After All • Calum Hood (Sequel to ISTTY)

27

—I don't even know how all this will start, or how it'll follow, but anyways, thank you for listening to me -I hug Ashton- I really needed that

—It's alright mate, I'll always be here for you, that's what friends are for -I smile and go back to the car, putting my son on his car seat before going to the driver seat-

~

I arrived home and put the keys on its place, I go sit on the couch to play with my son, in less than 5 minutes Madeleine comes out our room with a towel around her body and another towel around her head, she jumps as soon as she notices our presences, I try to avoid looking at her but she does the opposite, she stands in front of my to grab Wyatt, he gets all excited as soon as he sees her. She stands there looking at me waiting for some reaction but the only thing I did was unlock my phone and scroll through Instagram, ignoring her, she sighs and leaves. I spend 30 minutes scrolling through my whole phone until the sleepiness takes over me... I've been awake for hours now so I decided it'll be better for me if I just went to sleep, I stand up and go to our bedroom, Madeleine was there too but I just ignore her presence, I get rid of my clothes and lay down with my back facing the ceiling, hoping she wouldn't talk to me and thankfully she didn't. I closed my eyes trying to sleep but thinking about her and feeling her presence beside me wouldn't let me, but my eyes remained closed, convincing myself that eventually, I'll fall asleep

Several minutes later, not sure how many, I was already falling asleep but Madeleine ran her hand through my back, caressing it... And the tension that I had accumulated in my body went away until I slowly fell asleep

~

I wake up and everything around me was dark and lonely, I glance through the window and could notice it was dark already. Madeleine and Wyatt weren't on the bedroom. I try to gain energy until I decide to finally leave the bed, I look on my closet until I find a pair of gray joggers and put them in before leaving the bedroom. I rub my eyes on the way out and by my surprise, the whole flat was dark, which means none of them were at home. The hunger take over me and that's when I remember I didn't even had lunch, I go through the pantry trying to find something quick and easy to cook, plus snacks to eat while I was waiting for the food. Thankfully, Madeleine always had nutritive bars, I grabbed a pair and started to cook an easy way of bolognese pasta, when it was ready, I grabbed a can of Dr. Pepper and ate silently while checking Instagram. In less than 3 minutes I was able to hear the noice of keys through the main door, which let me know Mad & Wyatt already arrived. She was carrying Wyatt and also had a bag with her, she scares when she notices my presence and I can't blame her since everything was so dark, I guess she thought I was too tired to be awake right now

—Hi -she shyly said, I was just looking at her expressionless- I thought you were sleeping, I brought you this -she puts the Panda Express bag on the table-

—Thanks -I barely look at her and then turn my eyes to my food again-

Madeleine just sighed in frustration and was about to left, but then she stopped and turned back to see me

—You know what? We'll have to talk in some moment, we can't just keep ignoring ourselves or acting distant towards the other the whole time

—Okay -I simply answer, not wanting to go into a battlefield. Calming down this morning took longer than I imagined, I didn't wanted to go through that again-

—Thomas! -she shouts which makes Wyatt jump in scare- sorry, babe -she soothes him-

—Madeleine, can I at least finish my damn food until you start with another of your fights where you'll end up having the reason even if you don't? -I say annoyed, she looks at me offended-

—I don't want to fight with you, I just want to talk -she tries to calm herself down- I'll wait for you in our bedroom when you're finished eating -and without waiting for an answer, she leaves the place-

I took longer than usual to eat, but I did it intentionally. I made myself way too much food thinking that I'll eat it all but having spent so many hours without any food made me feel full with just one plate of spaghetti. I stood up and cleaned up what needed to be clean, I also saved in the fridge the bag of food that Madeleine brought for me... She knows I love Panda Express so I might be having it for breakfast. When I'm almost about to enter our bedroom I can hear Madeleine talking to Wyatt about how he has to be a good kid who behaves and likes to shower, which makes me feel in a funny or silly mood, but anyways, I go inside with a plain face, she turns to see me

—Look, monkey, your daddy's here -she talks to Wyatt in a childish voice- your daddy and I have to figure things out because your mommy doesn't want to end things with your daddy... Because your mommy really, really wants them to be together for the rest of their lives, to watch you grow and to give you a sister or a brother, so you two can grow in a real home with a loving family

Even though what she said to our son caused me to feel kind of sentimental, I ignored it completely... I don't know if she wanted an answer to that, which she didn't get, I just jumped into bed and unlocked my phone

—Okay, well. So, where do we start? -she asks me-

—I don't know, you're who wants to talk -I say expressionless, she sighs and breathes deep-

—Clearly, there was something that made you upset today and you don't tend to get upset easily so, what made you upset?

—Madeleine, this isn't a questionary so you tell me what happened, don't ask me because I'll answer as soon as you finish talking

—You're impossible, you really are -her face reflected anger- what do I have to do to get you to listen? When are you going to drop that stupid childish attitude of yours? You gotta understand that we don't a a simply relationship of teenagers, we're more than that, we live together and we're raising our song who's about to turn 1 year old so if you want to keep your immature behavior, then go ahead, I have more stuff in my mind than to be thinking in you and your stupidity -she was almost screaming at me, leading me to my edge-

—AND WHAT, YOU THINK I DON'T HAVE MORE IMPORTANT STUFF IN MY MIND THAN TO BE THINKING ABOUT YOUR ACTIONS?! -I scream at her at the top of my lungs, leaving all the pressure I was feeling out. She was there, looking at me in pure shock, her eyes locked with me and tears were forming down her cheeks. Wyatt was crying uncontrollably because of my screams-

Fuck. I'm a fucker.

My hands were shaking due to the impotence, I stand up to leave the room, throwing the door behind me, leaving her alone.