Riptide: A Christian Yelich Story

Twenty

Hi guys! So fakeempires and I have been hard at work on yet another fic, and I think we are finally ready to start posting that! I'm thinking that we will alternate days, so look out over there tomorrow for chapter 1!

***

Pain. That was what woke Christian from the most wonderful dream; he was holding Amelia again. He kissed her and she kissed back. Now all he felt was pain. His head. His eyes... his stomach. He was in so so much pain. He rolled out of bed and leaned over the toilet, vomiting harshly.

He deserved it. He didn't remember anything after realizing that his ring was gone. But he knew it was gone, and that hurt more than anything in the world. His dear, sweet Amelia... god did he love her. He needed her back.

No more drinking. No more clubs. No more other women. He wanted Amelia. He wanted Nathaniel. He wanted his family back. He didn't care if he never got invited to a club again. He didn't care.

He had a plan of how he was going to get her back. And it started with a phone call.

Christian grabbed his phone which read 5:59am.

On March 23rd.

That felt like a punch to the gut. Today was their 4th anniversary, and Amelia hated him and he deserved it. His brief glimpse of hope was gone.

He was in so much pain. Head. Eyes. Stomach. Heart. And he deserved all of it and more.

***

Amelia picked Nathaniel up from Abby's and left without another word. She felt whole when his arms were around her... She felt it all when they kissed. She missed it.

Then she woke up and saw what day it was, and her heart was wrapped with ice. She woke up on their anniversary in her husband's arms, like she should've. But, instead, he won't remember and she just knew that it was the last time she would.

Now, she had to focus on her baby. She'd talk to Christian about divorce when they got back to Milwaukee.

She had to. It felt like every time she looked at him, all she saw was her failure. She couldn't keep doing that... she just wanted closure. She wanted to be at peace with her life finally.

***

The last game of spring training was a disaster for Christian. An error on an EASILY catchable ball. His first career golden sombrero.

The only thing that could cheer him up was his beautiful son... god he needed to see him.

And Amelia. It was their anniversary. He wanted to be with her and shower her with gifts and kisses... but he couldn't. He had to do something, though. Which is why he found himself at a flower shop after a stop at Tiffany's. He knew that anything about them was off the table, so he chose something to symbolize their buggy.

She hated red roses. One of her favorite colors was blush pink, so he kept that in mind while shopping.

He was going to try to win her back. He wanted his love back. He was empty without her, and he realized that.

He had so much work to do, but he'll be patient... he had to be.

***

Nathaniel was waiting impatiently for his dad by the door, grinning. "Mama! Daddy! Daddy!" He called out as he opened the door and wrapped his daddy in the biggest hug.

"Hi, buggy. Where's mama?" Christian smiled and picked him up.

"Nathaniel Christian Yelich. Mama said not to open the door for anyone!" Amelia rushed over, looking terrified but relaxing when she saw Christian. "Hello."

Civility.

"Hi... I got you these. I know how much you love having fresh flowers in the springtime," he smiled softly. There were always fresh flowers around their home during the springtime, and he'd noticed that she had none yet.

"They're beautiful, Christian... But I don't think I should accept those," Amelia looked away. She couldn't handle the fall of Christian's face, how he looked down at his shoes in despair.

"I also got you this. I saw it and thought of buggy..." he whispered and handed her the tell-tale robin blue box.

"Christian," Amelia sighed.

"Please. It just reminded me of buggy," he insisted and didn't stop until she took the box and opened it.

Inside, on a dainty gold chain, was a ladybug pendant with real diamonds and four small garnets. It was perfect.

Garnet was Nathaniel's birthstone. And they always called him their little buggy because at the first ultrasound they had with him, Amelia mentioned that when his arm nubbins moved he looked like a little lady bug.

It was like the necklace was the perfect representation of their son.

Amelia closed her eyes to avoid the tears and closed the box. She could deny the flowers, but this? This was too thoughtful. It was their buggy.

Maybe she hadn't given up yet.