How To Live Without You

Part 2

It was a sunny day in California. The kids were in school and Joey took you to your appointment this morning. You went to a park after and sat on a bench next to him. He was silent. Way too silent.

"Are you gonna at least tell this to him?" he finally asked. "Say what? I'm not sure yet. It was just a test" you shrugged without looking at him. "It could be serious, y/n" he reminded you. "Well it's not for now, so we're good. I don't want to cause more problems than we already have" you explained. He seemed to drop the subject, at least for now. You tried to concentrate your mind on the noises the birds made or the sun hitting your face. But you knew that eventually the discussion would come and you were not sure you were ready for it. You couldn't have been more right. After a few seconds of silence, he broke it up. "Look, you know I don't like to be the between guy but-" "But he's sad without us. I know. I'm sad too. The problem is my sadness has lasted for two months now. His has only been there for two weeks" you cut him off. Why could nobody understand? Everyone was calling you, sending you texts, telling you that you were made for each other, that it couldn't end like that. "I'm not trying to choose a side here. To be honest, I think you're both wrong" he admitted. You turned to him and widen your eyes. "Don't look at me like that. I'm just saying my opinion" Joey stated. "We're all sad. Sami cried yesterday at dinner. Do you know what it feels like to see your child crying over a decision you made? We're supposed to protect them, not make them cry" you said and looked down. "Are you happier alone?" Joey asked. "Do I look happy to you?" you asked calmly. "Stupid question, sorry" he answered. "I'm not happy without him, but I'm not happy with him either. I don't know what to do" you admitted. Joey did not say a thing. But you didn't want him to. You needed someone to listen and to at least try to understand. He knew that. "I'm tired of calling him to ask when he's gonna come back home. I'm tired of having to tell the children that they will see Daddy in the morning and then see their disappointed faces when it comes and he's not there. We made them. I didn't make children on my own, so I shouldn't have to raise them alone" you clenched your teeth. "He's doing that for work, you know" he explained. "I know. We're in the same business. I know what it's like. We basically have the same kind of job, Joey. But he's working on his album. He can do what the fuck he wants. I don't have this kind of freedom and still I'm always there to go pick the kids at school, take them somewhere fun or play with them. The difference between him and I is that I'm trying and he's not" you said. You felt the now too familiar tears into your eyes. Joey took you in his arms and hugged you. "It's gonna be okay" he said as he rubbed your back, "I'm sure you two will find a solution". Your tears fall on his shirt. You hugged him back before thanking him and kept talking about everything and anything.

He tried to keep your mind out of your trouble for a moment and it did at some point. "Joey, I know what I'm asking is risky. But uhm... I want to know what you think. What you really think about Darren and I. I promise not to hold it against you" you asked once you were in the car. You were scared to hear what he had to say. He said you were wrong too. "Uhm... Okay" he agreed. "I think Darren shouldn't have spend all this time at the studio. But you know how much he wanted to make that album" he started to say. You opened your mouth to defend yourself but he warned you "Let me finish". "He spend two months doing it. It's only two months in a life y/n. He's almost done and then everything will be like before. I understand that you felt lonely and alone taking care of the kids by yourself and he should have taken some time for his family. He told me you warned him before. You had a lot of arguments because of this and that never changed. But you threw him out y/n. You took his stuff, threw him out of the house and left him alone without his family. For me, it's a little extreme. But it's only my opinion. But I also know that you two love each other like I've never seen two people. That's a tough phase, I know you'll get through it. I know you aren't seriously considering getting divorced. And I know you think he lost interest in your family. But he didn't. And you know that you have to let him talk. I think he deserves to know you might be sick. He's your husband. It could affect him and your children. What if you end up being really sick? What are you going to do? Do this all by yourself? You two need each other. That's one of the reasons why you threw him out because you felt like he didn't need you anymore but you're wrong. He does" Joey said and kept his eyes on the road. You looked down. That fucking bastard. He wasn't your best friend for nothing. "Thank you" you exclaimed. He nodded.

Darren had asked to have the kids for the weekend and you let him. Of course you missed them but they missed their father even more. The results had not come yet and it was worrying you. You saw a headlight lighting up the outside of your house and you pushed the curtain to see who it was. It was Darren's car. He went out of it and took a bag from the trunk before coming to the door. He knocked. You didn't know what to do. What is he even doing here? "Y/n I know you're here" he said and knocked again. You sighed. 'You would know that if only you let him talk' you heard Joey saying again. You took a deep breath and opened the door. "What are you doing here?" you asked. "Hi" he smiled. "I'm going to spend the night here, even the weekend if I have to" he explained as he walked past you. He put his bag on the table and started to take out his clothes. You stood there astonished. "Sami and Kyle are at my brother's. They were pretty happy about doing a sleepover with their cousins" he explained. "Why are you here?" you asked. "I heard you might be sick. So I'm here to make sure my wife is okay" he explained. Damn you, Joey Richter. "Well, I'm okay. You can leave now" you said coldly. He shook his head and kept looking into his bag. "Darren, I don't want you here" you sighed. He turned to you, his hands full of products. "I don't care" he stated and walked to the bathroom. You rolled your eyes and closed the door. You were sure to have a nice night ahead of you.