"Goodnight sweet pea, I love you." Carrie kissed her son's forehead, pulling the blanket up over him.
"'Night mommy, I love you more."
"Not a chance." Carrie laughed. She shut the light off and grabbed the door. "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite."
Shutting his door, Carrie made her way downstairs to poor a glass of wine and let Mike know that he could come over.
Within fifteen minutes, Carrie heard a knock at the door. Before opening it, she gave herself a mental pep talk, telling herself over and over again that she was not to have sex with him again.
"Hey." Carrie greeted him with a forced smile, opening the door to let him in.
"How are you?" Mike asked, stepping inside.
"I'm good. You?" Carrie said.
"Good. Your house is nice, I like it." He said, awkwardly shifting his weight as they stood in the foyer.
"Thank you." Carrie smiled. "Do you want some wine? Or I have some beer too."
"Just water is fine." He said. Carrie turned to go into the kitchen, Mike following behind.
She handed him a glass of water and they both awkwardly made their way into the living room. Mike sat at one end of the couch, Carrie at the other.
They sat in uncomfortable silence, neither of them knowing what to say.
"I still love you Carrie."
Carrie looked up at him, shocked at the words that had just come out of his mouth.
"I never stopped." He added, exhaling deeply.
"You didn't?" Carrie almost whispered. A lump began to form in her throat.
Mike shook his head. Carrie waited for him to say something else. He finally took a deep breath and spoke.
"I slept with another woman. That's why I left."
"Oh." Carrie mumbled, tears starting to fill her eyes.
"I didn't have an affair. I didn't leave you for her. I promise." Mike said, turning to sit facing the blonde. "While I was gone, I hooked up with a girl in a bar after the game because I was drunk. I had a drinking problem. I never told you, but I did. It wasn't to the point that I would consider myself an alcoholic, but it was getting close. I'd never done anything bad while I was drunk before that weekend, but as soon as I woke up beside that woman, I knew it was bad. The next day I was so embarrassed and mad at myself that I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to tell you because I knew it would just hurt you even more. I needed to get help, and I didn't want you to know. I felt terrible for lying to you and hiding my problem. I felt terrible for sleeping with someone else and I couldn't bare to tell you. So I left."
"Mike." Carrie stuttered, trying not to let her tears fall. "I-I don't know what to say."
"I'm so sorry Carrie. But trust me when I say this, telling you that I didn't love you anymore was the hardest thing I've ever done. I never stopped loving you Carrie."
