Disclaimer - All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.

PROMPT: nEXt

Retrospectively

"Henry! Caleb!" Rose shouted up the stairs. "Make sure you have all your things packed. Your dad will be here any minute."

Rose hated these days. The days when she handed the boys over to their father. It wasn't that he was a bad dad or anything. It was that she knew it was the start of a lonely week. She missed Henry and Caleb when they weren't around. Her single friends had remarked on it once, asking her why she missed them, didn't she enjoy the time to herself. And no. No, she didn't. The house was too quiet, too tidy - too empty.

These days were also the worst because it meant that she had to see her ex. Every single time she looked at him, Rose was reminded of the fact that they couldn't make it, despite their love and history, marriage and kids wasn't for them. It wasn't enough to keep them together. And that was a difficult pill to swallow. In all her teenage dreams, they were happily married with kids. Not in the process of divorcing, attempting to make their children understand.

"Mommy!" Caleb shouted - Rose was surprised by how loud her youngest could be… but then again, he was his father's son. "I can't find my red Power Ranger."

"He's on the coffee table, honey," Rose called back, glancing over the aforementioned toy where it sat. Before they left, Rose had sat down and played with both Caleb and Henry. She was always so scared that they would forget her or have more fun when they went to their dads for the week. She knew it was silly, but she adored those boys more than her life. She wanted them to enjoy being at their dad's. He was amazing. Worshipped the ground, they walked on. Yet, she never wanted them to hate coming home.

Home. Well, technically, they had two homes now.

Caleb's footsteps could be heard as he thundered down the stairs, skidding to a stop at the bottom and racing into the living room.

"Slow down," Rose told him affectionately. Caleb was always racing everywhere. He was never still. Even as a baby, he hated being still. He loved the bouncer they got him. He would spend hours in there, his little face enjoying every second of it.

Henry, her oldest, was the complete opposite. He took after his father. He was athletic, preferring to focus all his attention on a particular sport. Right now, it was soccer. He adored it. Rose loved watching him on the pitch; every single cell in his body focused on the game and what he had to do.

They both looked like their father: blue eyes and unruly, curly dark hair that couldn't quite be classified as light brown or dark blond. Both were tall for their age, and they had the most loving personalities.

The doorbell ringing broke Rose out of her thoughts as Henry gave a delighted cry from upstairs.

Steeling herself, Rose answered the door. "Hi, Emmett."

"Hi, Rose," he greeted, those damn dimples showing when he gave her a sad smile. Dimples that both of her boys had inherited. Emmett was tall, six foot six, with solid muscles that often strained at his clothes. His skin was covered in ink, black swirls that seemed to go on forever. To some people, he was intimidating. Not to her. Never to her. The boys loved them. Emmett was like their own personal colouring book.

"Have you had a good week?" she asked, one ear listening out for the boys.

"Yeah." Awkwardly, Emmett brought up his beefy arm and rubbed the back of his neck. "Did you?"

Rose nodded.

"Daddy!" Caleb cried, pushing past Rose and flinging himself into Emmett's arms.

With ease, Emmett caught him, holding him close, and affectionately kissing his forehead. "Hey, bud!"

"Dad!" Another voice cried out, Henry flying down the stairs, his backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Hey!" Emmett cheered, catching him two and holding both boys close.

Looking at them, Rose felt a lump form in her throat. She missed Emmett. She missed him more than she thought was possible. They hadn't decided to get a divorce because they didn't love each other… things just got too much. They stopped having sex, talking to each other, being around each other. They began to live separate lives. And as they drifted apart, their marriage seemed to get harder and harder. They began to fight over the stupidest little things; unwashed dishes in the sink, money taken out of the joint account, flowers not watered. Divorce seemed like the best option.

Retrospectively, Rose regretted that decision. She wished she'd fought harder. For Emmett. For the boys. For their family.

Instead, she took the easy way out. And her husband was now her soon-to-be ex.

What did you think? I will be making this into a longer story at some point, so make sure you have me on author alert to keep up to date.