Chapter: 7 Giving in and up
What is Love?
x-x-x
Maria and Jeff walked into their broken home with Caleb who pushed past them both and ran up the stairs to his room and slammed the door shut tight and hard. He hadn't spoken to either one of them since Aiden's incident 2 days ago. She was supposed to come home in 3 days and Caleb couldn't wait, nobody could. When everyone had left the hospital and gone their seperate ways they had like a numbing frostbite giving cold breeze behind. None of the kids were speaking to their parents. None of the adults were speaking to each other. It was just...dead. Maria sat on the bed and looked to the floor. Jeff was unbuttoning his shirt trying to think about where the hell all this had started. Where everything had begun to go wrong.
"Jeff. I think we should talk." Maria began.
"No. I don't wanna talk to you right now Maria. Please just leave me alone." He said. His voice was so broken so horse from crying and screaming tonight. Maria sighed and went to the closet and pulled out a suitcase. She began packing clothes inside of it. "What are you doing Maria?"
"If you want to be alone then fine. Pack your stuff and get out." She said looking at him. She knew this was the bitchy thing to do to him right now, but she didn't know what else to do. She was tired of fighting with him, tired of getting abused by him, tired of fearing for her life. His hands dropped to his sides and he stared at her in disbelief.
"Maria please. You can't do this to me. Not right now." He said his beautiful, but lifeless green eyes welling up with tears again.
"Jeff. I'm sorry that this has to happens now, but I just... if we...we can't stay together Jeff. I don't...no. I refuse to go another night living in my house, unable to sleep in my own bed next to my own future husband, because I'm terrified that he might wake up and lay his hands on me again and that he might actually kill me and rip me away from my babies and my family! Something has got to change Jeff, and yes I admit I was wrong. Okay? I cheated and I was wrong!" Maria said breaking down into tears. "And if I could go back to anytime in the world Jeff, anytime in the world I would! Just so that I could stop myself from making the biggest mistake of my life and you would think that somebody could only make 1 big mistake, but no. I made two. The 1st cheating on you with Edge and the 2nd was ever getting involved with you. Now get out." Maria said throwing the rest of his stuff at him before going into the bathroom and slamming the door shut. Jeff stood paralyzed in his spot. He knew he wasn't going to stand there for long so he did what she wanted him to do. He packed up and left.
x-x-x
Maria hadn't seen or spoken to Jeff in three days. Right now she was getting ready to pick Aiden up from the hospital. She was ready for her baby to come home. Suddenly her phone rang without looking at the caller Id she answered it quickly.
"Hello?" She answered.
"I've got Aiden with me already so there's no need to go to the hospital. We'll be at the ice cream parlor you can come pick her up there. Bye." The line went dead. Maria kinda stood there for a few minutes before going and getting Caleb. She dropped him off at soccer practice and told him she'd pick him up early so he could see his baby sister and then she drove to the parlor. She walked inside heated and looked around when she spotted her target they locked eyes for a few seconds before she narrowed hers and stormed over towards them. He stood up and when she reached him she slapped him across the cheek. She always hurt her hand when she did that, but this time it burned. Like the frostbite feeling she had the night she left Aiden in the hospital.
"Daddy!" Aiden yelled. Maria picked Aiden up and hugged her tight before setting her on her own two feet. Aiden looked so confused. Maria shed a fews tears. She missed seeing her daughters beautiful greenish blue eyes. She hugged her again before letting her go and facing Jeff.
"What the hell made you think that it was okay for you to go and get her without my permission!" Maria exclaimed.
"Just relax Ria. She's fine see. I just missed my babygirl. That's all okay?" Jeff said looking at the little girl. Jeff gently took Maria by the arm and sat down with her. Aiden hopped onto the other seat and slid in by herself. She began eating her ice cream again. "Maria we need to talk."
"About?" Maria said now calm. She was taking in every last piece of him that she could savage. His eyes, his amazing smell, his strong arms, his thin pink lips, his colorful hair...it almost made her cry how much she missed him.
"Maria it's been three days. How much longer until you let me back in?" Jeff asked.
"I don't know. Depends on what kind of 'back in' you're talking about."
"Evrything Ria. Back into your life, your heart, your soul, our home." He said with pleading eyes.
"I don't know if I can trust you yet. I need to know that I can trust you and until then the answer is no." She forced herself to say. She looked at him for a few more seconds before getting up. "C'mon honey. Lets go home.' She said. The little girl hopped from herr seat and went to Jeff. He leaned down and she kissed his cheek and hugged him. She expected him to hug her back and mess up her hair, but he didn't so she just stared and waited and finally turned and took her mothers hand and began to leave. He watched them walk away. Walk right out his life, possibly forever and he felt his heart ache and burst hundreds of times. He sighed shakily and his hands shook in anger. Not at Maria, but with himself. For being so reckless. So stupid. He breathed out and tried to focus then he ran a hand through his hair and left the parlor.
