'Til Sun Beams Find You [COMPLETE]

Sixty-four (Part 2)

The first hour...

"...And you want me to stay here all night?"

He nodded.

"What are we supposed to talking about for that long?" She asked him.

"Us. Our future. Our past. How we're going to move forward," he pulled her hands to his chest, holding them close. "Because you're the only person in the world I want to move forward with. I love you, Nico. I want us to be a family again."

Carter could feel her relaxing a bit, and then she dropped her bag off her shoulder and it fell to the ground with a thud.

"I can't promise I'll be here all night but I'm open to listening," she said simply.

She had missed her bed the last few nights.

"Not just listening. You're talking too. We're talking, Nic. We are gonna work this out together," he emphasized, reaching into his pocket to grab his phone when it buzzed with a text.

It was from Jalen, but he ignored it and turned his phone off completely, wanting no distractions.

He looked at her expectantly, waiting for Nico to do the same.

She reluctantly grabbed her phone and paused. "What if something happens to Eli and your dad needs to reach us?"

"He'll be fine," Carter insisted, watching as she slowly slid the power button off.

He took her phone, placing it on the table by the door and leaving it, leading her by the hand to the couch.

"Why now?" Nico asked, taking a seat.

She looked across the couch at him.

"You had almost three years.."

"You were never open to working things out before now, Nico. Be honest with yourself."

"You never tried to work things out, Carter. You left that day and then moved on like it was nothing. When I struggled for months.."

"That's what you said you wanted," he said, his voice raising a bit as the memory hit him. He took a deep breath when she frowned. "I was struggling too, and you saw it. You saw it every time I came to pick up Zay. Nic.. you told me to leave. And I left. What, you wanted me to force myself into your life??"

She stayed silent.

"I can only swallow so much rejection at once Nic. You said we were done, I was too hurt to beg you some more. What did you want for me to do?"

"I wanted you to fight," she said, looking into his eyes.

He saw the hurt in hers.

He shook his head at her. "Nic.. we aren't teenagers. We have a kid between us. What do I look like arguing in front of Zay with you? Am I crazy?"

"What would one argument telling me how much you love me and weren't willing to lose or give up on our family would have saved us three years. Three years," she emphasized, as it had been nearly that long.

Three years was a long time.

"Yes we aren't teenagers, we were supposed to be in love, Carter," she said as she felt the tears well in her eyes. "You don't give up on someone you love that quickly. No. It's not possible.. not unless you never loved me to begin with."

"Do you not hear me, Nic? I tried. You don't remember me trying and begging? I took my words back. You were too stubborn to move past it."

"And you were too stubborn to try any more than one single time. One single time is all I'm worth?"