Life Without Them (On Hold)

Chapter 7: Learning the Truth

~Gabriel~

She's trusting us with the kids. Holy shit, she's trusting us with the kids!

I thought for sure that as soon as she came out here and saw us with the kids that she would freak out. I don't why that thought even popped into my head. She's my Trouble, and these are our kids, of course she wouldn't go crazy on us for trying to bond with our kids. Hell, if anything, the Trouble I knew would encourage it.

But she's not the Trouble you know.

Shut your fucking face! She's still my Trouble! I don't give a damn how long we've been away from her! I'm not giving her up again, and I refuse to leave her or our kids! Not again...I can't do that to them again...

"Daddy," Cole whispers. "We gotta go now. We don't want mama to be mad at us if I don't wash up like Morgan."

"Sorry buddy," I say as I pick him up. "Daddy was just a little lost in his head for a bit."

"Mommy does that too sometimes," Cole tells me. "She tells us she's just thinking about the past when we ask. Were you thinking about the past, Daddy?"

"Yeah, buddy, I was. Now, let's go get you cleaned up."

~Sang~

By the time I finish getting Morgan cleaned up and out of her pajamas, the rest of the boys have made it back into the apartment. I let Morgan go run down the hallway to her father while I walk at a much slower pace. I'm not too eager to see what other changes will be obvious in the boys now that I'm no longer avoiding looking at them, but I know that I need to face this so that I can get answers.

When I step into my spacious living room, which is now filled to the brim with the boys from both teams, as well as the twins and Phil, I suddenly feel a bit claustrophobic. I lean against the wall and close my eyes while I try and get my breathing under control. Once I feel a bit more steady, I open them to see a few of the boys looking at me in concern. Mainly Victor, North, Owen, Corey and Brandon. If there's nobody else who notices my little freak out, it's because they're either playing with the kids, or plating breakfast.

I give the boys a slight nod to let them know that I'm fine, before going over to the breakfast bar and taking a seat. There's no point in me trying to serve myself. The boys are absolutely adamant about me being totally relaxed on my days off, and just to worry about myself. Somehow I feel like that's not exactly going to be possible today.

Right on cue, Marc and Axel come over with three plates of food and a cup of coffee. Axel sets down the plate and mug in front of me, before going back for two more mugs that I see placed on the kitchen table.

Marc places a plate on either side of me, and pulls out the chair to my right. When Axel gets back with the two mugs, he places one in front of Marc, and pulls out the chair to the left of me, effectively boxing me in. I have never been more thankful to them as I am right now, and they probably know it. I glance over at Marc and he winks at me while bringing a forkful of eggs up to his mouth.

Cole and Morgan are being set up at the table in the kitchen by the twins.

I think the four of them share a unique bond with the whole twin thing.

Since the table in the kitchen can comfortably seat six, Brandon and Corey sit across from Morgan and Cole, leaving the seats next to them, open for their fathers. I'm not sure how, but the eighteen of us actually manage to sit down and have a decent breakfast.

Unfortunately, that's about as much luck as I can get, because once breakfast is over, Phil volunteers to take the kids to the park. And once the kids and Phil have left the apartment, all hell breaks loose.

"What the hell are you two over there for?" North yells to who I assume are Axel and Marc. "You're over there guarding her like we're going to hurt her!"

Yup, Axel and Marc.

"Newsflash, asshole, you already hurt her," Brandon calls out. "We're just making sure you don't do it again."

"That wasn't on us and you know that!" North calls out.

"But I don't!" I scream. I turn around in my seat to find Brandon and North standing on opposite sides of the coffee table looking like they're about to start swinging. "I don't, North!" I say to him, deliberately trying to get his attention. I'll be damned if he takes his anger out on the only people who were there for me. "I don't know anything! So how about you sit down, and shut the hell up so that someone who actually thinks before they speak can tell me what the hell is going on around here!"

"Did Cupcake just yell at North?" Luke mock whispers to Gabriel.

"Fuck that, I think she just cursed at North," Gabriel answers back.

I narrow my gaze in their direction, effectively shutting them up before saying, "Somebody better tell me what the hell is going on here, or so help me God, not even the Russian will be able to save you."

"I don't plan on saving," Raven says with a shrug. "Do as you will malen'kiy burunduk (little chipmunk)."

"Alright," Axel states, trying to take back command. "Everyone calm down. Raven, let's try not getting the mother of their children to beat them senseless, yeah?"

"Fine," Raven grumbles.

"Good. Owen, why don't you start by telling Sang what happened five years ago to make you leave?"

And so he tells me. He tells me what happened when they got back from their mission that night. How I almost became shark bait at the hands of Volto. How they had no choice but to leave me in order to save me. How they've been trying to track him down this whole time. And finally, he tells me about the letter they received yesterday, along with the pictures that led them to assume that I was with the Toma's and that the kids weren't theirs.

I took all of this in stride. My emotions going all around the color spectrum. I went from happy that I wasn't the reason they left, to pissed off that they didn't tell anyone anything, and everything in between. When Owen gets through recollecting the events of last night, I only have one thing to say to them.

"You guys are bloody idiots."