"Lauren?" Freddie said, knocking on her door. "Sweetie, please come out."
"No!" Lauren said stubbornly.
Freddie looked at Sarah, who was standing behind him. "Any ideas?"
"No."
"Well we can't just let her stay locked in her room all night," Freddie said.
"I'll handle her," Sarah said. "Why don't you go back to your precious Sam's. I assume that where you've been staying lately."
"I'm not going to leave her like this, she's my daughter," Freddie said firmly.
"So what? You think I can't handle taking care of her without you? I'm her mother."
Freddie narrowed his eyes. "Blood isn't everything, Sarah."
Sarah simply glared back at him.
"Look," Freddie sighed, trying to ignore the anger coursing through his veins. "This is exactly what Lauren doesn't need; her parents fighting. Let's agree to sort out all our differences in private and be civil in front of Lauren, okay?"
"Alright," Sarah conceded.
Freddie turned back to the doo and knocked again. "Lauren? We need to talk…you want some hot chocolate?"
Freddie heard movement in the room and a moment later the door opened a crack and Lauren poked her head out.
"Come on, pumpkin," Freddie said, pulling on a smile as he scooped her into his arms. He carried back downstairs into the kitchen and set her down at the table as he began making the hot chocolate.
"Now Lauren, this is going to be a big change," Freddie said. "We realize that. But-"
"Why don't you and mommy love each other anymore?" Lauren asked softly.
"It's complicated," Freddie said heavily. "See, sometimes things…happen. That's just the way life goes. It's nobody's fault."
Sarah scoffed, but said nothing.
It took all Freddie had to hold his tongue. How dare Sarah act like this was his fault. He had been nothing but faithful to her for six years…
"It' nobody's fault," Freddie said again, looking right at Sarah warningly. "But your mom and I are going to do everything we can to make sure that everything for you stays as normal as possible. You're not going to have to take sides between us or anything like that. We both still love you more than anything in the world."
Lauren didn't reply.
"Do you have any questions for us?" Freddie asked gently, handing her a cup of hot chocolate.
"Do people who get divorced still live together?" Lauren asked.
Freddie slowly shook his head. "Er…no, not-not exactly, Lauren. You see, that's why I haven't been sleeping here."
"You're going to leave?" Lauren gasped.
"I'm still going to be here for you whenever you need me," Freddie said quickly. "I just won't be living here anymore."
"Will mommy?"
"Yes, for-for now," Sarah nodded. "We'll work all that out later."
"Who do I live with?" Lauren asked.
Freddie and Sarah exchanged glances.
"We'll work all that out later too," Freddie said. "But I promise, we're both always going to be here for you no matter what. We love you, and that's never going to change."
…..
Later that evening, Freddie walked back to Sam's apartment. Lauren still wasn't feeling any better about the divorce; though he supposed he couldn't blame her. What kid was ever happy her parents were splitting up?
Carly and Sam were sitting at the kitchen table, eating from a pizza box when he walked in.
"Hey," he said heavily.
"Hey, how'd it go with Lauren?" Sam asked.
"Bad," Freddie mumbled.
"What happened?" Carly asked.
"She just doesn't want the divorce to happen," Freddie replied. "She's crushed, confused…I mean I'm confused myself. There's so much to figure out, especially with-with the living arrangements."
"I started looking into some things," Sam said softly. "You know, if you still want my help-"
"I do," Freddie nodded. "I really do."
Sam gave him a small smile. "Well, um, to officially start the process, there's a bunch of paperwork you'll both need to sit down and figure out. You know, stuff like assets, who gets the house…things like that. And, then for Lauren…you need to start filing for joint custody as soon as possible so it will be harder for Sarah to throw any wrenches into that."
"Where do I get this paperwork?" Freddie asked.
Sam reached for her bag and pulled out a manila folder and handed it to him. "I got them for you…I figured it'd be easier."
Freddie opened the folder and looked through the papers, seeing so many terms he didn't understand. He couldn't help but chuckle as he thought about a time so many years ago when Sam would've taken these papers and turned them into spitballs.
"I'm not gonna lie, it's gonna be lengthy," Sam said. "Divorce cases with kids always are."
"How long's lengthy?" Freddie questioned hesitantly.
"Six months at least," Sam replied. "But that's for the legal stuff. You-You can move out and everything before all that."
"Right," Freddie sighed. "I guess I should start looking for a new place then…"
"So Sarah's keeping the house?" Carly frowned. "Is it in her name or something?"
"I just figure it's easier for me to move," Freddie shrugged. "Plus…I'd rather not do anything drastic. I don't want Sarah to start giving me a difficult time with custody."
"Well yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to get screwed out of everything else," Sam said.
"It's fine," Freddie said quickly. "I don't mind moving. It-It will be nice to get a fresh start. I saw some signs for an opening in an apartment building nearby. Maybe I can rent a space there while all of this is getting settled. It's only a few minutes from the house; Lauren can still visit. I mean I can't stay here forever, right?"
"Freddie, just-just don't let Sarah walk all over you," Sam said.
"I won't," Freddie assured her. "Trust me…I've done enough of that. Look, we signed a prenup before we got married. I-I never understood at the time why Sarah was insisting on it. I thought we were so in love, so why should we even bother? But, well, I guess now it's clear that she never felt the same way. But that works for me now; the finances won't be an issue. It's just Lauren. And if I have to give up my house to get her, then I'm more than happy to do so. I'd do anything for her."
Freddie looked up at Sam, and he could tell she understood.
…..
The next morning Freddie let himself into his house, or his old house, as he supposed he should start referring to it as.
Sarah was waiting for him in the living room, all dressed and ready to go.
"I'll be home by nine tonight," Sarah said simply, picking up her briefcase.
"Where's Lauren?" Freddie asked. "How is she? Is she feeling any better?"
"I talked to her," Sarah said. "I think she's slowly starting to wrap her head around the idea."
Freddie nodded.
"She's upstairs," Sarah said before turning and heading up the door.
Freddie looked around the house, wondering when he would get around to moving out all his belongings. He shook his head. He couldn't worry about that now. He went upstairs into Lauren's room, where the five-year old was pulling on her socks.
"Hi honey," Freddie smiled.
"Hi daddy," Lauren replied, but Freddie could hear the missing spark in her voice.
"Need some help?" Freddie asked as he kneeled down to help Lauren tie the laces of her sneakers. "So we're going to head back over to Sam's house. And then when she goes to work this afternoon I was thinking you and I could take a trip to the toy store and maybe we can-"
"I don't want to go to Sam's," Lauren said firmly.
Freddie frowned. "Why not? You had fun there yesterday, didn't you?"
"I don't like Sam," Lauren said.
"What?" Freddie said. "Sure you do! Ever since you met her you've been saying how much you love her. Why don't you want to see her today?"
"Because," Lauren replied. "Mommy said it's all Sam's fault you and her are getting a divorce."
Freddie felt his fists clench. "She said that?"
Lauren nodded. "She said if it wasn't for Sam, you and her would be fine. I want you and mommy to never ever get divorced so I don't like Sam anymore. She's mean."
"Honey, Sam has nothing to do with this."
"Mommy said so," Lauren said, as if that settled everything. "And mommy doesn't lie."