You're Mine

chapter 89

"Can I come pick up the kids with you?", Owen asked his wife. They were having lunch in silence. "Why is it a thing that Derek walks into our house whenever he feels like it?", he wondered softly, not trying to pick another fight.

"If you must.", the neurosurgeon shrugged, very hurt by his way of trying to get to her. "He brought some laundry over that I didn't have time for this week. Stop acting like you're a victim. You chose this. I didn't. I needed my brother and his family."

"You seemed to want the sex...", the redhead sighed, a rather bad attempt of defending himself. "Is it going to be like this forever? Us trying to have a conversation and to move forward by talking about what makes you angry, then something upsets you and I get the silent treatment? Because quite frankly, it's a little bit annoying."

To his surprise, Amelia pushed her plate away and started crying. Her arms were on the table now and she was sobbing into them, hiding her face from him. Now he felt bad yet again, but he couldn't read her. Would she want him to comfort her, or did she want to be left alone?

"Ames...", her husband mumbled. "I'm sorry.", he apologized. "Can I do something?", he wanted to know, remaining seated across from her. They couldn't go on like this forever, that much was clear.

"You say this word so easily...", the brunette replied, still not moving to look at him. "You find something annoying, and you say it so easily. There were days when I hated being a mother because the kids had an extra annoying day. There were moments when work was so shitty, I would have loved to quit. There were days when I felt so lonely, I wish I would have had my husband to tell him about what was bothering me, but I did not have the time to do any of this. Because I had to keep it together for our children and the sake of a stable lifestyle. And you just...you come back and expect everything to be like before. You think that everything is supposed to go the way you want it to. And when it doesn't you call it annoying because you can. Because I am still the person that is holding all of it together and this makes me so angry! I do not have the chance to fall apart."

"Let me make a suggestion, please.", the trauma surgeon begged after carefully listening to her. She took a deep breath before she sat back up to glance at him as she nodded for him to go ahead. "I will move into the guestroom permanently to be out of your way as much as possible because you clearly need more time to even think about trying to fix us as a couple. I am going to help you with anything there is as much as you'll let me, and you can write me lists with chores you need me to do or with anything you want really. Pressuring you into talking this out has been failing all week because I wasn't willing to listen, and I wasn't patient enough to give you the time you need. I won't ever be able to make up for the time you had to live like a single mom, but I want to do as much as I can to help you now. It's not that you stopped loving me, but you are trying very hard to hate me and honestly, I get it. But maybe that is something I can try to fix as well."

"Deal. You can start with cleaning the kitchen while I take a nap with El upstairs. We are going to get the kids at 2pm.", his wife answered, willing to give him a chance and grateful for an hour of alone time, in which she could just rest with her dog.

---

"Mommy!", Luna yelled as she ran into her mother's arms once she picked up the twins. Her father was waiting for them outside, by now aware of the distance he should be keeping, at least from Lucas, who got up and walked into his mama's arms as well.

"Hey, you two!", Amelia beamed at her kids and took a hand each. "Bye!", she said to the nurse before she walked outside with them. "I brought your daddy.", she informed the kids, causing her daughter to be filled with excitement while her son didn't react in any way.

"Hi!", Owen grinned as his wife let their youngest girl run into his arms. He was trying to hide the sadness he felt at Lucas' disinterest, but the brunette saw the pain in his eyes and actually felt for him a little.

"Uppie!", his one-year-old daughter said and reached her arms up to him to make sure he understood what he was supposed to do. Meanwhile, her brother quietly mimicked her and wanted to be carried by his mom.

"How was your guys' day?", the trauma surgeon tried again, explicitly speaking to both children and trying yet again to get his son to react to him, but he just wouldn't. He swallowed heavily and looked over at Amelia, who he was snuggling with.

"I told you it will take some time, maybe months.", the neurosurgeon reminded her disappointed husband once they had buckled up the twins in the car. "I know it hurts but there is nothing we can do. You will have to be patient with him."

"Coming home to your kid not wanting to have anything to do with you...to your kid not knowing you...", the redhead started as they sat in the front of the car, quietly talking so the children wouldn't hear them although they didn't understand it anyway.

"Hurts like a bitch.", the brunette finished his sentence, causing them to have a moment in which they silently stared at one another with compassion in their eyes. Sometimes, Owen forgot about the hell she had been through and once he remembered, he hated himself for adding to her pain.

"Is there anything else I can do this afternoon or evening that could help you relax a little?", her husband quickly changed the topic. If he continued looking at her beautiful face, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from kissing her, something she obviously did not want him to do right now.

"Walk the dog once the kids are in bed. I had to spend another hour outside with her when you were gone because I couldn't leave the property but now that you're back and willing to help, I need you to take an evening walk with Eleanor. She deserves that.", his wife pointed out, appreciating his effort even if it was also his duty.