It was another day sitting inside my office, going over my interview that I had with Good Charlotte. It was seriously so awesome, because the other band members flew in to LA for this interview and we had a blast. I looked up at my wall and beside the framed article about Fall Out Boy, was my interview with Pierce the Veil. The black and white photo taken by Adam Elmakias looked incredible. It was my boss, Mike Shea's, new favorite of my writings.

The office phone rang, Katelynne answering it sweetly. She shouted, "Lucy, it's your brother."

"Okay, thank you." She transferred it over it me and I picked it up, "Well, hello stranger!"

I heard a small chuckle escape from his voice, "Hey dude, are you busy right now?"

"Uh, not so much. I'm just reading over my interview some an send it to the editor. Why, what's up?"

He let out a sigh, so soft he probably didn't think I could hear it. "I need to tell you something." His tone grew serious, something my brother wasn't most of the time.

"Is everything okay?" Worry flushed the color from my face, thinking of the worst.

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine. Britt and I are fine, it's just something that happened today."

"Well, what is it?"

"Britt and I went to go grab coffee this morning, this place we always go to, and you'll never guess who we ran into."

"Alexa?" I named his ex-girlfriend, whom was really pretty, but turned psycho when he moved to San Francisco, and especially when he met Brittany.

Another soft laugh came from the other end of my phone, "No. Now when I tell you, you need to not overanalyze it, okay? I know you."

"Dude, who the fuck did you run into?" I was getting upset. I hated when he dragged things along.

"I ran into mom and dad."

In that moment, my heart stopped. My throat was growing into a lump, and my nerves were twisting up into a pretzel. "W-what?"

"I know this seems strange, believe me, I didn't even want to look at them, but it was them Luce. It was our parents. Are you okay?"

Nothing but useless stutters escaped my throat, not letting me speak. "I don't know. Did they say anything to you?"

"They looked so much better than when I saw them last. Still together, still happy. Clean, sober. They asked how I was, when I got married. They asked about you, too. If you live here, too. All I said was that you don't live here, but you're a successful writer for a magazine. They seemed really upset when they were talking about you."

My eyes began to water, remembering the last time I had seen them. I was a small child, crying over my parents whom were slumped over on the ground, just having had a overdose. As I began to think, I got angrier and angrier by the second. They left me and my brother. They left jail or rehab or whatever and abandoned us. They left no choice other than my grandma raising us, mainly me. They didn't get to see me grow o, or graduate. Or my first boyfriend, nor did they get to meet Mike. I'm glad that they are sad while talking about me. They can go fuck themselves.

"They want to see us, Lucy. They want to talk to us." He added on, seeming nervous as he said it.

"Look, I gotta go. I love you, bye." I slammed the phone down on its hook and ran my hands through my hair. I kept trying to take deep breaths but I couldn't stop this feeling. I never thought I'd have to deal with them. They were supposed to be out of my life forever.

I sent the interview and article to Marc, and collected all my things. I had to go see my grandma. I had to go and just figure this out.

I let Katelynne go home and I made my way to San Diego. I couldn't even think about anything other than my parents. What did they look like? Did I resemble them? Would my father still call me his little diamond? Was I thought of even once when they were escaping from us? I had so many questions, but the things was if I wanted them to answer them or not.

---

My grandma and I sat on her couch, hot tea filling the mugs we were holding. Hers green, mine a lavender. I told her what my brother had said, and before I could even stop them, the tears flew from my eyes. I had held it in for a while. I left that issue back here in SD. I didn't dare take it with me to Los Angeles; that was my start, my future.

"Mija, this is insane." She rubbed her temples, showing stress from this. Her daughter, my mom, had aged her so much over the years. I didn't know if they have had communication since she and my dad left, but I know my grandmother still worried. How could she not?

"I don't think I want to see them. I'm not sure if I can handle that. I don't want Matt to see them alone, though."

"I wouldn't want him going alone, either. What does he want to do?"

"I don't know, I hung up on him as soon as he brought that up."

"Maybe it's time you face them, mija. It's been a very long time."

"That's my point, though! It's been so fucking long, like why do you still give a fuck? They can't act like they do, because they left me grandma. They left Matt and I behind for who knows what." My pone rang in that moment and I saw Mike's name flash across the screen, showing a text.

Are we still on for dinner tonight?

Fuck, I had completely forgotten about that. He came home from tour early this morning, and I decided to let him sleep his day away, then dinner tonight. At least he didn't have to drive to my house since I was already here. I responded quickly, telling him I was at my grandma's so we could have dinner here.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought about Mike. I had to tell him what happened today, but I didn't want to ruin the night. He was going to tell me countless stories about tour, for sure. My head was pounding from crying so much, my eyes were sure to be puffy and red; I bet I looked like a mess.

I got up and placed my mug in the sink, then dug in my purse for my makeup bag so I could fix myself up. I couldn't stop thinking about my parents, though. I know they probably didn't plan on running into my brother, but why would they want to see us? I don't want to talk to them, I don't want to even be near them. They had become the scum of the earth to me. Was this a sign that I need to be more forgiving? Or was God just testing me? Either way, I didn't like the idea of it.

Mike came and picked me up, showing up at my grandma's door with a huge smile on his face. For the first time in hours, I had smiled. I just couldn't help it when I was around him. He told my grandma hi and have her a hug, then he made his way to me and gave me a huge and tight hug, picking me up in the process. "I missed you, princess!" He said, placing small kisses in my lips and neck and forehead.

"I missed you, too." I smiled, looking into his eyes.

"Let's go! I'm starving." He rubbed his stomach, watching me as I grabbed my purse and waved bye to my grandma.

---

Dinner was great, and I honestly did try to listen to Mike's stories, but my thoughts were clouded. I stared into the glass of red wine that was before me. I swished it here and there, then took a small sip, swishing it again once I put it down. "What's wrong, baby?" Mike's voice brought me back to reality.

I shook my head, "Nothing, I'm fine." I faked smiled, knowing he would see right through me.

He raised an eyebrow, "No really, what's wrong?"

I sighed, already feeling emotional and ready to cry and I hadn't even started talking yet. I frowned a little, my eyes watering. He instantly grabbed my hand from across the table and held it, rubbing his thumb over my hand softly. "My brother called me today. He ran into my parents."

Mike's eyes grew wider, "What?"

I nodded, "Yeah, and they talked shortly. They asked about me, and now they want to see both Matt and I. To talk to us, I guess."

"Are you thinking about going?"

"I don't know. I don't think I'm ready for all of that. The only thing is that I don't want my brother to go alone."

"Luce, oh my god, I'm sorry. This is so weird." He said softly, saddest running through him.

"It really is. It's okay, though. I still have thinking to do. Remind me to call my brother later, because I hung up on him when he told me about that."

He nodded, "Regardless of what happens, I support it all the way, baby."

"Thanks, buggie. Let's finish enjoying dinner, okay? I don't want to talk about them anymore."

And with that, we finished dinner, dessert, and we went to go get my car and drove back to LA. He insisted on staying with me, especially now. Ludo was quite happy to see him, I must say.

We relaxed and watched a movie together. It was incredible being back in Mike's security again. And, the "Welcome Back Home / Our First Time Having Sex Again" sex made me a happy little lamb. "Baby?" He asked, twirling a piece of my hair between his fingers.

"Yeah?" I looked up at him.

"If you go with Matt, I'll go with you. You know, for support and stuff. Maybe his wife and I could watch from afar, or if not that, just be around afterwards."

"Really Mike?" My heart pounded a little. That would mean a lot to me if he tagged along with me, if I went.

"Really. I don't want you to have to go through that alone. That's what I'm here for."

A smile crept up on my lips, "I love you, you know?"

"Well of course, who wouldn't?" He smirked. I sat up and kissed his lips.

"Thank you, again. You're the best boy in history."

He chuckled, gazing into my eyes, "I love you more than you know, beautiful girl." He moved some fallen hair from my face and kissed my nose. "Lucy, I know we never made anything official, but while I was gone I thought about a lot and I realized that you need to be my girlfriend, again. So, will you?"

"I would love that, Michael." I wrapped my arms around him as he kissed my neck.

Why is it that even on my darkest days, he still manages to brighten it back up again?

Notes

WHOA. What does everyone think about Lucy's parents suddenly appearing back into her and her brother's lives again? Do you think that she will go and see them?

They are officially official now, y'all. I love Mike's mad support in this chapter regarding her parents.

Leave your thoughts, comments, and concerns below :)

Anyone start school this week? I did. Ugh, I hate that I have to get back into this routine again, but so far, everyone including my professors are cool. And thank you guys for being so patient, I really appreciate it