Stealing Kisses

Chapter 14

Tim POV: 

Faith stands down the hall from me, slowly coming out from the memory that just captivated both of us. She places her hand on her forehead, breathing deeply as she tries to catch her bearings. She looks up at me, before biting her lip, the low rumble of bass speakers rattling the halls. I can hear her breathing from quite a distance, which shows just how shaken she truly is. 

"Shouldn't you be with Dan?" My voice echoes down the long hall, causing her to wince. She looks down at her heels, before nodding. She narrows her eyes at me. She stands far enough back that I can hardly see her facial features. 

"You're drunk..." Her voice rasps, too far to smell the whiskey, but still somehow able to tell. "Your eyes... I can see it..." She confesses, twisting her wedding ring around her finger. I stagger toward her, her eyes resting on me the entire journey, like she's scared of what I might do. "You really shouldn't be drinking." She releases, her voice growing weaker the closer I get. I don't stop until we are toe-to-toe, feeling her look up at me. 

"What are you going to do about it?" I whisper, watching her eyes glance down to my lips. The motion triggers something inside me, as if she had just flipped a switch. I dive down, pressing her lips against mine. I grab the back of her head, her soft curls falling between my fingers, as I feel myself melt for her. She pulls back after a moment, her eyes locking with mine, before she balls up a fist. 

She punches me in the cheek hard enough for me to stumble back a few steps. I place my hand over the site of the blow, feeling it throb as she pants. 

"Don't you dare touch me like that." She says, sounding shaken and on the verge of tears. She begins to back away, before turning and increasing her pace. She shakes out her hand, a bit of blood on her knuckle. I glance down at my fingers, noticing that she broke the skin. 

Damn, she hits hard. 

I don't follow her, having clearly gotten the point. I lean my back against the cinder block walls, glancing down at my feet, before reaching up to touch my lips. They're still numb... I lean my head back, shutting my eyes for a second. 

She sits in the front seat of a SUV, three car seats in the back. In the center is our youngest, Audrey, while Gracie and Maggie sit on either side, holding their backpacks in their laps. Audrey's two, which means Gracie's in first grade, and Maggie is in kindergarten. Her emerging baby-bump means she must be expecting yet another seat soon. 

She sits in the drop-off line, waiting patiently as the girls argue over who gets which bagged lunch. Faith taps the wheel, begging the line to move a little faster so the fight doesn't escalate and cause Audrey to cry. She makes it to the drop-off area, causing them to pop out of the car just in time. 

"Love you." She says, but they're too busy bickering to say it back. She takes a deep breath, before pulling out of the line and starting on the road back home. She glances down to turn the radio, before a sharp wave of pain strikes her. She clenches her jaw, taking a deep breath and shaking it off. The next wave hits like a tidal wave. 

She grips onto the wheel, her knuckles turning white as she pulls over onto the shoulder quickly. She slams on the brakes, before tearing off her seatbelt. She grabs her stomach, before letting out a scream, quickly covering her mouth to muffle it. "Ah..." She lets out, hunching over in pain. She looks down at her jeans, watching blood spot through. Her hands begin to tremble, as she blindly reaches for her purse, pulling out her phone and dialing my number. She clenches her fists to keep herself from wailing. Tears stream, as she breathes shallow rushed breaths. 

"Hey baby." I answer, causing her sobbing to fill the car. 

"Something's wrong..." She cries out, her chest deflating before another piercing pain hits. "Ah!" She grunts, before crying again.