Mrs. Independent

Chapter Seventeen: Bathroom Talks

Chapter Seventeen: Bathroom Talks

Josh

I shut the bedroom door quietly behind me. The sound of water running in the bathroom draws me towards the sound.
I gently bump into the door, which is ajar.
The bathtub is running and she's naked, sitting on the edge of the tub with her head in her hands.
I stand there for a moment, studying her.
She doesn't have any marks on her, but she looks exhausted.
I shut the bedroom door until it clicks, and the sound makes her turn her head quickly to see who's seeing her naked.
When she sees it's me, she runs her fingers through her hair and gives me a tired smile.
I inch further into the bathroom, sitting down beside her, close enough that she can touch me if she wants to, but not close enough where I'm touching her.
I want her to have some space if that's what she wants.
She starts picking at her nail polish and we sit in silence
A couple of minutes pass, and she glances over her shoulder and then turns off the water.
"Where's the puppy?" She asks.
"He's in his bed downstairs."
She nods slowly, running her hands down her bare thighs.
"Um..." she turns her head to look at me. Our eyes lock, and she holds my gaze for a few moments. "Will you get in with me?"
There's no way in hell I'm giving up an opportunity to hold her.
"Okay."
She stands up and waits with her arms folded across her chest to cover herself as I undress.
I've seen her naked a million times. I don't understand why she always wants to cover herself.
She's always done that.
The tub is full of bubbles.
"You first." She says.
I get into the tub, cringing when I feel how hot the water is.
I swear, if the woman could fill it with fire and bathe in it, she would.
She stands on the side until I'm all the way in the water, and then she gets in after me.
I reach for her, but she sits on the other side of the tub and puts her legs on top of mine.
"I want to see you." She says.
We sit in silence, watching each her. It's so good to have her home, but she looks hesitant about something.
She clears her throat and slips deeper into the water.
"If I tell you where I've been these last few weeks, I'm worried you're going to leave me and take the kids."
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
She seems to be waiting for me to tell her I'm not going to leave her.
I study her for a moment.
"Did you use on purpose?" I ask.
"No." She shakes her head.
"Did you use by force?" I continue.
"No."
"Did you cheat on me?"
"No, I wouldn't do that."
I nod slowly.
"Then I'm not going to leave you."
She shifts her position slightly and starts messing with the bubbles, frowning.
Then she takes a deep breath and says four words I was not expecting to leave her mouth.
"I was in jail."
I feel my eyebrows shoot up.
"What?"
She looks away as if she can't look me in the eye.
"I was in jail." She whispers.
"Wha-" I swallow. "Why?"
"Alex was going to kill me. I was in the airport and I already saw one of the guys that wanted me dead. I slipped into a crowd and rented a car. I didn't really have a plan until I was standing in line at the rental place. After I rented a car, I got my hair cut and had to wear a brown wig so nobody would recognize me, and then I got brown contacts, and I drove around in the rental and documented every dealer and user I could think of. One of them recognized me and started chasing me and I got away before he could get me, but he was close. He was so close. If he got me..." she shakes her head. "Thinking about what he would've done to me makes me sick to my stomach."
I clench my fists under the water. That guy probably would've taken advantage of her a million times over.
"Anyways, I changed rentals and I knew it wasn't safe, so I took all the information I had and I went to the police station. I've been wanted in Salt Lake City for years for everything I did back then, so I went and turned myself in. At least in jail, they can't get to me. I got a lawyer and told him to arrange a meeting with the sheriff. The guy has wanted my ass in a cell since I was seventeen. So I sat down with the sheriff and I told him everything. About the abortion, the company, you, the kids, even the puppy. I told him to drug test me if he didn't believe me, and he did. And I gave him all the information I found in exchange for full immunity and a clear record. He granted it to me. I was in jail for a week and a half, and then the last few days I was staying at his house with him and his wife in protective custody. I couldn't use the phone and I couldn't go near the windows. He and his team arrested everyone I gave him information for, including everyone that dislikes me. Most of them are wanted for a lot more than dealing. Alex and Grant are in jail."
"So that's good. They're locked up."
"But look how long it took me to handle it." She whispers. "Claire suffered. And on top of that, what do you even see in me? I'm a drug addict, I've been to jail, I got my sister-"
"You," I start gently, "you are a strong woman. You have made mistakes in your life, but you always do everything in your power to remedy it. When you left Utah to come to New York, you didn't know this was going to happen, baby girl. You didn't know why Claire started using. This isn't your fault. The moment you found out about it, you handled it. You protected your family. You knew getting yourself arrested could ruin your company, but you did it for your family. That is who you are. You are selfless, and strong, and beautiful, and brilliant. You're an incredible sister, an awesome daughter, an excellent mother, and an extraordinary wife. That is who you are. That is what I see in you."
Her eyes remain locked on mine for a moment.
"I love you." She says finally.
"I love you, too." I murmur.

Katherine

My eyes rest on Josh, and I know that even though he's trying to act like he's fine, he is not fine.
Because my husband doesn't break things.
So I tell him the truth.
"I'm worried about you."
His eyebrows raise slightly.
"You have nothing to be worried about."
"So you broke the vase because you thought I was dead." I whisper.
"Well I was just worried."
"What did you do afterwards?"
He freezes for a minute.
"Well I had broken my phone, so I went and got it fixed."
I nod slowly. Something is telling me that he's leaving a part out.
"Did you walk to the store?"
"No."
"Okay, so you drove."
"Not exactly."
I frown.
He sighs, looking down at the bubbles.
"I rode my bike."
He broke a vase and then rode a bike to the phone repair store? And he got a phone case.
My husband does not like large phones. The only reason he got a plus is because it was a deal and I wanted a plus. I told him he could get the little one and we didn't have to do the deal. It's not like we can't afford to buy them outright, but he got the plus to save money.
He doesn't put a case on it because he didn't want to make his phone fatter. I'm always telling him he's going to break his phone and that he should get a case.
And when I'm gone and he's thinking I'm dead or something, he gets a case?
No. He got the case because he was in the middle of a mental breakdown, not to protect his phone.
The fact that he won't look me in the eye tells me I'm right.
I slide across the tub and get into his lap. He turns his head to look at me, and I lean in and peck his lips softly. His hands find my waist underwater, and I reach down and grab his left hand, pressing it against my chest, right over my heart.
My other hand reaches up to caress his cheek.
"Look at me." I whisper. His eyes find mine. "I'm here, okay? I'm not leaving this earth for a very long time, and I'm going out kicking. It's going to take a lot more than a couple of angry guys to get rid of me. I'm home. I'm safe. It's okay." I kiss the tip of his nose. "You don't have to raise the kids alone. You don't have to do anything alone, because I'm here, always."
He takes a deep breath and then buries his face in my shoulder, squishing my bare body against his. I run my fingers through my hair gently.
"I, um, had nightmares every night." He whispers. "Seeing you in a ditch. Attending your funeral." He takes a deep, shaky breath, and I think he's going to cry.
He hasn't ever cried in front of me before.
"And the kids overheard me talking to the family and they kept asking me if you weren't here because you were dead, and I kept having to promise them you weren't dead but every night I was seeing you dead." He holds me tighter. "And I was so scared that Alex and Grant got you, and I didn't know what they'd do to you."
He pulls back to look at me, and the tears in his eyes make my heart shatter.
"Don't cry." I whisper. "It's okay. Don't cry. If you start crying, I'm gonna start crying."
"I'm not crying." He sniffles. The tears roll down his cheeks and I frown, and then I feel my eyes well up too.
"Why are you crying?" He asks.
"I'm crying because you're crying!" I exclaim. We both laugh a little, and then he sighs, wiping his eyes with his wet hands. I rub mine, and then he smiles at me and I smile back.
"I'm sorry for getting upset." He says.
"Don't apologize." I run my fingers through his hair. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for."
He yawns.
"Alright, I love you so much baby, but I gotta get out of this tub. The water's so hot, I'm sweating." He starts to inch my off his lap.
I reach down and flip the drain level so the water starts to slip out of the tub.
"Shower?"

______

So I'm like so happy in life today and also just watched a movie and it was AMAZING (sorry Chloe for the spam)

PLEASE RESPOND IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT
Thanks :)

Another thing, do you guys want me to do a time skip to the kids being older?
If yes, how old?
If yes, do you want the time skip in this book, or do you want a forth book?

~Sam