t h i r t e e n ⥠[task]
Timmy and Savanna reluctantly packed bags in preparation for their stay with David this weekend. Both of them seemed less than thrilled about having to go...Savvy even shed some tears because she wanted to stay home with Victoria and Declan. She didnât understand why she and Timmy didnât get a say in the matter. âI know youâre upset, butterfly, but you have to go. If you donât, mommy will be in big trouble and a judge could take you and your brother away from me forever.â She wasnât trying to scare the seven year old, she was just telling Savanna the truth. This was part of a court order. David had the right to see his children, even if his children didnât want to see him. âItâs only for the weekend. Two days and youâll be back home, I promise.â
At least this time they were staying in Nevada. David had a condo outside of Limbo because he knew weekends back and forth to Los Angeles werenât possible now that school was back in session. âBut mommy⊠Two days anâ the weekend is over.â Savanna said with a pout. âHow come we canât stay with David when we have school?â Victoria suppressed the urge to laugh when her daughter called her father by his given name. âSavanna MadelynâŠâ She forced a stern look. âPleaseâŠâ She didnât have to finish her sentence for the seven year old to know what she was being scolded for. âSorry mommyâŠâ She replied immediately even though she didnât see what the big deal was. His name was David. DC probably would have chuckled, or given her a fist bump at the very least.
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Journal entry #13
I wish I didnât have ta stay at daddyâs house every other weekend. I donât like it here. It smells like beer and cigars. He told mommy he doesnât smoke in the house, but I know he does when me and Timmy are asleep. He leaves his empty bottles with half-smoked cigars on the coffee table for Maria clean up, but sometimes I do it before she gets there cause daddy leaves everything for her to do. I can hear him tellinâ her ta do laundry while he takes me anâ Timmy for new school shoes. He was supposed to take us before school started, but work was more important. Itâs always more importantâŠ
I miss mommy and DC already. I want to go home. DC said he was gonna show  me anâ Timmy how ta fix a motorcycle. Heâs buildinâ mommy one that looks just like his...She doesnât know it yet. Itâs a surprise. Maybe someday I will get a motorcycle that matches theirs too. One like my bike, but bigger...with a leather jacket so I can be partâa the same club DC belongs to... I forget the name of it, but they have their own club house! Itâs only for grown ups though⊠Oneâa these days Iâll get him ta take me in there. I gotta know whatâs insideâa that club house.
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âSavanna, letâs go.â A voice called from down the hall. Timmy. And from the sound of it, he was getting impatient waiting for her...Probably because he didnât want to be left alone with David either. Not with his unpredictable temper. A side effect of his increased alcohol use.
David was quiet. An uncommon personality trait for a man who usually talked non-stop. A lot of things were different about him since his split with Victoria. The changes were noticeable enough that Savanna and Timothy could pick up on them. It wasnât that David seemed to care about them less...It was just that he wasnât making much of an effort to spend time with them, even when he had them for the weekend. His distance was beginning to put a strain his relationship with his children. The David Thorne that used to do anything and everything to keep his family happy was now doing the bare minimum. He couldnât even keep track of the weekends he had Savvy and Timmy without Victoriaâs reminders.
âDaddyâŠâ Savannaâs voice broke the silence in the car. He didnât give her a verbal response, but he looked at her through the rear view mirror. âAre you gonna play with me anâ Timmy tâday?â The seven year old asked innocently. She couldnât remember the last time they did something as a family where David was actually involved. In the last few months he had taken them to the park, the beach, and the carnival, but he stood by and chaperoned. He didnât seem interested in playing even when Savanna tried to include him. âMommy and DC play with us at homeâŠâ The little girl added. Clearly her comment struck a nerve because Davidâs grip on the steering wheel tightened to the point of making his knuckles white. ââMember when ya usedâta play with us too?â Timmy had been silent until now. Both children still clearly loved their father, they just didnât like this version of him. They didnât like the person his drinking was turning him in to. âWe miss that.â The little boy stated. âAfter we get school shoes, can we go ta the arcade? We can win all the tickets on the skeeball machine like we used to...and take home the biggest prize! Or we can play the claw machine!â David had many talents, one of them being how skilled he was at the claw machine in the arcade. On a good night he and the kids would walk out with most of the stuffed animals in the machine. His wallet would take a hit, of course, but he didnât seem to mind when he saw the smile it put on his childrenâs faces. âThink ya still got the magic touch, daddy?â Savanna asked.
David didnât seem to be paying much attention, his mind was elsewhere, but he nodded like he agreed. It was hard for him to focus when his lawyer told him that morning that his chance of winning the custody battle wasnât looking so good. They were going to try and play it from a different angle. He still wouldnât get full custody, not once his drinking was questioned, but heâd be able to get unsupervised visits at the very least. The arrangement he currently worked out with Victoria would probably remain in effect, but that meant going back to California wasnât an option for him. How was he supposed to live in two states at once? Would he have to pick his job over his kids, or vise versa? What if he did choose Los Angeles over his own offspring? Would they understand? Were they old enough to understand? So many questions left unanswered. It was hard for David to keep moving forward with his life when he was literally stuck in Limbo.
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Sunday Night: Victoria and Declanâs home.
âHow was your weekend?â Declan asked the kids with a cheery smile on his face. He probably wouldnât admit this out loud, at least not to an adult, but he missed the chaos Timmy and Savanna added to his life. They were so energetic and full of curiosity, not yet jaded by society, and their smiles were so contagious even the Grinch would grin.
âI missed you.â Was the first thing out of Savannaâs mouth. She was looking at Declan but her arms were wrapped around Victoriaâs legs in a death grip. She was glad to be home. âWe donât needâa go backâta daddyâs house next weekend, right?â The seven year old asked. âCause I might haveâa lot of homework ta doâŠâ Savanna was grasping at straws, but she would say anything to convince her mom and DC that her time would be better spent at home with them.
âLots of homework, huh?â Declan arched a brow. âThen I guess weâll just have to reschedule our trip to the Botanical Garden.â He teased. It was something they had planned for a while now, and he knew how excited the kids were to go, especially Savvy. She had been begging to go to the butterfly exhibit all summer and was bummed when they didnât make it before school started again. âSo we getâa stay here?â Her smile grew when DC nodded and Timmyâs did too.
Savanna craned her neck to look up at Victoria with her arms still wrapped around the brunetteâs legs. She could smell dinner in the oven, but the table hadnât been set yet which meant there was still time to play before bedtime routines were carried out. âCan we go outside anâ play? I wanna ride my bike.â Savvy gave Vic her big doe eyes. âPleeeease mommy...Donât be like daddy...You anâ DC come play with us too.â
















