Chapter Sixty Two

Trinity

Stephen and I spent the better part of the day talking. It was a conversation we desperately needed.

Despite the lingering hurt, I felt that we had to endure this pain to reach a better place in our relationship.

Stephen had finally opened up about his childhood and his constant need to protect everyone. It was a revelation that brought us closer.

I made it clear to him that he couldn’t pull that kind of stunt on me again. I wouldn’t stand for it.

Sitting on our bed with a cup of coffee, I watched my emotionally drained husband sleep peacefully next to me.

I had messaged Mia a little while ago, telling her it was okay to come back and thanking her for her understanding.

She replied that they would be back in about thirty minutes. I decided to wake Stephen before everyone returned, especially the kids.

“Stephen,” I called softly.

“Hmm?” he responded sleepily.

“Babe, it's time to wake up.”

“Uhuh.”

“Come on, baby. The kids will be back soon.”

“Okay, I'm awake.”

“Are you really?”

“Almost.”

I chuckled at his response. Lying down next to him, I began to tickle his back with my nails. He opened his eyes and looked at me.

“I love you,” he said.

“I know, babe. I love you too.”

“I'm so sorry, Trinity.”

“I know, babe. What happened has happened. We can't change that, but we can't keep dwelling on it either. We need to learn from it and move forward.”

“Together?”

“Together, baby.”

“Come here and let me hold you for a minute, please.”

I moved closer to him, and he wrapped me in his arms.

“I can't believe that even for a second I thought I could live without you.”

“Me either. I thought I would have to call and have you involuntarily committed.”

“I probably deserved that too.”

“A little, babe.”

“Are you sure we are okay?”

“I won't lie, babe. I'm still hurting a bit right now, but we are okay. And we will be okay. You just need to remember to be honest and open with me, and we will be fine.”

“Thank you.”

“No thanks needed. It's what you do when someone owns your heart, baby. And you own mine.”

He lifted his head and leaned over to kiss me softly. I ran my hands through his hair as we shared an intimate moment, something we both needed right now.

Our moment was interrupted by a knock on our door.

“Come in,” I called.

“Hey guys, I've got some excited little munchkins here who missed their mom and dad,” Mia said, walking in with the kids.

“Hey, pea pods,” I greeted them.

The kids ran over to the bed, diving at us. We each quickly hugged them as Clint walked in and handed Jay to me.

“Everyone good here now?” Clint asked.

“Fine, thanks, Clint,” I replied.

“Glad to hear it,” he said.

“Look guys, I'm—” Stephen began.

“Not necessary, Hun. You know we love you, and I'm just glad this woman here could talk some sense into your crazy ass. I'm also sorry for slapping you,” Mia interrupted.

“It's the least I deserved,” Stephen said.

“I'm glad you realize, bro. But don't think for a second if you try and pull that shit again I won't put you on your ass,” Clint warned.

“If I try it again, I'll gladly let you,” Stephen replied.

“Okay, bro. Glad we got that straight,” Clint said.

“Sorry for kicking you all out too,” I apologized.

“Not needed again, babe. You guys really needed this talk and should have had it a long time ago. It's a huge burden to carry for so long,” Mia said.

“We did discuss that,” I agreed.

“Alright, well I'm going to go get dinner started. Want to help, Bro?” Clint asked Stephen.

“Yeah, mate. Suppose we should speak too. I owe you a huge fucking apology,” Stephen said.

“Yeah, but it's all good. You know I love ya, mate,” Clint replied.

“And same goes. Want me to take the twins down with me, baby?” Stephen asked me.

“Sure. I'm betting they want to get back to Willie anyway,” I replied.

He leaned over and kissed me softly, whispering, “Thank you, baby. I love you so much more than words can express.”

I gently stroked his face and looked into his eyes. “I love you too.”

The boys headed down to the kitchen while Mia and I stayed behind for a chat.

“You okay, babe?” Mia asked.

“I'm better now. We had a lot we needed to talk about, but I feel like we needed it to come to that crux to allow us to speak openly to each other,” I replied.

“He told me a lot about his childhood, well, a lot more, and the reason why he feels the constant obsession to protect everyone and take the blame for everyone,” I continued.

“I'm glad he opened up more,” Mia said.

“And I had my say. I explained to him doing that is as good as leaving and turning his back on our family. It was heartbreaking to go through, but I do believe we will come out of it stronger,” I said.

“Come here, babe,” Mia said, pulling me into a tight hug.

After dinner, we all got the kids down and had a quiet night enjoying the warm night air, sitting out having a drink. Around ten o’clock, I decided to call it a night and Stephen and I headed up to our room.

After getting changed and into bed, we held each other in silence, just being present in the moment, holding onto each other.

“Are you going to be okay tomorrow, babe? I know it's a lot for you right now,” I asked.

“You mean at Phil's?” Stephen asked.

“Yes, babe. And confronting Chad?”

“It will be easier if you are there with me,” he replied.

“If that is what you need, then there is nowhere else I would rather be,” I said.

“Thanks, baby. I just feel like when everything is spiraling and spinning out of control, you are the only one that can pull me back and stop me from falling completely,” he said.

“And that's fine, babe. I will do it in a heartbeat, over and over again for you. Come on then, let's get some sleep. We have a pretty long and stressful day ahead of us tomorrow,” I said.

“Night, baby. I love you so much,” he said.

“I love you too, darling,” I replied.

He wrapped me back up in his arms protectively. After a very emotional and long day, with another one ahead of us tomorrow, it didn't take long before we finally drifted to sleep peacefully, wrapped together, protecting each other from the outside world.