Sadly, over time Alyssa started to become distant from everyone and she often came home in tears. Aaron had noticed the change in Alyssa, and he wrapped his brain around to figure out what was wrong with his children. Robert had noticed that Alyssa had not been herself and it frustrated him that she was very close to Aaron.
One day, Alyssa was watching her usual program and she was drawing. Aaron walked into the living room. He looked at the girl and he smiled, she looked at him and she ran over to hug him.
"Daddy" Alyssa smiled as she hugged Aaron.
Aaron hugged his child "Hiya, Princess. Are you okay?"
Alyssa nodded "I just needed a hug".
Aaron stroked Alyssa's hair "Is something wrong?"
Alyssa pulled back from hugging Aaron and she rubbed her arm as she looked down "Some of the people in my year band have been calling me names".
"What sort of names?" Aaron asked.
Alyssa did not answer.
Aaron crouched down "What sort of names, Alyssa?"
Alyssa met Aaron's eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks. With a heavy and shaky sigh, she spoke, "They called me a dirty... a s-skank, a bitch and a tramp".
Aaron's eyes grew wide in shock, how did any child around Alyssa's age would know that kind of vile language? "Why didn't you tell me or your dad about this?"
Alyssa shook as she cried "I thought that you would be angry with me. I thought that you and dad would hate me".
Aaron rubbed the girl's back to comfort her, "We could never hate you and would never be angry at you if other kids are picking on you. It's okay, princess, we're going to sort this out".
Robert had just came downstairs, he was stood in the doorway and he watched as his husband and Alyssa hug in the living room. He grew angry since Alyssa had not spoken to him at all that morning. It was if Aaron had become the favourite. Without a single word, Robert walked past Aaron and Alyssa and went to the kitchen.
"You go play with your toys while I talk to your dad", Robert heard Aaron tell Alyssa.
After a short moment, Aaron walked into the kitchen, tears in his eyes but Robert was too consumed with jealousy and rage to ask about it.
"Robert, we need to talk about Alyssa", Aaron said.
Robert scoffed, "Heck yeah we do!"
Aaron flinched and gawped at his husband, taken aback. "What's wrong?", the younger man asked.
"What's wrong is how you're tearing Alyssa away from me!" Robert snapped.
"What do you mean?", Aaron asked, genuinely confused.
"You know very well what I mean! She hasn't spoken to me all day, she's been giving me the cold shoulder while you two cuddle!"
Aaron shook her head, "No-", however, before he could explain, Robert cut him off.
"Yes, and now I bet you're going to suggest you two go on a shopping spree, so you can buy her love while I'm here doing all of th-". Robert stopped when he saw that Aaron had his head down, tears pitter-patting on the tiled floor. Guilt began to flood through him, as Robert realised that he had taken it too far.
Aaron's head snapped up as his angry eyes met Robert's, and the older man realised what he had done. Aaron had an extremely long fuse... but just like everyone else, there was only so much he could take. Robert had just opened a door straight into the fiery pits of hell.
"Alyssa has been off with me as well! She didn't want to talk to me either! I just so happened to be around when she needed a hug. And if you had paid more attention to her, then you would have realised how sad she had been lately! I've just found out that our daughter's being bullied at school, and all you can think about is playing favourites?!" Aaron shouted.
Robert stood there, mouth wide open as Aaron exited the kitchen and left the house, slamming doors as he went. He stood there for a moment, before he walked into the living room. He saw that Alyssa was drawing, and he had tears in his eyes as he watched his daughter.
Alyssa looked up and she saw Robert "What's wrong? Have I done something bad?"
Robert walked over and he sat next to Alyssa "No, you've done nothing wrong" he pulled his daughter into a hug and she hugged him back "It's gonna be alright."
As soon as Aaron was out of the door he immediately regretted what he said. However, he could not go back before clearing his head first so decided to go for a quick run instead. As he ran through the fields, Aaron's mind drifted elsewhere, back through his memories to points in time where he had let his anger rip at Gordon, when he realised that what his father was doing was wrong. Gordon would hurt him, cut him with a knife and threaten to slit his throat if he told anyone. The thought dawned on Aaron and he instantly felt lightheaded "Aah!", he fell to the ground as a seizure shook through his being. Tears ran down his face and Aaron could not halt his movements, as his flashback became more and more vivid. He was shaking, he was scared of hitting his head and being left outside until he bled out. He had dropped his phone and he did his best to time how long the fit lasted. After ten minutes, Aaron's seizure had past but he could not move, he waited a few more minutes, before he could move and he curled up on the ground as he cried. He grabbed his phone and called Cain "Cain, I need help. I had another seizure and I can't stand up, please help me. I'm in the woods next to my house, I'm next to the tree that Robert carved mine and his initials on. Please help me". He ended the call and he only had to wait a few minutes, before he her twigs snapping and he saw that his uncle was running towards him.
"Are you okay, Aaron?" Cain asked as he knelt down next to Aaron.
"I can't get up. Everything feels numb and his voice is in my head" Aaron answered.
Cain rubbed Aaron's arm "I'm gonna help you up. Hold onto me and I'm gonna need you to help me, okay?"
Aaron nodded "Okay".
Aaron held onto Cain's shoulders and his uncle counted to three, before he slowly helped his nephew stand up. Cain helped Aaron back to Homefarm and they invented an excuse to why Cain was going to stay for a coffee. Aaron and Cain were in the kitchen and they were talking, Robert walked in and he immediately walked up behind his husband and he wrapped his arms around Aaron's waist. Aaron looked over his shoulder and he saw that Robert was sad.
"What's wrong?" Aaron asked.
Robert sniffled "Nothing".
Aaron looked at Cain "I'll be back in a minute, Cain". Aaron led Robert into the office and he turned to look at his husband "Tell me what's wrong".
Robert sniffled "I'm sorry".
Aaron pulled his husband into a hug and he rubbed his back "It's okay. I'm sorry for shouting at you today, please forgive me".
Robert realised that Aaron was shaking slightly and that his husband was very cold "What's wrong? You're shaking and you're freezing". He rubbed his husband's arm.
Aaron sighed as he made up a quick, but believable story in his head that was not a total lie. "I was running and fell over. I was trying to figure out how to apologise to you, it shook me up a bit", Aaron explained, he tried to keep his voice from going monotone, and not to give himself away.
Robert searched Aaron's eyes before he smiled and he nodded. He believed his husband, "You alright?"
Aaron smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I am now I got stuff off my chest anyways".
Robert squeezed Aaron slightly, "Okay, just be more careful. For my sake at least".
Aaron gave a 'mmm' noise to say yes; though he was mentally telling himself to be more careful, so that his husband would not find out that he had a seizure. When Robert kissed his head he smiled, and he melted against his husband.
"You know" Aaron sniffled.
Robert placed his hand on the back of Aaron's head "I know".
Aaron hid his face in Robert's shoulder and they stepped from one foot to the other, as they hugged each other. After their embrace Aaron and Robert walked back into the kitchen to see Cain. They talked to Aaron's uncle for a little while, Cain went home and Alyssa played with her Barbies for a while, whilst Aaron and Robert snuggled up on the sofa and watched her.
Aaron went to make dinner and that left Robert to watch over Alyssa. Robert was on his phone, when Alyssa looked up and she saw her father.
"Why do you hate Daddy, Dad?" Alyssa asked.
Robert looked at his daughter "Why do ask that?"
"You've been shouting at him a lot and it upsets him. I don't like seeing Daddy sad. I don't like hearing you shout at him. It's scary, it scares Daddy sometimes and he cries when you're angry." Alyssa hung her head in shame.
Robert's heart broke at that and he sat up "Come here, Al".
Alyssa stood up and she sat next to Robert.
Robert put his arm around Alyssa's shoulders and he pulled her close "I've had a lot on my mind recently. I never mean to shout at your daddy and it makes me sad when he's upset, he knows that I love him though and that'll never stop".
Alyssa hugged Robert "I love you, Dad".
Robert kissed Alyssa's head "I love you too, Al".
Aaron was stood behind the door, and he had heard everything that had been said. He let his head fall back and his tears fell, he knew that Robert loved him but he felt some what abandoned by his husband. After a moment Aaron walked back into the kitchen and he finished making dinner. After an hour Aaron called Robert and Alyssa to dinner, dinner went well and everyone was happy. At 7:30pm Alyssa went for a shower and Aaron tucked her into bed, he read her a bedtime story and then he walked downstairs. Aaron walked into the kitchen and he took the tablets to help with his seizures, he then leant on the counter and he sighed.
Robert walked into the kitchen and he saw Aaron "I'm sorry for shouting at you earlier".
Aaron looked over his shoulder "It's fine, don't worry about it."
Robert walked over to his husband and he rubbed the younger man's back "Are you still taking your tablets?"
Aaron nodded "Yeah. I just took them".
Robert kissed the side of Aaron's head. He felt Aaron relax and he smiled softly "Good. I'm proud of you for telling me that you've had those fits before".
Aaron forced a smile "Thanks."
"Do you wanna talk about them?" Robert asked.
Aaron slowly exhaled and he nodded.
Robert gently took Aaron's hand and they walked into the living room. They sat down and Robert thought about what to ask his husband.
"When did they start?" Robert asked.
"I was in the kitchen and he came up behind me when I was washing the dishes. He pressed himself against me and he started to touch me, I told him to stop and I told him no... He just whispered that I was good the night before and then he placed his hand over my mouth. He pulled me away from the sink and I was trying to scream, he threw me onto the floor and he leaned over me. I thought that it was gonna happen again, so I was begging him not to and I was crying. He just laughed and he left me there, I stood up and went back to cleaning. I felt a pain in my head and I fell onto the floor, I couldn't move and I screamed for someone to help me. But then my body started to shake and I couldn't stop it. Liv walked in and she saw what was happening, she sat beside me and she was asking me to stop shaking. We were both crying and she held onto my hand, she was worried and when it was over she hugged me. I picked her up and I told her that I was okay, I played football with her and I let her win because she was only little. I hated that she'd seen me like that." Aaron explained and he sniffled.
Robert held his husband's hand "Keep going. It's okay".
Aaron held onto Robert's hand "The second one was when I was in the shower... he was trying to get me to do things. I told him that my head was hurting and that I felt sick, he didn't listen. I fell onto the floor, and I was crying and telling him that something was wrong. I told him again that I was sick and to leave me alone. He tried to put himself into my mouth. But I went numb and I couldn't stop kicking about. It scared him and he stopped trying to touch me for a while. I must've blacked put or something, because the next thing that I remembers that I was lying on the floor of the shower. I had a bruise on my head."
Aaron was close to tears, so Robert pulled his husband into a hug and rubbed his back. Aaron rested his head on the older man's shoulder and he let his tears fall.
"It's okay, babe, just let it out". Robert whispered soothingly into Aaron's ear.
After Aaron had calmed down slightly, he continued, "When I was fourteen I had a nightmare, Gordon had threatened to punch out my lights earlier that day, and he threatened to do it again. I woke up but I had wet the bed, I guess that I was trying to keep him away. My nightmare felt so real and I ended up having a seizure in my bed, I just remember shaking and I fell out of my bed. I hit my head but I was alright, I just had a bruise. But then I was the door open and he was stood there. I was terrified, because I was powerless to stop him if he tried anything. I remember Gordon laughing at me, when he saw what was happening. He just stood there and he watched me as I had a fit. When it was over he walked over to the bed and pulled back the covers, he saw what had happened and he laughed at me. He bent down and he pinned me down, he kept telling me to apologise to him for wetting the bed. I said I was sorry but he didn't stop, he made me touch him".
Robert rubbed Aaron's arm "It's alright. In your own time, you can stop if you want to".
Aaron took a moment to breath deeply in and out again, his throat hurting from his tears and voice raspy, shaky and painful. "I was crying and I begged him to stop. I screamed that I was sorry and he laughed at me, before he stood up and he walked back downstairs. I ran to the door and I slammed it shut, I barricaded it and I fell asleep under my bed. Then there was the time when I was fifteen, Gordon had tried to hurt me, but I had a seizure whilst he had me by the collar. I thought he'd put me down on the sofa or something, but he just dropped me and he laughed at me. I got knocked out as soon as my head hit the floor. Sandra found me and she cleaned up the cut on my head, Gordon had gone out so she took me and Liv to the pub where her friend Julie worked. She bought us something to eat and drink and she told me that it was gonna be okay. I said sorry for hitting her and she gave me some money to get away, Gordon stayed away for a few days so I left the day he came back. I found out that to persuade my mum that I was out of order he hit Sandra, and he told my mum that I had left a bruise on her cheek. You're the only one that knows about any of this, please don't tell my mum or anyone. I just want to forget it all".
Robert kissed Aaron's head "It's alright. Nobody's ever gonna hurt you like that again, I won't let anyone hurt you ever again".
Aaron pointed to a scar on the side of his head "I have the scar from where I hit my head that day."
Robert looked at the scar and he kissed it "You're absolutely perfect. No one's gonna hurt you ever again".
Aaron held onto Robert's wrist, he thought about the seizure that he had endured earlier and he wanted to tell Robert... but he did not. He just let his husband hold him because it made he feel loved. The warmth of Robert's body and his soft kisses warmed Aaron's heart and he relaxed.
After a while Aaron and Robert were lying on the sofa and they were hugging each other. Aaron nuzzled into his husband's chest and Robert smiled when he saw Aaron yawn. The older man caressed Aaron's back with his finger tips and Aaron smiled.
"You okay now?", Robert asked.
Aaron nodded slowly, starting to get sleepy.
"You comfortable?", Robert asked with a smirk.
"Yep, you make a great pillow", Aaron replied with a slight smirk.
"Oi! I am not just a pillow!", Robert exclaimed.
"Nope, you're my pillow ...", Aaron yawned before he fell asleep.
Robert smiled at his sleeping husband and he stroked his hair. It never even crossed him how much Aaron had lost in weight. He picked his husband up and he carried him up to bed, he did not realise how light Aaron had become. He laid his husband on the bed and he dressed him in his pyjamas, he then got himself ready for bed and he laid down beside the younger man. He looked at Aaron and he had the feeling that he should hold his husband, he gently rolled Aaron over and he held him close. His husband groaned in his sleep and he whimpered, Robert kissed the younger man's head and he shushed him back into a peaceful night's sleep.
Aaron woke up the next day to find that he was lay in Robert's arms. Upon looking around he realised that Robert had carried him up to bed. He felt sick and he looked down at his stomach, he saw the change but he just ignored it. Aaron tried to wiggle out of Robert's arms, but the older man woke up straight away and pinned him in an embrace, repeatedly kissing his forehead.
"Robert!", Aaron giggled.
After a lot of hugging and kissing, the couple went downstairs and got Alyssa ready for school, they made breakfast and took their daughter to school... together. Aaron and Robert drove to the scrapyard and they walked into the cabin, Aaron stare to do some paperwork whilst Robert started to work.
After two hours Aaron got a text from Adam and he sighed. "It's just us today. Adam's stuck at home".
Robert smirked and he walked over to Aaron, he sat on his husband's desk and he held his hand "We'll manage for a few hours".
Aaron yawned "I guess."
At 3pm Aaron and Robert went to pick up Alyssa from school and they drove home. Robert cooked dinner whilst Aaron helped his daughter with her homework. Robert thought about how he had been towards Aaron the previous day, he then remembered what Alyssa had asked him and it broke his heart. Where had Aaron's husband gone?