Chapter 18

I run as fast as I can and make a turn into the alley to hide. There's a spot between some dumpsters so I get Emma Decody in that spot so the people with the cameras don't find her and take pictures with her. She can't breathe really well and we've been running for a while. Once I know she's in the spot I try to fit into it with her and help her to breathe because she's really loud when she can't and she's trying hard so the camera people will hear it and find us and take more pictures. We wait a while to make sure the coast is clear so we don't get caught again. After maybe ten or twenty minutes everything gets really quiet so I peek out and nobody's around. So we get out of our spot slowly and then run to Emma's place, which is on the way to my house. It doesn't take long and we make it to the front door of her apartment.

"Joey, t-thank-you. For helping me," she says.

"Yeah, no problem. Are you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. What about you and your eye," she asks. She points at it and it kinda hurts when she touches the park of my cheek that's under it.

"I'll be fine," I say. "You should get inside, it's dark and it's cold."

"Okay," she whispers. She's smiling a little too I don't really know why. But I just ignore it and watch her walk inside and then I run home.

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After a long, emotional, and need I say spicy and passionate interaction in the bathroom with Taylor, we talk a little more. We both kind of had our cry and held each other and talked about our feelings and confessed our love that we still have for each other and then we cried again. We're thinking about maybe even seeing each other again and see if it can work but not just yet. For now, the priority is getting him out of here without the kids seeing because if they do they'll question why we were in the bathroom at the same time in the first place. I peek through the door slowly and get a good glimpse of the living room. Ava's still sound asleep and Joey's not home yet. It's perfect. We tiptoe together out the bathroom and to the front immediately. Taylor opens the door and we both walk out into the hallway of the building, closing the door behind us.

"So how long do you wanna wait for ... you know," he asks me. It makes me giggle that he's kinda scared to say it.

"You don't need to be afraid to say it Tay, seeing each other." He laughs.

"Yeah. Seeing each other. Well... I'd need time to get rid of Amy first and make sure she's gone."

"Yeah, definitely. For that, take all the time you need."

Tay looks at me quizzically. "You sure?"

"Yeah. We've been apart three years we can wait a little while longer." He chuckles and gives me a quick kiss.

"Well, how about we see how things go by Christmas? It's only like a week away and we'll both be with the kids that day anyhow so we can talk about it then."

"Okay," I answer softly, with a smile. I watch him smile back, his two front teeth poking out before leaning in closer. I close my eyes and feel his lips on mine again. I enjoy the feeling I've missed so much in the last three years. I can feel his lips curving into a smile again against mine, making me do the same as we stay connected like this for a while.

Out of nowhere we hear the elevator doors opening which means we immediately have to break the kiss. We end up just staring at each other for a second until we realize there are footsteps coming toward us.

"Mom? Dad?"

The two of us turn around and find our son. But that's not even the surprise. I gasp and almost break down in tears when I see his face, with that huge purple and yellow bruise over and around his left eye. It almost covers his whole cheek for how bad it is and it's so swollen, it's almost like a golf ball and his pants are all torn with scrapes along his legs.

"What are you guys doing," he asks, completely trying to distract us from his huge swollen black eye.

"Nevermind that. Joseph baby what happened to your face," I ask him, and cup his cheeks in my hands. He takes my hands away from his face and grunts.

"Nevermind that," he mumbles and passes the two of us, running into the apartment. Taylor quickly follows him in and I hurry after the boys. He puts his hand on Joey's shoulder to make him turn around.

"Joseph, answer your mother. What happened," he asks our son.

"No. I don't wanna talk about it."

"Hey, respect your mom, answer her, and tell us what's going on right now."

"What do you know about respect? And why do you even care about me? You left her anyway. You stopped being part of this family." And our ten year old bolts upstairs to his room. My jaw immediately drops at what I just heard. Where the fuck did that come from? I can see and even feel the blood boiling in Taylor's body and I don't blame him for being angry. I watch him get a bottle of water from the fridge and lean over the counter, his head down facing the ceramic tiles on the floor. I put my hand on his shoulder, which makes him turn to me. His eyes are bloodshot and marked with a small tear.

"Taylor, don't listen to what he said. He didn't mean it and it's not true," I tell him.

"Yeah but I left you. That part's true. I left this whole family, just like my dad did with me." He pauses for a second and lets out a sigh. "I'm just like him."

"NO! You're NOT like him Tay. Your dad left and didn't even try or want to be part of you or your family's life. At least you're still there for your kids. You take care of them two weeks at a time and even when they're with me you come and visit them, you take them out, you have fun with them, you help discipline them... your dad did none of that. So no, you're nothing like him. Don't be so hard on yourself. Joey was so out of line. You're not at fault. He is. I'll try and talk to him okay? For now, just unwind. You can even stick around here for a bit if you'd like." Taylor nods and heads out. "I'm just gonna go for a walk outside. I'll be back," and he shuts the door, leaving me to face the stairs leading to my son's room.

I knock on the door a few times. But it's quiet, so I wait a little before knocking again.

"Joey," I call. But I get no answer once again. "Joseph let me in like right now." I hear him practically growling and then opening the door. Once it opens I see him walking back to his bed, turning his back to me.

"Hey," I say softly. "How's your eye?"

"I already know why you're here," he answers. So I walk to his bed and sit next to him, putting my hand on his back.

"Joey, I wanna know what's going on with you. Because you know we keep having these talks and I feel like they're not helping you at all. That hurts Joey, and you know what hurts more? That you disrespect your dad like that, and that you don't trust me enough to tell me what's wrong and just ignore me. We're your parents, whether we're together or not, and that means we both care about you, and that you can tell us anything. It also mean you have to respect us. So I wanna know. What's going on?"

Joseph looks down at the floor and hunches over in shame. I can tell he feels like crap and I know it's because of what he said to his dad earlier. Taylor's always been like a hero to him, and so for him, disrespecting his father is like the worst thing he could ever do. I rub his back for a few short seconds before he starts talking. "It's my friends. They're not the same."

"How come? What's going on with them? Did they do this to your eye baby?"

"No," he answers, his voice loud and irritated. Then he lets out a sigh and looks down. He starts speaking more softly. "No, they didn't hurt my eye. But they gave me the cuts on my knee. Not on purpose though. The cameras did this to my eye." My jaw drops and I can feel the blood boil within me, as my body turns red from rage at the thought of those paparazzi fuckers who already put my kids through hell possibly hitting one of my babies.

"WHAT," I scream. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE CAMERAS DID THAT TO YOUR EYE?" Then I realize I have to calm down because Joseph looks scared. I've never yelled in front of my kids before so maybe he's not used to it. I take a deep breath and speak more softly. "I'm sorry baby. I get angry when I hear that someone hurt my kids. What happened with your friends tonight?" He begins to mumble.

"I was with them at the park a few blocks from my school. We were having fun at first but then they started picking on this girl in my class, Emma Decody. She's nice and everything but people make fun of her because she has this disease where sometimes she makes weird sounds while she's breathing. My friends were bugging her and they wanted to push her. I ran in the way to stop it but then they pushed me by accident and I fell and got all these cuts. The cameras were following us so we all ran away from them but we all ran in different directions except for Emma and me. The two of us tried to find the route to come home and then a few more camera people came running out of hiding spots and blocking our way to get pictures and one got so close that his camera hit me in the eye. We ran in the other direction and found a hiding spot to stay in until we knew for sure that we lost them. Once they were gone, I walked Emma back to her apartment and then I came home."

Once he confirms that a cameraman actually hit his eye I feel my face burning from rage. I don't care if it was an accident or not, these people have no business spying on my kids. It's not fair to them or the kids they hang out with, and I know no matter how much I try to let it go I won't be able to until I do something about it. At the same time, I feel happy and sad. I'm glad to hear that Joseph is being kind to this girl and doing the right thing. It takes courage to stand up to your friends but Joey has shown me that he's a brave boy. Yet I feel so sorry that he has to live through this crap of being chased around and getting hurt... that both my kids have to live through it... and it's because of me. I've always felt so selfish to want and have children because I knew they would have to live through these really annoying experiences of being asked for your picture everywhere you go or having a crowd of people around you calling your name.

"Baby, I am so proud of you for doing what you did tonight to help that girl," I say. "I know your friends seem like they've changed and sometimes it can be hard to stand up to them and tell them that what they're doing is wrong, but you know what? You're really brave because you did it. And remember that if ever you need to stand up to them again, you have the bravery to do it. And I'm proud of you for protecting Emma when the paps were chasing you guys around, for never leaving her side and walking her home to make sure she gets back safe. That was really sweet. You're a great kid Joseph."

"After what I said to you and dad tonight, you're still gonna say I'm a great kid?"

"Look, what you said was really uncalled for. I know that dad likes to be tough and all but that really hurt him. He loves you very much sweetheart, and being a good father to you and your sister means everything to him. So when you said he stopped being part of the family, he felt like he meant nothing to you. Hearing that from your own kid, it breaks your heart. But... I know you were upset and you didn't mean it right?"

"No," he mumbles. "I just didn't wanna talk about it and I wanted to be alone for a while but everyone was asking questions and it was bugging me so..." Joey shuts his eyes really tight and I can tell he feels even worse. I rub his back gently, making small circles with my hand as I do.

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean it baby. Just relax. Daddy went for a walk outside so how about we get some ice for your eye and take care of those cuts on your knee until he gets back? Then you guys can talk." Joey nods in agreement and then takes my hand as we get up off the bed. On our way down the stairs I put my arm around him, my hand dangling from his shoulder. While he's sitting on the barstool at the counter, holding the icepack I gave him on his eye, I start disinfecting the cuts on his knee since they're pretty deep.

Once that was taken care of I figured I start dinner since Taylor wasn't back yet, while we waited for him to come home. As I finish chopping up an onion I hear my phone going off. I turn around to find that Joey has it in his hand, ready to give to me and I open it once he does. It's full of texts and missed calls. All from twenty minutes ago, while I was still in Joey's room. All from Taylor.

Missed Call: Taylor

Missed Call: Taylor

Missed Call: Taylor

Missed Call: Taylor

Missed Call: Taylor

Missed Call: Taylor

Taylor: Stef call me back. Emergency.

Taylor: Ava's gone.

I am very sorry I took an eternity to update. I was away for two weeks straight (one week in New York for Cheek to Cheek, one week at a cottage in the Eastern Townships with my cousins by the lake). But I tried to make this chapter a little longer to make it up to you guys. I don't know if it sucks or not but know that I did try. I've been working night and day finishing this chapter since I got home :P

Cheek to Cheek was perfect. I had a blast the whole week in NYC seeing some new and familiar faces, doing some shopping, camping out for Gaga, singing I Won't Dance with my friend in Rockefeller and getting our own fans because we can, having a monster family dinner eating some very delicious spaghetti and meatballs and chicken parm at Joanne's, and of course, seeing the shows and even meeting Gaga and some of the Haus again. The shows were absolutely perfect: like everything I dreamed it would be and more. Every show I was singing along and dancing in my seat for how much I was enjoying myself and the nights I was in front row were hilarious because Gaga would literally watch me and some friends that I made, singing along and dancing, laughing and crying throughout the night. She really gets a lot out of her audience and when I'd see her face after a standing ovation or as fans cheered her on, or even when she'd see me or other fans singing along to the show, she had this look of joy and fulfillment that I always want to see on her face because it's the most beautiful thing about her. Anyway I'm bragging on about what a fangirl I've been and this can easily turn into a novel so imma end it here.

Hope you lovelies enjoyed this chapter. I'm working on a oneshot someone requested that I didn't get to finish because I wanted to update this first (I'm sorry). Then I have to update Stay because I haven't done that in a very long time. I don't even know if people are reading it but anyway you guys can check it out if you want.

But before I do that, I'm going to sleep because it's 2AM and I am exhausted. Sweet dreams little darlings. xoxo