Sterling's said the exact same thing.
"Aw, that's so cute." Charli swooned.
"Daddy's sweet." Bailey agreed.
Demi laughed at her youngest child. "Yes, he is."
"So, what did Uncle Joe say?" Blake was the one to get the story rolling this time.
"Well, we didn't have to work for the next two days because of the weekend. But when Monday rolled around it was time to finally face him after forty eight hours of ignoring him."
xXx
"I didn't see you this weekend. What was up?" Joe asked his girlfriend as she walked to the prop house set.
"I was busy. We had family come in town." Demi only partially lied. She wasn't really all that busy, but her mom's sister and husband really did come down to visit for a couple of days.
"Sounds like fun." Joe smiled.
"What did you do?"
"Just hung out with the family. It was good."
"Good, I'm glad you had a nice time."
"So… I overheard something the other day and I wanted to ask you about it." Joe said taking a turn on his emotions.
"Go ahead." Demit told him skeptically.
"I'm not saying this to get you mad, I'm just curious, but I heard Sterling and Tiffany talking and your name came up."
"Okay?" Demi looked at him confused.
"She asked him how the concert went on Friday and Sterling said it was really fun. He told her you both had a blast and that he thought you could finally get over the situation you had been in. He said he thought you could finally have the chance to get closer." Joe stopped talking for a second to give Demi a chance to comprehend things.
"So, what's your question?"
"I know Sterling likes you, so what exactly is going on between you two? I think I have a right to know."
"Nothing is going on and how did you find out that Sterling liked me?" Demi looked at Joe shocked.
"I heard him say it. Did you already know that he likes you?"
"You really are good at eavesdropping."
"Demi!"
"That's not important Joe. What's important is that we're together."
"You did know." Joe concluded from her allusiveness.
"Joe!"
"And yet you still went out with him over the weekend. How could you do that to me? Do you like him too? God, Demi, I can't believe you!" Joe yelled, grabbing the attention of many people on the set along with them.
"I'm sorry, yes I knew! Why do you think things have been so awkward between us for the last week? I went with him as friends. That's what friend's do, they go out together. The concert helped get us out the funk we were in."
"You did answer my question. Do you have feelings for him?" Demi started to say something, but Joe cut her off. "I want an honest answer."
Demi looked down at the ground and whispered. "I don't know."
"You don't know? It's a simple yes or no question, Demi! A simple one word answer."
"I think so." Demi mumbled keeping her focus on the ground she was standing on.
Joe stood in shock. When he finally comprehended what Demi said he quietly muttered. "We're done."
"What? No, Joe, it means nothing."
"Obviously it does if Friday was the best night of your life."
"Joe, I'm sorry!"
"Save it. You lied to me! We're over. You can finally be with Sterling now. I don't give a damn!" Joe hissed with anger laced in his voice and walked down the hallway that would lead him outside and away from Demi Lovato for what he thought would be forever."
xXx
"Wow, harsh break up Mom." Blake commented.
"Poor Joey." Bailey added using her special nickname for her Uncle Joe.
"How'd you get back to being such good friends?" Charli asked.
"We knew we weren't meant to be together and got over it. Granted it took a couple of years to get that brother/sister relationship back, but we worked hard for it. It was all worth it in the end." Demi explained. "Why don't we finish the rest of the story tomorrow and play a game or something now?"
"No way! I'm starting to like the story now." Blake said.
"Yeah, mom. Yours and Dad's relationship is like a movie. It's so intoxicating. So, carry on." Charli ordered.
"You take after your father." Demi pointed at Charli who just smiled at her mother proudly. "Alright, well we're about done anyways. Obviously everyone had noticed that Joe had stormed off set, it was just a matter of time before they found out what really happened."
xXx
"Hey, Dem are you okay?" Tiffany asked her best friend as she entered Demi's dressing room.
"Yeah, I'm just great. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because your boyfriend is a jerk and was caught storming out of here. What exactly happened?"
"I don't want to have to repeat this a thousand times."
"Then I'll go get everyone. Meet in the prop house in five." Tiffany said whilst running out the door.
"Tiffany, wait! That's not what I meant." Demi trudged out of her dressing room, knowing Tiffany would seriously hurt her if she wasn't there in five minutes.
More like ten minutes later Doug, Brandon, Sterling, Tiffany, Alyson and Demi were all sitting in the So Random! prop house. Demi took a deep breath and proceeded to tell her friends her news. "Umm… well, Joe and I are… um, not together anymore. We uh… broke up." Demi stuttered.
"What? Why?" Tiffany's voice was the only one heard.
"It just wasn't working." Demi whispered.
"I'm so sorry Demi. You must be so upset." Alyson sympathized her friend. She always thought Joe and Demi were so adorable together. She really thought that they would last. But like all Hollywood relationships, it failed.
"I'm actually pretty okay. I kind of saw this coming, you know? Things had been rough for some time now, so I'm okay."
"Well, I'm still sorry." Tiffany gave her best friend a hug. Demi let her cast mates talk, while she stepped off the set. She did realize that someone had followed her. "Hey." The voice spoke up from behind her.
"Hey." Demi repeated the greeting.
"I was just checking to make sure you were really okay."
"I'm lucky to have such a caring friend." Demi responded somewhat sarcastic.
"Demi…"
"Sterling, I meant what I said in there. Sure, I'm sad that my friendship with Joe could be forever ruined, but it was time. I wasn't being fair to him or to you or to myself."
"This didn't have anything to do with me, did it?" Sterling asked worried that all of this would ruin his and Demi's growing relationship.
Demi shook her head. "No, you just made me realize that it was time."
"So, you ended things?"
"Not exactly, but I understand now why Joe was right to break up with me."
"Oh, alright then."
"Is that all you wanted?"
"Not exactly." Sterling mimicked her word choice from before. "I think we should talk about the kiss."
"There's nothing to talk about." Demi told him warily.
"It meant something to me, Demi. I thought I could handle going back to being just your friend, but I can't and frankly I'm tired of it. I can't just hide my feelings for you. I know you and Joe just broke up, but that kiss was real. If it wasn't you never would have kissed me back."
"I don't think now is the best time for this."
"I can't do it anymore, Demi. Friday night just made me realize how stupid I've been. I already talked to Lee and he's giving me a leave of absence. I think it will be best if we're not seeing each other every day." Sterling turned to walk back onto set.
"Sterling, wait!" Demi grabbed his arm to stop him. "I don't want to have to go through this again. I don't think I can handle you leaving again. I know I sound crazy, but I like having you here. I like talking to you and being with you. I like seeing you every day, it makes the day easier. I like all the time we spend together, I like your company. I don't want you to leave because of me, I want you stay because of me. I would hate myself for making you leave." Demi truthfully told him.
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that you were right. I wouldn't have kissed you back had I not had feelings for you. I'm not saying that I want to go out with you right away, but I do want to get to know you even better than I already do. And maybe, in a couple of months, we can see if the whole getting to know each other stage could progress to something more." Demi smiled.
"I think I'd like that." Sterling reciprocated her grin.
"Good, then let's get back to work." Demi grabbed his hand and led him back to the set.
xXx
"That's it, that's how you got together?" Charli stared at her mother in disgust. "That's so boring! What happened to all the exciting stuff?"
"We didn't get together until about four months later." Demi laughed at her daughter's bewildered expression. As she was doing so she heard the front door open and her youngest daughter yell, "Daddy!"
"Hey, baby girl. How are you?" Sterling picked up his four year old and placed her in his arms.
"Good! Momma's telling us stories!"
"Oh, what kind of stories?" Sterling looked at his soon to be ex-wife, who just put a fake smile of her features.
"About you! And how you got here."
Sterling laughed not really understanding Bailey. "What?"
"She means about how you and mom got together." Charli said while giving her Dad a hug.
"Exciting stuff."
"Yeah, Dad, we realized that I got my charm and wit from you." Blake also joined the hug.
"Well Bud, we already knew that." Sterling winked at his only son.
"Sounds like the popcorn is done, Sterling, why don't you help me out?" Sterling knew he had no choice but to comply.
He walked into the familiar kitchen a little worried as to what Demi was going to say. "I'm surprised their still up."
"They didn't want to go to bed yet. Besides it's a weekend."
"Are you sure you should be telling them how we got together?"
"They're hard to say no to." Demi stated, while pouring some water for everyone.
"They used the puppy dog face?" Sterling asked, jokingly.
"No, they said that we owed it to them." Demi snapped.
"So, a guilt trip?"
"Is this all a joke to you? I don't know what else I can do! They hate me enough already!"
"They don't hate you, Demi."Sterling stepped closer to her and placed a strand of hair behind her ear. Demi leaned into his touch. "They're just confused and upset. They could never hate you."
"You didn't hear the way they yelled." Demi whispered.
"I don't need to."
Demi sighed, knowing that he was right. She then realized that she had no idea why he was here. "Why are you here, Sterling?"
"I came to get some clothes. I went to the condo and was faced with the fact that I have no clean clothes."
"You don't know how to do the laundry?"
"I haven't had the time."
"Well, it's late. You should probably get your stuff and then head out. I heard it's supposed to storm pretty badly tonight."
"Yeah, I heard that too." Sterling nodded; a hint of sadness touched his eyes.
Demi handed him the drinks while she took the popcorn out to their kids. As soon as everyone had their food, Bailey plopped down in her father's lap. "Are you staying till' morning Dada?"
"I don't think so, baby girl. But I'll see you soon."
"You said that a week and a half ago and this is the first time we've seen you since then." Blake reminded him.
"I'll go get the salt." Demi stood up to give her kids a moment with their dad. She made sure she kept the kitchen door open so she could hear what was going on.
"You guys know I hate that this is happening, but it doesn't change anything between us. I'm still always going to be here for you, you know that."
"We miss you Pop." Charli added.
"And you have no idea how much I miss you all. This doesn't change the fact that I'm still your father and always will be. I still love you three more than anything in this world." He gave Bailey a tight squeeze, while she asked. "What about Mommy?"
"Yes, I love her very much also." Sterling admitted. He knew that Demi was listening, but he couldn't lie to his kids.
"Mom loves you too. She was smiling throughout the whole story." Charli told her father.
"It's a nice story."
"I don't get it!" Blake shouted suddenly angry. He noticed his mom enter the room once again and directed his outburst towards her too. "If you two still love each other than why are you doing this? Why are you tearing our family apart?"
"Blake, honey…" Demi was cut off by the lights flashing.
"Dada!" Bailey cried out in fear.
"Shh, baby, it's okay." Sterling cradled her. He gave her to Demi and looked out the window. "I should get going. It looks like it's going to get pretty bad out there really soon."
The TV switched to the news and it was reported a tornado watch was in effect for the county next to the one the Knight family lived in. "Maybe you should just stay here. If it's as bad as it looks to be, I don't want you driving out in it." Demi offered.
"I'll be fine."
"I won't be."
Sterling stared into her deep chocolate brown eyes for a minute knowing if he stayed he wouldn't be able to recover. "Let's head down to the basement for a while. Just until all of this blows over."
Demi grabbed Bailey while Sterling took down some blankets. Luckily they had a finished basement that practically looked like a little apartment. "How about we watch a movie?" Demi suggested.
"Okay." The three kids said in unison.
"Alright, how's 'Home Alone' sound?"
"Awesome!" Blake cheered in excitement. It was his favorite movie after all.
As the family got settled in, Sterling took notice in Demi's physical state. She looked exhausted and physically spent. He noticed she didn't seem as lively as usual and he guessed that he had something to do with that. He truly missed her and had been rethinking their whole situation since he left.
About half way through the movie two of the three kids were asleep. Sterling got Demi's attention and they carried Blake and Bailey off to Charli's room which was in the back right corner of the basement. The two parents figured the kids would feel safer sleeping down there for the night. Charli entered the room once her two siblings were settled in her room. I'm going to head to bed too." She yawned and went to give her mom a hug goodnight.
"Night sweetie."
"Night Mom." She went to her father next. "It was nice having you here tonight. It felt like we were a family again."
Sterling stifled a nod while he looked down his distress. "Night Charli."
"Night Pop."
xXx
"Are we making a mistake?" Sterling asked Demi as she handed him a cup of coffee.
"I don't know anymore. With the kids, it just makes it all too hard."
"They have a point you know?"
"What's that?" Demi asked taking a seat opposite of Sterling on the couch.
"If we still love each other, why are we doing this?"
"Sometimes love isn't enough."
"Demi… we never really tried to work through all the problems. We just let our fights escalade until we couldn't bear the sight of the other."
"You don't think I know that? I wonder if we made a mistake constantly. I hate putting them through all of this, but I can't stand the thought of being hurt by you again. Sterling, I…" Demi stopped instantly at a loss for words.
"I hate being apart from you, from my family."
"I hate not having you here, but…"
"But, what?" Sterling interrupted.
"I don't know anymore."
Sterling looked down at his coffee mug and smiled. "I remember when Blake brought this home. He was so excited that he couldn't wait until Father's Day to give it to me. Those moments are gone for me now."
"They're still your kids. You're still always going to be there for them."
"But I don't get to see them come home from school or hear them talk about their day."
Demi nodded in understanding before the tears welled up in her eyes. "Demi…" Sterling moved to her side, kneeling in front of her. "It hurts so much." Demi chocked up.
"I know, I know." Sterling agreed.
"I hate this so much."
Sterling wiped away a stray tear. "We'll figure it out. In the mean time we just have to be here for the kids as best as we can."
Demi nodded and wiped her tears. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize."
"Right." Demi looked down at her hands.
Sterling stood up and started towards the stairs. "I should go. It sounds like the storms done and I should get back to the apartment."
"Yeah, okay. I'll tell the kids you said good-bye."
"Please do." And with one final look Sterling exited the basement.
xXx
"Is this it, Momma?" Bailey asked excitedly.
"It is." Demi smiled at her youngest child's enthusiasm.
"This is where you and Dad got engaged?" Charli asked wanted confirmation.
"Yes, this is where we got engaged."
"Wow! Is that the diner?"
"Yeah, how about we stop by for something to eat? I don't know about you all, but I'm starved."
"Okay!" The three kids said in unison.
Demi took Blake's hand and led her small family to the place she was most fond of in the world. "Please tell me that this is not Demi Lovato."
"Delilah, it's been awhile."
"It's been too long. Are these the kids?"
"They are."
"The last time I saw this one, she was just a couple of years old and this one," Delilah said pointing to Blake, "was just a little baby."
"I know, and our youngest wasn't even born yet." Demi said directing the comment at her youngest child who was in her mother's arms.
"She's adorable. She has Sterling's eyes."
"That she does."
"Well, come, sit down. Here's some menu's and I'll be back in just a minute."
"This place is awesome." Blake commented.
"You like it?"
"Yeah, I can see why Dad would come here all the time. It has everything you could possibly want to eat. Chicken fingers, burgers, sandwiches, soups, salads, everything!"
"Well, have whatever you want; after all, I'm paying." Demi smiled at her son who could eat anything and everything if he wanted to.
"So, how about some drinks?" Delilah was back and took everyone's order. Demi told the kids they could look around the small store that was attached to the diner, while Delilah and Demi caught up. "I heard about you and Sterling."
"Oh, I guess that saves me from having to say it."
"What happened? You two were always so in love. I was jealous."
"I don't know, honestly. We just fought all the time, so much that I felt like I could kill him. We would just get so angry at each other for the dumbest reasons and tempers flew. I think we were tired of it all and just knew that if we didn't separate something worse was going to happen and we couldn't let that happen." Demi explained.
"That's too bad." Delilah simply said.
"I miss him." Demi admitted.
"You still love him." Even though it should be a question, Delilah stated it like a statement. She always knew that answer to that question.
"I always will."
"There's still time to fix it."
"We go to court in two days to finalize everything."
"There's still time to fix it." Delilah repeated as the kids came running back because they saw the food coming to the table. The family ate with little conversation here and there. Demi went to pay the bill but dropped her wallet as she looked out the window of the diner. There standing in sunshine was a blonde haired man with bright blue eyes. Charli, Blake and Bailey all went running towards their father in surprise, well two of them ran in surprise.
"Looks like you have a visitor."
"Excuse me." Demi replied. As she walked outside she heard Charli say, "Thanks for coming Pop."
"Of course dear, but I don't see what's wrong. You had me so worried on the phone."
"We're all fine. It's you two who aren't." Charli stated, pointing at her still shocked mother. She pulled Blake and Bailey back into the diner as she motioned her mother and father to speak to each other. "Go on."
"Well, this is… interesting." Sterling started.
"Yeah, I can't believe she did that."
"She is our daughter. Always trying to fix everything."
"Of course."
"So, you brought them here?"
"I hope you don't mind. I know you weren't really on board with telling them our whole story. But it seemed fitting."
"No, its fine if they wanted to know they had a right I guess."
"Okay then."
"This is awkward."
"I'm glad we agree." Demi replied.
"We never have awkward moments."
"We've never been in a situation like this."
"This isn't right, it shouldn't be like this. We weren't supposed to be like this."
"I agree it's not fair. This wasn't supposed to happen to us. We were always the couple that everyone said would be together forever. That was the plan. We weren't… this wasn't… it's not supposed to be us. This isn't right and it's not fair."
"They all lied when they said separating would help. They didn't prepare you for what it really was like."
"It's lonely." Demi agreed.
"And boring." Sterling added.
"I hate this."
"Me too."
"What should we do?"
"I don't know."
"Sterling, I…" Demi paused.
"I know I don't want divorce either. Not anymore."
Demi sighed. "But it's not like we can just fix things and everything can go back to normal."
"It's going to take a lot of work, but I think we can do it. I think we can handle it. Demi, not many people can bounce back after something like this, but I believe we can. We've always been different than most couples look at our history. We started our whole relationship different than anyone else. We had so many troubles but we came out of it strong. I'm tired of living a life without my family. I'm tired of lying to everyone who asks me how everything is going. I'm tired of this. I just want to go home."
"And I want you there, I do. And you're right, we can do it. We've done it before, we can do it again."
Sterling smiled and pulled Demi in for a hug. "I've missed this."
"Isn't it ironic how the spot we got together in brought us back together?" Demi stated as she pulled Sterling in tighter.
"I think that's what Charli had in mind."
"I think you're right."
"We got lucky with those kids." Sterling grinned at the thought of them.
"We certainly did."
"I love you Demi, always and forever."
"And for now that's just enough."
Sterling pulled away and kissed her forehead. He leaned down and whispered in her ear before kissing her, "It will always be enough."
Thanks for reading. I hope you all like it! Please review and tell me what you thought!
