Sarah heard the front door open and she looked up as Joey came into the lounge.
'I didn't expect to see you tonight' she said to him
'Where are the kids?' he asked her
'Hope and Sophie are in their room and the boys have gone to the movies' she told him
'Got room for one more?' Joey asked her
'Why?' Sarah frowned at him
'Lauren and I got into a fight, kind of…she kicked me out' Joey told her 'I'm sure things will blow over and tomorrow everything will be fine once she has calmed down a little bit' he looked at her
'Your old room is free' she told him softly
'Thanks Mum' he said, he carried his suitcase through to the room and put it on the bed. Sarah followed him
'Looks pretty serious if you packed a suitcase'
'I didn't pack it Lauren did' he replied as he sat down
'Even more serious' Sarah said 'Do you want to talk about it?'
'Maybe later' Joey said 'Right not I just want to go to the pub'
'All right, well then I'll see you later?' she asked him and he nodded 'What do I tell the kids?'
'I'll be back when they're in bed' he told her
'Okay'
Meanwhile back at the house, the locksmith had been and Lauren finished packing the rest of Joey's suitcases and carried them down the stairs. She thought about what he had said and she felt nausea rising in her throat, she made it to the kitchen sink and threw up. The tears were streaming down her cheeks, she could hear the phone ringing in the house but she ignored it. She grabbed a bottle of wine and she took it up to the bedroom.
The next morning she woke up at 10:00am and she knew she was going to be sick. She rushed through to the bathroom and dropped to her knees in front of the toilet bowl.
An hour later she was feeling sorry for herself, her head was pounding so she took some painkillers and made herself a cup of tea and sat on the sofa in the lounge. The phone rang causing the pain in her head to increase ten-fold. She got up and she unplugged the phone before returning to her place on the sofa.
She must have dozed off again, she was woken by a pounding on the front door. She stood up and she walked to the door and peered through the peephole in the door and saw a furious Joey.
She picked up his two cases and she went out of the back door, making sure she had the keys in her dressing gown pocket, she walked round to the front of the house and Joey looked at her, she walked to his car and put the cases down before turning to walk back round the house.
'You're not going to talk to me?' he asked her
'I don't think there's anything to say' she told him
'You changed the locks' he told her 'Don't you think we need to talk about that?' he asked her 'This is my house and you are not kicking me out'
'Already have remember?' she asked him
'You look awful Lauren' he said to her softly
'Well you take most of the credit for that' she told him with a frown, he followed her round the back of the house
'We need to talk Lauren' he said 'You're not well, you need me to help you take care of the kids, take care of you'
'I can handle it myself, I've been doing it for long enough'
'What's that supposed to mean?' he snapped at her 'I do my share'
'Really? When is that? When you're working until all hours? That's if you are actually working and not spending time with your drinks rep'
'Her name is Hannah' Joey frowned
'I really don't give a fuck what her name is' she spun round to look at him 'You think that's fair? That I work all day too and then have to come home and take care of the kids, do the house work, the chores, but the groceries, run around after you, and all the time you're having fun with your new friend'
'Lauren it's not like that' he told her 'Nothing has happened between us, nothing will'
'Then stop seeing her' she said to him
'No' Joey shook his head 'You can't tell me who I can and can't see' he told her
'Then you're not stepping foot inside this house' Lauren told him and she turned back towards the door
'You're being ridiculous Lauren' Joey told her 'I've already told you that I am not sleeping with her, that nothing has happened' he frowned at her 'I don't see why you are acting like this? I told you the truth'
'Only because you got found out Joey!' she snapped at him 'You had no intention of telling me anything. And you must have known that what you were doing was wrong or you wouldn't have hidden it from me' she took a deep breath 'and how do you think affairs start Joey?' she asked him and she turned to look at him 'You told me last night that you wanted to sleep with her, that you fancy her and she clearly fancies you and doesn't give a crap that you have 4 children and a wife that love you. You said that the only thing holding you back was me. I'm sorry that being married to me is stopping you from living the life that you want to lead… well I'm not holding you back anymore' she told him. He blinked at her surprised and shocked
'What?' he asked her softly
'You don't want to be with me anymore so…' she let herself inside and locked the door.
'Lauren ….babe I do want to be with you' he replied but she was already near the top of the stairs and she didn't hear him.
Joey put his cases in the car and drove back to his mother's house. He let himself in and he sighed and sat down on the sofa.
Hope came into the room 'Daddy. What are you doing here? I thought you and mum had a weekend planned?' she asked him
Joey looked at his daughter wondering what to tell her. To tell the rest of his kids. He sighed and shook his head taking a deep breath
'I'll talk to you when you're all together' he told her
'Well they're just upstairs I can get them for you' she told him, disappearing before he had a chance to reply.
A few minutes later his four children were standing in the lounge.
Joey swallowed.
AN: So is Lauren still over reacting?
What is Joey going to tell the kids? How will they react?
Back tomorrow
R&R as always
Thank you to Crazychick74 for your help, guidance and support and words!