Lost Loves
Chapter 2
Mike was glad that he had bought a house already. It needed a lot but he at least had somewhere to take his daughters and wife to. Katie and Hannah were in far better shape than Christine and were very protective of their mother.
Curiosity made him wonder what had happened. Christine had always been extremely confident and outspoken. She had frequently argued with Mike due to her personal beliefs. Now, she was scared of her own shadow and he wondered why.
As soon as they walked into his living room; she was drawn to a picture of Lucas, sitting on an end table. Nothing else caught her attention.
"You can have that if you want it." Mike said quietly.
"Thank you." Christine answered as she picked the picture up.
"This place is four bedrooms, but I only have furniture in two bedrooms. We'll make due tonight. The bed in the guest room is a king, so if you don't mind; you and the girls can sleep in there." Mike explained.
"Thank you." Christine repeated. He had already noticed she wouldn't make eye contact with him, something she also wouldn't do after having an affair. But he didn't think that was the issue now.
"I'm a little lacking of groceries but let me see if I can come up with something. Make yourself at home." Mike said.
"Anything will be fine. Thank you." Christine answered.
"You're safe, you know? I won't let anything happen to you or the girls." Mike remarked.
"If you knew what I've done, you would throw me out of here and not let me see the girls." Christine said before turning away. It confused Mike, because Christine had never felt guilt for any of her wrongs. She was a different person then the woman he had had three children with, loved, and fought with.
Mike ended up ordering food in, deciding it would be easier than figuring out a meal with his meager groceries. The next day; he would go grocery shopping and get some needed supplies for Christine and the girls.
Christine only had the clothes on her back and they were threadbare. He gave her a t-shirt to wear and groaned when he saw that it was huge on her. At one time, he had been upset because she had expensive taste in clothes, shoes, purses and jewelry. Now, she had nothing to her name other than the wedding band he had put on her ring finger over twenty years before.
He was able to kiss both of his daughters good night and within a few minutes; heard them snoring. He had looked in at them and noticed Christine was tossing and turning. He had to find out what her story was sooner rather than later.
For him the cheating was half-hearted, but Christine was much more blatant. A part of Mike would always love Christine. He had given up on his marriage but his heart was not done. Maybe there was a version of the story where they could have a happy ending? He just had to figure out what had happened to her.
