Something Worth Fighting For (Patrick Stump Imagine Story)

Too Far Gone

You and Patrick sit there in silence as you listen the front door knob start to jiggle, as if someone's trying to unlock it. The two of you cautiously rise to your feet at the same time, your gazes locked on the door as you anticipate to see who's on the other side.

The door finally clicks and is pushed in, revealing Ethan and Gabby. They just came home from school, because unbeknownst to you, they had a half day.

"Mom?" Ethan mutters, shocked.

Gabby gasps and drops her backpack, "Mommy!" She rushes up to you and clings onto your legs. "I missed you so much!" She mumbles, her voice muffled by your legs. She tilts her head back to look up at you and continues, "Daddy said you wouldn't come back, but I knew you would. I knew you would!"

You glance over at Patrick with wide eyes, wordlessly pleading for assistance. He clears his throat and looks down at the five year old, "Uh, Gabby, Mom...isn't here to stay."

Her eyebrows furrow together and she detaches herself from you, "W-What do you mean she isn't here to stay?"

"I-I...I'm just here to get a few of my things, sweetheart," You stutter, your cheeks growing red in embarrassment.

She slowly backs away from you until she bumps into Ethan, who's still standing in the doorway. He's just staring at you, trying to sort out his emotions.

"Yeah..." Patrick tacks on, an obvious awkward tension hanging in the air, "Why don't we let you go do that?" You glance over at him, your eyebrows wrinkling together. He looks over at your son and daughter and nods his head in the direction of the kitchen behind you, "Come on, guys, let's go get some lunch. I'll be there in a second. Just decide what you want. Okay?"

Ethan snaps out of the daze he had fallen into and nudges his sister forward, following her into the kitchen while you and Patrick stay in the foyer. You glance down and read the heading on the papers, shaking your head.

"I can't do this," You murmur.

"What you mean you can't do this?" Patrick mutters under his breath, so the kids don't hear him.

"Did you see the way they looked at me?" You croak, meeting your husband's gaze with glistening eyes, "I can't leave them like this."

"But you already did, (Y/N)," He retorts coldly, "You did the day you decided to stay with Pete. The day you decided to abandon your family because we didn't make you happy anymore and you thought he did." You stare at him silently. "If things haven't changed, just sign your name on the line and everything will be over."

"I can't..."

"Why?"

"Because I just can't, okay?" You cry.

Standing in the threshold between the kitchen and the foyer are your two children, quietly observing yours and Patrick's argument.

"Why not? Are you finally realizing what you had? What you took for granted?" He shouts at you, failing to keep his composure. He sighs and covers his face with his hands, holding them there for a moment or two before dragging them down and dropping them by his sides. "We just wanted to help you, hon. And what did you do? You pushed us away. You kept pushing us farther and farther away until you were so far away that the only option left was to let you go. It wasn't easy, and it still isn't. But you're just too far gone for me to try and bring you back."

You take in a tremorous breath as tears flood your vision.

"Those papers...I had them long before you even left for Pete's," He confesses to you, "(Y/N), you and I...we've been drifting apart for a while now. You can't deny it. You can try, but it's the truth. I know it, you know it, even they know it!" He shoots his hand back, in the direction of Gabby and Ethan. "Including Zach!"

"Don't remind me!" You yell, startling your kids, "I know you all hate me, that's why I left! I can't remember the last time one of you told me you loved me, or smiled at me, and actually meant it! At least with Pete, I know he loves me. I know he cares. I know he wouldn't do this to me."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Patrick asks you, outraged, "What the hell have we done to you?"

You shake your head and chuckle sadly, "You weren't there for me, Patrick. You've never been there for me. Sure, you've come back time after time, but it was never to stay. And it was never because you wanted to come back. It's because you thought you had to. Because you felt. But you know what, Patrick?" You sniffle and wipe your hand underneath your eye, flipping the pen around in your hand and scribbling your name on the line, "You don't have to anymore." You shove the document and writing utensil back at him. "You happy now? I took my turn. Game over." And with that, you stomp upstairs to do what you came here for in the first place - to get your things.

Patrick stares at your signature, his heart beating against his chest and his body starting to shake.

"So it's really happening," Ethan mutters, attracting his dad's attention, "You guys are really getting a divorce."

"Yeah, I-I guess so," He stammers, failing to hide the heartache in his voice.