CHAPTER SEVEN

Rayna walked into the low-lit kitchen, steadying herself as she reached the counter. She hadn't noticed Teddy sitting in an armchair when she walked over to the fridge because she was too focused on walking straight and thinking about Deacon.

"I've been calling you all day." Teddy spoke, causing Rayna to jump as she slammed the fridge shut, turning around in search of his voice.

"I was busy." She giggled. The alcohol clearly hadn't worn off like she thought it had because now she found herself laughing at something that was anything but funny.

"Are you drunk?" Teddy narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better sense of why she was behaving the way she was.

"No. I had a few drinks. That isn't classified as drunk." Rayna replied, putting her hands to her hips.

"Are you going to tell me what is going on?" Teddy asked.

"How about you tell me what's going on." Rayna leant against the countertop.

"Rayna I've been calling you all day. Don't you check your phone? We've...I've been worried."

"Yeah well I'm sure you found things to do in between the calls to me." She muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Teddy gripped the top of a chair.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She imitated him.

"It means, I'm such an idiot for believing in this!" She pointed to her wedding ring "I checked your phone this morning."

"You checked my-?!" Teddy yelled.

"-Mmm...Yeah I did. Seems like you and Peggy have a lot more to talk about then you let on." She nodded her head viciously.

"I have no idea what you read but it's not what it looks like-" He began to answer.

"-I trusted you!" She shouted over him as tears began to form. "…I trusted you and you threw it in my face!"

"Rayn-"

"-When I asked you if you were having an affair with her you talked me round to believe nothing happened." She pointed at him.

"Why are you yelling?!" He snapped.

"I'm not yelling!" She hissed.

"The girls are in the next room!"

"I know that!" She exclaimed, stomping her foot.

"I don't see how this is any different from you and Deacon." Teddy changed tracks as he moved from gripping one chair to another.

"This is completely diff-"

"-Really Rayna? Is it? I've lost count the number of times I've asked you if you were sleeping with him…Should I think of myself as an idiot for believing in this?" Teddy belittled her by pointing to his wedding ring.

"Do not mock me." She spoke steadily before abruptly reaching across the bench for his cell phone. Teddy tried to catch her hand but was too slow.

"Don't do that." He insisted.

"Why? If you have nothing to hide then looking at these…" Rayna began to scroll through his cell phone in search of the messages she had seen earlier that day "…shouldn't be a problem. Maybe you could clarify them for me...here's my phone." She slid her phone across the bench, offering it to him. "Check it if you like."

Teddy ignored her request, simply glaring at her. As Rayna had expected, he had deleted them because the messages were now non-existent.

"No messages from Peggy. That's funny, because there was a long conversation between the both of you on this cell phone this morning." She said irritably, waving the cell phone in the air.

"It was nothing."

"If it was nothing why did you delete it?!" She exclaimed.

"It's nothing!" He matched her volume.

"Well I know one of the messages said something about meeting at your usual place..."

"Usual place?" Teddy repeated, slightly bewildered.

Rayna crossed her arms, waiting for an explanation.

"You wanna know what's really going on Rayna?" Teddy shouted, making her jump. "What's going on is you're never around…it gets lonely, we don't talk like we used to…last night was the first time we'd had sex in months…"

Squeezing her eyes shut she shook her head. Rayna had heard these things too many times before. They were his best points in any argument they had, regardless of the situation. He would place the blame on her, her career and the long hours. Sure it was a bid to make her feel guilty and at times it worked. Why Teddy would always tiptoe around what he wanted to say she didn't know. It was like they had started to thrive off making things complicated. Letting out a low sigh, Rayna played with her fingers, bracing herself for what she knew was coming next.

"…And Deac…I know I was your second choice. You don't even have to say it. I know it. You have no idea what that feels like for me?" Teddy exclaimed.

"No idea what it's like for you?! You call yourself the second choice! You put yourself in that place!" She yelled.

And there it was. He had successfully brought Deacon into the equation, comparing his so-called harmless relationship with Peggy to her entire history with Deacon. They stood in silence, both searching for the right thing to say next. When Rayna thought that they had hit the climax of this argument Teddy spoke.

"Twice...it was twice." he finally confessed. Rayna looked at him a little thrown. "You were away on tour in 2001…and I was lonely, we'd had a huge fight on the phone about Deacon…Peggy was there…it happened years ago. Before you came home I broke it off…that was until last night. I went to talk with her and she kissed me. I kissed her back. I wanted to sleep with her…but I didn't…I didn't tell you because I didn't want to hurt you…last night, it was only a kiss."

Rayna steadied herself by gracelessly ripping her shoes off and tying her hair back. She had to focus on anything but his face. The blow of his honesty had knocked out her wind, leaving her reeling in all kinds of anger. Guilt began to slowly creep into her bones. How could she be so angry when only hours ago she had kissed Liam, well he had kissed her. Before Rayna had time to think she blurted out what she'd been thinking.

"You kissed…you kissed Liam?!" Teddy said with a horrified look on his face. She shook her head, correcting him like she had Deacon. Liam had kissed her; it hadn't been the other way around. Teddy shook his head. What a mess they had made.

"I didn't sleep with him…and I wouldn't sleep with him either. I wouldn't hurt you like that." She avoided his eyes, feeling some sort of satisfaction.

"What about Deacon?" Teddy asked, hurt in his voice.

"Why the hell do you keep bringing Deacon into this?!" Rayna demanded, images of what had transpired in Deacon's car prior to this argument flashing in her mind. She pushed them away, crossing her arms.

"It's a valid question. Have you had…do you want to slee-"

"-This isn't about me and my cell phone...and my affair! You just admitted that you wanted to screw Peggy!...again! Were you waiting till I leave tomorrow? Or was that just an added bonus?" Rayna deflected.

"Momma?" Daphne asked, rubbing her sleepy eyes. The appearance of their youngest stopped Teddy and Rayna in their tracks. They both remained tight-lipped, anticipating what she would say.

"You're home. I knew you'd come home." Daphne smiled, running over and hugging her.

"Of course I'm home honey." Rayna soothed.

"Maddie said that you might not come home." Daphne replied.

"Well that's a little silly of your sister don't you think? Of course Mommy's home." Teddy interrupted.

Rayna dropped down so she was eye level with the little girl and kissed her on the nose.

"You, need to be in bed if you're gonna be getting up early to see me off at the airport." Rayna said through strained warmth.

Daphne smiled and nodded, turning on her heel. She quickly ran up the stairs saying goodnight as she went.

They both remained silent until they were certain Daphne was out of earshot. Any kind of attack that they had each intended to launch had been forgotten with the short appearance and disappearance of their youngest. Rayna scratched her head, choosing her next words carefully.

"What are we going to do?" Teddy asked, returning to a much more serious tone.

"Well I know I'm going on tour tomorrow." She answered, knowing full well that was not the answer he had been looking for.

"About us? What are we going to do about us." Teddy pressed.

"I don't know…you've made it pretty clear where you stand in all of this."

"I'm just being honest Rayna." He admitted.

"Yeah well, look where that's got us." She muttered.

"I don't want to lose you."

"Don't." Rayna snapped as she ran a hand over her face before continuing. "You are the one thing I thought I could count on. I trusted you…all these years…you took that away from me."

"Rayna, you can still trus-"

"That's just it. I don't know that I can…and if tonight's an indicator of how you feel, I don't think you trust me either."

She nodded slowly, digesting what she was saying. Teddy stood in silence, watching her intensely.

"Maybe the tour is the best thing for us now…some space…time to think…think about what we actually want." She added, before slowly heading towards the kitchen door. Teddy nodded, acknowledging what she had said.

"I'll sleep downstairs." He stated.

"That's your choice."

"Would you rather I didn't?"

"Well, no I don't think it's the best idea if the girls wake up wondering why Daddy and Mommy are sleeping in separate beds." She shook her head in disapproval, speaking as if it should have been obvious to him why she didn't agree. Teddy was relieved that she had rejected his idea and gratefully followed her up to their bedroom.

Pulling the covers over her head, Rayna lay as close to the edge of her side of the mattress as she could. With the haze of the alcohol wearing off, she was left to her own devices. She tore apart the night's events, letting them occupy her mind. Rayna thought about Teddy and pretended that she didn't see the end sneaking in behind her eyes. Then she thought of Deacon and she became restless, realising that he had taken the most important pieces of her with him tonight. He had taken her love and left her heart a mess.