Sydney
Chapter One
1
"This is your baby sister, girls." Angel Lobos said to his twin daughters, Anita and Carlotta. They stroked her small face and then Carlotta piped up, "Why did mummy not want us to meet her?" Angel's smile became strained, trying to think of a suitable answer. "Well you see, she's only your half sister. She has a different mummy to you two." He tried. "Is Linda her mummy?" Anita ventured, timidly. Angel nodded, unsure how to deal with this situation. All of a sudden, Linda walked in and, although she was only the girls' step mum, they ran up to her squealing, arms open. Linda laughed and knelt down to give the, almost identical, six year olds a hug. Angel looked at them, smiling to himself, before turning around to place his 1 year old daughter in her crib.
It had taken Carlotta and Anita a while to meet Angel's other daughter because his ex wife, Carlotta and Anita's mother, Marisol, was completely against the idea of her children meeting her ex-husbands new family. She even tried to take him to court, wanting full custody, but when she failed, Angel introduced them to his daughter. They had already met Linda and had instantly fallen in love with her and the stories she wrote for them but this had just made Marisol even more bitter, moving further across the city making it more difficult for Angel to see his children. Alongside the twins he had with Marisol and the baby girl he had with Linda, Angel had two other kids. During his marriage with Marisol, she cheated on Angel multiple times leading Angel to do the same. He had a fling with a woman that he could safely call a friend now but it had resulted in two boys, Grant and Robin. Grant was four and Robin was two and both the boys had met all their other half-siblings. They had gotten along so well that Grant regularly met up with Carlotta and Anita although Marisol complained a great deal about it.
...
After Angel dropped the twins off back at Marisol's he raced back home, desperate to spend more time with his young, new beautiful wife and the child they shared. As he stepped into the house, Linda was there waiting for him, but before they could greet each other, Angel's phone went off and he quickly answered, not wanting his loud ringtone to woke his baby. "Hello?" He answered in a hushed voice. "I can't take it anymore" a voice wailed on the other side of the phone. "Rhoda?" Angel questioned. Rhoda was the mother of Grant and Robin and was now a good friend of both Angel and Linda. "I can't. You have to take Grant. It's like he's purposely making my life a living hell! As soon as i get Robin to sleep he'll start shouting, trying to wake him up. He's only four! How can a four year old be so wretched?!" She howled, her voice getting louder and louder. "Shh shh Rhoda, it's ok. It's late and you're probably just tired, I can take the boys for the night and.." Angel tried to calm her but Rhoda interrupted him. "NO! I don't want you to take the boys for the night, I want you to take Grant PERMANENTLY! DID I TELL YOU THAT MY MOTHER AND FATHER MOVED OUT THE OTHER DAY?! NO I DIDN'T, BECAUSE I THOUGHT I COULD COPE BUT NOW IM ON MY OWN WITH THREE BOYS UNDER THE AGE OF 10, ONE OF WHICH IS NOT MINE, AND YOU ARE GOING TO COME PICK GRANT UP RIGHT NOW!"
10 minutes later, Angel had pulled up outside the Bagley residence. On the exterior, the house looked calm and tranquil, a little cute cottage with a little cute family inside. But Angel knew the inside was going to be a wreck. He tried to unlock the front door with the spare keys he had but found it was already opened. he pushed the door ajar and was overwhelmed with a strong smell of childs puke and rotting food. He could hear a child wailing from upstairs and assumed it was Robin. Suddenly Grant jumped out from behind some furniture making Angel jump before Grant ran up to him and gave him a hug. "Grant? What's happening? Your mum sounded as if she was going crazy! And is that Robin screaming?" Angel asked in a soft voice so as not to put Grant in a mood. "She's just being a normal stinky poop." Grant lisped before pulling his father in for another hug. Rhoda walked into the hallway where they were stood, her hair a mess and wearing dirty clothes. "Thank GOD you're here, Angel. I don't even know what to do anymore! I'm supposed to be in mourning! but instead these kids are driving me crazy!"
Suddenly part of Rhoda's distress came clear. Two weeks ago Rhoda's brother, Sherman, had passed away leaving his son under Rhoda's care much to Sherman and Rhoda's parents disbelief. Angel decided not to go further into this as he was desperate to get home to his wife and child who he'd barely seen all day as he'd been so busy with Anita and Carlotta. "Look, I'll take him for the next week or so Rhoda, but we need to get the legal side sorted out and you have to have to really think about what you want when you're not tired, upset and frustrated." Angel said sternly. "Also, sort Robin out. Don't back out of motherhood now." He finished. Rhoda nodded weakly before whispering a thank you under her breath and then heading up the stairs to soothe her son and nephew. Angel watched her go before picking Grant up in his arms and leaving, locking the door behind him. The last thing Rhoda needed now was a break in. As he walked back to his car, he noticed Grant's head becoming heavy on his shoulder before placing him, half asleep, into the childs car seat in the back of his car. He smiled to himself before reversing out of the car drive.