вяσкєи нєαятѕ {raia}

C3 - Lost Affection

~Ross~
As I watch Maia playing with our little boy, the smile on my face was only small but it still warmed my heart seeing them both happy. Noticing Maia was wearing the t shirt I gave her when she was pregnant, my smile becomes bigger as it drapes on her petite figure. God I still loved her. I loved her so much, it's impossible for that feeling to ever stop. But this marriage isn't working and we can't just give our kids an environment where all they see their parents do is fight. They deserve better than that.
"Dada!" Jake squeals as he sees me. Maia turns around and smiles weakly at me. I think she forgets I can still read her like an open book. She's exhausted.
"Hey little man!" Grinning as Maia passes him over to me, he wraps his arms around my neck. "Want me to take Charlotte to school?" My attention draws to Maia for a second.
"Could you? I'm pretty sure it's the opposite to where your going?" She sighs in relief slightly, rubbing her neck. Currently, I was working as a producer for Hollywood Records, the label R5 was signed to. When we all started our families, we decided we needed to be home for them. It pays really well and I am favoured there. I could still travel, like I've always loved doing. But I'm not home often. Or at all when the kids are awake, which kills me inside. I don't want people to think I don't love them, because I love them more than anything in the world. But I need my job to keep them alive.
"I can go in late. I'm sure it will be fine." Her expression turns to thankful, as Jake removes his head from my shoulder. He balls his hands into little fists and rubs his eyes before patting my hair, making me chuckle quietly.
"Dada stay?" He asks, making my heart melt.
"Sorry little man. I gotta get to work, I'll see you soon." I tell him, kissing his forehead. He lets out a disappointed sigh. "I promise, I'll be home tomorrow night." When I look back at Maia, she gives me a concerned look. I had no idea if I would be home and she knows it. She doesn't want me to let him down.
"What time are you back?" Maia whispers, looking at the ground.
"I don't know." Truth is I'm going out with some of mates tonight, but she wouldn't be happy about that so I lied. Again.
"Okay, you better get going. Charlottes going to be late." With that she takes Jake out of my arms and goes to find Tommy.
I felt a wash of guilt take over me as she walks away. The thing was over the last few weeks, I had been offered a job in London for a month. Without even thinking about my children and wife, I accepted. Soon realising what I had done, thanks to the wide words of Rocky Mark Lynch, I tried to back out only to find it was too late. Now I had one month until I was leaving. I've fucked up. Big time.
"Charlie! You ready to go?" I ask as I enter her bedroom. I smile slightly as she stands with her purple Dora The Explorer backpack over her shoulders. She was wearing a pair of black leggings and a grey knitted jumper Rydel had bought her. Her blonde waves reached just below her rib cage and I laugh slightly at the toothpaste around her mouth. I kneel down and wipe it off as she squirms.
"Yes! Look I even put my shoes on!" She points down at her slip on brown boots. Chuckling at how adorable she is, I scoop her off her tiny feet and tickle her stomach as she bursts into fits of giggles.
"Good job, little one." Chuckling, I kiss her head. "Go say goodbye to Mommy." After letting her down, she sprints out the door to find Maia. It seemed like only yesterday she was a little baby and now she was growing up.
---------------------
"Dude you need to tell her." Rocky tells me over the phone. He was the only one who knew about my leaving and I had sworn him to secrecy. Somehow he actually managed to do it.
"I know." I sigh. "She's gonna flip out."
"Well you are being twat! How could you decide to pack up and go? You have a wife and three kids!"
"Me and Maia have separated Rocky!" I yell down the line. Shit. Me and Maia had been playing happy families in front of our families and friends and ignoring each other at home. Everyone was oblivious to our lives behind the security of closed doors. We hadn't told anybody anything about it. Well until I failed to stop my mouth from running.
"What?"
"I've fucked it up, Rock. I've fucked it all up."
"Wait, what happened? I thought you two were fine?" He starts throwing a thousand questions at me along those lines.
"We're just not working like we used to." Struggling to explain how I felt.
"Not working!?!? Ross, this is the girl you've been talking about since you were 16! Your really giving this all up because your not working?"
"Your not helping." Rolling my eyes, I lean my temple against my hand whilst sighing heavily. "We're just drifting apart and like I said we are not working anymore."
"Then talk to her and figure it out! It's not just me who knows how much you love her Ross, our whole family does. The amount of times Mom has said you two are perfect for each other is uncountable."
"Maybe everybody was wrong..."
"No your wrong." Rocky cuts me off sternly.
"I haven't got I for this, don't tell anybody." I tell him, hanging up the phone.
~Lauren~
"Maia! Maia! Maia!" I scream excitedly as I run through her front door, my insides feeling like they're going to explode any second. She's been my best friend for years and I'm currently newly engaged to her husband's brother, Riker.
"Jeez, do you wanna be any louder?" Tom whines, making me laugh slightly, he's a funny kid. Just like Ross in fact.
"Yes Lauren? To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?" Maia giggles, ruffling her kids hair and sending him off to play. "Tea?"
"Coffee."
"No way in hell am I giving you coffee; you hyperactive idiot." She teases me, once again offering me tea.
"Okay, I have the biggest news in the history of big news." I squeal as she passes me the hot liquid, wincing at my loud sounds.
"Hit me. What's today's big news!"
"Riker proposed to me last night." I squeal, and a huge smile breaks out on her face.
"That's amazing. Aww Lauren! I'm so happy for you!" She grins, giving me a one armed hug.
"That's not it. You've been my best friend for so many years and your the most caring person I've ever met. I'm so glad you my friend because you always believed me and made me try new things. Even when you took me on an adventure through the Amazon rainforest and that monkey, I swear, was the devil." Laughing together at my comment, I take a breath to regain myself. "But I love you and I was your maid of honour. So now I want you to be mine." Her response makes me smile as I put down my tea knowing what's coming next, she gasps and puts a hand over her mouth.
"Lauren! Of course I'll be your maid of honour." She grins putting down her mug and hugging me.
"Your didn't have a choice, Mai. You were going to be even if you didn't want to." Looking at her darkly, she struggles to contain her laughter as we pull away in fits of giggles. Jake, who was sitting in his high chair, starts joining in with out laughter and clapping his hands with no clue of what was going on.
"Nice one, Jakey." I reach my hand out to high five and he clumsily hits my hand over and over.
"How have you managed that?" Maia kneels down in front of the high chair as Jake has half of his meal on his face. In a extremely adorable manner, he shrugs whilst putting his arms up next to him. "Come here you dirty monster!" Squirming, Maia wipes his face.
"Maia, what's it like being married?"
"Um..." Maia looks down, her body tensing as she puts Jake down next to Thomas in the living room. The bottom of the house was open planned apart from a few guest rooms and a study.
"Maia, are you okay?" Frowning, I watch her shift awkwardly side to side before waking back over to me. She's also been very distant from everyone lately and much more tired than usual. "Are you and Ross okay?" Shaking her head, she bursts out into tears. "Oh, honey. I'm sure everything will work out! What happened?" Walking closer to her, I engulf her in a hug.
"No, Lauren. It's not like that." Maia cries into my shoulder, her mascara staining my shirt. "He's leaving me."
"What?" I gasp pulling away, as she sobs louder.
"Mommy?" Looking down, Thomas is running towards us and Maia picks him up. "Why are you crying?"
"It's nothing, honey. Don't worry." She sniffles, kissing his forehead and putting on a brave smile.
"Daddy used to stop you from crying." He mumbles quietly before reaching over and wiping his thumbs under both her eyes. "Smile!" He grins cheekily, pushing up the corners of her mouth. Maia throws her head back and chuckles lightly.
"What would I do without you, Tommy?"
"Be very upset. Because I am awesome." Pointing proudly at himself, he grins before wrapping his arms around her neck and cuddling her. "I love you Mommy."
"I love you too, baby." Eventually, he clambers down from her and watches The Rugrats Movie with Jake.
"Come here." I open my arms up to her, and we share a hug together. "Come tell me what happened."

~Maia~

Ross stumbles in a drunken state, through the front door, slamming it angrily. As he comes closer to me, his breath stinks of vodka and he points at me accusingly.
"Why do you love me?" He bellows, frustration filling the question. His rudeness makes me back away, shocked by his outburst.
"What?"
"Why the fuck do you love me?" Growling this time in annoyance, he grasps my wrist, but I pull away quickly.
"Ross, be quiet. Your going to wake Charlotte and Tommy." A small flicker of apology flashes over his expression before the alcohol takes back over.
"You can't even answer my question. God dammit, I knew it. I knew it." He hits his head with his hands, and I think over to him and grab both his wrists to stop him.
"Stop. Ross, I love you. I'm carrying our third baby!"
"Stop lying! You can't love me. I mean look at me. I'm never home, I'm drunk the fucking time and I'm a shit father." Harshly pulling at the roots of his hair, he looks at me with an insane look in his eyes. "No, this your fault. You put me in this position because your so pushy! You don't love me, you just want money!"
"Ross, no-"
"Shut the hell up, bitch." He spits, making me crouch away in the defeat, actually fearing my husband. Ross. Childish, hilarious, loving, caring Ross. "Your the shit parent, your the shit mother because all you do is pretend you care! When you don't! You don't love me!"
"Go to bed, you complete drunk oath." I grab his bicep and pull him with me into the spare bedroom downstairs, my heart breaking as I hear the sound of our children's cries upstairs.

That is the dream which gives me nightmares at night. The memory of a clouded minded Ross with a horrifying look in his eyes. It made me shiver just to think about it. As I explain everything to Lauren, I start wondering if this is all really my fault. I had no idea about how raise a child, let alone three. Maybe I hadn't shown him enough affection. But no matter what, I loved that man. More than anything. More than life itself.