* * *

"You really did it?" I asked, in shock.

Mum smiled and nodded her head as she squeezed our hands lightly. After our little reunion we sat together at the dining table and had lunch together, mum had organised this the moment she found out we were coming to see her. I had to admit that it was really sweet of her.

"I knew it was time." She said, as she looked over at Alena.

"How did he take receiving the papers?" I asked before taking a sip of water from my cup.

She shook her head as she let out a tired sigh, "He's not happy about the divorce but he knows he doesn't have a leg to stand on."

"Has he signed them yet?"

Mum just shook her head in denial. She looked over at Alena who was still chewing her food slowly as she watched us. I watched on as mum moved Alena's hair away from her face, placing it behind her ear before leaning over to kiss Alena on the top of her head.

"Thank you so much for giving me this chance. I won't let you girls down." She whispered as her voice broke. I watched on as her eyes got glassy. I knew she was about to start crying. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I watched my mum try to keep her composure.

"I was so blinded by what I knew was love. Mix that with the drugs and it's game over" she went on to add. I looked over at Alena whose eyes kept alternating between mum and I. Alena's eyes stayed glued to mine, I could tell she was surprised about mum's confession in front of her.

It's as if mum could hear the concerns, "It's time you knew Alena. You're old enough." She stated firmly. For a second, I felt ashamed that I thought shielding Alena was the right thing. However, my mum was right. Alena was ten, soon to be eleven. She was at an age where she knew right from wrong, good from bad. Mum seemed to have more faith in Alena than I did. It was enough to make me feel deflated.

"How did you know it was love?" I asked, as I bit my lip nervously.

She smiled as she grabbed my hand with both of her, linking our fingers together.

"He was all I could think about, day and night. Even at the beginning when we weren't dating, if I saw him talking to another girl I'd get ridiculously jealous. Every time I saw him, my heart would skip a beat or I'd have butterflies in my stomach. No matter what I was thinking about, my thoughts would always move to him."

I sat there as I contemplated her words. They were a little too close to home for me, but I refused to think about any of that. It wasn't the time or place. Deep down I was also hoping my mum would open up about our father, Drew and those letters, but I didn't want to overload her with too much so I had to choose my conversations carefully.

"There's so much you need to know." She whispered. I maintained eye contact with her as she tried to decide if we should know or not. I could see it in her eyes, it was all about to come out.

"Words can't describe how terrible I feel. I know I wasn't there for you both. I wasn't there to protect you from him-"

"Despite everything, when he hit us, you still tried to jump in and protect us." I interrupted.

Yes, my mum did drugs and wasn't the greatest mother on earth. However, there were times when she jumped in front of us to protect us. She may not remember but I wasn't going to pretend it didn't happen. She didn't protect us all the time though. It got to the point where the drugs took over and she chose them over us. Ultimately giving Henry more power over us.

"No baby, I didn't. Protecting you means I should have given up the drugs and taken you both far away from that place. I didn't do that. I wasn't a mother to you both. I've put you through hell, forced you to grow up quicker than you needed to. Truth is Avery, when you told me you were leaving-" her voice broke at the end of the sentence. I watched as she cleared her throat before continuing.

"When you told me you were leaving, I wanted nothing more than to beg on my knees for forgiveness and cry at your mercy to not leave. But, I knew the safest thing for you both was to leave. And, I knew the only way you were going to leave was if I pretended I didn't care." Her voice shook as she tried to hold back her tears. I watched on in disbelief as she grabbed a tissue before blowing her nose.

"I know I have a lot to prove to you both, I know it won't be overnight but I'm willing. I'm willing to make it up to you girls. I want to be in your lives, if you will allow me." She whispered sadly.

"I've still got a few more weeks in here but when I get out, I want us to be a family again." She added.

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I tried to form words, "I won't lie mum, you have a lot to prove. We've been through this before and I don't want you to make any promises you can't keep. I am willing to try but this is our last chance at it."

She nodded in agreement as she took in my words. I know it was probably harsh of me to say but, I wasn't going to beat around the bush. She needed to know that this time around was going to be the last.

"I won't let you down baby." She said, grabbing both of our hands to kiss them.

"As long as we continue to be open and honest, no secrets or lies, then we will get through this." She went on to add.

My stomach twisted at those words as I thought back to all the recent revelations that came out. I knew I had to be honest with her about them. It also made me think if she remembers these letters. If she did remember, then this was the true test to see if she really wanted everything out in the open. If she brought these up in conversation, then I will no doubt be honest about finding dad and Drew.

"Speaking of being honest, I think I should start."

I looked between Alena and her as she said those words. My heart started to beat a thousand miles as I tried to think of what it is she wants to be open about."

"Don't hate me please."

I shook my head slightly as I waited, "What is it, mum?"

"It's about your dad."

"What about him?"

A cry escaped her lips as she grabbed a tissue, "He used to write to you all the time. Every single day he sent you a letter."

My mind was officially blown. It was like she was in my head, listening to the thoughts going on inside. I had goosebumps all over my body.

"What happened? Where are they?" I asked. As much as I wanted to scream and shout I knew I had to stay I control. I didn't want to interrupt her confession and cause her to backtrack her words.

"I told Henry about them and he met up with your dad. I don't know what happened between them, but the letters stopped. I should have given them to you, I should have allowed you to have a relationship with your father." By the end of the sentence she was a blubbering mess, crying as she forced the words out.

"Why didn't you?" I asked, forcing the words out as I tried to reign in my temper.

"I was so scared of losing you both. I was being selfish. I know that now." She said, in between her cries.

"I'm so sorry Avery."

"Do you know where these letters are?"

She nodded as she wiped her eyes before blowing her nose.

"They're hidden in the safe underneath the floorboard in my closet."

I shook my head in sadness that she would go through such great efforts to hide them.

"Don't hate me, please."

"I don't hate you. Thank you for being honest."

We sat there in silence for about a minute, while I debated internally with myself if I should tell her. It wasn't just any secret, I don't think in a million years she would have guessed that I found them. I knew it was the right thing to do, I just hope it didn't effect her recovery. I'm praying that she embraces this truth and accepts the fact that they are now in my life.

"There's something you should know about dad and Andrew, mum."

* * *

We spent four hours with our mum, we did everything from having lunch, talking about everything that needed to be cleared and then getting a tour around the place. I had reservations at first but this was the best decision I had made for us. I felt like I could breath again after that one conversation, maybe it was because we let everything out with no secrets. I realise now that life is so much better without secrets. All these secrets built a wall around me and was slowly dragging me down. Now, I felt like everything was coming together, slowly but surely.

We didn't get home till 7pm so it came to a surprise to see Isaac still home, I took one look on his face to see that something happened with him. When I asked him though he said he was just tired, something wasn't right, something was wrong but I couldn't put my finger on it. I left him alone last night for that reason. I couldn't dwell on it too much because my phone rang, interrupting my thoughts.

"Hey"

"Aves! What you up to?"

"Not much, you?"

"Nothing, Michael and I wanted to see if you girls wanted to have a movie night?"

I smiled at that thought, with everything going on we haven't had the chance to spend a lot of time together. Having a movie night was great but I wasn't about to go to his house.

"Yeah, sounds good. Come early for dinner. I just have to go to the shops but I'll wait till you get here."

"Sounds good. See you soon."

Thirty minutes later Drew and Michael walk in with bags and bags of groceries. I almost killed him at the sight. I should have known the moment it took them more than ten minutes to arrive, knowing that they didn't live far from here. He thought that by giving me a sheepish smile, I would leave him alone.

"You are incorrigible." I mumbled in annoyance.

Drew chuckled alongside me as he helped pack up the groceries, "It's only fair, seeming as though you are cooking us dinner."

"Besides..." he added, pausing for dramatic affect.

"What are big brothers for?" He let out a chuckle after I groaned. I couldn't help but smile, deep down underneath all this hard exterior my brother was a softy.

"Thanks, Drew."

With the help of Isaac and Drew it took under forty minutes to cook dinner. It took about ten minutes for Alena and Michael to destroy their plates, before running back into the lounge room. Leaving the three of us alone as we were, chatting about how the weekend was.

"How was your visit with mum?" Isaac asked. I swallowed the rest of the food in my mouth as my eyes flickered to Drew, who stopped mid way with his fork in the air.

"You went to visit mum?" He asked as sadness took over his features. I was at a loss for words as I took in his expression.

"Uh- Yeah, yesterday. It was good to see her actually." I looked over at Isaac before smiling. He bit on his lower lip as he mouthed "sorry". I shook my head softly in a way that showed him it didn't bother me.

"We spoke about what's happened in the past, with Henry and the letters from my dad. We spoke about you as well Drew."

"She knows about me?" He asked, sadness evident in his tone

F L A S H B A C K

"You found my baby boy?" She asked, in between sobs. I watched as she let out a cry, grabbing a tissue before closing her eyes with her hands. Alena smiled as she rubbed her hand up and down mum's back in comfort.

"You have no idea how happy I am that you found each other. This is all my fault, I seperate you both." Her voice muffled against her hands.

I pushed her glass of water closer to her, encouraging her to drink from it. The last thing I wanted to as for her to have a panic attach from her crying.

I waited as she took a sip before thanking me.

"What does he look like?" She asked.

I pulled out my phone, "Wanna see?" I asked. She smiled as her eyes lit up at the idea. I looked through my phone to find the photo we had taken when we all went to dinner. We had taken a photo of the four of us but then as a joke we had re-enacted Drew's favourite photo, that was the photo I decided to show her. I didn't want the conversation to divert towards dad being remarried with a kid, etcetera.

"My beautiful boy, he looks exactly like his father." She gasped in shock as she starred at the photo of us. She kept smiling as she starred at the photo.

"Avery, will you print this out for me?"

"Of course Ma." I smiled in excitement.

"Do you-" she stopped as she bit on her bottom lip, nervously.

"Do I, what?" I asked.

"Do you think he'd want to meet me?"

E N D F L A S H B A C K

The smile slowly dropped from Drew's face as shock overtook, "She- She wants to meet me?"

I nodded in agreement.

"That's great!" Isaac spoke up as he looked at Drew, before adding, "Isn't it?"

"I think it's great, but it's completely up to you Drew."

I watched as Drew contemplated his options. I wanted to push him but I had no right to. It would then make me a hypocrite because Drew never pressured me into meeting dad. I did that on my own because I was ready, or so I thought I was. This was the exact situation for Drew, his mum left him. Deserting him and now she wanted to see him. Yes, the reasons were completely different, but still the same.

"Is that something you would want?" Isaac asked as he took our plates to the sink. I looked over at Isaac who had turned the kettle on before making his way back to us. We had a ritual where we would drink tea after dinner. Well, I would drink tea but he would drink coffee. I began to have less nightmares when I drank camomile tea, so I became hooked to it.

Drew nodded, much to my surprise, "I would."

I smiled as a light chuckle escaped my lips, "You would?!" I couldn't help but feel pure happiness because I know how much this would mean to my mum. I wanted to bring some good news to her when I saw her next.

"I don't want to but, I'd do it for you girls. I'm willing to under one condition though." He added, making my smile slowly drop from my face.

"What?"

"You give dad an actual shot at a real reconciliation."

* * *

A/N: Don't forget to leave me a vote my little bears! Xx

Next Chapter: Jaxon and Avery finally have a talk. What do you think it's about?