Jon drove to his mother's house. He was glad he patched things up with her. Linda was more than excited to be a grandmother.
She was baking cupcakes when she heard her doorbell ring. She went to answer her door and saw Jon and the kids.
"Hi there! How's grandma's babies?"
"Granny!" Madaline said.
She hugged her grandmother's leg.
"Do you have more toys?" Aiden asked.
"Yes I do. Right in the living room waiting for you," Linda said.
"Weee! I'll beat you there first!" Madaline said.
Her and Aiden raced into the house, almost knocking their grandmother over.
"Don't run!" Jon said.
"What's wrong with J.J.?" Linda asked.
"Adriana hit him," Jon said. "You alright?"
J.J. simply nodded his head.
"I wanna lay down," he said quietly.
"Come on. You can lay in my bed," Linda said.
J.J. and Jon walked into the house. Jon was carrying Jasmine in a blanket.
Jon went into the kitchen and sat down with the baby. She was wide awake and grinning up at Jon.
"Hey there," he whispered.
Linda came back in the kitchen to check on the cupcakes.
"And they will be ready soon. Awwww, there she is!" Linda said.
Jon gave Jasmine to Linda.
"She looks just like Adriana," she said.
"Unfortunately," Jon said without thinking.
"What happened between you two?" Linda asked.
"Adriana needs help. She's suffering from postpartum depression. It's from childbirth. I feel like it's my fault in a way. I should've known what her giving birth would do to her in the long run," Jon said.
"Don't go blaming yourself. You didn't do anything wrong. It happens to some women," Linda said.
"I know. But what makes it worse is that it amplifies her stubborness. It makes her even more mean. We even got into a fight last night. She hit me. And I hit here. I had to get the kids away from her. I just had to," Jon said. "I'll do what I can to help Adriana. Even though she's acting like the Wicked Witch of Cincinnati, she's still my wife."
"And you two have a family together. You guys need to get things straight. If you want, I'll talk to her as well," Linda said.
"Good luck trying to talk to her. I wonder if marrying her was a mistake," Jon said.
"No, it wasn't," Linda said. "I'm sure you two have had more great times than bad times. You can't give up."
"Mom, I don't know what else to do," Jon said.
He buried his face in his hands and broke down crying.
"Jonathan...Jonathan, please don't cry. You have to be strong," his mom said.
"I just feel like I've failed as a husband," Jon said. He slammed his fists on the table. "I'm a damn failure. It's my fault. If I hadn't gone off into the Army, she wouldn't have started acting crazy with me in the first place. I guess she just worries sick about me like I do her. And I guess her way of venting her frustrations is by yelling and screaming at me."
"Everyone has their own way of dealing with things. But you two can't keep this up. You guys are already hitting each other. It shouldn't have ever gone that far. You go back home and talk to her. I'll watch the kids. Steve is on his way home. I'll make sure J.J. is alright as well," Linda said. "Pull yourself together. You can do this. You two have been through too much and made it too far to let this get in between you two."
Jon got up from the table.
"Alright," Jon said. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," his mom said.
Jon gave his mother a kiss on the cheek then left.
He drove back home. Part of him didn't want to face Adriana. But the other part of him knew he had to do it regardless.
Jon pulled into the driveway and got out of the car. He didn't see Adriana sitting on the swingset at first. Jon stopped in front of the porch steps and looked at Adriana.
She looked back at him and said nothing.
Jon then ascended up the steps and sat next to her on the swing.
"Adriana, I want you to know..."
Jon's voice trailed off. He noticed Adriana's expression looked blank. On top of that, she looked pale.
"Adriana, what's wrong with you?" Jon asked.
Adriana turned her head and looked deep into Jon's eyes. The spark that once was apart of Adriana was completely gone. She looked down.
Jon followed her gaze. He noticed that Adriana had tissue wrapped around her wrists. He saw dried blood on the tissue as well.
Jon looked at Adriana in shock.
"Adriana..." Jon said. Tears were forming in his eyes. "Adriana...God no! Look, I'm getting you the hospital right now."
Jon helped Adriana off of the swing. Adriana pushed him off of her.
"Leave me alone. I'm a bad person," Adriana said. She was now sobbing uncontrollably.
"No, you're not a bad person," Jon said.
"Yes I am...I hurt J.J., Jon. I've been a bad person. You deserve someone better," Adriana said.
She went back into the house.
"Adriana!"
Jon went after Adriana.
She had went to the dining room table and picked up a knife that was laying on the table. Jon saw that there was blood on the table. Adriana put the knife to her arm.
"Adriana, please," Jon said. "Don't do this."
Adriana shook her head. "I deserve to die."
Jon ran to Adriana and took the knife away from her before she could do more damage to herself. Adriana tried fighting against Jon but stopped quickly and almost fainted. Jon picked Adriana up and carried her out of the house. He made it to the car and placed her in the passenger's seat. He put her seatbelt on and closed the door. He quickly double checked the front door to make sure it was locked. He rushed back to the car and got in. He was trying to get the keys into the ignition but he was so nervous and scared for his wife's life that he gaved up quickly.
"Fuck!" Jon yelled out.
He finally got the car key into the ignition and started it.
"Pills..." Adriana muttered.
"What?" Jon said.
"I...took...pills..." Adriana said.
Jon's heart sank down south.
"Ah shit," Jon said.
He back out of the driveway and sped towards the hospital. He took her in and immediately the doctor's went to work on Adriana.
Jon was a nervous wreck.
He didn't know what to do.
He never thought both him and Adriana would hit rock bottom like this.
Jon called his mother and told him what had happened. He told her to watch the kids and not mention what had happened to Adriana to them. He then called Max to see if mom and dad were home.
"Let me speak to your mother," Jon said.
Max handed the phone to his mother.
"Hello?"
"Mom, Adriana's in the hospital. I think she tried to commit suicide," Jon said. "You need to come right now."
"I'm on my way!"
Jon was pacing back and forth in the waiting room when Mr. and Mrs. Germanotta came.
"Where is Adriana?" Mrs. Germanotta asked Jon.
"They're still working on her," Jon said.
"Gwenyth, please relax," Bob said.
"I can't!"
"Yes you can. And you will. Adriana will pull through," Bob said.
Gwen sat down and put her face in her hands.
"I can't believe it..." she said.
Doctors soon came out with the news.
"We managed to pump out her stomach. She's in stable condition. You can come see her tomorrow."
Jon went back home by himself. His mother wanted to keep the kids and have them spend the night at her house so Jon could get his thoughts together.
Jon was restless and had to drive somewhere.
He drove to the park.
He parked his car and got out. Jon walked to the tree that had his and Adriana's carving on it.
Jon stood in front of the tree and looked at the carving he created so many years ago.
Sometimes he did wish that they were kids again.
When they were just learning. When they would laugh and play together.
Not a care in the world.
Not fighting or arguing.
But those days were behind him.
He had to deal with the present. He had to figure out how he was going to help Adriana.
And better yet, help himself.
Author's Note: Sorry if this triggered anything for anyone. It was unintentional.
P.S. I do not think I gave Mrs. Germanotta a name in the original story. If I did, I forgot. Hehe.