At Last

III

When Wilmer heard the front door slam shut he assumed that it was Demi. It was early in the afternoon but she had been coming home early a lot lately so he wasn't surprised. Either she came home super early or super late.

He heard the pitter patter of little footsteps and knew that she had picked the twins up early as well. She would probably be accompanying Nolie and Isabella to dance later on because it seemed as if she was trying as hard as possible to keep herself busy after she received the news that Nick was filing for sole custody of the twins.

"Hey," he greeted as she entered the kitchen, dropping her purse on the counter and instantly going over to one of the cabinets where she kept all of her wine. She pulled down a bottle of red wine, some expensive French brand that he had never heard of, and unscrewed the cap before downing half of it. It was slightly unattractive considering the fact that she had never done that before.

"You were with Nick today..." Isabella had shown him the pictures of her and Nick in the ice cream shop and asked him about it. Wilmer didn't even know what to say. He wasn't sure if Nick had just popped up there or if Demi had invited them.

"I wasn't with him. He just showed up at the yogurt shop and what was I supposed to do? Kick him out?" She took another gulp of the wine before leaning down to take off her Louboutins, holding them by the tips of her fingers before she headed towards the exit of the kitchen, probably to go upstairs.

"Hermosa," Wilmer said, moving towards her and grabbing her free wrist to keep her from leaving. They hadn't spent a lot of time together lately. They slept in the same bed and they saw each other every day but things were different now...a lot different. There was a whole space between them of everything that they weren't saying to each other and he hated that. But he didn't know how to fix it. He didn't know how to make Demi open to him again like she had in the past.

"We should go to dinner tonight. Just the two of us. We could go out to dinner then maybe get some-"

"Maybe another night," she mumbled, looking away from him because she didn't want to see the hurt look on his face because she rejected him. Everything that had been going on lately was fogging up her brain and she didn't want to spend time with Wilmer. She just wanted to be by herself. The more he tried to break down her walls the higher she built them up. And that wasn't his fault. It was hers and it was Nick's. She was allowing everything that was going on to drive a wedge between them but what else was she supposed to do?

"I'm trying," he breathed out, causing her to look back up and furrow her eyebrows.

"I'm trying to be here for you and support you. I'm your boyfriend. Isn't that what you want me to do?" Wilmer questioned, suddenly becoming angry with her because of what she was doing to them. Because she was allowing Nick to win. This was probably exactly what he wanted and she was giving him the satisfaction of ruining their relationship. And the news had just been delivered to her yesterday.

"I understand that but you have to let me handle things my way, Wil. I really appreciate you, I do, but I don't wanna talk about this stuff with you. You're not apart of-"

"I know...I'm not apart of your world." He took a resigned step back, dropping her wrist and shoving his hands into his pockets. "Let me know if you're taking Isabella and Nolie to dance." He turned away from her, giving up...letting her leave. And Demi wanted to take back what she said but the damage was already done so she went up to her room - their room - without another word.

"Are you and my dad gonna break up?" Isabella questioned as Demi shifted through the racks at Barney's New York. Before they had to go to dance practice, Demi decided to take Isabella and Nolie shopping with her so that she could pick up a few things, and they could pick out whatever they wanted to. It was better than being stuck in her house with Wilmer because she felt like she was suffocating with him there. And she knew why but how was she supposed to fix it?

"How am I supposed to answer that?" Demi asked, picking up a lilac colored top but setting it down when she realized that she already had it in her closet.

"Well, I mean, it's all awkward now. Things aren't like they used to be. And it just seems like you guys would be better off not together anymore," Isabella said with a shrug, playing with her black bomber jacket as Demi folded her arms over her chest and looked at Isabella, waiting for her to explain further.

"Okay, like I don't want you guys to break up, trust me, I don't. But there's no point in you two being together when you're like this...when you're broken. Then you'll both only end up getting hurt," Isabella explained as Demi shook her head and moved onto another rack. She was about to open her mouth to say something else but Nolie ran up to them from the makeup stand across from the section they were in with five Mac lipsticks in her hands.

"Mommy, can I get these?" Nolie held them up to Demi as she giggled and shook her head. Nolie picked out the darkest shades possible and though she knew she would have to start wearing makeup for dance recitals and things like that, there was no way she was letting her four year old buy Mac lipstick.

"Maybe when you get a little older. These shades are too dark for you," Demi said as she took them from her hands causing Nolie to pout. She looked just like her dad when she made that face.

"Why don't you ask Bella to help you find some nice lipgloss and then we'll go to the studio, okay?" Demi looked at Bella who nodded her head and took Nolie back to the makeup counter to put the lipsticks back. It gave Demi time to ponder what Bella had said.

She didn't want to break up with Wilmer. And maybe that was just her being selfish and wanting to keep him around but she didn't care. She wanted to stay with him. She wanted him with her to weather this storm...she just didn't want to talk about it with him. She just didn't want that to be the focus of all of their conversations. She didn't want him to smother her because he felt as if at any minute she would fall apart. But would they really just end up getting hurt in the end if they continued on as they were?

"Demi, here's Nolie's solo costume for the recital. It might be a little big but you can always get it tailored to fit better. Can you have her try it on now so she can dance in it?" There was a viewing room above the studio for the parents to sit and watch their kids rehearse, and that's where Demi was when Ali, Nolie's teacher, came to talk to her. Nolie came up the steps and sat on Demi's lap as she nodded and took the costume.

Since Nolie was almost five they decided that it would be okay for her to have a solo in the recital, and Nolie seemed okay with it but Demi still wasn't so sure about it. She had a two piece costume that was basically a one shoulder crop top with a little skirt she would wear with shorts underneath. Nolie loved the little costume and since she loved it, Demi didn't have a problem with it.

"I think that's a bit much for a four year old," one of the mothers spoke up. Demi didn't know any of their names. All she knew was that they were soccer moms who had rich husbands so they spent all day at the studio with their kids, which was weird to Demi, but to each their own.

"Well good thing your opinion doesn't matter to me," Demi replied, shooting her a sweet smile as she fixed Nolie's costume a little bit. The skirt was too big so she would have to get one of her tailors to fix it.

"Well I wouldn't let my daughter dance in that. But like mother, like daughter. She'll look like a slut, just like you," the mother responded as Demi's jaw nearly dropped at the nerve of this woman, especially with her child sitting right there. Demi scoffed and stood up, gathering Nolie's things before picking her daughter up and leaving without another word. What was she even supposed to say to that? People had their opinions about her because of what was being said in the papers and how was she supposed to change that.

"Mommy, what's a slut?" Nolie asked as Demi carried her to the room where all the girls got dressed. She sat down on the large bench in the middle of the room and set Nolie down so that she was standing in front of her.

"Nothing you need to worry about baby. That woman is just a big meanie," Demi replied as Nolie stepped forward and used her thumbs to wipe away some of the tears that Demi had allowed to fall. She was trying so hard to keep it together but it felt as if the whole world was just completely against her. And how was she supposed to win?