You Got Me Poppin Champagne

ERIN'S POV

I stared at him after the words left his lips. He made eye contact with me and stared back, concern filling his eyes. I was stunned. Or...shocked? Angry? Upset? Scared? Confused...definitely confused.

"My...my mom?" I managed to squeak out.

Alex nodded slowly, watching me intensely, my grip on Jasey the only thing keeping my sanity together by a mere thread. 

"What...I mean...what did she want? What could she want? I thought...I thought we made it pretty clear last time...I don't understand..."

Alex kept his eyes on me, focusing on my face and his choice of words. "She said she was sorry. She shouldn't have done what she did and she wants to be a part of our children's lives. She wants to come to the wedding."

I laughed bitterly. "Oh right, she sorry for hitting me too? Or just causing me to nearly lose Jasey?"

Alex pulled me close to him and encompassed Jasey into his embrace with me, stroking my hair and pressing his soft lips to my forehead as the tears started to fall. "Don't get too stressed about it, okay? Don't worry, please. Just stay calm, okay? I'm here. I got you. I'm not gonna let her anywhere near you or the kids. She's not gonna hurt you again, alright?"

I got myself under control and nodded into his chest. "You told her that?"

"Of course I did. I promised you I'd protect you. You really think I'm gonna let that bitch hurt you again. If you wanna talk to her in time, that's your call. But I won't let her force you to do anything that'll put you in danger."

"You really think I'm gonna wanna talk to her again? After everything she did to me? No. I'll never forgive her."

And what Alex said next shocked me. He braced himself, tightened his grip around me and Jasey, who was crying because I was crying and didn't understand why, took in a deep breath, and said something I never thought I'd hear him say.

"I think you should give her a chance."

I pulled back and looked at him incredulously. 

"Excuse me?"

"I think you should give her a chance," he repeated, shrugging and not meeting my gaze.

"I'm sorry, what? After everything you just said, after how much she hurt me, hurt us...and you want me to forgive her just like that? Let her near Jasey when I know what she's capable of?"

Alex bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before continuing. Figuring out the words he wanted to say. "I know, I know, and I don't ever want her to hurt either of you, you know that. I'm always gonna protect you, you're my family. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you guys. But it's just...she sounded really upset. Like she actually was sorry. She said after what happened she went to anger management. She said she changed. She just wants to see you and apologise in person."

"A mother should never hit her daughter. No matter what. You can't just apologise for over eighteen years of hell and expect it all to go away."

"She knows that, but I really think she wants to try, she wants to make amends as best she can...I just think maybe you should give her a go. I mean, I'll go with you to meet her to keep you safe, and I won't let her hurt you. But this is a chance you may not ever get again. Life's too short for regrets. Imagine if you passed this opportunity up and a few years down the line you find out your mom died and you start thinking what ifs? Just invite her to the wedding. Start small and work your way up. I'll be there every step of the way, I promise."

I looked up at him again. His face full of sincerity. And puppy dog eyes. "Does family really mean that much to you?"

A sad look crossed his face, and my heart suddenly dropped out of my chest as I realised what I had said and I felt a lump in my throat as Alex avoided eye contact, sporting a sad smile. 

"Oh god Alex, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it like that...it sounded wrong, I just-"

"I know," he said, cutting me off and looking back at me. "It's okay, I get it. She hurt you. She hurt you bad and that hurt me too...but you have a chance here. You have a chance for things to get better, for it to be a little more okay. And if she's still dangerous or scheming or whatever, then fine, she lied and we can forget about her and go straight back to our life before she walked in on it, but right now give her the opportunity to prove us wrong. You won't know if she changed unless you let her probe it to you a little. But you have a chance here, she has to do all the work, don't you want the chance to have a mom? Another grandma for Jasey and the twins?"

"I do...more than anything." I couldn't lie. I could pretend as much as possible and wish with all my heart but when I looked into those chocolate brown eyes that knew me so well, I couldn't lie. I couldn't deny that as much as I wanted to live the rest of my life pretending she didn't exist and getting on without her, I really wanted a mom. I wanted her to say sorry. I wanted her to mean it. I wanted to have a relationship with her. It would take effort and a lit of work, but I wanted a mom. I wished to god I didn't, but I wanted a mom. And Alex knew that, because he saw the thoughts go through my head and gave me a gentle smile.

"So we invite her to the wedding?" he asked, the care I knew so well plain in his voice.

I nodded, and even managed a small smile. "Yeah, we invite her to the wedding. But I don't wanna see her before that...and I wanna wait until we're back here to see her again. Anything else would just be too much."

Alex nodding, smiling, happy at the fact that I was going to work to rectify a broken relationship, gain a family member back. The one thing he couldn't do even though we'd never spoken about it. "Of course. I totally get it. And I'll be by your side the whole time okay? When you go meet up with her, I won't let you be on your own. I promise."

"Pinkie promise?"

"Of course!" And Alex shook my pinkie. "You want me to cal her back and let her know, or do you wanna do it?"

"Can you call her please? I'm not quite ready for a conversation."

Alex nodded again and pressed his lips to mine briefly but passionately. "I get it. No problem. Don't you worry about a thing."

ALEX'S POV

"Hey, are we gonna get to listen to any of these new songs you wrote before we go to record in April?" Jack asked as we hung out, supposedly discussing band stuff at his house. Really, it was just the band and selective crew chilling with cold beers in Jack's basement. 

"I don't know man, they're still a little shaky. They need work."

"Aw dude, come on, we wanna hear something. Fuck it, Jack, grab a guitar and fore it out of him," Zack ordered.

Jack grinned and within minutes he was back in the basement strumming, playing the various tunes from Home Alone.

"Fuck, fine, shut the hell up and pass me the damn guitar," I groaned, as they smiled triumphantly. "I wrote this when we were on the road...it's about the twins I guess."

"No shit Sherlock," Rian replied, rolling his eyes.

I gave a crooked smile and shook my head at them. "You all knew it was gonna be about that, right?"

"No, I figured you'd write about me and nutella," Jack answered deadly serious.

"Oh baby, depends on the context," I winked.

"Just play the fucking song already," Matt ordered.

"Yes sir," I said and saluted him. "Alright, here we go."

"Look at the trophies
The homeruns
The interstate showdowns
The proof of a life we can't wait to lead
Into the right direction
Into a summer reflection
The reflection of my eyes in your mothers smile 
And the pictures of arms 
around someone I won't let go
Someone I can't control

The critics and the sceptics
It's my miracle live in awe of me
Who'd have thought we could ever prove them wrong
But we got three promises
To keep

The dresses
The tears
The make up makes the years
Don't give your heart away to another wasted day
Spend it laying with me
Spend it telling me how you're  gonna be
I'll listen the best I can
Promising to give you the better chance a better hand
A smile when you feel it
A tissue when you need it
I don't mind for you

The critics and the sceptics
It's my miracle live in awe of me
Who'd have thought we could ever prove them wrong
But we got three promises
To keep

A couple of promises that are yet to some
One smiling miracle who promised to be your guide
And I'm here promising you all the world
I've only seen you as a blur
I can barely make you out
But at least I know you're there
I'm keeping my promises
And you're the next to come"

"Too sappy?" I asked when I'd finished.

They looked in thought for a few minutes.

"I think we should keep it as an acoustic, but I think we already have a certainty for the album," Zack said and everyone else seemed to agree, making me grin.

"Even though it's not our usual stuff and it's a little crap?" I asked, still unsure.

"Hell yeah. It's not about the song style or lyrics...it's about the emotion. You sing it like that and everyone will love it," Jack told me with a smile. I knew he understood. He was a dad too, after all.

I smiled big. More so to myself. Those three kids were everything to me, even though we were waiting on the second and third.