Burreaux

Confession

At Joe's Apartment

Kargleigh carried in Mia's things refusing to let Joe carry anything. Mia walked in holding Joe's hand and dragging her behind him.

"Mia be careful! Daddy is hurt he can't walk fast." Karleigh said to the little girl.

"Ba-Kar it's fine seriously. I'll be okay you don't have to worry." Joe said as he picked up the little girl.

"Joe you need to be careful look what happened to Aaron Rodgers. I don't want that happening to you." She said worried.

This was the first time since they broke up that they were truly alone together...besides having Mia. They used to have a pretty good routine when they would come home. Joe had a specific place he wanted his things to go and to her surprise, his new apartment was set up much like their old one so she knew exactly where he wanted everything. It felt like old times to her, which made her heart long for the old times... before she ruined it all. After putting his keys away she went over to make his coffee for the morning, putting exactly 3 scoops of grounds and setting the timer for 7 AM.

"Kar please come sit down you don't need to do all of that." He said feeling guilty for not helping.

"Joey it's fine... it's a habit I guess." She said.

"Habit? You haven't had to do this in years," he said confused.

"Um...after we broke up it was just a habit that stuck with me I guess. I make my coffee the same way. A lot of our routines I kept because they were my norm."

"Yeah our norm was nice wasn't it..." he said looking away.

"And I ruined it."

"Kar..."

"I did... I left you and I shouldn't have I should have followed you."

"You wouldn't be who you are today if you hadn't. Look at your job."

"You could have been there for your daughter."

"Kar... you did what was best for you please stop apologizing. I forgave you a long time ago... it's time to forgive yourself." He said looking her in the eyes. "Come sit down let's spend time together as a family."

Karleigh walked over to Joe's couch sat down next to him and pulled Mia onto her lap. The two made small talk while they entertained the toddler. Even with the years that had passed, they were still able to talk like no time had passed at all. Their relationship used to be so strong since they considered each other as their best friend. Karleigh felt her emotions get the better of her and her heart swelled with love and sadness. She had to tear her attention away from him to prevent her eyes from overflowing with tears.

"She has your nose ya know... she has had Jr since the Day she was born."

"She has your smile... I always loved that smile." He said as he absent-mindedly reached out to play with the beads in her burreaux bracelet.

She didn't say anything and just let him play with the beads, knowing that when he gets nervous he likes to fidget with things. She looked down noticing Mia had fallen asleep and now it truly was just the two of them. She pulled the girl closer to her chest and kissed her on the head. She let her hand fall back into her lap and softly touched his. Not want to be too forward but wanting to be open to the idea. He took the hint and laced their fingers together. Not saying a word just sitting there looking at his two favorite girls. Karleigh leaned into him and started to dose off.

After letting the girls sleep for a little bit he got up to start putting Mia to bed. Karleigh stirred in her sleep slightly but didn't wake up. He laid the sleeping toddler in her crib and made sure she had everything she needed before closing the door. Trying to be as careful as he could he picked up Karleigh and brought her to his bed. He pulled the sheets back and set her down on the bed. After bringing the sheets up over her he gave her a small kiss on the head before turning to go back to the living room. He was stopped by Karleigh tugging on his arm.

"Stay please..." she said softly.

He didn't argue he just quietly made his way to his side of the bed and got in. She instantly snuggled up to him and mumbled something he couldn't understand. He just held her close hoping this wasn't a dream and she wouldn't just fade away.

"I love you, Joe... I'm sorry." She said quietly as she fell asleep.

"I love you too Kar... I never stopped," he said kissing her head.

Once he knew she was asleep he let a few tears shed. He finally had her back and now they had a daughter... he finally let all of the emotions he had been holding back come crashing down on him. As he lay in bed the feeling of fear crept in on him causing him to hold her tighter. The tighter he held her the smaller she felt and eventually she faded into nothing. He started to panic and tear apart the bed looking for her as he cried. He jumped out of bed and ran to Mia's crib to find it empty. He screamed their names as sobs fell from his mouth.

"Joe! Joe!" she said as she shook the man awake.

"Karleigh," he said in relief. "You were gone...Mia! Mia was gone!" he said feeling the panic set back in.

"Hey hey. Sweetie, you had a nightmare. I'm right here. Mia is fine she's in her crib." she said softly combing through his hair and trying to calm him down.

"I'm sorry... I haven't had that dream in a long time," he said looking away from her.

"Joey look at me, please. I'm sorry."

"I can't lose you again... if...if you're going to be here I need you to be all in. I can't pick myself up like that again so if you're not all in let me know now please," he said still not able to look her in the eye, afraid of her response.

"Joe leaving you has been the biggest regret of my life... I will never make that mistake again. I'm all in Joe." She said turning his head to look at her. "I love you, Joe."

He didn't respond with words, he cupped her face and brought his lips to hers. He needed to show her how much he loved her with every touch and every movement.

A/n

sorry for not updating lately been busy at work! Hope all like the chapter. There is still more drama to come so stay tuned.