Streets and Sheets: The B Side

28. Focus

I started taking deep breaths when I felt myself losing control of my emotions.

"I didn't know..." Ken laid her hand on my thigh as she began to speak.

"Yeah don't touch me." I said snatching away and getting up off the bed. I went directly in to the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

"Are you serious?" She yelled as the door slammed shut. The truth is I was dead ass serious. I had put effort into growing up and being a man but it seemed like it didn't matter. I turned on the shower and stepped in hoping that she wouldn't be in the room and once I was finished. I washed up and rinsed off  quickly before letting the warm water run down my back. A few minutes had passed before I decided to get out and dry off. I took a breath before brushing my teeth and wrapping my wet lock in a towel.

"Just listen." She said searching for her clothes as I returned to the common area of the masters bed room.

"Chris..."

"Was or is fucking you. Even after the conversations we had almost 2 years ago. You can't even..." I paused as I felt myself giving too much attention to the conversation. I made sure to put in some clothes before I spoke again.

"I can't want Tay?" She asked, continuing to prolong the conversation. I walked of to the chest of drawers to grab and undershirt and some drawls. I slipped the shirt over the head while making sure to keep the towel in tact. I made eye contact with her as I continued getting dressed. Ken was now standing across the room from me as I continued my nightly routine.

"You know...you can go." I said calmly. I made sure to maintain eye contact with her as her facial expression changed.

"Excuse me?" She asked. It was clear that my tone threw her all the way off. I took a few steps too the left and opens another drawer before realizing that it would be best to put on sweats.

"You are right. I should deal with this on my own. My daughter and I have been through a traumatic experience so I should take the time to make sure that we both get the help we need. I fucked you so like you said, you can leave." I said believing every word that came out of my mouth. We weren't going to get anywhere with this conversation so it was best to end it.

"This isn't over..."

"It's not. But it's over right now. You can take a shower or do whatever but I'm not doing this right now." I said considering apologizing to her. She did say that she didn't want to argue or come in and I did plead with her to go against her better judgment. I was proud of myself for not waiting to tell her about the events of the day but her presence was not as helpful as I thought.

"You call me when your head is clear." She said walking closer to me as I walked to the other side of the bed. I snatched the sheets off of the bed and tossed them in a pile on the floor before  pausing.

"You know I think you should call me when your head is clear. I'm the mean time, do you need the bathroom I just need the laundry basket?" I asked knowing that it would be easier to do full loads of laundry instead of just taking the bedding.

"I'm going home. It's obvious that you need your space." She said throwing in her clothes and tossing her phone in her bag. Paying her bill attention I went in to the steamy bathroom to collect an dirty clothes before heading down the hallway. Once I dragged the basket in to the bedroom Ken had began to storm off. She was dramatic enough to let me know that she was pissed but soft enough to not wake Leila.

I was able to follow her out of the room, past Leila's room and to the laundry room before she hit the stairs. After sitting the basket in front of the door I continued to walk down the stairs behind her and make sure she made it in to her car. I watched her from the window after locking the door. She sat in my driveway for a while and even made a call before pulling of. 

I jogged upstairs, back to the master bedroom to get the sheets and comforter to make sure I threw it in the wash first. Walking back I checked in on Leila who was sleeping peacefully at the moment.

Once I got it I the laundry room I shook each sheet out before I opened the washing machine. After placing them in I realized that it should wash the pillowcases as well. I took my time waking from room to room before realizing that laundry was just keeping my mind off of how I treated E. As I pulled the pillows out of the cases I began to think about the encounter.

After a brief time standing in silence I decided to call E. I took some time to gather the rest If the bedding before looking for my phone. Once I was holding it in my hand I began to scroll her name. Before initiating the call I made sure to walk back to the laundry room a complete my first load.

Walking back to the room I found the courage to start the call as I opened the lien closet. My heart jumped out of my chest as the phone rang.

"Hello." A voice answered.

"Erin?" A question. I couldn't quite make the voice out but she was the only one bold enough to answer the phone. The old is James sister would have definitely reject the call or let it ring.

"Yeah hold on... Emmy it's Tay." I heard  her say. There was a bit of shuffling before we heard her voice.

"Hello." I could hear the exhaustion through the phone.

"I know I may be the last person you want to hear from and I deserve that." I stated.

"I don't know what to say or do but I know I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have talk to you like that. I'm so sorry E. I love you so much and I..."

"I understand. I am just grateful that she has you." She said as she tried fight the labor pains.

"I just really wanted to apologize and let you know that she is doing as well as to be expected. Before I let you go I need to thank you." I pause.

"Really?"

"For making me reach out to her adoptive parents and being a part of her life. I'm not sure how this would have to gone if either one of us hadn't."

"You don't...you don't need to thank me." She managed to say.

"I do but we don't need to talk about it now. Focus on having a baby and I'll focus on our baby..."