Ohne Dich (Sequel to Stirb Nicht Vor Mir)

Chapter 120

May 23, 2010

"No," I chuckled as Corey acted as if he was going to bite me. 

I stood up from the bed and put on some clothes. 

"We have to go get Everleigh and Ash," I said. 

"Oh, alright," Corey groaned. 

"Corey?" 

He put a shirt over his head and put some pants on. "What?"

"What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have been acting all funky lately."

"Nothing."

"Corey, tell me."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because then we're going to get into an argument."

"It's alright to argue."

"Fine," He exhaled. "You're always out and about with your friends. You don't see me anymore, you don't tell me things."

"What do you mean?"

"Everleigh fell down and cut her leg. How did I know?! I was giving her a bath and when she sat down in the water, she started shrieking. Where were you? Out with your fucking friends."

"I'm sorry I enjoy hanging out with my friends while they're in town! Floor and Simone are always gone, Corey!"

"No, you're always gone! You have a fucking family and you're not there for them!"

"What do you mean?!"

He sighed. "Ashton had a girlfriend, okay?"

"I know, he told us that."

"They broke up two days ago."

"Wait, really?"

"Yes! But you weren't there for him to tell!"

"Corey, I was out with my friends."

"That's what I'm fucking saying! You've been out with them this whole fucking week!"

"Oh, I'm sorry I want to hang out with a couple of fucking friends!"

"That's not it!  You're always on the phone with Ryan and talking to him. You don't tell me half of the fucking shit you tell him!"

"We're talking about the T.V. show!"

"You've been talking to the cast of that fucking T.V. show, too!"

"Fine, Corey. I'll cut off all contact from everyone! Are you happy now?"

"Very."

"I'm getting the kids."

I walked out of the room and slammed the door shut, then got into my car and drove to my mom's house. 

I knocked on the door and Keanu opened it up. I hugged him, then walked inside to find Everleigh and Ashton eating pancakes. 

"Mommy!" Everleigh ran to me and hugged me. 

"Hi!" I smiled. "Did you guys have fun?"

"Yeah!" Ash and Everleigh said in unsion. 

"You did?" I asked Ashton. 

"Yeah. Keanu and I played some video games and football."

"How fun," I smiled. "Where's my mom?"

"In the bedroom."

I walked into her bedroom and saw that she was doing her makeup. 

"Hi, Mom," I sat down on her bed. 

"Hey, Adette," She finished her makeup and looked at me. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I wiped my eyes. 

"Adette," She hugged me and rubbed my back. "What happened, baby?"

"Corey and I got into an argument," I realized that I was crying. 

"About what?"

I told her what we argued about. "I don't know why he's so annoyed."

"He loves you and wants to see you. You're his wife."

"I'm not always out and about, though. This week, I've just been hanging out with Floor and Simone a lot."

"He misses you. Maybe it's not you being out and about a lot, but if feels like you're not with him. Do you know what I mean?"

"No."

She let go of me and sighed. "You might be at the house a lot, but it might feel like you don't talk to him a lot, or you don't care about him, or you aren't really near him."

"But I am."

"Maybe to you, but maybe not to him. From what I know, Corey is a very affectionate person, but not. He doesn't want to be told he's loved, he wants to be showed that he's loved."

"Yeah," I hugged her again. "Thanks."

We walked out of the room and we all said bye, then drove back home. 

"You alright?" Ashton asked me as Everleigh ran inside. 

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said. "Oh, um, Corey told me that you and Ginger broke up."

"Yeah, we did."

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's not like it was a real relationship or anything."

I hugged him. "I love you, buddy."

"Love you, too."

I locked the door and we walked inside. 

"Oh, yeah?!" Corey asked Everleigh. 

"And princesses, too!" She giggled. 

I looked up at Corey and saw that his face was red and his eyes were swollen. I opened up my arms and he hugged me while sobbing into my neck. 

"I'm sorry," He said. 

"Me too," I told him. 

I remembered what my mom had said, so I rubbed his back and tried to be more affectionate. I kissed him and then told him I loved him. 

"I love you more," He hugged me. 

"Mommy, Daddy!" Everleigh shrieked. "Look at the birdie!"

Corey and I looked out the back window and saw a bird. 

"Go say 'hi'," I opened up the back door for her. 

She ran outside to the bird, causing the bird to fly away. Everleigh turned to us and started wailing. 

"Oh my God," I tried to stifle my laughter. 

"Don't laugh," Corey tried hiding his smile and grabbed Everleigh, then brought her back inside. 

"What's the matter?" I asked Everleigh, shutting the back door. 

Ashton ran away, laughing hysterically. 

"The birdie ran away from me!" She sobbed hard. 

"It's just a bird," Corey hugged her, then looked up at me and widened his eyes as he chuckled. 

"But I want that birdie!" 

"I know you do, but it had to go back to his family."

"Everleigh," I kneeled down. "If a stranger were to come running at you, what would you do?"

"Run away."

"That's what the birdie did."

"But I'm not a stranger. I'm its friend."

"It's okay, Everleigh," I hugged her and kissed the top of her head. "There's other birds in the sky."