JENNIE

I closes the fridge and turns around to grab the cup of warm milk. I quickly glances at the time and lets out when I sees it's eleven thirty. My wife wasn't home yet.

I goes up the stairs and turns right, heading straight for my second son's room. The main light was off but the bedside lamp was on, shining light on the face of my little boy.

"Mommy?" Lego whispers. His voice quiet and soft.

I walks into the room with the cup of warm milk and sits by the side of Lego's bed. I watched as Lego sits up, his back propped against one of his many pillows. I reached out to the bedside table for her circle- framed glasses and slides it on.

"Come on, Bunny. Have some milk, it will help you sleep." I says softly as I hands Lego the cup of warm milk.

"Thank you, Mommy."

I smiles at my son, I moves closer. I raises my hand and strokes Kuma's head softly. Unlike Kuma, Lily and Luca, Lego took after her Dada more. Instead of having hair as dark as night like Jennie, he had blonde hair like her Dada- Lisa.

"Is Dada back yet?" Lego asks when he was done with his warm milk. He hands me the cup and relaxes on to the bed. I places the cup on the floor and helps Lego pull off his glasses and place it back on the bedside table.

"Dada has a lot of work to do, bunny."

"That's what you said last week when she didn't show for Kuma's birthday party." Lego mutters, his lips pulled tight into a pout as he stares at me. I took in a deep breath and let it out. I wonders if my child was right. I said the same thing two weeks ago when Lisa didn't show for Kuma's birthday.

"She's your dada, bunny. She's just busy."

"She doesn't come home anymore, Dada and Kuma is always angry at you." Lego says, his green eyes focused on me.

I smiles at my son. I leans down to press a kiss to Lego's head and lifts the duvet till it was covering Lego's shoulders. I didn't know Lego noticed Kuma's anger towards me and wonders if Lily and baby Luca notice it to. Kuma was always angry at whatever I does, even if it to drop the laundry off at his room and I doesn't know why. I sums it all to puberty even though deep down, I knows it's something else.

"Bunny, Kuma is just going through puberty. You will go through it very soon." I chuckles. "Don't think about it, okay? Just go to sleep and have sweet dreams."

"You too, Mommy."

Lego turns onto his side, with a hand underneath his face and on top of the pillow. He falls asleep with his mouth open a little and if I was with my phone I'd take a picture of this moment. Instead I whispers good night into my son's ears. I picks the empty cup and leaves Lego's room. I walks to Lily's room which was right beside Lego's. She was already fast asleep, her dark curls splayed out against the pillow like spilled ink. I places the empty cup in her hand on her bedside table and adjusted her duvet till it was up to her shoulders. I grabs the empty cup on my way out of her room and quietly slides into Luca's room to check if the two year old was asleep. The last room I checks is Kuma's room.

Kums's light were out and the only light in the room was coming from the boy's phone.

"What do you want?" Kuma asks, his tone harsh. So harsh that if I wasn't her mother, I'd have flinched. I briefly wonders if my son bully's someone in school because if he's this harsh at home then what was he like in school?

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Insays, leaning against the door frame as she speaks.

"Well, you've seen me. You can leave."

I takes a deep breath and fights the urge to go into Luca's room but I remains standing at the door. "Have I done something to upset you lately? You're always angry and if it's something I did, I'd like to know."

I doesn't get a reply. Instead, Kuma locks his phone and closes his eyes. It was his silent way of telling me, our discussion was over. I just nods and clenched the cup in my hand tight. I walks down the stairs. I glances at the clock on my way to the kitchen and sighs when I sees its 12:15am.

Lisa wasn't back yet.

Has she had dinner yet? I can't help but think to myself. I picks my phone from the table where I had kept it and hit the speed-dial for my wife. It rings for a few minutes before I connected to Lisa's voicemail. I tries three more times and gets the same result. I slides my phone into my pocket after one more dial. I makes sure Lisa's food was covered properly in the oven. I bites back a yawn as I walks out of the kitchen to the sitting room. I switches on the TV and a rerun of 2 broke girls was on. I bites back yawn after yawn as I watches episode after episode of 2 broke. I looks away from the TV and checks the time again, its 1:30am. I switches off the TV and takes the stairs to our room. Even though the lights were out, I made my way to the bed without any bumps. I falls onto the bed like a sack of potatoes and closes her eyes.

I wanted to sleep.

I tried to sleep but I'm worried.

Maybe I should call Lisa again, I thinks to myself. I didn't get enough time to think it through when our door opens and the lights came on. If it was any other day, I would hiss and groan but standing at the door, looking tired and yet still awake was my wife. Lisa blonde hair was ruffled like she had run her finger through it, her eyes were surprisingly bright and her lips were swollen. Her shirt was rumpled, haphazardly tucked into her black pants and her socks were mismatched, with one leg pink and the other blue.

Lisa's appearance made me tense.

This wasn't how Lisa had left the house this morning. My wife was pristine when she left and had worn black socks. So where did the pink and blue one come from?

I just stares at my wife without moving from the bed. Lisa also stares at me from her spot by the door and gives me a small smile. I tries to smile, I really tries to but I could not will my lips to do it.

"Hi, Baby, How was your day?" Lisa speaks as she pulls her clothes off. She throws the clothes on the floor and kicks off her shoes in the same place. My wife was not the cleanest of girl when it comes the house chores and I knows this but right now, as I staring at my wife of sixteen years, she could not recognise who the woman standing in front of me.

"Did you hear me, Baby?"

Instead of the rush that fills me whenever Lisa calls me Baby, I cringes. The term of endearment sent chill down my back and I doesn't know what to do. I knows I should get up and pick the clothes but I doesn't have the will to. Instead I just lays on the bed and doesn't move.

"Lego asked after you again and so did Lily and Luca." I tell her who stops in front of the bathroom door. "Can't you come home during dinner?"

"Baby, I was busy wi-"

"Work? You've got a new account? I know and I understand but the kids are too young to understand. They just want to spend time with you." I says, my voice soft and it's evident how tired I was cause I slurs the last words.

Lisa walks towards me and kneels beside the bed. She presses a kiss to the side of my face, she tucks me properly into the bed and covers her with the duvet. Lisa strokes my hair softly and whispers.

"I will make time for the kids tomorrow."

What about me? I want to ask but I'm not sure I want to know the kind of answer I'd get, so instead I settles into the warmth the duvet provided and hums.

"Okay. Your food is in the oven, warm it up for two minutes." I falls asleep as soon as I says the last word. Lisa just nods and rise from where she was kneeling. I takes one good looks at my wife and turns around, heading straight for the bathroom.

If I had been awake for a few more seconds I'd have noticed it. I'd have seen the scratch marks lining up my wife back and the painful part, the one that would make me cry and ask why, is the fact that the scratch marks were fresh. we were made a few hours ago.

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