A Life With You - BTY VERSE

4 AM

Imagine. You were lying on bed on your back, under the sheets, as you found yourself looking at the ceiling, again. You glance at his place, this empty place. 'Where the fuck he is?' you ask yourself as you glance at the clock on your nightstand. 4 am. You took your phone again and did the same thing again. You call him, he doesn't answer, you hear his voicemail, you leave a message and hang up, again. You turn on your side and sigh, biting your lip nervously. Half an hour later, you heard the front door being opened.

You knew it was Darren. First you were relieved that nothing happened to him, but then anger took its place instead. He went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth and put on his pyjamas and went in your room. You close your eyes, pretending to be asleep. Will he wake you up and explain? Or pretend like nothing happened? You guess you had to wait to know the answer. You heard soft steps, he was probably trying to be super quiet. He lifts up the sheets as carefully as he could and slides himself into the bed, trying not to wake you up. Your back turned to him, you felt him getting closer to you and trying to spoon you. That was the moment when you decided that was enough. "Oh no. Don't you dare Darren Everett Criss" you say as you open your eyes. "Uh-oh" he quickly pull away as he heard you. You turn on the lamp on the nightstand and sat on the bed as he stays there, lying on his elbows. "Care to explain?" you say angrily as you point at the clock.

"I'm sorry. I was in the recording studio and time got away from me. I'm sorry. I guess I was just caught up in the moment" he explains. "Oh so that's your excuse? You got caught up in the moment?" you say, annoyed, as you frown. He looked down and started to mumble apologies as you cut him off. "I was worried sick Darren! I called you a hundred times and you were so caught up in the moment you forgot you had a family at home?" you ask. "No! No, never, my phone was...my phone was shut off" he said. "And you were alone or only with technophobe people? None of them had a phone?" you ask, crossing your arms. Darren looked down at his hands again. "4 am, Darren! 4 am! You left without any news. I had to take care of the two kids by myself, including one sick" you said. You tried not to raise your voice not to wake the kids up but it was really hard in the moment. "Which one is sick?" Darren asks with worried eyes, looking back at you. "Oh because now you care?" you snap fiercely. Darren looked away and said "Babe I-" "Oh no. Don't 'babe' me right now" you cut him off as you lay back down on bed, turning your back on him again. "I'm sorry I-" he started to say as he came closer. Once again, you cut him off. "Yeah, I'm really sorry too that the couch is gonna be your best friend tonight". "But..." Darren said with a kid voice. "Just go!" you said as you raise your voice. Darren sighed and took his pillow before going out of the room. "Goodnight" he whispered before going to the living room. Gosh, you hated him sometimes. You tried to fall asleep, but it was kind of hard with your anger. After a few hours, you finally passed out.

When you woke up, the smell of fresh coffee and chocolate tickled your nose. You stretch and get out of bed. You did not sleep a lot, and not very well but whatever, you thought. As you walked through the corridor, you heard your husband and your son's voice. When Kyle saw you, he ran to you and hugged your legs. "Mommy!" he says with a big smile. You smile back and pat his hair. "Good morning baby boy" you say as you kiss his forehead. Your 4 years old grinned and took your hand, dragging you into the kitchen. "Daddy made a biiiig breakfast mom! It looks so yummy!" he said as he jumps around. When you stepped into the room, you first saw Darren who immediatly looked down as he saw you. You then saw the huge breakfast on the counter. Croissants, fruits, french toast, eggs...it was full of food. "Do you see that Mommy?" ask Kyle, excited. "Yes baby" you say with a fake smile as you glance at Darren. You kneel down in front of your son and say "What about you take your breakfast in the living room? Daddy and I will join you in a minute" you propose. "Can I?" Kyle ask, his face full of hope and excitment. "If I tell you" you said with a wink. Kyle hugged you tightly, thanking you. He was your little sunshine. Only your kids had the power to cheer you up that well after a fight with Darren. You helped Kyle putt the breakfast on the coffee table and went back in the kitchen when Darren was. You two stayed standing looking at each other as Darren finally say with a chuckle "So...I guess Sami's the one who's sick". "Yeah" you nod, and fold your arms around yourself, like to comfort you.

An uncomfortable silence once again filled the room. It was weird to experience this kind of silence with Darren, you were not used to it. "Listen I-" you both say in unison. You both giggle nervously before he said "Go first". "I'm sorry about yesterday, maybe I overreacted but...you have no idea how much I was worried" you say rubbing your hands. Darren leans on the counter and looks down. "Maybe it's me who is not normal, maybe I'm asking you too much, but when you don't plan to come home soon, a text is the least you can do. I'm your wife, Darren. Don't you think I have the right to, at least, ask that from you?" you ask calmly. "Yeah..." Darren breaths out, looking at you. "I hate you when you do that, I hate you so much because I'm here alone with the kids, who ask where you are, and I'm worried sick. I love you so much, Dare. I just...I just hate to ask myself in the middle of the night if the next phonecall I'll have will be from you saying you're okay or from a policeman saying you're not" you said. Your voice cracked a little in the last part. Gosh, you felt so vulnerable right now. This time, it was your turn to look down. Darren came closer and said "Hey, baby no". He raised your chin. "You're right. I should have done something. For you and for the kids. And I'm sorry about that. I really am. But I'm always gonna be here. I will never leave you, I swear" he said looking right into your eyes. You looked into his eyes too as you felt tears running down your cheeks. "Please don't cry, honey" he whispered as he brushes away your tears with his thumb. He rested his forehead on yours and whispered again "I'm sorry". He kissed you softly, cupping your face with his hands. You pulled away and looked into his eyes, his forehead still against yours. "Just don't do it again, okay?" you whispers in front of his lips. He nodded and you kissed him again as you put your hands on his chest. You two were still kissing when Kyle shouted "Daddy! Spiderman's on TV!". Darren quickly pulled away, and say "Sorry. Duty calls" before running to the couch. You laugh at him.

He was even more of a kid than Kyle or Sami sometimes. You breathe out and went on the living room to start this morning in a better way.