She's a Little Bit Country, He's a Little Bit Rock N' Roll

The girls looked down at the boxes on the table that were presented to them with widened eyes.

"What is it?" Pixie asked examining the table like we just placed two bombs there.

"Open it and find out, silly girl." Zacky smirked.

We watched them hesitantly grab the boxes and slowly open them. As Zacky and I patiently waited for the tops of the boxes to fully open, we finally heard the girls gasp at what was there.

"Zacky and I were talking today at the studio. Our lifestyle...it isn't easy for everyone to handle. We haven't been this happy since we could remember, and we don't want anything to mess that up. Girls will always be around, lurking, trying to get to us. We don't ever want you to think that our relationships with you girls are threatened in any way. So, this is our promise to you. We promise that we will always be faithful and never stray. We promise to take care of you. We promise to make you as happy as you've made us. We promise that we are all yours, forever."

I walked up to Ivy and Zacky walked to Pixie as we took the boxes from their hands, lifting the promise rings from inside of them and sliding them on their ring fingers. Ivy had tears in her eyes.

"Oh, baby girl, I never meant to make you sad." I grabbed her chin.

"No...no I'm not sad Mattie, not at all. I love it. It's so beautiful." She smiled admiring her ring.

"A beautiful ring for a beautiful woman." I grinned, kissing the top of her head.

We all stood around in bliss for a few moments. taking in the events of the evening.

"Did you girls get everything you needed for the tour? Only five more days until we leave." Zacky grinned excitedly.

The guys and I were more than ready to be back on the road. Touring was the best part of our career. We are able to connect to our fans and meet the people who have supported us for years.

"Yes, we did! I thought the shopping would never end." Ivy sighed sinking down into her couch.

"Girls who don't get excited about shopping? Did we hit the jackpot here?" I chuckled nudging Zacky on the arm.

"Two women after my own heart." Zacky laughed.

"Where to for dinner guys? We're starving." Pixie sat in Zacky's lap on the couch.

"How about that cute little diner on the beach? I hear they make a mean burger." I shrugged.

Zacky and the girls agreed as we got up to head there in Ivy's car. I don't think I will ever get tired of driving it. It's a beauty.

As we made our way into the diner and got seated, I noticed a familiar face in the opposite corner booth from where we were.

"Oh fuck man. You've got to be kidding." I sighed putting my head in my hands and rubbing the stress from my skin.

"What is it man?" Zacky looked confused.

"Nine o'clock. Michelle and Elizabeth." I gestured.

Zacky sank into the booth along with me. Elizabeth was Val's mother, and Michelle was very obviously her sister. I couldn't escape Michelle through all of this even if I tried. She was coming on tour with us since she was dating Brian. Before I could look away, Michelle made eye contact with me.

"Fuck. I've made a mistake." I sighed, scooting out of the booth because I knew what was coming before Elizabeth gestured to walk over to her table.

"I'll be right back, Princess. Asshole duty calls." I kissed Ivy on her forehead and walked over to the corner.

"Well Matthew, I have to say it's a shock to see you in public with that girl so quickly. Trying to get more photos published to ruin my daughter's life?" Elizabeth scoffed before taking a sip of her water.

"Liz...look. I never meant to hurt Val. You know that. You know the kind of person I am. I have always cared for and loved your daughter very much. Michelle here can attest to that....but it was always a one way street. I don't doubt that Val loved me once upon a time, but over the years I know she was only settling with me to take the easy way out. My fame sky rocketed after our second album. I had the money to take care of her, to take care of the family we always wanted. She didn't want to lose out on that by looking for someone else. I was her easy fix, and I got to the point where I was tired of it. I needed more." I sighed looking at my feet.

"So you wasted no time in going out and finding that little tart over there?" She looked offended.

"Ivy. Her name is Ivy. And there isn't much someone can do about fate when it punches you in the face like it has for me the last couple of days."

"Matthew I would like for you to imagine my position. You hurt my daughter very much. There is only so much a mother can listen to her child cry over some poor excuse of a man and--"

"Mom...cut it out." Michelle growled.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Stop treating Matt like the bad guy here. He never did anything wrong. Mom I saw how Val treated him all the time. We all did. If I wasn't telling Brian about the new abuse at night, he was telling me something he witnessed. It was never fair for Matt to go through anything he did. They met their end, plain and simple. That happens sometimes. Look at you and Dad. You were married for over twenty years and then you divorced. Shit happens. Let it go." Michelle sighed leaning back into the booth.

Michelle was like the little sister I never had. She took a lot of shit from Val like I have over the years, only because Val was the older twin by a few minutes. If anyone understood where I was coming from, it was Michelle.

"Thanks, Shell. That means a lot to me." I smiled and patted her on the back before looking back to Liz.

"I don't know anything else to say except that I'm sorry. If you can't accept that, I understand. However, there's nothing more and nothing less that I'll do to try to prove to you that this was for the best. You're going to listen to Val's side regardless and that's fine. I'm living my own truth, and I'm happier than I've been in a long time. No one can take that away."

I looked over at my table to see Ivy laughing with Zack and Pixie. She was beautiful. She was my happiness.

"You two have a good night. Michelle, I'll see you next week for tour." I half smiled.

"See you next week, Mattie."

I turned on my heels and walked back to the booth before sliding in next to Ivy.

"What was that about sweetheart?" She questioned.

"It was nothing. Have I told you that you're the most beautiful girl in the entire world today?"

Her cheeks flushed to a light shade of pink.

"Not today, but thank you, handsome." She smiled and kissed me.

After we finished eating dinner we decided to walk along the beach for a while since it was a short walk from the diner. The moon was full and it reflected across the water so beautifully.

"Matt...where do you see yourself in the future?" Ivy grabbed my hand in hers as our feet glided through the sand.

"Um...I see myself being an old bastard and beating on Johnny constantly with my cane." I chuckled.

"No, I mean like...in ten years or so. Where do you want to be?"

"Well...I see the band putting out a couple more albums. We have a lot left in us to give. Through that process I plan on settling down, getting married. Buying a house somewhere in a remote location. I love it here in Huntington Beach, but there's no privacy. I want a home where I can raise my family. I want to have children. At least three little ones running around. I hope for a boy first, so that if I have girls they'll have an older brother to protect them. I want to live close to my best friends so we can stay in touch and watch each other settle down." I shrugged.

"Three kids, huh? I never pegged you for wanting more than one so you could spoil them like you spoil me." Ivy chuckled.

"Oh trust me I want a huge family. I just figured that three was a good steady number. And you? Where do you see yourself in ten years?" I smiled picking a spot to sit in the sand as we watched the waves roll onto the shore from the high tide.

"I want to be teaching. I know a lot of people think teaching is an easy job with summers off, but the truth is, if you're a great teacher you put your blood, sweat, and tears into your work. You leave no child behind and you make sure that you can make an impact in all of your students lives. I want to be a cool teacher. I want students to know that I have an open door policy and that they can come talk to me about anything, anytime. I want to inspire people. I want to write a book of poetry. I want a huge house I can raise my happy family in. I want four kids. I'm not sure why four since I'm an only child, but I guess I grew up always wanting sisters or brothers to play with and I never had that. I want to wake up in the morning next to the man of my dreams while the sound of little feet shuffle across the floor into our bedroom to climb into bed with us. I want everything to stop around me as I take in the most important moments in life. I want to have dinner as a family every night when it's possible. I want to help my children with their homework and tuck them into bed every night while I sing them a lullaby. I want happiness. Pure, unfiltered, happiness." She sighed dreamily.

"Ivy?"

"Yes darling?"

"I want that all, too. I want that with you."

She smiled from ear to ear and leaned into kiss me. I caressed her cheek with my hand and felt her soft skin against mine. This was one of those moments. Where the world stopped around us and let us take in an important moment.

The moment I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life with this girl

Notes

OH MY GOD SHE'S BACK WHAT?
GUYS. I am the worst. I swear. A LOT has happened since I last updated this story. I went through a rough break up, moved out of an apartment that I had with my best friend (who is now living with her fiancé, they got engaged 4 months ago), got my very first place alone (I'm an adult now, yay) and I'm happier than ever in a new, healthy relationship. I now have not one, but TWO jobs. One of them working for NASA (cool, right? I'm a teacher for the educational programs for kids).
Anyway, yes, a lot has happened and I've neglected this majorly. The reason I started writing again was to get myself through the break up. Writing was an escape. As I grew stronger as a person I just wanted to focus more on self-growth so I didn't write as much. Now that I'm stronger than ever and happy, I want to pick up my favorite hobby again. I will start updating as much as I can, which should be at least once every couple of days. Thank you so much for being so patient with me and for staying with me on this journey. I hope you guys enjoy the update, and I hope you are all well!

xxoo,
Leagh