Coming Home [A Bensler Fan Fic]

Forty-Five

Elliot was just as pissed off as his wife, so he didn't choose his next words wisely. He decided to say every single bad thing he could think of, and it was like a slap to the face for his wife. 

"I-i'm not a terrible mom." She whimpered as hot tears slipped down her flushed cheeks.

"You suck at being a mother and a wife. You would have been better off leaving the girls with Brad!" Elliot yelled. 

"If I suck so bad, why haven't you asked for a divorce?"

"Because those girls would die if I left!" Elliot screamed.

Olivia let out a weak breath before looking down at her belly. She cradled it in her hands before swallowing hard.

"I raised my daughters by myself for years before I met you. They survived Brad with me, and they are amazing little girls. If you have such a problem with me, then leave. Get out of the house and find someone that is much better. Someone that doesn't have so much baggage."

"You aren't kicking me out, Liv! This is my house too!" Elliot screamed, as the door creaked open slowly.

"Okay, then you can stay. I'll leave and take my girls with me."

"You will not touch my kids. I swear-"

"I'm going with Mama!" Lou sobbed from the door. Elliot and Olivia quickly turned to look at her.

"I'd never leave you and Letty behind. Never... and you may say you love these two like your own, but you don't. You never will." Olivia whispered before she moved to where her daughter stood. She lifted Lou up and walked out as Elliot's fist went right through the wall.

///

Olivia and the girls went to her sisters' house. It was the only place she knew she'd be allowed to stay without any questions asked. Olivia barely got the girls down again before Sara was asking to talk.

"You all should be sleeping. You have school." Olivia sighed as she settled down onto the couch.

"I can call them out, and I'm assuming you'll do the same for Lou. So just tell us what is happening. You never come over after midnight." Sara spoke, as she looked her niece over.

Even if Olivia had been happy the last time they had talked, she was far from happy now. Her eyes and face were red from crying, and she seemed so anxious.

"Elliot and I got into a fight tonight, and I had to leave. I wasn't going to stay there and listen to him attack me again. He did it after his break, and he said even worse things tonight." Olivia breathed.

"Like what?" Jackie asked softly.

"That I'm a horrible wife and mother... that I should have left the kids with Brad."

"Brad? He's a piece of shit!" Sara exclaimed, before being shushed by Penny.

"The girls just fell back asleep." The teen spoke, and Olivia sighed as she reached out and grabbed her sister's hand.

"It's fine. Lou probably won't fall asleep for a while since she's so scared."

"Scared of what? You? El? The situation?"

"He punched a hole into the wall, and he was ranting to someone while I was packing everything up."

"Who do you think it was?" Sara asked as the doorbell rang. Olivia frowned deeply as she glanced at the door.

"My luck he called the cops on me..."

///

It wasn't the cops at the door, but it was Bernie. Olivia didn't want to see her, but she insisted on talking. Olivia sent everyone to bed, and she stood in the kitchen while Bernie sat and waited for the tea to be done.

"Elliot called me after you left." Bernie spoke, and Olivia sighed softly as she grabbed the mugs.

"So you heard every single thing that was said, but in a way that makes me sound like a monster." Olivia breathed as she turned and moved to Bernie. She passed her a mug before going to grab the tea bags.

"He did a play-by-play for me."

"Bernie, if you know everything that was said, then why are you here? We fought this morning, but you still came over here to talk. Is it about wanting the girls?"

"He wants them back, but I'm not grabbing them and taking them back to him."

"So then what do you want?" Olivia asked with a tired sigh.

"I want you and the girls to stay with me and Joe. I can help you out and take you to appointments if you need me too."

"Bernie, you and I will never be how we were before. In the end, everything is going to keep being fucked until something breaks. In this case, it's probably my marriage. We have our ups and downs, and we are in a very dark place right now. This is the end, and I hate to admit it, but I can't keep lying to myself."

"No, honey. Don't break up." Bernie spoke, as the kettle finally started to hiss. 

"What's the point? I honestly don't think there is ever a chance we can make it past our problems. You know, I'm a shitty mother and wife. Elliot informed you of that a few hours ago..."

Olivia poured the hot water into the mugs before returning the kettle to the stove.

The two women sipped their tea for a while before Bernie spoke again.

"Where are you going to go? Do you plan on letting Elliot share custody of all four kids or just the twins?" Bernie breathed, which made Olivia start to cry quietly.

She knew that her marriage would come to an end, especially since she has the worst luck with men. Even if she knew it would happen, she didn't want it to. 

"I have no idea."