Hello! This chapter isn't going to be very long, it has no smut or flashbacks and it's allot of information to take in at once so please read carefully. Before you start reading, please remember that my first language isn't English it's Dutch and the grammar and spelling is very hard for me to remember... PLEASE LEAVE A REVEW! Happy reading!
None of the kids had actually spoken more than two or three words to Monte yet, since Stef dropped them off the day before. Marianna was the one who had the biggest attitude towards her mother's new girlfriend. She would roll her eyes when Monte would speak to Lena, and when Monte tried to talk to her or any of the other kids she would bluntly interrupt and start a random conversation. She wouldn't leave her mom's side just so that monte didn't have a chance to be close to Lena. She had even insisted on Lena sleeping next to her and Callie in one of the guestrooms in order to keep Monte as far away from her as possible. She had also decided to not eat anything in Monte's house. She had brought her own sandwiches and some snacks. Lena noticed and tried to get her to eat something but without much success.
Brandon, being the oldest, had the most mature attitude towards the situation. He understood that allot of families go through separations like this and that even though it was tough, they had to try and make the best of it. He wasn't thrilled by the whole situation but, he knew that there had to be a way to make this work for all of them. Sleeping over at his mother's new house with her new girlfriend could be the first step to a more civilized relationship between both of his moms.
The others tried to just avoided talking to Monte or even looking at her. When Monte did talk to them or ask them anything they would give short, one or two word answers. They would act like she wasn't even there.
They only agreed to staying the weekend because they all missed the feeling of being in one house with Lena. Their life was so different since the separation, everything was turned upside down. Being with her this weekend would be good for all of them.
A few days before Lena moved out, she sat all of the kids down to tell them and explain to them what was going on. Ofcourse they had already heard most of what was going on during the loud fights she had with Stef, but she wanted them to know what she felt and she wanted to hear what they thought. All of them were heartbroken and angry but she was sure that after some time, they would understand and forgive her. She was heartbroken too, leaving Stef was the hardest thing she ever did, she would see the kids in school but, Stef… She wouldn't see Stef that often at all and no matter how angry she was, it broke her heart. After a few weeks, Marianna was the first one to start talking to her again, then the rest followed slowly. They all forgave her but they never forgot what she had done and they didn't accept monte into their lives.
Stef was hardly ever home with them because she had decided to work double shifts, she needed to get away from the house, away from all those memories of the happy life she used to have with Lena. When she was home during the weeks, she would spend most of her time in her bedroom, resting. It was clearly visible to the kids that she missed Lena terribly, they knew she was struggling to get used to the new situation but even now, six months later, she was still a wreck without her wife. The children tried all kind of things to make her feel better and cheer her up and she always acted like it helped but, they could see a sadness that was still nestled inside of Stef.
Six months went by and everyone was still trying to find their 'new normal'. After some encouragement of Brandon, all of the kids agreed that staying over at Monte's house would maybe ease some of the tension and awkwardness.
After Stef had dropped them off on Friday, Lena had private talks with all of them, asking them how they were doing, how they were adjusting to this new situation and if they needed anything. They ate pizza for dinner and played board games. Saturday at breakfast Monte had prepared her famous toast, all of the kids, except for Marianna, tried it. The rest of the day was spend having a movie marathon on the sofa with snacks and soda.
It was now 5 PM and everyone was in the Livingroom watching a horror movie, Brandon, Marianna and their mom were on the sofa and the rest of the kids were sitting or lying down on pillows on the ground. Monte was seated in the chair next to the soda.
"She's so stupid, why doesn't she just take his knife from him while he's on the ground?!" Marianna hollered at the television, her eyes roller and she let out an arrogant little grunt.
"Shhh, Marianna, some of us are trying to watch the movie here…" Brandon said as he threw a single piece of popcorn at his younger sister who was sitting at the other end of the sofa, leaning against their mother.
Lena scrunched her face at Brandon in a playful way and pulled Marianna closer to her. She was happy to have her kids with her in the same house as her again, it had been so long since they were all curled up on the couch together, watching a movie. The energy in the room was calm and simple, it was all that she wanted, it was what she was used too. It was her… normal.
All that was missing was Stef, Lena thought to herself. Stef. She remembered the feeling of the blonde's arms wrapped around her the day before, when they hugged. Her earthy smell, the way her long hair felt against Lena's skin and how her breath grazed her neck. Oh, how she loved that feeling, she could never get enough of it. Lena tried to shake the thought of Stef out of her mind and tried to concentrate on the movie. 'Why am I even thinking about her like this? I'm happy with Monte, I'm in love with Monte!' Lena reassured to herself.
She looked over to Monte who was sitting on the cozy chair, she had covered herself with a think brown blanket and was completely focused on the television. She was beautiful, her long smooth brown hair fell next to her face like a waterfall. Her lips were full and had the richest color of pink, her eyes that were focused on the movie looked even more bright as the light from the television lit them up. Her character was sweet and selfless… she was smart and her voice was soft when she spoke. Yes, Lena knew for sure she was in love with monte, all of her.
"Oh… yeah, she's definitely head now." Jude said when the woman in the movie tripped over some random object and the killer came closer. He reached in the bowl in front of him to grab another hand full of paprika chips but, it turned out to be empty.
"MOMMA, Jesus ate all of the paprika chips!" he whined as he turned around to show Lena the empty bowl.
Jesus turned around too, a shocked look on his face, "No I didn't! you are most of them!" He said, trying to sound as truthful as possible.
Jude flashed him an annoyed look. "You know that' the only flavor I like, Jesus! Uhg!"
The two went back and forward arguing about who ate all of the chips. Lena paused the movie, earning irritated groans from Callie, Brandon and Marianna who were really focused on the movie.
"Okay, let me run to the store for you really quick, Bubba." She said before starting the movie again. She kissed the top of Marianna's head before moving to get u off the sofa. She walked over to the chair where Monte was sitting and kneeled next to it.
Lena stroked Monte's hair, "Do you mind watching them for a few minutes while I go get some more snacks, baby?" she asked.
Monte looked at her and smiled, "Go ahead, babe." She leaned down and quickly pecked Lena on the lips, the kids were so focused on the movie that they didn't notice.
"Anyone else want anything?" Lena asked, knowing all of the kids would start yelling what they wanted she added, "ONE at a time please."
"Maltezers." Brandon said, quickly followed by Callie saying "Some sour candy, please!". Lena grabbed a pen and some paper and started making a list.
Jude thought for a minute and said, "Can you get the chips with the orange packaging, momma?". Lena smiled and wrote it on her list. She loved how Jude always knew exactly what he wanted, even the smallest details.
"Can you buy me some vanilla ice cream and chocolate chip cookies… Oh, and if you have time some red vines!" Jesus said, looking at his mom with a hopeful look on his face, already knowing what she was going to say.
"Vanilla ice cream and red vines, yes, chocolate chip cookies, no. You know that much sugar gives you nightmares, and I'm not getting up at 4 am in the morning, Jesus!" Lena said laughing gently, "You want anything, baby?" She added.
Marianna was just about to answer when monte said, "No, babe, I'm good… thank you."
Lena saw that Marianna was going to answer too, so she asked, "What do you want me to get you, baby girl?" She started stroking Marianna's hair.
Marianna was getting a little hungry but, when she heard Monte answer, her sassy mode kicked in again. She gave Lena an uninterested look and said that she didn't want anything. Lena tried to get her to pick something to snack on but, the young Latina kept refusing. Lena gave up and left to go to the store, which wasn't more than 15 minutes away from Monte's house.
Everyone went back to watching the movie, which was almost at an end.
Monte looked over at the kids, they were all so focused on the movie, the looked so sweet. She wanted to have a bond with them, she wanted to be able to have conversations with them. The weekend was partly supposed to ease the relationship between Monte and the kids but until now, not much had changed. If Lena's kids didn't accept her, she was afraid that Lena would never be able to fully give herself to her. Monte loved Lena's kids, no matter how mean or arrogant they were towards her. They were part of Lena and that was enough to make Monte love them. As much as she knew that it was very selfish of her, she couldn't help but wish they were hers. That they were her children, hers and Lena's. It was a silly thought but Monte couldn't help but wonder what things would be like if that was the reality.
Suddenly Monte was pulled out of her daydream by Callie's voice; "Jude, give it back!"
The movie hand ended and the children were now debating on what movie to watch next. Jude wanted to watch the sequel to the previous movie they just watched while the others wanted to lighten the mood by watching a comedy movie. Jude had taken the remote control of the blue ray player and refused to give it back.
"No, it's only logical to watch part too now! What are you, scarred of a scary movie?" Jude said to his oldest sister.
"No, we're not scarred! We just want to watch a comedy movie… give Jesus us the remote!" Marianna said, sitting on the edge of the sofa to reach out he arm for Jude to give he the remote.
Jude still didn't want to hand the remote over and all the other teenagers started arguing back and forward with him.
Monte didn't know if she should step in or just let them argue. She decided to do what Lena would do, "Jude, please… Let's just watch one comedy movie, then we'll watch part two of the other movie, okay?"
All of the kids stopped talking and looked at monte and then back at Jude.
Jude didn't know whether to obey Monte or to just ignore her. he didn't like her and she wasn't his mother so technically she didn't have to listen to her at all. Then again, they were in her house and all the others wanted to watch the stupid comedy movie anyways. He handed the remote over to Brandon and went to sit back down on the pillow in front of the television. Brandon put in the comedy DVD and started it.
"Oh, so now we're all taking orders from this bitch?!" Marianna suddenly yelled. She was already very agitated by the fact that she had to spend the whole weekend in Monte's house and had to share her mother whit her. Now she wanted to act like she was the boss of them, who did Monte think she was?
Brandon quickly said, "Marianna, don't be so rude, besides… didn't you want to watch this movie too?!"
Marianna got up from the sofa and groaned loudly, "What is wrong with you Brandon? Can't you see that she's trying to win us over! Did you forget that she literally fucked her way into our lives and made our parents get a divorce?"
Monte was getting angry at this point. She had invited the kids into her house to make Lena happy but, she was not about to accept language like that being thrown at her by a 15-year-old. She didn't care if Marianna was Lena's favorite.
"Marianna…" She started but was loudly interrupted by a very angry Marianna.
"WHAT? What do you want from us? You want to be our cool new stepmom? Huh? Do you want us to call you Mommy? Stop trying to force yourself into our lives! We don't like you, we HATE you and we HATE that our mom is with you!" With that Marianna grabbed her phone and stormed out of the living room
Silence. Everyone in the room looked at Monte.
Monte sighed loudly and rubbed her hand on her cheek to calm herself down. "Okay, you guys just watch the movie… I'm gonna get Marianna." She said, her voice sounded unamused.
"I'll come with you." Jesus offered and he started to get up.
"No, please stay here... just, can all of you, please stay in the house… Please." Her voice sounded desperate and it let no space open for debating or arguments. She made her way outside and looked around for Marianna, she wasn't to be found anywhere near the house or in the street. Monte was starting to get a little scared, where could she be? What if n took her?
Right at that moment Monte saw Lena's car pull up in the driveway, she hoped that Marianna was walking down the street and Lena had seen her and drove her back to the house. When she saw Lena get out of the car with a brown paper bag full of snacks and a questioning look on her face, the hope of that being the case was gone.
Lena walked over to Monte and stroked her cheek, she saw the upset look on Monte's face and wanted to know what caused it. "What's wrong, baby?" she asked.
"Marianna stormed out of the house, and I- I can't find her, I don't know where she went. Lena… I'm so, so sorry!" Monte started sobbing slightly.
"O god..." Lena was getting a bit worried, "why did she storm out of the house?" She asked again.
Lena looked around once more to look if she could see Marianna anywhere but without success. She then told monte to come inside with her. Lena asked all the kids if they had any idea where Marianna could be but they didn't know. Lena didn't see any other option but to call Stef and go search for Marianna.
Lena was very worried about Marianna but tried not to show it, it was going to get dark outside soon and she didn't want her daughter alone out there at night. She took her phone and typed in that number she knew by heart, Stef's.
A groggy "Lena?" sounded on the other end of the line.
"Stef, Uhm… listen..." Lena explained what had gone on. Stef could hear the desperation in her wife's voice and told her to stay calm and that she was on her way there.
Monte kept apologizing to Lena, she felt like it was her fault that Marianna left. If she would have just let the kids figure out by their own what movie to watch, none of this would have happened. Lena kept assuring her that it wasn't her fault and that Marianna was a little dramatic sometimes. She told Monte that Marianna was a very wise girl and that she was probably safe, wherever she was.
A few minutes later, Lena heard Stef's car pull up in the driveway. She and Monte both went to the front door to open it. Stef got out of her car. She was wearing a black yoga legging and an oversized dark green sweater, her hair was tied up in a messy bun and she was wearing her night glasses.
Lena momentarily thought about how gorgeous she looked but, quickly shook the though and focused on finding their daughter.
Stef saw Lena standing at the front door, the look on her face was a classic one. It was the face Lena made when she was really worried about something but she tried to hide it.
"Hey Lena." Stef said, her hand brushing over Lena's arm, comforting her. Then she saw Monte standing behind Lena.
A halfhearted; "Hi." was shared between the two before Monte suggested they all went inside. She led them to the kitchen after Stef greeted the children. The teenagers were very surprised to see the three women in one room together without any yelling or screaming going on.
Stef suggested that one of them would have to go out and search for Mariana, one should go around in the neighborhood, asking around if anyone has seen her and the other one should stay in the house with the kids.
"I'll drive around looking for her…" Monte offered before leaving the kitchen.
Stef and Lena were now alone in the kitchen. They sat next to each other. Close. they both felt the tension that was going on between them.
"Are you okay?" Stef asked.
"I'm fine, I just… it's gonna get dark soon and I'm scared. What if we don't find her, Stef?"
Stef sighed, not wanting to think about what could happen if they didn't find her soon.
"Are-are you alright, Stef?" Lena asked. Stef was always the one who was worried about her. She always put Lena's wellbeing over her own and she sometimes forgot to take care of her own. Lena wanted to know if everything was going okay with stef.
"I miss you… Love" Stef said, she tried not to show too much emotion when saying it but she wasn't doing a very good job.
Lena's breathing stopped for a few seconds before continuing, not wanting to answer. Scarred of what might come out.
Stef stared at her wife's hand, they were on the kitchen table her long fingers tapping nervously on the firm wood. She watched as Lena's breasts heaved with every breath she took. She noticed everything about Lena, every little thing. Every little perfect thing. Because that is what she was, perfect. Stef couldn't help but silence the movement of Lena's fingers on the table by putting her own hand atop of hers.
Lena looked up at Stef, whose face was now really close to her. She inhaled deeply and clenched her free hand tightly, fighting the urge to touch Stef's face. She couldn't stop herself from leaning forward and connecting their foreheads.
The tension between them was at its peak, they could both feel every breath the other took in their very core. Stef put her hand on the side of Lena's face and closed her eyes. She leaned in a little more, and a little more. Their lips almost touching before Lena abruptly pulled back a little, they were still dangerously close to each other but, Lena knew that she couldn't do this. She couldn't do this to Monte, and not to herself either. She was in love with monte. Whatever romantic feeling she still had for Stef and whatever sexual tension there was between them, it was over now. No matter how much she wanted Stef, it wouldn't be fair to Monte and she didn't want to give Stef false hope. They were getting a divorce and that was that.
"I can't do that, Stef." She said softly.
"I know, Love" Stef answered.
At that moment, Monte re- entered the kitchen to tell the other women that she was leaving to search for Marianna. She saw it. She saw her girlfriend and Stef, very close to each other. Their foreheads touching. Their hands together. The tension between them was too much for Monte to look at. She turned around and walked out of the front door and started her car.
Inside of the house, Stef had decided to search around in the neighborhood while Lena stayed at home and watched the kids and check id Marianna would maybe just come back to the house on her own. Stef went out and started asking people standard police questions that she used when she was searching for someone.
Monte was near Anchor beach, hoping to find Marianna there, maybe sitting by the water to clear her head. When she was just going to get out of her car and search the beach she as stopped by the ringing of her phone. It was Lena, she told her that Stef heard from a neighbor who is also a cabdriver that she took a cab to a nearby mall. Monte knew exactly where Marianna could be.
She drove to the Seaview mall and went down to the parking lot. She saw a group of older teen boys leaning against a wall. She was about to drive past it but then she saw a pair of pale, short legs between those of the boys.
Marianna's.
Monte drove over to the group and stopped her car right next to them.
"Marianna! Is this where you've been all this time? We've been looking all over for you!" Monte quickly undid her seatbelt and got out of the car. She saw a cigarette between Marianna's fingers and her eyes grew big.
Marianna saw her mother's girlfriend intensely staring at the cigarettes in her hand. 'Who does she think she is? Just because she's my mom's girlfriend doesn't make her the boss of me, we're not in school.' Marianna thought to herself. All she wanted right now was to express towards monte just how she felt about her. She put the cigarette between her lips and took a deep drag, then she exhaled the smoke right in Monte's face.
Monte waved away the smoke, "Get in the car, young lady." She said as calm as possible, trying really hard not to lose her temper.
One of the boys in the group let out a low whistle and said; "Damn Mari, you better go before your mom gets more pissed."
The young Latina rolled her eyes at Monte and scoffed, looking her straight in the eyes, "She is not my mom, she's my mom's little girlfriend." Her voice was full of sass, wanting nothing more than Monte to cringe at what she was saying. She couldn't believe that Monte actually had the guts to find her and tell her what to do. Why didn't her moms come and find her? Why did this bitch have to come here and act like she was the fun-police or something?
Monte was done listening to Mariana's nonsense and now it was her turn to roll her eyes,
"Let's go, Marianna…I don't have time for this." She said as she grabbed Marianna's arm and started pulling her towards the car.
Marianna suddenly got a flash of anger over her, she shook herself from Monte's not so firm grasp and with all her power pushed her two ands against Monte's shoulders, making the older woman stumble backwards. Monte was just in time to stable herself.
"I can walk by myself." Marianna groaned before flashing a sympathetic smile to her group of friends and walking to the other side of the car to get inside of it, slamming the door behind her.
Monte made her way in the car again and sighed deeply with her eyes closed to calm herself down before reaching to buckle her seatbelt. She started driving and didn't even look over at Marianna for a second, almost as if she wasn't there. She realized that no matter what she did, Marianna would never give her a chance, so why even try? She kept her eyes focused on the road in front of her.
When they reached a red light, she took out her pone and texted Lena that she had found Marianna, so she didn't have to worry about anything. Lena texted her back, thanking her and telling her that she loved her.
Marianna had calmed down after a few minutes. She felt the defeated attitude radiate off Monte and it kind of made her feel bad about herself. Ofcourse she didn't like monte, she was the reason her moms broke up, she was the reason her mom moved out and her other mom was now alone! Then again… Monte also made Lena happy, she wasn't mean to her or her siblings and she always tried to nice to them. Marianna didn't want to admit it but, it was clear that this was going to be a long-term thing and after the fights that her moms had it was also very clear that they weren't getting back together. Being rude and mean to Monte wasn't going to fix her moms marriage, it wasn't going to make Lena come back home and it sure didn't make anyone feel better.
The smallest voice escaped Marianna's lips as she spoke, "Monte?"
She kept her eyes focused on her own hands that were in her lap, not wanting to look at the older woman. Not wanting to see whatever reaction she was going to receive.
For a minute, Monte questioned if she actually heard Marianna say her name. She knew she did but, she couldn't believe it.
"Yeah, Marianna?" She said. She saw Marianna nervously fumble with the fabric of her skirt in the corner of her eye.
"When I was little, I was a real momma's baby. I would cry my eyes out when she had to leave for work and I would bounce around her until bedtime when she got home…" Marianna paused, thinking back at those days before continuing "My point is, I was always so… happy with the way my family was, I felt safe and loved. I never thought anything would change the way things were but, then you came along and my mom fell in love with you and she left us. I guess I'm… I don't know… scared that momma is gonna eventually love you more than she loves us… It's just a matter of time." By now tears were rolling down Marianna's cheeks.
Monte heard the sincere tone in Marianna's voice. she heard the pain and the truthfulness. All of the kids had given her the cold stare when she walked by in the school hallway but, Marianna was always the only one who made remarks and snared mean comments at her. She never expected the girl to ever open up about her feelings like this towards her. Marianna showed her vulnerable side, she showed that she was hurt instead of just angry at Monte.
After Marianna was done talking, Monte decided to park the car next to a small churro stand on the side of the street. She remembered Lena telling her about Marianna's love for the sweet snack so, she thought they would maybe help her feel a little better.
"You want some churro's?" Monte said, smiling at Marianna.
Marianna finally looked up at Monte and nodded her head slightly. Starving herself at Monte's house wasn't the best way to rebel against her and it had made her very hungry. Monte got out of the car and ordered two portions of churros for them. She ordered a portion without cinnamon or sugar for herself and one with extra Chocolate for Marianna. She got back to the car and drove a few blocks further to an emptier street. She parked the car again and put the radio on, searching for a channel with relaxing music.
"Here you go." She said as she handed Marianna her bag of churros.
"Thank you." Marianna answered.
For a minute or two they sat in silence. Eating their churros and listening to the soft music in from the radio.
Suddenly, Monte spoke, "I'm really sorry about the way you feel, Marianna. I really, really love your mom and her kids are a big part of her so that means that I love all of you guys too… even if you don't like me. I want you to know that I would never want to keep your mom away from you."
Hesitantly Monte put a hand on Marianna's cheek ad tucked a stand of hair behind her ear. Marianna looked up at Monte and smiled.
Monte continued, "Your mom loves her kids more than she loves anyone else in the world okay? You really don't have to worry about that. I'm not trying to steal your mother away from you…" She didn't really know where she was going with her speech but in this moment, "Listen, I don't want to be your enemy, Marianna … would it really be that bad if you and I went along a little better?"
Marianna hesitated a little before answering. She didn't want to suddenly become best friends with Monte, she still didn't like her a whole lot but, if she continued to be mean and rude to her, the whole situation would definitely not get better from it.
Marianna smiled at her, "Yeah but, can we try to… maybe take baby steps with this?"
Monte answered with a firm nod, she understood what the teenager meant. She still had to get used to this new person in her life, it wouldn't be easy accepting the fact that her mom was now with someone else so, Marianna wanted to take things slow, to find her new normal.
They finished their churros and then made their way back to Monte's home. Marianna changed the radio channel and then turned up the volume of the radio, bopping her head to the beat of the music. Monte looked over at her, this could be the start to a more comfortable and relaxed relationship between Monte and Lena's kids.
Once they arrived home, Monte noticed that Stef's car was still parked in front of it. She was irritated by it, especially after what she saw in the kitchen before she left the house. She had been so focused on finding Marianna that she didn't really give much thought to it until this moment...
Ooookay, that was it for this short chapter! Thank you for reading and I'll upload soon! Leave a review and tell me what you think of it or if you have any requests! :-)
