"Rae, we've got a problem," Luke said urgently, breaking up Lip and Rae's conversation. They were going over something from lit. Lip was just trying to keep Rae's mind off everything for a while.
"What's up?" Rae asked, looking up from the textbook in front of her.
"Mom's here," he said in a hushed tone. "She's got Jay and Al."
"Excuse me?" Rae said, her voice rising as she pushed herself up from her seat. "Melody's here?"
"Yeah," he nodded, his eyes catching the furious look that formed on Rae's face.
"Get the crowbar," she growled as she pushed her way through the small handful of Mitch's friends who still lingered long after everyone else left. Mitch was standing against the wall, chatting idly with Melody. He looked almost relieved to see her.

"Raelyn, my beautiful, brilliant daughter! I didn't know you were here!" She exclaimed as soon as she caught sight of her oldest daughter. Rae saw Nikki run towards the kitchen and silently prayed that Lip could snatch her before the wicked woman saw the youngest of the pack. "Getting my littles killed one at a time I hear!"
"Mother!" Mitch growled, his eyes flashing for only a moment.
"Still a momma's boy?" Rae growled at her brother, her hands balling into fists. "The fuck are you doing here, Melody?"
"Well, I caught wind that you got my lovely Elizabeth killed and I had to drop in to save the rest of my darling children," Melody said, her squeaky voice like nails on a chalkboard.
"The fuck did you just say to me?" Raelyn growled, taking a step towards her estranged mother. "Did you seriously just accuse me of getting Lizzy killed?"
"You're supposed to be caring for them, aren't you?" Melody taunted in the sing-song voice that drove Raelyn crazy. "You decided to play mommy, well mommy dearest, seems you're losing your shit around here, look at this place!" She waved her hand around. "These darlings would have been better in foster care! You're running a damn circus around here! Don't think I don't know about your little night job. You fucking whore!"

Rae sputtered, unable to find words to express the anger she felt bubbling in her chest. She caught sight of Luke standing in the doorway of the kitchen, a concerned look on his face.

"I want my littles back, Raelyn, all of them," Melody said, her tone stern, threatening.
"It might be a good thing, Rae," Mitch said softly, "You deserve to have your life back."
"You're kidding me right now, right?" Rae practically screamed. "She shows up once every two years, normally with a new fucking baby in tow, then drops them in my fucking lap to raise and you want me to hand them back to her like she's some kind of fucking mother?"
"Rae," Mitch warned. "She's our mother."
"Yeah, our crack-head, whore of a fucking flake mother. The same mother who couldn't be bothered to take Lukas to the hospital when he had a fever of 103 when he was 2. The same mother who hasn't been steadily in any of these kids' lives since the day they were born! The same mother who left her youngest at a fucking truck stop! Damnit Mitch!" Rae had angry tears in her eyes at this point.
"I'll take you to court for them," Melody growled, her tone no longer taunting. Rae looked at her with shocked eyes. "I want them all back."
"Lizzy would want us to give her another chance," Beth spoke up. Rae shot a look at her sister, her heart torn. "Lizzy always said mom would come back."
"Lizzy is fucking dead, Bethany. Lizzy isn't here to pick up the fucking pieces when this crazy piece of shit decides to up and leave again!"
"Raelyn! Enough!" Mitch's tone caught her off guard. He took a step towards her, his own hands balled into fists. For a split second, Rae silently dared him to hit her. She would have loved to lay her older brother out on his ass. Rae felt someone grab her arm and only then realized Lip had come up beside her.
"C'mon," he hissed in her ear. Rae felt herself fight against his grip, but he didn't let go. "Not worth it."

"You want to give her another chance? Fine! I'm done, don't you dare call me to pick up the pieces. I'm fucking done, you understand me?" Rae screamed at her brother. "But Nikola is mine!"
"Who?" Melody looked at Rae with a stunned look. "I only want Beth, Luke, Jay, and Al. Whoever the hell Nikola is you can have," she said, her tone so fucking irritating it took all Rae's self-control not to break free of Lip's grip and strangle her herself. How the hell could she forget her youngest child? Rae struggled against Lip's grip, but his hands held firm. She felt him turn her away from Melody, hissing something incoherent in her ear in the process. After another moment, Rae ripped her arm away from Lip and stormed upstairs, taking them three at a time. She felt someone follow her and didn't bother to turn around. She knew it was Lip. No one else would have bothered.

"Nikki's in the kitchen closet, I told her we were playing hide and seek and not to come out until you came to find her," he said quietly.

Rae said nothing, but nodded her thanks as she grabbed what little belongings she and her sister had and shoved them into a backpack. She grabbed a blanket and the keys to the van and gave the room a once over, only slowing her pace enough to grab a small piece of jewelry off of the nightstand the twins used to share. It was Lizzy's locket. Rae wasn't letting Melody get her hands on that.

"Rae, c'mon, don't go," Mitch called as Rae descended down the stairs.
"The house is yours," Rae said harshly, "But the title to the van is under my name, I'm taking it."
"Rae, come on!" Beth pleaded. "Give mom a chance!"
"No," Rae said, turning to face her siblings. "If you want to get your hearts broken again, be my guest, but I'm done. Now I fully understand why Matty left."
"Rae, please?" Beth tried again. "For Lizzy?"
"No," Rae said sternly. "Mitch's right. This is my out. I'm done."
"Family first," Luke said, his arms crossed in front of him. "You always said it was family first."
"Not when the family's against me," Rae growled. "I sat up with every single one of you when you've been sick. I am the one thousands of dollars in debt due to doctor's bills. I'm the one who cleaned up blood, puke, piss, shit and so many other things from every single one of you. This bitch shows up and suddenly she's mom of the goddamn year? Fuck that! I went to every parent teacher conference. Every single concert or game or whatever the fuck other things you all had going on. I came up with the cash for field trips and movies and everything! I paid for diapers for damn near all of you! So no. You don't get to use that bullshit against me."
"You did good, Rae-bird. But I'm home now. Mommy's home," Melody said, her tone so sickly sweet, Rae actually thought she was going to puke. "Mommy's back."
"Go fucking die somewhere, Melody," Rae yelled. Lip realized if he didn't diffuse the situation soon, Rae might do something she'd regret. He tugged at her arm until she broke her hateful stare with her mother. She gave each sibling a silent goodbye before letting Lip pull her towards the kitchen. Rae grabbed Nikki from the closet before letting Lip usher them out the backdoor.

"Where're you going to go?" Lip asked hesitantly. He considered offering her a place to crash at his house, but he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, they had just started talking, after all.
"Milkovich's," Rae shrugged. "Not the first time I ended up there with one of the kids in tow," she added to ease the concerned look on his face. "Mandy's my best friend, it's not an issue."
"What about school?" Lip asked. He hated to admit it, but he didn't like the thought of not seeing her in class anymore.
"I'm already one more bad mark away from losing my scholarship. I never should have tried," she shrugged. "I'll see you around, Lip, thanks again for today," Rae said as she slid the toddler into what looked like an ancient booster seat. She buckled Nikki in with shaking hands before sliding the door shut, tossing the bag on the floor before doing so. She moved around to the driver's side, sparing a glance over her shoulder. "You know, if you put your mind to it, you can get out. You're not like my family or Mickey or even Kev. You're smart, you can go places if you tried hard enough. Lay off the booze and get your nose in the books."

Lip was about to say something, but it was too late. Rae started the van and tore off without another word. Little did either of them know that their paths would cross again, much sooner than either of them expected.