How it is

Chapter three:

Go on and try to tear me down,

I will be rising from the ground,

Like a skyscraper.

Christina's POV:

That night, when Scarlet was being tucked in, Owen apologized.

"Scarlet, honey, Daddy's sorry for yelling at Mommy" He told her, sitting on the edge of her bed. He smoothed the stray curls away from her face gently "I shouldn't have yelled at Mommy; Daddy's are never supposed to yell at Mommy's"

Scarlet nodded "But why did you yell at Mommy if Daddy's don't yell at Mommy's?" she asked questionably "it isn't nice to yell, Daddy" she added on, making sure Owen knew that it wasn't okay for him to be yelling.

Owen sucked in a deep breath, and gathered his thoughts.

"Daddy sometimes gets angry with Mommy and says things that are really mean; I don't mean it, and I shouldn't say it. I won't yell at Mommy anymore" he promises.

"Maybe when you're angry, you should go take a time out like Mommy makes me when I get angry" Scarlet says "I don't yell because Mommy tells me its better to sit down and wait until I feel better"

Owen smiles and kisses her on the forehead before standing up.

"I love you more than anything, don't forget that. You're my little Itsy Bitsy Baby" Owen told her, using the nickname we gave her when I was pregnant, Itsy. She loved listening to the Itsy Bitsy Spider when she was in my belly; she used to kick and squirm and roll.

She was our Itsy Bitsy Baby.

"I love you too Daddy" Scarlet giggled before snuggling down under her covers with a smile.

Owen turned off the light and closed the door soundly before turning to look at me. His face was exhausted and he looked defeated, the same way I felt.

"I'll go pack my things then" he told me, before going into our bedroom. I followed, sitting on the bed quietly as he took a small black suitcase down from the top of the closet and proceeded to open and shut drawers, picking and choosing what he needed to take with him. Finally, he went to the bathroom and came out with a few odds and ends, before zipping it up and placing it on the floor.

"Christina I am so sorry, about everything" he says, looking at me with the same blue eyes I fell in love with years ago "I have no excuses for saying anything I said or doing anything I did; I'm so sorry I made you feel this awful and had our daughter witness my yelling" he looked so heartbroken, it broke me in half to see him that way. Regardless of anything he did, I still loved him and he was still the love of my life.

"I'll fix it, I'll fix myself and I'll treat you the way you deserve to be treated" he said, before closing his eyes and letting out a long, shuddery sigh "just please don't leave me for good; don't fall out of love with me. I probably deserve it, but I can't handle that Christina, I really can't" a tear went down his face, and I could feel my own eyes welling up.

I stood up and walked over to him before placing a delicate hand on his cheek, wiping the tear away.

"Being in love with someone means accepting their faults and everything that's wrong with them but loving them anyway" I tell him "you and I are both riddled with faults, but I married you because I will love you no matter what; you just have to get yourself under control" I explain.

He nods, and places a hand over mine on his cheek, willing me not to move. He wanted to keep this moment forever, and so did I. Where it was just us, nobody but us, and we were so in love that nothing could keep us apart.

I leaned up and gently, I kissed him. He kissed me back, and soon, we were kissing like our lives were on the line. Pulling each other closer, impossibly closer, feeling everything and anything we could.

When Owen pulled my shirt off and we both tumbled onto the bed in a heap of limbs and swallowed gasps, I reluctantly pulled away.

"Owen, if we do this, it doesn't change anything" I gasp, as he kisses down my neck and bites on my collar bone.

"I know" he says, muffled "but just one last time before I leave, so I know what I'm fighting for and you know what you're missing"

~

Hours later, I was wrapped up in the soft, white bed sheets of our bed while Owen pulled on his clothes.

I didn't know how to feel, really, about the sex. Sure, it was amazing sex, but the point of Owen leaving was so that we both have time to ourselves instead of pulling closer together.

But then again, wasn't the whole point of this to realize that we needed each other?

I was confused, my head was spinning and my heart was breaking. This wasn't forever, I kept reminding myself, we just need some time to get ourselves together so that our baby doesn't suffer from our ignorance.

"I'll be staying in Derek's trailer in the woods; always helps me think better when I'm out surrounded by nature" Owen explained, pulling on his jeans and zipping them up. He left his T-shirt on the floor and just opted for pulling a hoodie over his head. "Tomorrow morning you can drop Scarlet off, I'll pick her up when I'm off work and we'll have dinner together, maybe I'll take her out to the park for a bit too, and when you're off I'll drop her back home and we can discuss the custody situation for the time being over a cup of coffee"

I nod, agreeing with everything Owen's saying; he's right. It's time for us to decide what we're doing and be mature about the situation.

"Don't worry Christina" he tells me, leaning over to kiss my forehead before grabbing his bag "I'll come back and I'll be the man you fell in love with; just wait"

When I hear the front door shut, signalling that he's gone, I stand up and throw on some underwear with a sad sigh. Slowly, I put my hair back in a messy ponytail to keep it out of my face before picking Owen's T-shirt up off of the floor and pulling it on over my head.

I climb in bed that night, curled up on Owen's side with his pillow clutched to my chest and his smell encasing me, and fell asleep missing him more than ever.

The same way I'd been missing him even when he was here for the past year, the same way I'd been missing the man I fell in love with who was replaced with a bitter, angry, asshole.

Only this time, he really was gone.

A/N- I promise, things will work out in the end. Everything is rough at one point, but i'm not gonna end the story off awfully with them hating each other. And slow burn isnt really my style either, so don't worry about this angst going on forever and a day.

Thanks so much for reading!

Vote and comment!

~Daisy