Through Pain We Survive

Chapter 99

Gwen came downstairs, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She and AJ had been up late the night before editing the trailer that was due out that Friday.

She walked over to the cabinet and got out a mug and made some hot chocolate for herself. She sat at the bar, thinking over all that had happened the past couple days- the past almost year, really. They all were survivors. They had endured much more than others would ever in their lifetime and came out stronger for it.

She looked around, taking in her surroundings. It'd been so quiet since Nate moved out. She was glad he'd be moving back in today. It had been very different without him there. He'd been there since before she and AJ got married.

Staring off, her mind wandered to the day AJ got shot. She would never be able to look at the foyer the same. She was so grateful for Becca and Nate for cleaning the blood up. She would not have been able to handle cleaning up her husband's blood after that ordeal.

She made a mental note to call and schedule therapy sessions for each of them. After everything they've been through, they would need it. Cat had mentioned she had started therapy, and it only made sense for Gwen and AJ to see someone too.

Gwen was glad Sara was doing alright. They had their differences, but Gwen never wished anything negative towards her. She was glad Sara finally came around. She would not become best friends with Sara, but she would at least be cordial.

Gwen finished off her hot chocolate and rinsed her mug out. She went to the couch and sat down. She yawned and picked up her phone. Searching through, she located a few different therapists offices she would try to call. Hopefully one of those offices would be able to get them in soon.

She sighed and set her phone down. She reached for the tv remote and started an episode of a show for background noise.

AJ reached over to Gwen, but she wasn't there. Opening his eyes, he looked to her side of the bed. He realized the sheets were cold, so she'd been up for a while. He got out of bed, grabbed his crutches, and headed downstairs.

Descending carefully, he came upon a beautiful sight. Gwen was curled up, asleep with the tv playing, and Mr. Meowse and Penelope were curled on either side of Gwen. He smiled at her, his heart full of love. He hobbled over to her. He sat in front of her and kissed her forehead. Stroking her hair away from her face, he stood back up and turned the tv off. He covered her with a blanket and crutched into the kitchen.

He got out a mug and made himself some hot chocolate. He sat at the bar and pulled out his phone. He had an idea for another melody that he wanted to get recorded before he forgot it. Humming to his phone, he wondered what this would become.

After he recorded the melody, he scrolled through a few different apps- checking in on social media, checking email, making notes of who he needed to contact for the next musical.

He looked over to Gwen. She was still sleeping, but had a pained look on her face. Oh, no, another nightmare. He stood and crutched to her as quickly as he could. "Honey? Wake up, Honey."

Gwen stirred and mumbled. "No! Baby, no!"

"Gwen? Come on Gwen, wake up. I need you to wake up now." He tried stroking her hair, but she pulled away.

"No! AJ! Come back to me!"

"Honey, I'm right here. Come on, wake up for me."

Gwen was thrashing around. AJ leaned down and kissed her. She settled down, and he broke away. She opened her eyes. "Baby? Are you okay?" She reached up and put her hand on his cheek.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You had another nightmare about him, didn't you?"

Gwen put her hand down and nodded. "I know he's put away for good, but my subconscious just won't let me believe it." She looked down. "I'm sorry." She sighed. "Thank you for waking me."

"You don't need to apologize, Honey." He placed his finger under her chin and pulled her head up. "He's messed with all of us, and we all are coping in our own ways."

"Speaking of, I made a list of some therapists we could go to. Do you have any preference?"

"No, not really." He got up and crutched back to the bar. He put his mug in the sink and went back to Gwen. "Do you?"

"Not really. Just someone who will believe all the erroneous things that have happened to us." She smiled.

"Oh, Nate text me a bit ago. He said he'd be here in about an hour."

"Okay. It'll be nice having him back home."

"Yeah, I'm happy we will all be back under one roof." AJ smiled at her.

Two hours later, Nate had come home and gotten everything set back up. "There. That's the last of it," he said, hooking up the last cord to his computer.

"Glad it wasn't too difficult to get everything set back up," Becca said, a note of sadness in her tone.

"Nah, it was easy." Nate looked over to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. It'll just— it'll be an adjustment not having you around the house anymore. I'll miss you."

He leaned in and kissed her. "I'll miss you too. But we both knew it was only a temporary move- we both weren't ready for it really."

She looked down. "Yeah, I know."

"Soon enough, you'll move in here and we will be able to move forward with our lives— together." He smiled at her.

She half-smiled. Him moving back was harder on her than she thought it would be. But he was right. When they both were really ready, they would move in together.

"I'd better get going." She stood up and grabbed her purse. Nate stood, took her hand, and walked her downstairs. "Bye Gwen! Bye AJ!" Becca called.

"Bye Becca! See you later!" Gwen called out.

Nate walked Becca to her car. "I'll call you later, okay?" He looked at her with worry.

She looked down and nodded.

He lifted her chin gently with his finger and kissed her. "I love you. No matter our living arrangements, that will never change."

"I love you too. I'll text you when I'm home."

Nate nodded and opened her door for her. She got in and he closed it. She buckled her seatbelt and waved while she started the car.

Going inside her house, Becca sighed. It would be so strange without Nate there. She looked around. Not much changed— he was quite tidy— so there wasn't much missing. She went to her bedroom and sat on the bed. He had left her a shirt of his on her bed to sleep in. She brought it up to her nose and smelled. It still smelled like the soap he used. A tear fell down her cheek.

This is silly. We didn't break up. He's still here and well. Why do I feel like it's a huge blow though? Becca set the shirt down and picked up her phone. "I'm home. Thank you for the shirt. I love you."

She set her phone back down beside her. She just had to remember this was their plan all along- only have Nate here while Damien was a threat. Now that he's not a threat, there's no need for Nate to be here with her. No matter how heartbroken it made her, she knew it was the right thing.

Her phone rang, scaring her. She picked it up and saw it was Nate calling. She smiled. "Hey Natemare."

She could hear the smile in his voice. "Hey Bex. I just wanted to call and check on you. I know this whole situation is hard on both of us, and I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Yeah, I'm fine." She plastered on a smile.

"Please don't insult me, Bex. I've known you for how long? I know when you're upset. I can tell in your voice." He sighed. "I know how you feel because I'm feeling the same way too. I miss you."

Her smile faltered. "I miss you too. It's really quiet and lonely here," she said, looking around.

"I get it. I really do. But we will have to just grin and bear it until we're really ready. It will all be okay."

Becca took a deep breath. "You're right." She smiled again, a genuine smile this time. "I'd better get to bed. Night!"

"Night! Sweet dreams!"

Becca hung up, feeling a little better than she had. It would only be a matter of time before she would be there with Nate all the time.