Lost Innocence

Chapter Thirty Seven

POV Christine

I spent a couple of weeks with Paul and Samantha came to spend many day with us during that time. One day while she was with Paul and I she looked down at her food sadly.
"Are you okay sweetheart?" I asked.
"I feel bad for Daddy."
"Why?"
"Daddy still loves you so much and is sorry he messed up." Samantha said.
My heart cracked. Samantha still wanted us to be together. I couldn't blame her if I wanted. My heart cracked even more when I saw the look on Paul's face. 
"Can't you give him one more chance?" Samantha begged.
"I don't know Sam, your Dad did something that was wrong and it hurt me very much."
"Mom, he still loves you." Samantha said as she finished her dinner. 
When we all finished eating I washed dishes and Paul and I decided to have Samantha spend the night. Paul was putting Sam to bed and when I walked past the room I stopped to listen to their conversation.
"Uncle Paul, do you think my Mom and Dad will get back together?" 
"I'm not sure but I know they will always do everything they can to make you happy." 
"I'll be happy if they are together, I want my family back." 
"You'll always have a family, I can guarantee that." Paul said as he tucked her in and met me outside her room.
The pain in his eyes broke my heart. 
"Paul..." I said.
"Lets just get some sleep, I'm tired." Paul said as he walked into his bedroom. I walked into the bedroom and got into my pajamas. We laid next to each other in silence. We didn't know what to say after Samantha practically begging me to give Joe another chance. How could I when I was so in love with Paul?

The next morning we drive to take Samantha back to Emily's. When we got inside Sunshine was there with Ryan and Daniel. 
"Uncle Ryan!" Samantha said as she ran over to him and hugged him. Emily walked over to us and grabbed my hand. 
"Are you alright?" 
"Not really, last night Samantha begged me to give Joe another chance and in front of Paul." I said as I bit my tongue to keep from crying. Paul looked down and walked out of the house. Emily hugged me and I hugged her back still refusing to cry but wanting. 
"Go, I'll call you later." Emily said as she squeezed my hand. 
I walked out and saw Paul sitting on the porch.
"Are we still not speaking?"
"Let's do this at home." Paul said as we walked back to the car. I looked out the window the whole time as tears silently fell. 

When we arrived home I sat on the bed as I sobbed uncontrollably. Every time I tried to be happy with Paul something got in the way. Paul walked in a few minutes later. He sat down beside me and held me while I cried. I could feel his heart race as he held me against his body. When I stopped crying I looked up at his face. 
"I don't know what to do. I don't want to us to lose what we have, not again." I whispered sadly. 
"We both didn't expect Samantha to say what she did but she did and now we have to put her feelings into consideration. I will always love you but we need to consider certain things. I could see how badly she loves her father and wants a family."
"I love you too, I just want to be with you." I said. 
Paul leaned down and kissed me deeply. 
That night we didn't get much sleep although we did get a lot of something else. 

POV Paul 

The next day I dropped off Christine at Emily's. Christine was going back to stay with Emily while I was on tour. When we arrived on the porch I cupped her cheeks and kissed her softly.
"I'm going to miss you." I said as tears fell from her eyes. "It'll go by faster than you think."
"I'm going to miss you so much." Christine said.
"I think Joe deserves one more chance, for Samantha's sake." I said softly as I looked down, trying to think of the right thing.
Christine looked down and sighed sadly. "If he fucks up one more time, I'm done. He won't get another chance with me after that." Christine said. 
I kissed her one last time and she walked into the house. 

I sighed as I made my way back to the car. I drove all the way to pick up Joe. He was coming to my house because we left for our year long American tour the next day. I texted him when I arrived and he came out and got in the car. 
"Hey." Joe said. 
"Hey." I said faintly. 
"Thanks for the ride, I want to see Sam before I go." Joe said.
"I know, that's where we are going. I'm going to let you know now though Christine won't be there, she went out with Sherrie for the whole day." I said as we started driving back to John and Emily's home. 
The drive was mostly silent until Joe spoke. "How is she?" 
"Christine is still hurt but she's strong."
"I'm so sorry about what I did." 
"I know Joe." I said not looking at him.

When we got to the house Emily opened the door and and hugged us. 
"Samantha is in the living room." Emily said. Joe walked off and Emily looked at me. 
"Are you okay?" she asked. 
I shrugged. "No, I'm pretty sure things are over between me and Christine after Sam begged her to get back together with Joe. I can't blame her, she just wants a family." 
"You never know, to be honest I love Joe to death but him and Christine are way too toxic." 
We walked to the kitchen and Emily poured me a glass of water. 
"I can't believe this happened." 
"Wait it out, your time will come." 
"I can only hope." 

I grabbed my phone and dialed her number. 
"Hello?" 
"Hey, Joe is here, just giving you a heads up. We leave tomorrow morning so I won't be able to see you for a while."
"Thanks for letting me know." 
"What are you and Sherrie up to? Shopping?"
"Shopping and some lunch."
"I hope you are having fun." 
"I am, is he with Sam?"
"Yeah." 
"I already miss you." she said sadly.
"I miss you too. You're birthday is coming up." I said.
"Yeah, you always seem to miss it because of the tours." 
"I wish I could be there for you." 
"It's ok, I know you have the kind of career that keeps you busy, I've always been understanding of that. When will I see you?"
"It'll be a couple of months."
"I love you." she said.
"I love you too, I'll call you tomorrow when I land in Florida." 

A couple of weeks later I called Emily to let her know me and the guys were at the house to surprise Christine on her birthday. We always missed her birthday due to tour schedule. This time I wanted to make it a point to see her on her birthday. I knew how much it would mean to her. We waited in the den for Christine to get there and when she arrived she looked more beautiful than ever. Samantha ran over to her and wished her a happy birthday as she hugged her. When Christine looked up and saw all of us here she began to shake. Joe walked over to her and kissed her before telling her, "Happy birthday." 
I could see the look on Samantha's face when they kissed and she was so happy. Joe looked happy to but when I looked Christine she didn't look as happy as I expected her to be. Christine continued to say hi to everyone and she reached me. I kissed her cheek as her eyes watered. 
"A couple of months, huh?" Christine asked raising her eyebrow.
"I wanted to surprise, I missed way to many of your birthdays I wasn't going to miss this one." I said. 
"Thank you." 
"Anything for you." I said as I took her hand. I looked over at Joe who was playing with his daughter and the smiles on their faces were heartwarming. I had never seen Joe love someone or something more than his daughter. Joe was a damn good father and he deserved to be happy. He had gone through hell and back and yet managed to find a reason to smile and to continue living. Sure he had some demons but hell we all did, some are just stronger than others. I looked at Christine who also watched them. There was a smile on her face but I saw the sadness in her eyes. The only reason she was willing to let me go was to make her daughter happy and I understood her. When you are a parent you are willing to make any sacrifice necessary for them to be happy.