Make This Right (Y/N x Cassie Howard)

VIII: Be Home

THE SOUND OF SOFT LAUGHTER woke you up from your slumber. As soon as your eyes opened, your head started pounding. Barely a minute since you've been awake, and you were already sporting a migraine. Terrific. Slowly, cautious not to overexert yourself and make the migraine worse, you stumbled out of bed. The floor was unbearingly cold, reminding you that you weren't in the carpeted room you called your own.

Snippets of last night's activities came flooding back into your memory, almost like a hard flash. The painful emotions of hatred and sadness took hold of you again, keeping you in a tight grasp. A cloud of darkness stayed rooted to you as you walked out of the room.

The sounds of laughter that could only be Mia's and... Maddy's? What was Maddy still doing at home? Sure, she was your wife, and this was her house, but these days those things were the farthest from the truth. So what was your darling wife doing home on a Wednesday morning? Only one way to find out.

You threaded downstairs with each step you took, making the sounds of Mia's sweet chuckles louder. Soon, you were at the bottom of the staircase and on your way to the kitchen. You stood there right at the doorway connecting the kitchen to the living room, just watching.

A flour-covered Mia sat on the counter while an equally as flour-dusted Maddy wearing an apron was bustling around the kitchen. The sweet aroma of coffee and bacon waffled through the air as you watched your girls interact. The moment was precious, and you wanted to run upstairs and capture the moment on camera, but soon the reality of the situation settled in, and all you felt was anger and bitterness. How dare she! Does she think all it takes is a cup of coffee and a few slices of bacon to mend this sham of a marriage?

You loudly cleared your throat, properly gaining Mia and Maddy's attention. When Maddy brought her gaze to yours, she visibly froze. Mia brought her arms up in front of herself, signaling for Maddy to bring her down. The brunette gave you a tight-lipped smile as she brought her attention back to her daughter. "There you go, baby love."

Mia immediately ran towards you. Her tiny footsteps sounded through the room, followed by a giggle. "Mommy! Mommy! Mama and Mia, make your favorite! Cowfee and bacon!" Mia snickered out as you took her in your arms, giving her a gentle kiss on the head when you put her back down. Mia tugged on your pajamas as she tried to drag you to where Maddy was standing.

"Mommy! Let go!" Mia gave you a pout as she soon realized you weren't budging. "Food. Cold. Mama says." Mia's frown deepened as she looked between you and Maddy, eyes slightly getting watery from your cold approach to your child's mother. "Fight?" Mia sniffled out as she constantly stared back at you, then at Maddy. "Again? No... Mama, mommy, no..." Mia started to sob softly, and it broke your heart to see your little angel so visibly damaged.

You took the little girl in your arms, not being able to watch your little angel cry anymore because of your and your wife's misgivings. "No, bug. Don't cry. I love you!" You said with Mia tightly clutching your pajama top, effectively soaking it in her tears. Slowly, you walked up to Maddy and gave her a quick, almost-not-there kiss on the cheek. "And I love your mommy too! Of course, I do. No fighting. No more. Not today, I promise, bug." You tried reasoning with the sobbing toddler.

Soon, Mia's cries stopped, and she finally looked up at you. "No fight, mommy, mama?" Mia said as she used both her hands to wipe her tears. You enthusiastically nodded your head. "Yes, bug. I'm sorry." You said as you kissed her on the head once again.

"I'm sorry too, baby love," Maddy said as she brought her arms up to Mia. Mia instantly went into her mother's arms. "And I'm sorry to you too, babe, so sorry," Maddy said as she quickly looked at you and brought her head down.

"Mama crying! Kiss too, mommy! Make cry go away, mommy!" Mia excitedly clapped her hands as she squirmed in Maddy's arms.

"No, baby love. It's okay. Mama's okay. See?" Maddy said as she quickly tried to dry her tears with her free hand.

Mia frowned as she shook her head. "But mommy always kiss mama and Mia. Why no kiss now? Fight? Agai-"

"No, no, bug. You're right. Mama does need kisses." You said, trying to woman up to the situation. You swallowed all the emotion lodged in your throat as you looked at Maddy. Her eyes were getting redder and redder by the minute. You took a deep breath as you leaned into Maddy, careful not to squash the squirming toddler in her arms. The things I do to keep Mia safe. Soon Maddy's lips were on yours, and you still felt that familiar jolt at the touch. How pathetic am I?

When you opened your eyes, it was at the same time Maddy opened hers, and for a second, you saw that warm look in her eyes dripping with love. Quickly, you pulled back, unable to take the intensity held in Maddy's eyes. "I- I need to go to work."

Maddy was quick to but in. "How about you take leave?... you have a lot. Maybe- maybe we could go to the park or the mall today? Bring Mia around? Have some fun, you know, as a family." Maddy said it with so much hope and pride that you cringed thinking she thought you felt the same way. Mia, you were very hopeful of, but her...?

"It doesn't work that way, Mads. And you know it. I have classes to teach, and I have to email ahead of time before I can drop everything and...."  Apologize to a blonde on campus. But you didn't dare say that to your frowning wife and daughter. You sighed as you pressed down on the bridge of your nose, trying to alleviate some of the tension forming there.

"Okay.... Maybe some other time? Tonight? Movie night? I'll be home all day. I'll be waiting after I pick up bug from school. Yeah? If you're not too tired-" Maddy said, rambling, obviously trying to make amends. That was admirable, but you couldn't help but think if you wanted to make amends still. Because there was too much going on, and the addition of a young blonde made it worse.

You'd be lying if you said that she didn't occupy your mind most of the time. Maddy suddenly cleared her throat as Mia grew more restless in her arms. "Mama, hungry." Mia said, bringing you out of your thoughts about a certain babysitter." Gosh, I should not be thinking about her right now, but I just can't help it. Shit.

"Mama!" Mia then screamed out, which then brought Maddy out of her own daze. "Oh, sorry, baby love. Here." Maddy brought the restless toddler down and fixed her a plate.

You smiled as you watched your daughter try to eat a piece of bacon with only a few teeth. It was an adorable sight. You checked the clock on the wall and soon realized you awoke a bit too late since your alarm of a bouncing toddler on your bed wasn't there since you slept in another room.

"I have to go get ready. I'll just get something on the way. Bye, bug! Mommy has to go to work. I love you!"

Mia gave you a toothy smile as she waved her hand, still holding the piece of bacon. You nodded your head at Maddy and were about to leave the kitchen when Maddy held you back. "What do you say? About- about tonight?"

"I'm sure we'll just end up fighting, Maddy. I do not want Mia to be a witness to that." You said as you put your hand on the bridge of your nose again.

"No, no. I'll drop Mia off. Just for a few hours. I think we should talk. I have to say a lot of things and apologize. Please be home, baby. Please. We can't leave things just like that. We just can't. I'll do anything-" You put your hand up, signaling for Maddy to stop.

"Okay. See you later." And with that, you quickly walked upstairs, not letting Maddy get another opportunity to corner you.

The real question of the morning was, were you really going to go home or try to appeal to a blonde who lived not far away from your place. Fuck.

***

A/N

Sorry, I took so long. I was on vacation, huhu. Kind of a filler chapter. It's like a gateway for a scene I have coming up.