In the middle of it all.

CHAPTER 28

Song for the chapter: "All by myself." - by Celine Dion.

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"What's this?" he asked. He glanced at the small card at his feet. Black ink contrasted boldly. It made his gut clench.

"Nick said to give it to you." Mikayla answered. Her obvious attempt at avoiding his direction struck him hard.

"Have they left?" He asked. She gave a stiff nod. He looked back down at the card. It was on top of a bed of broken leaves. He stretched closer to it and saw words that dropped his stomach. "It's a therapist."

"It is?" she said in surprise.

"What did he say when he gave this to you?" asked Daxton as he picked the card up.

Mikayla played with her fingers, still facing towards the far left wall. "He said you should use it and that it's helped him and Annabelle a lot."

Daxton pulled back in shock. "I wasn't aware they were going to therapy."

"Makes sense. They both have issues they need to work on if their marriage is ever going to work." Daxton was tempted to ask about Annabelle but, he knew it wasn't his place.

"I don't need therapy," he answered instead.

Mikayla's shoulders dropped heavily with her sigh. Finally, her body turned towards his. He found his shoulders relaxing at the full view of her. He'd never grow tired of having her attention. She moved slowly towards him. He noticed her drag her feet forward carefully as though checking for debris. He cringed. He hadn't had a meltdown in years. Gratefully, his current destruction was a far cry from what he'd done in the past.

Mikayla finally reached him and knelt at his legs. Her hands stretched forward before clumsily making contact with his leg. Her hand pulled back just as quickly while a small sigh of relief left her lips. She cleared her throat. "Don't get mad, alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"Last time I spoke my mind, you destroyed my favorite place."

"I'm so sorry." He reached for her hand. "It was uncalled for. I hate that I've ruined this place. It was our place."

"It was your hard work."

He shrugged. "I don't care about that. I care about having ruined the one place you could escape to. I acted like a child."

"You did," she agreed quickly. "All I wanted to do was help."

He sighed and pulled his hand from hers. He sat with them on his knees. "You wanted answers I wasn't prepared to give."

"Well, consider it from my perspective," she challenged. "You've taken me from my home to take part in your charade. I know I agreed but, I didn't agree to all the secrecy. I don't know what you're hiding from Cameron and normally I wouldn't care it's just-" she stopped to take a deep breath. "It's making you act weird. Paranoid. You're jittery and easily angered. Something is bothering you and I hate that you won't let me in to help. I was never asking for your secrets but, I was hoping you respected me enough to either let me help or, at the very least, to politely say no."

Her words stung. Deeply. If only she knew the truth. He didn't just respect her. He'd gone and fallen. He cared most about her opinions. All Daxton had ever concerned himself with was protecting Cameron. Nothing had ever taken precedence. Until Mikayla. She was so much like the plants he adored. She breathed in tranquility and light that he'd never before experienced. Mikayla had found a way to drag him closer and closer to her, to the point where she was all he thought of. She'd easily become his focus and it had blindsided him.