A/N: Hi guys thanks for supporting this story, make sure to read, review, favorite, follow and all that good stuff so you can be updated for the next chapter.
Chapter 30
Flashback (9 years ago)
"Hunter are you even lifting?" Stephanie asked as she and Hunter struggled to move a large brown couch through the hallway of their new apartment.
The two had decided to step out of the McMahon family name and were working on their own with their own money, which wasnt a lot. So Hunter scrapped together enough change go get a space in a crappy apartment that was squished between a strip club and a bar. Stephanie wasn't pleased with the building or its location but it was all they could afford for starting on their own.
"of course I'm lifting" Hunter groaned as he tried to rotate the couch to no avail, "Okay lets stop and think about this"
"whats there to think about I already told you, lift and turn to the right." Stephanie argued
"I am turning it to the right"
"no you're turning it to the left"
The two argued back and forth until Stephanie groaned and turned, walking back down the hall to go into the apartment room. However she stopped when she saw a small girl sitting on the floor against the wall across from their door, bouncing a small ball. The girl was very small and looked to be very young as she wore a long shirt that draped over her body and her hair came down to her shoulders.
"uh hi?" Stephanie said gaining the little girl's attention, "my name is Stephanie...do you live around here?"
The little girl stared at Stephanie with wide eyes and stopped bouncing the ball. Hunter climbed over the couch which was still stuck in the door and came over to his wife confused, "Babe what are you doing?"
"I'm just wondering who's kid this is...I mean.." Stephanie turned back to look at the little girl, "are you parents around? Do you live in this apartment?"
Stephanie pointed to the door across from theirs causing the young girl to nod, "Im Bayley"
"Well hi Bayley...it's nice to meet you" Stephanie said, "Me and my husband are moving into 312 right here so it looks like we're your new neighbors"
Bayley nodded at this, "I know...you're very loud"
Hunter laughed at this causing Stephanie to glare at him before turning back to Bayley, "Well Bayley how old are you?"
"I'm four" she said holding up four fingers
"four? And your out here all by yourself? where's your parents?"
"Mommy's at work" Bayley said
"is there anyone watching you?"
"No" Bayley answered before her stomach growled
"well would you like to come inside for something to eat until your mother gets back from work"
Bayley smiled at this and went to nod but before she could a woman cursed from the steps, who left a fucking couch in the doorway?"
"Sorry about that" Hunter said before rushing to the couch. He quickly twisted it and turned it to the right, pulling it free from the door before her looked to Stephanie with a smirk, "Oh...you meant your right"
"What kind of asshole leaves their couch in the door?" the young woman asked she looked to be a teenager maybe only 18. She had long black hair and a tight skirt on that cut on her mid thigh and a crop top, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"woah my bad" Hunter said with his hands up apologetically, "We were just moving it...we're moving into 312"
"Well good for fucking you" The woman pushed past him and walked up to the young girl, grabbing the girl by her arm and began dragging her back down the hall, "lets go Bayley Derrick said he'll watch you tonight"
"wait you're this girl's mother?" Stephanie questioned
"Yeah what's it to you?"
"You're just so young...and I mean the girl was left here unattended" Stephanie claimed, "what if someone came and took her..what if there was a pediophile?"
The woman rolled her eyes before looking down at her daughter, "Bayley did you see any pediophiles?"
"whats that?" Bayley asked confused while the woman looked back at the couple and shrugged
"shes fine"
"actually-"
"look you're not her mother I am and frankly bitch I don't need your advice. So if you don't mind ill be taking my fucking daughter"
With that the woman dragged Bayley away from Hunter and Stephanie and walked down the hall to the doorway which led to the steps. Bayley turned back to look at the couple and gave a small wave goodbye before she was out of sight.
-Present-
"Bayley? Are you okay?" Stephanie asked as she rubbed her youngest daughter's arm gently while the girl sat on the couch reading and re-reading the letter over and over again. It had stated that the woman who showed up was her mother, she apologized for the neglect that Bayley faced when she was a child and it explained how the woman had changed. It also stated that the woman's name was Pamela and she was getting married and had a child, a young girl named Dakota who was five years younger than Bayley.
"Bayley?" Charlotte asked
The entire family was surrounding Bayley, each staring at her, trying to comfort her and get her to talk but the youngest Helmsley sat in silence, holding the letter between her hands. Becky and Sasha looked at each other before Sasha tapped Bayley slightly, "Bay...are you going to call her?"
Bayley's eyes shot down to the bottom of the letter where the woman's phone number was left, with a note saying that Pamela wanted to keep in touch, "I-I…"
"You don't have to if you don't want to" hunter said softly, "It's completely up to you"
"Should I….should I even want to call her?" Bayley asked her sisters
"Of course...its completely okay for you to want to talk to your birth mother. Who wouldn't?" Becky said earning stares from her family, "what? My birth mother is dead and my father is in jail or dead for all I know but if I was given a second chance to talk to them I would. Just to ask questions ya know...like about what happened"
Charlotte nodded, "I think about that sometimes too with my dad...hes in jail here and I would like to talk to him one day..ask him about why he did what he did"
Sasha shrugged, "I never really thought about it...but most people don't get this chance Bay...this is your opportunity to get to know her...to ask questions"
Bayley looked around at her family and gave them an unsure look, "But why? Why would she reach out now?"
"It says that she wanted to get better Bay...and she wants to have a relationship with you now" Becky said reading the letter over her younger sister's shoulder
"I don't..I can't even remember her...I don't remember her" Bayley stuttered, looking to Stephanie and Hunter in confusion, "You both knew her...right?"
"She..uh..she lived in the same apartments as us….she...she wasn't doing to well on her own, she was always gone and you had bruises on you so-"
"I know the story" Bayley said cutting them off, "I want to know what she was like...how she acted..how she talked…"
Stephanie and Hunter looked at each other warily before Stephanie sighed, "She wasn't a good person Bayley, she was always high on drugs, she was rude and she didn't really care about you"
Bayley frowned at this and clenched the letter tightly in her hands causing Hunter to butt in, "But...she wrote you this letter, she has a family now and she seems to be doing okay."
"You're right" Bayley said suddenly
"I..I am?" Hunter questioned
"Yeah" Bayley said with a sad smile as tears welled up in her eyes, "She has her own family now...she doesn't need me in it"
"Bayley wait that's not what I-"
Bayley quickly ripped the letter in half and placed it on the table before getting up and heading upstairs, leaving the rest of her family downstairs in silence. Stephanie picked up the ripped letter and frowned at it but held on to it none the less. She felt her old hatred for Bayley's mother rise up in her body as her fist clenched and unclenched while the hairs on the back of her neck stood to a point. She really hated that woman.
Flashback ( 9 years ago)
Stephanie was coming home with a bag full of groceries in her hand when she felt someone bump into her from behind causing her to drop her bag. Stephanie angrily turned to see the young girl who she remember was Bayley standing guilty with her arms behind her back.
"Sowy" Bayley said with a pout as Stephanie went to pick up the fallen items
"It's alright Bayley...why are you running?" Stephanie asked
Bayley was about to answer when a man yelled for the young girl as loud footsteps came up the stairs causing Bayley to shriek before running and hiding behind Stephanie's legs. Soon a tall buff man appeared in a white wife-beater and a pair of shorts that hung below his butt. He also had on a red hat and a bunch of tattoos down his arms and one along his chest.
"Come here you little brat" the man called out roughly, ignoring Stephanie who stood in between them
"Excuse me who are you?" Stephanie asked the man, earning his attention
"I'm Derrick" the man said, stepping up to Stephanie, "and who the fuck are you?"
"I live in 312..what do you want with Bayley?"
"I'm supposed to watch the little shit while her mother's working"
"And where does her mother work?"
Derrick crossed his arms, "Dixie's just next door...now hand over the kid so I can get back to my shit"
Stephanie looked back at Bayley who was clenching her pant leg slightly scared, "Why don't I watch her..I live right next door and you can get back to your...shit while I take her off your hands"
"Hey whatever lady she's not mine i don't care what happens to her" the man said before looking down to Bayley as he bucked at her causing the girl to flinch and hide further behind Stephanie while Derrick just laughed and walked off.
After a while Bayley asked quietly, "is the mean man gone?"
Once he was gone Stephanie turned around and bent down to Bayley's level and smiled at the young girl, "The mean is all gone..now are you hungry? I got some things for dinner and you can help me cook"
Bayley nodded excitedly at this as her stomach growled and Stephanie laughed before cleaning up the spilled groceries and taking Bayley's hand, guiding them back to her apartment. Hunter was sitting on the couch typing away on his computer when they entered, "Hey babe...hi Bayley"
"Hello" Bayley said with a smile while Stephanie kissed Hunter as a greeting before taking Bayley into the kitchen
"Bayley is going to be my junior chef for a while" Stephanie informed her husband causing Hunter to stand and walk over to the two and smile before he began unpacking the groceries for Stephanie while Bayley stood on her tiptoes trying to look at the counter
Hunter noticed this and smiled before walking off and returning with a box that he placed on the floor for the young girl to step on. Bayley smiled brightly before hopping on top of the box so she could see over the counter and watch as Stephanie organized everything before saying, "How does spaghetti sound to you?"
Bayley shrugged at this and cocked her head to the side, "Whats that?"
"You've never had spaghetti before?" Hunter asked as Stephanie pulled out the pots for the noodles and sauce
"No" Bayley said as he stomach growled causing Stephanie and Hunter to look at each other
The three spent the evening cooking spaghetti and talking, Bayley was an open book to Stephanie and Hunter. She talked about Derrick the man who her mother kept around sometimes and forced her to stay with while she was at work. Bayley told them how he would make her stand in the corner the whole time or go get him drinks and snacks from the fridge and he even hit her a couple of time before. Bayley then went on about her mother, the woman was barely home and from all Bayley knew she was a dancer who liked to smoke, and bring home a bunch of different guys.
Stephanie and Hunter offered Bayley a place in their apartment whenever she needed it and even made up a special knock for the girl to use to let them know it was her. Bayley agreed to this and smiled, spending the rest of their tie watching a movie she had never seen before and laughing the day away until a harsh knock came on the door. Hunter looked confused before slowly getting off the couch and went to open the revealing Pamela standing there in a trench coat and heels with a scowl on her face, "Bayley! Lets go now!"
The woman barged into the house and Bayley quickly stood from the couch and walked over to her mother causing Pamela to grab Bayley's ear and yank her harshly. Stephanie quickly stepped up to the woman, "hey don't grab on her like that"
"I'm sorry is she your daughter?"
"No she's yours and you should treat with some compassion, she's just a child" Stephanie berated causing pamela to roll her eyes allowing Stephanie and Hunter to see their redness, indicating that fact that she was high at the moment
"Yeah whatever" Pamela yanked on Bayley's arm extra hard as she glared at Stephanie and led her to the door, "Besides what woman just takes another person's kid into their house?"
"That man Derrick was more than happy to give her over and I'm more than sure that he was not fit to watch so we did, we fed her and kept her entertained and as you can see she seems to be in much better condition than she would be with you" Stephanie argued
"Whatever she's not your responsibility"
"No she is your responsibility, she is your daughter and yet here I am giving her a place to stay, and food to eat unlike you. When is the last time you've feed this girl?" Stephanie said recalling how much Bayley ate
The woman rolled her eyes before ignoring Stephanie and dragging Bayley out for the apartment and across the hall, slamming the door in the process. Hunter watched the interact and looked to his wife who was steaming from the conversation with her fist clenched, "Babe you okay?"
"I don't like that woman"
-Present-
Charlotte slowly knocked on her youngest sister's door as Becky and Sasha stood behind her all waiting for Bayley to answer the door, "Bayley? You okay?"
Sasha held Bayley's guitar in her hand, having convinced Hunter and Stephanie to let them give it back to Bayley, "Bay? We just want to talk"
Becky huffed at the silence before falling to the floor to look between the crack under the girl's door. She could barely make out Bayley's feet pacing in her room, "Bayley i can see that you're in there let us in"
There was still nothing so Becky hopped back up to her feet and Sasha knocked harshly before yelling, "Bayley!"
"What?" Bayley asked annoyed as she snatched open the door before walking back into her room, leaving it open for her sisters to walk in. Bayley's room was now a mess as the girl was throwing around papers and flipping over her sheets looking for something.
"Jeez Bayley your room looks like tornado alley" Becky said upon entering the room even though the girl ignored her sisters and continued to search
"I just cleaned this room" Charlotte muttered as she looked around
"Here Bayley we got this for you" Sasha said holding out Bayley's guitar but the girl ignored them and continued searching through her papers and all over her room. Sasha looked confused and even strummed Bayley's guitar to try and get the girl's attention but it did nothing
"Okay Bayley what the fuck are you looking for?" Becky questioned
"Swear jar" Bayley muttered before falling to her stomach as she began reaching under her bed
"Bayley look at us for five seconds" Charlotte said causing Bayley to pull herself from under the bed and reveal a handful of letters, "What are those?"
"Letters...letters I wrote to my birth mother...just incase I ever saw her" Bayley said sadly as she sat up against the side of her bed. Her older sisters looked to each other sadly before Charlotte took a seat beside Bayley and Becky crouched down in front of her while Sasha stood with the guitar, "I wrote to her everyday once I learned how"
"You kept them?" Sasha questioned as she moved to sit on Bayley's bed
Bayley nodded, "I always thought that one day I would see her and if I couldn't talk to her..I would just give her one of my letters and everything would be better. She would just...understand everything I felt….but now...now I just feel so stupid"
"You're not stupid Bayley" Charlotte said
Bayley scoffed at this, "I thought that she was out there...maybe thinking about me, worrying about me every night….missing me...and instead she started her own family. She decided that she would raise a little girl after she threw me out like garbage. She is raising that girl…..while I...what was wrong with me?"
"Nothing Bayley…" Becky responded
"Then why her and not me?" Bayley asked with tears in her eyes as she pulled her knees up to her chest
"We don't know Bayley...but her giving up you was the best thing that could have happened to you" Sasha said causing Becky and Charlotte to stare at her with wide eyes, "What I just mean..that you got us..you got mom and dad….and if you stayed with that woman while she was all messed up...you might be dead"
"So" Bayley muttered sadly into her knees as she put her head down, her sisters taken back by the girl's small comment
"So?" Charlotte asked shocked, "Bayley you honestly can't wish that you grew up with that woman. You can't honestly wish you were dead."
Bayley didn't respond causing her sisters to die while Becky sat down on the other side of Bayley and patted the girl's leg, "You know...you are the only reason why I didn't run away at the airport in Ireland when you and mom first came to adopt me."
"What?" Bayley asked not sure what Becky was talking about
"Yeah" Becky said with a shrug, "You and mom came to visit me in the hospital in Ireland and brought me home, but I got really nervous and I was going to run away while you were in the bathroom. But you were so nice to me.. And I looked at your bear and I knew I couldn't leave...I ended up getting it fixed instead and claimed that was the reason why I was gone."
"Why are you telling me this?" Bayley asked
"Because...if you were dead I would have run away and I never would have come here."
Bayley rolled her eyes at this but Sasha and Charlotte smiled. Charlotte nudged Bayley to get her attention, "And you were the one who technically introduced me to Stephanie and Hunter...you found me in the hospital hallwalls and you got me help after I fainted. You introduced me to mom and dad and because of you, they took an interest in me and fought for me. If you were dead I would be stuck living with my wicked stepmother"
"And Bayley, you were the ones who convinced Hunter and Stephanie to keep me after my temporary stay. I was only supposed to be with them for a week until my social worker found a better home, but you convinced Stephanie to look into adopting me. So if you were dead...I would still be bouncing around in other foster homes"
"Why are you all telling me all this….I don't even remember doing those things..I was a little kid" Bayley complained
"Exactly...you were a kid and didn't even know what you were doing, but you still impacted all of us, you made an effort to help all of us. Bayley without you there would be no us...there would be no Helmsley family." Sasha said with a smile
"Yeah we love and care about you way more than that woman ever could" Becky said, punching Bayley in the shoulder playfully
"we're your family Bayley and nothing could ever change that..and we will always protect you, the three of us even mom and dad...we'll never let that woman hurt you again" Charlotte finished off
Bayley smiled sadly at this before she turned to her sister and reached out for her guitar. Sasha smiled and handed it over watching as Bayley strummed the guitar lightly before turning to her sisters, "Can I be alone for while..I just need to think"
"Sure Bay"
Flashback (9 years ago)
A couple knocks rang out on the door before it slowly open revealing the young Bayley with tears in her eyes. It was almost one in the morning and the lights were off in the Helmsley apartment. Bayley knew they left a key under the mat in front of their door for her so she used it to get in and placed it on the small table that sat beside the door. Bayley crept through the apartment and walked around looking at the walls and the decorations as she wiped tears from her eyes.
Soon the young girl approached a door at the end of the hallway that was closed, she knocked her special knock again but got no answer before she slowly opened the door a crack. It was a simple bedroom where Hunter and Stephanie were sleeping, Bayley slowly walked over to Stephanie who was facing the door and tapped her on her arm. Stephanie's eyes slowly opened before her body shot up upon seeing Bayley standing at her bedside with tears in her eyes.
"BAYLEY!?" Stephanie asked loudly, "What are you doing in here...are you alright?"
Over the many months the girl had been a frequent visitor in the Helmsley apartment and even spent some nights in the guest room when her mother never came home because of the girl's fear of the dark, but she never just appeared in the middle of the night like this. Hunter slowly turned over at the noise and groaned, "What...What's going on"
Bayley sobbed as tears spilled out of her eyes and she wiped them just as quickly as they fell with the sleeves of her shirt that covered her whole body. Stephanie swung her legs to the side of the bed so she could face Bayley and place her hands on the girl's shoulders. Bayley quickly fell into the embrace and hugged Stephanie, wrapping her fist around parts of Stephanie's shirt as she cried.
"Bayley...please tell me what's going on?" Stephanie said slowly before placing a hand on Bayley's back, trying to hug the girl but this only caused her to violently flinch and pull away from Stephanie. This caused Stephanie's eyes to widen before she fully stood from the bed and crouched down in front of Bayley, "Bayley..what happened? What's wrong with your back? Did someone hurt you?"
The girl simply cried harder as she wrapped her arms around her. Stephanie stood and turned on the lights, allowing her to see the rough bruise that lined Bayley's jaw and the cut on her lip. Stephanie gasped in shock before bending down the see the girl again while Hunter moved to stand beside them. He watched as his wife slowly took Bayley in her arms and examined her. There were cigarette burns along the girl's arm and when Stephanie lifted the girls shirt she could see foot and handprint shaped bruises along the girl's stomach and back.
"It hurts" Bayley cried out as Stephanie felt tears well up in her eyes looking at the injuries
"Bayley who did this to you? D-did your mother do this?" Stephanie asked
"Yes...a-an..and Derrick" Bayley choked out, gritting her teeth and trying to hold back her tears, "It hurts..so much...please help"
"Don't worry Bayley…." Stephanie said seriously, "i won't let anyone else hurt you...I promise"
-Present-
Stephanie slowly knocked on Bayley's door before slowly opening the door. She found the room empty but there was still soft music playing through the room. Stephanie raised an eyebrow confused before stepping further into the room, there were papers on the floor, letters Stephanie recognized. She had taught Bayley how to write when she was adopted...and helped her write half of these letter to her birth mother. Stephanie picked up one of the letters from the ground, inspecting the shaky handwriting before looking to under the bed where the music sounded loudest.
"Bayley?" Stephanie asked as she bent down and lifted the comforter that hung over the edge of the bed to reveal her youngest daughter laying on her back strumming her guitar under the bed. The girl's eyes were glazed over as she stared up at the bed springs that lined the mattress above her, "Bayley..sweetheart...are you alright?"
Bayley's head slowly rolled to the side to look at her mother as tears rolled from her eyes, "yeah..i'm fine"
"Sweetheart..can you please come out from under the bed?" Bayley looked back to the mattress above her and didn't respond causing Stephanie to sigh before laying on her back and scooting as close as she could to the girl, trying to avoid the guitar in her hands. The two layed like this for a while, Hunter and the girls all went out to get the rest of the supplies need for dinner tonight so the two were all alone, "You know..you use to hide under the bed any time you were upset and you didn't want me or your father to know"
Bayley looked to her mother, "I'm safest here…"
"You know that you can talk to me...you've always come to me when you need it...and I can always tell when you're not okay" Stephanie said shifting uncomfortably on the floor
"I know" Bayley responded
"I love you Bayley"
"I know"
"And I would do anything for you and your sisters"
"I know"
"Well….did you know that his floor is uncomfortable?" Stephanie joked causing Bayley to smile and laugh at her mother
"Yes...I know..but I like laying on the floor..uncle Shane says it's good for your back" Bayley responded with a smirk causing Stephanie to roll her eyes before Bayley thought and asked, "are..are you worried?"
"Of course I'm worried..this floor is disgusting and I know Charlotte didn't vacuum in here and who knows what is under your bed.."
"No..not about the floor" Bayley said, cutting her mother off, "Are you worried, that I might leave….if my mother asked me to. I mean she wouldn't of course….she has her own family, bu-but if she did...are you worried that I might accepts her offer?"
Stephanie bit her lip in thought before answering, "of course I'm worried...I never know how well I'm doing as a parent. I always wanted to have a family of my own, my own parents were detached and cruel...they were never home and always focused on work. I wanted to have children so I could raise them the way my parents never did. Now don't get me wrong I love my father but...he and my mother...they were not the caring type when i was a child, and I promised when I had children they would grow up happy, safe and loved. I thought I was doing well...that you all were perfectly fine, but now...I feel like I know so little about your lives...like maybe i'm failing you girls as a mother"
Bayley watched in shock, with wide eyes as tears slowly rolled down her mother's cheeks, she couldn't remember a time when her mother broke down in front of her, she was sure it could have happened, but she doesn't remember, "mom….you-you're not failing us...how could you think that?"
Stephanie gave a sarcastic scoff as tears rolled madly down her eyes, "My children are always in trouble it seems, we can never have a moment's peace, whether it be fighting, alcohol, drugs...and this with your birth mother. I feel as if the world...our world...it doesn't want us to be a family...it doesn't want us to succeed...and sometimes i look at my mother and I can tell she mocks me for how chaotic our family is. She judges me because I couldn't have children of my own and she laughs at how irresponsible and terrible I am as a mother"
Bayley felt tears stinging her own eyes as her mother choked out her words, having to grit her teeth practically in pain to keep from openly sobbing in front of her youngest daughter. Bayley moved the guitar before rolling to her side and hugging her mother tightly, wrapping her fist around parts of Stephanie's shirt as she let her mother cry, "i love you mom...you're the best one I could have asked for...I would never leave you or the others..for anyone. You all are my family-"
Memories of nine years ago flooded Bayley's mind as she remembered her first day of moving in with the Helmsley family. After the court cases, after all of the paperwork, after Hunter and Stephanie signed the adoption papers.
Flashback
"Welcome to your new home Bayley" Stephanie and Hunter shouted as Bayley walked through the apartment doors to see a banner hanging on the archway of the hall reading, 'welcome home'.
Bayley had a duffle bag over her body and a backpack on her back as she smiled brightly looking up at her neighbors who had taken better care of her in the eight months they had met her than anyone in her life. Stephanie walked up to Bayley and bent down in front of the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder before smiling as she said, "I promised to protect you and get you away from that monster of a man and your birth mother and I did. I now promise that I will never let those people or anyone else hurt you, and if you'll take me I would love to be your new mother...and we would love to have you in our family"
Bayley felt tears in her eyes as she tossed off her duffle bag and hugged her new mom, wrapping her arms tightly around the woman's neck as she whispered, "Thank you"
"I promise to do my best as your mother...I will take my job seriously….I will do anything for you Bayley..alright?" Stephanie said as she pulled away and Hunter came over with a proud look on his face while Bayley gave a firm nod of understanding.
"Well then...welcome to the Helmsley family" Hunter announced"
-Present-
"And I could've never asked for a better one".
A/N: I don't know if people will be confused about the flashbacks but they are months apart but still in the same year. So the take place within the span of eight months but not full year passed in those flashbacks so they all still say nine years ago, it's just not 9 years exactly to the present day. If you guys understand, I don't know if I'm making that more complicated. Also I didn't know Bayley's mom's real name so I just used Bayley's real name. Anyway, thanks for reading, make sure to review and I'll try to write based on your ideas. Next chapter will probably be thanksgiving dinner and focus a little bit more on Charlotte and Sasha, but let me know any ideas you have.