We spent the next few hours getting inked up and it hurt a little, but Aston was a real girl and said it hurt like a bitch. Admittedly he had way more done than me, but the pain really wasn’t that bad. And I guess girls do have a higher pain threshold than men. But at the end of the session our artwork was finished and they looked amazing. It was nice knowing that we are forever inked in each other’s skin. Seeing Aston going through pain to show me how much he loves me filled my heart with pure love. And nothing can ever take that moment away from us.

We spent the night in Aston’s hotel room and we made love gently and passionately until the early hours of the morning. Ella’s hotel room was right next to ours and I heard her giggling all night and some sounds that definitely weren’t giggling, which made me giggle in response. It’s nice to know that she’s now experiencing the same kind of amazing things I am. I just hope Danger isn’t going to hurt her. I know Dad will kill him if he finds out.

I’m cuddling into Aston and he’s holding me and softly stroking my arm when I hear a scream and then some yelling. I look at Aston and he opens his eyes wide.

“What the hell?”

I listen to an argument that’s happening outside our room.

“Wait, is that Ella?” I ask and Aston nods. “Shit,” I jump up from the bed and rush around the room putting my panties on and some pants. I quickly pull a shirt over my head as Aston rushes to get dressed too. The anger coming from the yelling is palpable and I want to get to Ella so bad, but I have to be clothed first.

“Aston c’mon,” I say and he pulls his shirt over his head and we race to the front door and open it to see Dad standing there with Danger by the scruff of the neck against the hall wall. Ella is pulling at Dad’s arm wrapped in only a sheet. I gasp when I notice Danger is completely naked.

“Holy shit,” I whisper and race up to Dad.

“Dad, let him go,” I yell and Mum comes out of her hotel room and a few other spectators from the other rooms are watching on. Dad turns and looks at me as Ella cries and tries to release Dad’s hand from around Danger’s throat.

“Wait were you two in a room together, too?” he yells dropping Danger from his grip and he falls to the floor. Ella rushes to his side and I watch as Dad turns his fury toward us. I step in front of Aston to block him from Dad’s rage and I point my finger at him.

“Stop right there. You do not get to be angry at Aston. I know you’re pissed about your little girls growing up, but Dad we’re adults and we have men in our lives now and you definitely cannot stop us from seeing them.”

Mum comes rushing up as Dad storms toward us. I grab hold of Aston’s hand and Mum gets to Dad before he gets to Aston.

“Colt, stop!” she says tugging on his arm. He looks back at Mum and shakes his head.

“And you’re okay with this?” he yells and Mum shrugs.

“They’re adults now, babe. Annie and Aston are a couple. It’s okay for them to spend time together—”

“Yeah, what about Ella, huh? Her and Danger definitely aren’t together, right? I don’t need her slutting herself around with the likes of him,” he says looking at Ella as she cries holding Danger to her while he’s still gasping for air.

“Dad, you need to remember we’re adults. We are allowed to have relationships, and that means we are allowed to have sex—”

“Jesus Christ,” he murmurs running his hand through his hair.

“We are even allowed to get tattoos because by law we’re all legally grown Dad and you have to let go a little. I know we are your little girls and we will always be. But Dad sometimes little girls grow up,” I say.

His anger subsides and he turns his back to me and exhales, resting his hands on the wall and taking some calming breaths. “So you’re telling me that you’re both old enough to have sex now. Is that what you’re saying?” Mum is standing there rubbing Dad’s back.

“Yes Dad,” I say and I feel Aston tense behind me. “And you can’t take it out on the guys we have sex with, that’s not fair. If you’re angry yell at us, don’t beat the crap out of our boyfriends.”

He huffs and turns around resting his back against the wall and rubbing his face with his hands.

“I know this is hard Dad, but—”

“No... wait… what? What did you say about tattoos?” he asks looking directly at me and so does Mum.

“Um, yeah,” I say and then lift the sleeve of my shirt to show them the ink on my arm.

“Oh, for God’s sake, Annie,” Dad says running his hand through his hair and shaking his head.

“Oh Colt, leave it. I think it’s beautiful Annie, and even though your dad wants you both to stay perfect little angels for your entire life, he just has to deal with the fact that you and your sister are all grown up and are now old enough to make your own decisions. Right Colt?” Mum says taking his hand. I see a glimmer in his eyes, almost like he’s upset.

“They’re my babies Lia, and I just don’t know how to cope with this, you know?” he says to Mum and my heart thuds for him. I know he wants to protect us and he only wants what’s best for us, but sometimes you have to let us live our own lives.

“I know, babe. C’mon, come back to my room and we can talk about it,” Mum says pulling him away from us.

“You’re really both having sex?” he asks turning around to face us all.

I smirk as Aston hides behind me further and Ella glares at Dad while Danger just sits on the floor naked and looking a little lost.

“Fuck!” Dad says and turns around walking with Mum back to her room.

Ella helps Danger stand up and I try my hardest, but I can’t help but look down at his cock and I’m impressed. I thought he was a douche because he was compensating for his small dick, but I was definitely wrong about that. It’s about the same size as Aston’s and I smile at Ella as she opens her eyes wide at me and stands in front of him covering his junk. I giggle as she smirks at me knowing that I saw.

“Are you okay, mate?” Aston asks Danger and he nods.

“Yeah, I was more shocked than anything. I respect Colt, so this was a bit of drama that I didn’t need,” he says and then steps out from behind Ella and walks into the hotel room, leaving Ella behind. I bite my bottom lip as she furrows her brows and shakes her head.

“Great, now he’s going to shut down again,” she whispers to no one in particular and turns following him into the hotel room and closes the door.

I look back at Aston and raise my eyebrow. “Well, that was some full-on excitement I wasn’t expecting this morning.”

“Gotta say I certainly wasn’t prepared to tell your father that I’m fornicating with you. I was crapping myself when you told him. I didn’t really feel like getting beaten up.”

“Yeah, he certainly wasn’t in a great mood. But you know what? He knew we were sleeping together. He had to know, he just didn’t want to believe it. Hopefully, Mum can calm him down.” I take Aston’s hand and head back to our hotel room now all the drama has dissipated. We walk in and close the door behind us and head back to bed. It’s early and we don’t have to do anything for another couple of hours.

“Wanna go back to bed?” I ask and he smiles.

“Absolutely, but only if you’re naked,” he replies and I giggle and pull off my top, throwing it to the other side of the room. He moves in close to me and looks down at my exposed breasts and he grins salaciously.

“Well, I was going to just sleep but now these babies are out I think I’ll take full advantage.” He leans down taking my nipple in his mouth. I giggle and run my hands through his hair, thankful that Dad hasn’t scared Aston away from touching me.

 

***

 

It was a very quick five months and it flew by so fast I barely had time to stop and breathe. Once the tour kicked off, we were either rehearsing, performing or being interviewed every day while we were away. We went to six countries, met some amazing people, along with some evil minion fans who had a good attempt at attacking me everywhere we went. Seems Caleb and Aston are a hot commodity and all the girls want them. Which means, anyone in their way, including me as his girlfriend, needed to be out of the way if you know what I mean. But Aston handled himself well and he never once gave me a reason not to trust him.

He was always nice to the fan girls, but he also wasn’t shy to tell them that he was in a very serious and happy relationship. Dad got over us being together and eventually let us stay in the same hotel room as a couple. It was really nice being with Aston all day performing and working, but it was wonderful to unwind with him after the shows. Just cuddling up in bed or making love, either way suited me fine. I love being with him. Everything about him makes me feel more alive and vibrant, he simply makes life worth living and what a life I am living right now.

We just arrived back home after our final concert two nights ago from a maximum capacity crowd in Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval Stadium complex. Australia is one of my most favourite places and the crowd went off knowing it was the last stop for Staked’s first world tour. We had an absolute blast.

I really wanted to talk to Ella about her and Danger, but she was so hot and cold and stayed to herself most of the time. Plus, we were always busy doing something, so quality sister time over the last five months has been hard. But now that we’re home I plan on giving her some much-needed support and attention. Let’s face it I am dying to know what happened with her and Danger.

Everything feels right like everything is finally in place. I love my job, I love my boyfriend, I love my family. I just love my life! Nothing could ruin how I feel right now, but we’ve been home a mere two hours and even though I am jet-lagged and can’t sleep I decide I need to go to bed. Mum’s in the lounge room suffering the same as me while Ella and Dad are already in bed. As I walk past the front door to head upstairs, I hear the buzzer sound for the front gate. I furrow my brows wondering who it could be, and then I think it might be Aston. He said he was going to spend some time with his parents, but maybe he couldn’t help himself and decided to spend more time with me. I smile and walk over to the intercom.

“Hello?” I ask waiting to hear Aston’s voice on the other end. I smile brightly as excitement flows through me and I jump a little on the spot. I’ve only been separated from him for two hours, but after spending five months together all day and night, two hours is a long time.

“I’m looking for Annie,” a woman’s hoarse voice replies and I tense up.

Who the fuck is this?

I press the button as my heart rate starts to spike. “Who are you?” I ask and there’s a short pause and I raise my eyebrow waiting for her response.

“I’m her biological mother.”

My heart stops beating and the walls seem to be closing in on me. My chest is heaving and I feel like I want to faint.

My biological mother?

How is that even possible?

A sudden wave of fear creeps across my skin, but it’s then replaced with a flash of excitement flowing through me at the opportunity of finally meeting my birth mother.

My real mother?

I wonder what she’s like?

I press the button to open the gate and I rush toward the front door and open it waiting to see her car pull down the driveway. I stand in the doorway with a smile on my face as tears threaten to fall. I’m excited, I’m nervous, I’m a little angry, but all the emotions flowing through me are making me feel dizzy.

“Who is it, sweetheart? Mum asks and I turn around. I’m practically bouncing on the front step of the manor as I look into Mum’s eyes and can’t hold my emotion in anymore. I start to cry and she rushes to me taking me in her arms. “Annie, what’s wrong?”

We hear the car pulling into the yard and I turn around and notice a really old and rusted out car. I tense slightly and my breathing is rushed as I look back at Mum.

“She says she’s my mum, Mum.”

She stops breathing, her eyes move to the car and then back to me like she’s terrified.

“She could be anyone, Annie. You shouldn’t have let her in,” Mum says with a trembling tone to her voice and I tense up seeing how upset this is making her.

I turn around and stare at the woman who steps out of her car. She walks toward me and I open my eyes wide. She’s wearing a halter neck leopard print dress and her hair is short but all messy and it’s a mixture of blonde and grey. She has so many wrinkles and she looks like she wears too much fake tan. She looks shocking to be honest and nothing like what I pictured my birth mother to look like. She has a cigarette hanging out of her mouth and she sucks back a long drag and then pulls it out and throws it to the ground stepping on it with her fake white heels.

I swallow hard as I next notice her arms. She has tattoos everywhere and she really just looks like some sort of trailer trash that walked onto the set of ‘Jerry Springer.’ She looks up at us and smiles wide and her teeth are black and I notice there’s one missing to the side. She looks disgusting!

“Annie, go into the lounge room,” Mum says and I look up at her as the woman approaches.

“Mum?”

“Now sweetheart,” she says pulling me behind her and pushing me toward the lounge room. To be honest, I really want to get as far away from that lady as possible. I do as Mum says and walk to the lounge room, but sit right on the edge of the lounge suite so I can hear their conversation.

“Who are you?” Mum asks blocking the doorway so the woman can’t come in.

“Is Annie here?” she asks in a gravelly voice that makes me cringe.

“Who. Are. You?” Mum asks enunciating every word.

“I’m her biological mother and I have a right to see her,” she says and I try to swallow a very large lump that seems to be stuck in my throat.

“You lost that right when you abandoned her,” Mum states loudly.

“Look I was sick, but I’m better now and I want to see my daughter,” she says pronouncing ‘my’ in a strange way.

“Well, you can’t see her,” Mum says and the lady huffs.

“Like hell I can’t… Annie!” she calls out and I jump at the loudness and desperation in her voice.

I tense up and slowly walk out into the hallway while I notice Mum trying to stop the woman from barging in. She spots me as I hold myself tightly. Staring at her face she does look familiar.

“Annie, is that you?” she asks stopping her movements, her eyes riveted on mine.

Mum turns around and shakes her head. “Annie, go back into the lounge room,” she demands pointing. I stand stationary on the spot, like my feet are glued to the ground. I couldn’t move even if I wanted to.

“Mum, she’s my birth mum, I should talk to her,” I say quietly and the woman smiles radiantly while Mum’s frown deepens. I start to walk toward her and Mum tenses and looks like she’s going to cry.

“Sweetie, she could be anyone.”

I nod knowing that she’s right and could just be some crazy fan trying to mess with me.

“What’s your name?” I ask and she smiles fully showing me her black teeth. I swallow hard and try not to stare at the God-awful things.

“Loretta Banks honey, and I have missed you every day since I left you,” she says taking a step closer, but Mum stands in her way. I walk closer and stand behind Mum. She reaches down and takes my hand in hers, I think we both need the support right now. I look at her straight in her eyes and she looks like she’s telling the truth. It shocks me to my core and I start to cry. Mum turns around and cradles me to her.

“How did you find me?” I ask through tears.

She takes a step back and tries to put some space between us which is what I need right now.

“I asked questions at the adoption agency and they gave me the first names of your parents, and there aren’t many Colter’s and Delia’s in England. Plus, you look so much like me. You have to be my little girl. I’ve finally found you,” she states racing forward with her arms open like she wants a hug, but I quickly back away and stand behind Mum. Loretta stops and exhales.

“I just want to get to know my baby,” she says and I start to really cry as I cling onto Mum.

“We’ll pay for maternity DNA testing and then we’ll talk. But for now you’re scaring my daughter, so please leave,” Mum says and I’m angry and ecstatic at the same time. If she is my birth mother, then I’d like to get to know her, but she is so… trashy. I don’t know that I want to associate myself with her. And knowing that she could be a part of me makes me shudder uncontrollably. I look out from behind Mum at Loretta once more and Loretta nods and turns to leave. She looks back at us and takes a deep breath.

“I’ll arrange it, but I know she’s mine. I can feel it.” Then she walks down to her rusty old car as Mum slams the door shut and then turns pulling me in for a massive hug. I cry into her shoulder and she holds onto me so tightly I can hardly breathe.

“Are you okay?” Mum asks and I nod even though I feel like everything I have ever wished for, and everything I’ve ever dreaded, just came true right in front of me at the entrance of my home.