Trust In Forever (Book 12 in the Forever Series)

Chapter 12

Demi

Before my birthday, things were definitely rocky between Nick & I, which seemed to have been that way for the last year or two. Things would be amazing for a while, then it was like a switch flipped inside Nick, making him defensive & depressed. After some time, the switch would flip again & Nick would be fine. It was a song & dance that I played because I loved Nick & wanted to fight for our marriage, but I was glad to see it coming to an end, because the game was getting tiresome.

Right after Nick was done touring with Eden, he seemed a little off, but I assumed it was because he was so exhausted. Exhausted from touring, but also exhausted from worrying that I was cheating on him. While we were at Joe's house to celebrate Joe's birthday, I watched Nick very carefully, because of how concerned I was. He seemed different that afternoon, from that morning when he left the house. It was as if he had a weight off his shoulder, so I wondered if he spilled his guts to Joe, like he normally did & now felt better. I really hoped that was the case because I loved seeing him look so happy.

Not only was Nick's demeanor a little different, he seemed more attentive to me. I'd catch him watching me, smiling at me when I'd look his way. He brought me beverages, gave me kisses, every time he was close, complimented me, several times, along with other thoughtful gestures. It was nice having my husband act like his old self again. It was also nice seeing him laugh or smile really big at someone he was talking to because I hadn't seen that genuine happiness in a while. 

When we got home that night, I decided to bring up something Nick had mentioned before he left on the tour. "Should I make an appointment, for us, with Dr. West?"

Nick looked surprised as his brow furrowed. "You want us to see her together?"

"Yea. We had talked about it, remember?"

"Yea, I remember." He said, as he sat down on the couch. "You think we both still need to go? I mean I have an appointment next week, for myself, because I told you I would go see her. Do you still want to go together for a session?"

"I think we should. It can't hurt, right?" I asked, sitting down next to Nick, curling my legs up on the couch. 

Nick went to say something but two screaming children came running into the room, followed by Avery, who was pretending to be a monster. I laughed when Harper jumped on the couch between me & Nick. Riley was scooped up by Nick, then he kept his arms wrapped around her. "You can't get her now!" Nick bellowed out as Avery stood before him, looking as ferocious as he could manage. 

The family room became a playground, for a while, that evening & watching Nick play with the kids made me forget any of the issues we had, any time over the last year. He always came alive when he was with our kids, even when he was deep in a bout of depression. He never wanted his kids to see him depressed. He never wanted to deprive them of a present father. It warmed my heart, honestly & I counted my lucky stars, that I could call him mine. I was proud of the father he had become & I loved that he was exactly the father I wanted my kids to have. 

I didn't bring up seeing Dr. West together, again, because I thought I'd wait to see how Nick's session with her, alone, went first. The afternoon Nick got home from his session with her, I was on a conference call with my publisher & my agent. Maddie had come over to hang out, & she kept the younger kids occupied while I was in my office, downstairs next to the studio, listening to my publisher mention the follow up to my book. Nick peeked his head in & waved at me, when he realized I was on a call.

I muted my call, so I could talk to Nick. "Hey, Handsome. I'm just about finished here if you want to wait. I want to hear how your session went."