Book 1: Beyond Me and You

I'm so Sorry

The door slamming shut echoes in my head. Ailee continues to sob and Kayla goes to pick her up off the floor. Nathan is hiding something and he doesn't think he can tell me. If there was someone else he wouldn't make it so obvious...right?

"It's okay" Kayla says as she rubs Ailee's back. "It's okay. Your brother will be back in no time."

Hearing Kayla comfort AIlee reminded me of when I would cry every time dad would go to work.

Flashback

"Mom" I say between sniffles. "Why does dad have to go work?"

Mom picks me up and places me on the kitchen island. "Lark sweetie" she says as she puts a strand of hair behind my ear. She cups my face with her hands and looks at me in the eyes. "You have nothing to worry about." Mom wipes my tears away and gently rubs my back. "It's okay Lark. Your dad will be back in the evening. I promise."

Her smile radiants happiness. The way her smile reaches her eyes.

End of Flashback

I let go of the railing and wipe away the tears from my face with the sleeves of my sweater. By the time my face is somewhat dry my sweater sleeve is wet from all the tears. I walk over to Kayla and Ailee. Kayla is kneeling down in front of Ailee who stands there with hiccups from all the crying. Ailee notices me next to them and she turns to hug my legs.

Kayla looks at us and smiles but it quickly fades and is replaced by a serious one. "I promise I won't saying anything to your dad, but if he asks me I won't lie to him."

I smile and nod my head in understanding of where Kayla stands. I can't expect her to lie to dad for me. I take Ailee's hand in mine lead her upstairs to my room. When we enter I look around to see that Dean is longer there and his room door across the hall is closed.

"Let's watch a movie" I say calmly in an attempt to seem okay in front of Ailee. I can't have both of us in tears. She nods her head and goes to sit on my bed while I get the movie ready. I wasn't really sure what to put on so I played Moana.

I sat on the bed with my back against the header. Halfway through the movie Ailee rests her head on my lap and I begin to run my hands through her hair. The sun has set and the movie stopped playing over an hour ago. Ailee has fallen asleep but I don't want to move her head off my lap, in fear that she'll wake up. Instead of playing another movie I sit there in silence. The only light is the lamp on my nightstand and the moonlight that shines through my window. I've been in complete silence before but this time it's different. In a way it's calming and for once my thoughts don't ruin it.

Nathan hasn't called or sent me a text. I grab by phone and check to see if there is anything new, but when press the power button all I see is my lock screen wallpaper. No new notification.

The door creaks open and my eyes quickly look over to see Nathan closing it behind him. He has a cut on his lip and his clothes are dirty. My first thought is to check if he's okay. I slightly move to get up, but I feel Ailee's weight on me and stay seated. Nathan makes his way to the chair next to the bed and sits there silently.

"Are you okay?" is the first thing I ask as I scan his body for any more injuries.

"I'm sorry Lark. I promise." He says as he grabs my hand. We sit in silence. Deadly silence. "I'm so sorry" Nathan says as tears begin to stream down his face. "All I wanted to do was keep you safe. But I ended up hurting you even more"

"Keep me safe?" My mind struggles to understand everything that he's saying. "Keep me safe from what?"

Nathan's stare is fixated on Ailee who remains asleep through all of this. "I've hurt you both..." His voice goes weak and he stands up from the chair. His tall body hovers over me for a second, but he turns to face the wall. "I want to do better, I really do."

"Then do better Nathan."

"I can't. There is no way out for me. Lark I'm-"

A sudden knock on the door stops the conversation. After a few seconds of silence Dean slowly opens the door. "Hey. I think it's best if Lark gets some rest." His tone is serious and he doesn't seem like he'll change his mind. "She's been through a lot recently. We wouldn't want to cause her anymore harm." Dean is blunt and expressionless as he speaks to Nathan.

I look at Dean with complete shock at how thoughtless he was. His arms remain crossed against his chest. I want to yell at him. How could he say something like that after we saw how Nathan reacted earlier.

"You're right" Nathan says as he looks at Dean. I'm not sure if I was seeing things but there was definitely something between them. The tension is high, overwhelming to say the least. Nathan breaks eye contact first and turns towards Ailee and I. He stares at me and walks closer towards the bed He leaning down towards me and kisses the top of my head. His lips are soft. When he pulls away he grabs Ailee and carries her in a way that her head rests on his shoulder. "Good night."

Dean opens the door wide enough for Nathan to walk through and walks out of my room with them. The sound of the front door opening and closing echoes in my head and before I know it I'm all alone in my room.