I Loved You | CHONI |

Three

The twins bursting through the door made Cheryl jump a little as she wiped away her tears.

'Hi babies' Cheryl said sitting up a little straighter as she looked at them both but not at Toni who was stood right behind them.

'Mommy what's wrong?' Aaliyah asked, hers and Phoenix's faces full of concern.

'Come and sit down, Mama and I need to talk to you both about something' Cheryl gave them a sad smile as they sat on the couch opposite.

The only seat left for Toni was next to Cheryl so she sat down leaving a space between the redhead and herself.

'What's going on?' Phoenix asked as he shuffled closer to his sister.

Cheryl took a breath as she tried to think of the words to say to lessen the blow.

Toni decided to start as her wife struggled to find the words to say.

'Aaliyah, Phoenix you know how much Mommy and I love you right' Toni said as the twins nodded 'but we have to tell you something and you may be upset but we want you to know it doesn't affect how much we love you okay?' She took a final breath before saying the words she'd never thought she'd be saying to her children 'Mommy and I aren't together anymore, we will still be friends but I won't be living here anymore. I'm going to find a new house and then you guys will have two bedrooms, how does that sound?'.

The twins didn't say anything, they look from Toni to Cheryl who was currently wiping away her tears in vain since they were falling fast.

'Do you understand what Mama's saying?' Cheryl asked with a croak in her voice.

All of a sudden the twins started to cry and Toni couldn't hold it in any longer either.

'Come and sit with us' Cheryl said holding out her arms but Aaliyah shook her head.

'Don't you love each other anymore?' Phoenix asked through his tears.

Toni didn't know what to say, of course she still loved Cheryl.

'We do' Cheryl spoke up 'but we will be better as friends, sometimes grown ups can't be together even if they love each other'.

'This is not fair!' Aaliyah said jumping off the couch as tears fell from her eyes, she was upset but she was angry too 'I don't want two houses or two bedrooms. I want to live with my moms and my brother altogether' she stormed up the stairs.

'Me too!' Phoenix said following close behind his sister leaving his mothers alone.

'Well that went well' Cheryl huffed as she sat back against the couch, Toni had half expected her to kick her out 'we'll give them some time to calm down and then we'll go and talk to them'.

'Yeah okay' Toni said awkwardly as she remained frozen in her seat as she wiped away her tears.

'Do you mind if I take my bike today?' Toni asked after a few minutes of silence.

'Why would I mind, it's your bike Toni' Cheryl said simply.

'I just didn't want to overstep and I know you don't like the serpents so...' Toni stopped herself from carrying on.

'It's yours Toni, take it and I never said I didn't like the serpents, it was never about them' Cheryl huffed not really wanting this conversation but she couldn't just leave right now.

'Then what was it?' Toni asked.

'It was you Toni, I just wanted some of your time. You're an amazing mother, that can't be taken away from you but once the kids went to bed you wasn't interested in me, you was at the Whyte Wyrm almost every night and I get it, you're their queen but I was your wife and I needed you sometimes too. I can't remember the last time we had sex or even just watched a movie together, I know I didn't always react the right way but I was still the one here waiting for you to get home' Cheryl said quietly.