RICKY'S POV:
My morning had started off okay, with Aaron having his bottle and then his morning nap, but as soon as dinnertime came around, everything went to pot! Trying to keep a 3 week old baby entertained whilst tidying and cleaning the house was a huge task, especially when the noise from the vacuum only made things worse…
"Did a bomb explode in here or something?" Bianca questioned as she walked in the door that evening
"Have you ever tried looking after a 3 week old and tried to run a house at the same time?" I inquired
"Nope" she replied
"Well you can try it" I sighed "I'm off outside"
"Ricky…" she called after me
"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her as I turned to face her
"Are you okay?" she inquired
"What do you think?" I questioned
BRAX'S POV:
A last minute function had come into the restaurant so the last few hours of my shift had been hectic to say the least. Pulling up the driveway, I switched my engine off and leant back against the headrest before picking up the flowers I'd bought for Ricky and made my way inside, shocked by the state of the place. There were toys, cups, plates and clothes strewn all over in the living room and as I made my way through to the kitchen, it was in an even worse state, the breakfast, lunch and dinner pots still needing to be washed…
"Hello, anyone home?" I called into the house, shutting the front door behind me
"Shush, Aaron's asleep" Bianca informed me, making her way out of mine and Ricky's room
"Where's Ric?" I questioned
"Outside" she replied "I'll get started on tidying this place up"
"Is she okay?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow at her
She shrugged her shoulders… "I'm not really sure. She's not talking"
"Thanks, B" I replied, squeezing her shoulder thankfully before walking out into the back garden
RICKY'S POV:
I turned and looked as I heard the back door shut and saw Brax make his way into the garden. Turning back to where I'd been staring out, I saw out of the corner of my eye that he'd sat down on the chair next to me…
"Good day?" he questioned
"Not bad" I replied
"How come B's cleaning up in there?" he asked "normally when I come home it's all spick and span"
"Didn't feel like it" I admitted
"Well y'know what, I didn't feel like having to be on my feet for 5 hours serving drinks to pretentious idiots but I did it, and you wanna know why?" he inquired
I swallowed a lump in my throat, shocked at his tone of voice and nodded my head, signalling yes…
"For you, for me, for Aaron, for our family. So I can put food on the table, so I can keep this roof over our heads and so I can look after us" he informed me "but obviously that doesn't mean much to you right now"
"Why do you say that?" I questioned
"Because you wouldn't be out here letting B do all the work inside if you cared" he replied
"Brax, I do care" I informed him "you have no idea how much"
"Then tell me why instead of you, Bianca's the one putting our son to bed" he proclaimed
I bit my bottom lip as the tears threatened to fall… "I can't do it, Brax"
Sighing heavily, I watched as he stood up and made his way inside, the tears beginning to fall as he shut the back door behind him…
RICKY'S POV:
I walked into the house half-an-hour or so later, finding Bianca and Heath watching TV, the house all nice and clean again…
"Hey" Heath greeted me as I walked into the kitchen, setting my cup down in the sink
"Hey" I mirrored "where's Brax?"
"Gone to bed" Bianca informed me "Ricky, do you want to talk?"
"No" I replied "but thanks. I'm just gonna go to bed myself. See you both in the morning"
"Night" they stated in unison as I walked through the hallway and into mine and Brax's bedroom
Pulling one of Brax's t-shirts over my head, I climbed into beside him, wrapping my arms around his waist from behind, swallowing a lump in my throat as he pulled his hand out of my grasp…
"Brax…" I began
"Just go to sleep, Ricky" he replied
Turning over so I was staring at the ceiling, I allowed the tears to freely fall…
BRAX'S POV:
The next morning my alarm went off and I switched it off immediately, having being awake for almost an hour just thinking things through and watching Ricky sleep. Checking on Aaron who was fast asleep in his Moses basket, I made my way into our en-suite bathroom to shower and get myself organised for work…
RICKY'S POV:
By the time Aaron's crying woke me up, I realised Brax had already left. Taking him from his Moses basket, I made my way into the living room, handing him to Bianca as she held her arms open…
"Brax has already gone" she informed me "he left about half-an-hour ago"
"I guessed" I admitted, staring out into the garden as I flicked the kettle on
"How are things between you two?" she questioned
"Not good" I sighed, running my hands over my face "I tried to make things better last night but he just told me to go to sleep. What if me feeling this way has made me lose him?"
"You're not going to lose him" she replied, smiling at me reassuringly
"Am I not?" I inquired "why isn't he here then?"
By lunchtime I was exhausted. I'd bathed, dressed and fed Aaron, and he was now asleep in his Moses basket in mine and Brax's room and I was busy cleaning up the breakfast dishes when the front door opened…
"Hey" Brax greeted me, throwing his keys down onto the table beside the door
"Do you want me to take Aaron out?" Bianca questioned as she walked through to the kitchen
I pursed my lips together and glanced at Brax, nodding my head, signalling yes…
BRAX'S POV:
I shut the door behind Bianca as she left with Aaron a few minutes later and made my way into the kitchen, leaning against the wall that separated it from the living room and watched Ricky as she finished tidying up…
"How you doing?" I questioned
"Like you care" she replied
"You know I care, Ric" I sighed
"Didn't seem like it last night" she admitted "in fact, you were vile"
"I was tired and frustrated, and that came across as anger. I was just shocked by the state of the place, that's all" I explained
"You don't want to see it, do you?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow at me
"See what?" I asked
"See that I'm struggling, Brax" she proclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air "I've been saying this for weeks. I'm struggling, but you seem to be blind to the fact"
"I'm not blind, Ric, I just don't know what to do" I informed her
"Some help, or some alone time with you to know I'm not going through this all by myself would be nice" she admitted
"How about we have some alone time now then?" I suggested "B's taken Aaron out, we could go for a walk on the beach?"
She licked her lips and nodded her head, signalling yes… "I'll just go and get my shoes on"
RICKY'S POV:
I returned to the kitchen a minute or two later, smiling warmly as Brax held his hand out to me and I took it willingly, letting him lead me from the house. Making our way down to the beach, we decided to walk along the quieter side, enjoying the comfortable silence…
BRAX'S POV:
"Ric, I'm sorry" I sighed, kicking the stones beneath my feet as we walked
"Can we just forget about it please?" she asked
I stopped walking and she turned to me, raising an eyebrow at me in intrigue… "Promise me that if you feel as though you're trapped or however you're feeling, you'll come to me. I want, need, us to get through this, and we're going to, as long as we're in it together. Are we?"
She nodded her head, signalling yes, smiling at me warmly… "Thank you"
Reciprocating her smile, I kissed her softly…
LONG chapter – let me know your thoughts please!