Love's Suicide Part 14

I had to get out, the sooner the better for the sake of my daughter's and my own well-being. I wasn't living in a loveless marriage and subjecting my child to such horrible things. She deserved better.

With my trust fund becoming available within weeks, I knew I'd have a way to leave, even if I had to buy my freedom.

Chapter 20.

September 2012 "Happy Birthday, sweet girl. I can't believe you're one today." She smiled and ran away from me with her party dress only half on.

Her celebration was in an hour and I still had to decorate her little cake.

I heard the door opening and turned to see Bobby standing in the doorway. Brooklyn, who I'd gotten used to calling B, had run up to him. "Dada, up."

He picked her up and kissed her on the cheek.

I put the other strap to her dress on her arm, but avoided eye contact with him.

We'd been separated since June, a day after I gotten my inheritance. I took B and moved us back into the trailer while looking for a piece of property to build on. Bobby showed up that night beating on the door until Dave came and made him leave.

For a while I was scared he was going to break in and hurt me. His sweet-talking wasn't going to get me in his good graces and he knew it.

The problem was that he loved B. She was his world and I couldn't keep him from seeing her, even if I was mad at him. I knew he'd never hurt her, since his anger had always only been geared toward me.

She grabbed his face and kissed him again. "Happy birthday, kiddo."

He looked at me and smiled. "Is there anything I can help with?"

I walked by him, heading into the kitchen. He followed and was waiting for an answer. It was hard being around him, even though he wanted us to get along. "If you could watch her while I decorate the cake, it would be a huge help."

"Sure." He walked B into the living room and I could hear them playing.

Bobby wasn't always offering a hand to me. When he found out I'd left he began threatening me, saying I could never make it without him.

Then he found out about my money.

I didn't blame Dave and Sarah for not being able to keep a secret. The money that I'd given them had paid off all of their bills and they were in the process of upgrading their kitchen.

When his shock wore off, and he realized that without money to hold over my head, he had nothing left to barter with. He knew that it was my choice if I wanted him to see B at all.

Since then he'd put himself into therapy and was doing everything he could to get back in my good graces.

The thing was that I knew that what Bobby wanted was for me to love him; something I knew I'd never be able to do. It hurt me to watch him in so much pain. No matter how he'd acted to me, B was everything and without her he seemed lost.

Since the separation, he'd stopped hanging out with Dave and spent most of his time alone, drinking. In some ways I felt responsible for his downfall and it was the main reason that I'd asked him to come over for the party.

Bobby had sacrificed so much to be with me. In the beginning he hadn't expected much, but since I'd offered it, and then rejected him, it had done something to the man. He'd changed.

I knew he'd come into the kitchen, because I could see him out of the corner of my eye. "What's up?"

"I was wonderin' if after the party you and me could talk."

I shrugged and kept writing on my daughter's cake. "I guess. What do you want to talk about?"

"I miss you, Katy. I miss you and B so much. I know I've been a b.a.s.t.a.r.d to you, but I've been in therapy, and I'm doin' good. I want our family back."

I looked up at him, astonished he would have the b.a.l.l.s to ask me for another chance. "I don't think that's a good idea. You said you changed before and we both know how that turned out."

He got down on his knee and I remembered the last time he'd been in that same position in this very kitchen. "Please. I'm not askin' you to move right back in. I just want to be around you. It's been h.e.l.l bein' at the house by myself every night. I miss you bein' with me and the way it felt to wake up next to you. I just wish you could understand what it was like to love you so much. I wish you could be in my shoes and know how hard it's been, day after day wantin' you to feel somethin' that ain't never goin' to happen."

I sat the cake decorator down. "Can we please discuss this after the party? Now is not the time or place."

He sighed and got back up off the floor. "Yeah. Sorry."

I watched him walk out of the kitchen and heard him lighten up when he got close to the baby.

Did I feel sad for him?

Of course I did.

He'd been with me for my whole pregnancy and held my hand when she was born. He'd gotten up with her at night and she was always the one thing that could bring a smile to his face. Imagining him at home in that house all alone must have been torturous.

It was a good thing that Sarah came in to break my salty mood. We carried everything outside and sat the kids at the picnic table, while Dave and Bobby started to cook on the grill.

B had climbed down and was playing with their old dog. She'd pull his ears and he wouldn't even make a sound. The more she did it, the less he paid any attention to her.

I swooped her up and spun her around, getting a kick out of her laughing. When I sat her down, she looked drunk and fell down on the ground. "B, are you ready to eat?"

"Apple."

Everything that was edible was called an apple. After attaching the chair to the edge of the picnic table, I sat her down and gave her tiny pieces of hot dog. She grabbed them up into both of her hands and started shoveling them in her mouth.

Then I spooned some macaroni and cheese onto her tray and watched her smile. "Is that your favorite, sweet girl?"

B clapped and hot dog particles flung all over my face.

When I knew she was content with her food, I made myself a plate and sat across from Bobby, who was already stuffing a burger into his mouth. I couldn't help but notice him watching me, reminding me that I'd broken his heart. He didn't understand that mine was also in the same shape.

I wanted to be able to count on him, because after everything I'd been through, he'd given me hope. Instead, after he'd hit me three separate times, I was left with scars that would never heal; the internal kind.

I wanted to forgive him, because inside of that angry man was someone that could be gentle and adoring.

My little Brooklyn took her time digging into the cake, at first. Then she let her face fall in it. I recorded the whole thing and knew that once she was older I'd play it back and remember how cute she was.

Her first year had gone by so fast and I was blessed to have such a healthy, well behaved baby. Now that she was starting to walk around, I had a bunch of obstacles. The first priority was getting the trailer baby-proofed. She'd started putting everything in her mouth and one of the newest things she was doing was sticking her fingers in any openings she could find.

B fell asleep at the table. I had to wake her up to get her clothes off and wash her, but she fell back asleep without a fight. Sarah helped me do all the dishes and put the extra food away, while the guys stayed outside watching the kids.

"So, Dave told me Bobby's really been tryin'."

I dried a dish and put it away. "Yeah, he is. He asked me if we could talk tonight. I told him it was alright."

Sarah stopped was.h.i.+ng the dishes. She turned around to face me. "My dad seems to think the therapy is helpin'."

I shot her a dirty look. "Isn't that supposed to be private?"

She smiled and tried to look innocent. "Well, we've known him for years. I wanted to be sure he wasn't a danger to himself." She grabbed my hands. "Katy, I think you should give him another chance. He's working really hard at getting better and we've never seen him so upset before. I'm not sayin' that you should move right back in, but maybe you could take things slow. Go to a few anger management meetings with him. Show him that you still care."

I covered my face with my hands, feeling frustrated and cornered. "I can't give him what he wants. We all know that."

She motioned around the room. "Katy, look around you, darlin'. Brooks isn't here and he's never goin' to be. You have a man that loves you and your daughter. Isn't it worth it to try and save the family that you have right now? After all you've been through, wouldn't it be nice knowin' you're not alone?"

I hated that she was trying to make me feel sorrier for Bobby, so I finished our conversation by saying goodnight to her.

Within minutes Bobby was coming inside and sitting across from me in the kitchen. He was just as handsome as he'd ever been and it hurt me more knowing how wonderful he was when his head was on straight. "I want to go to a meeting with you. Can we arrange that?"

He perked up. "Does that mean there's a chance that we could get back together?"

I placed my hands flat on the table and took a couple deep breaths. "I'm not making any promises. I think we should take it day by day and see how it goes." I looked down at his hands and saw his wedding ring. He was swirling it around like he was nervous. "Bobby, we never should have got married when we did. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful, but rus.h.i.+ng into it hurt us. Now we have this mess that we have to clean up before anything can be settled."

He was starting to cry. I reached over and put my hands in his. "We both made mistakes."

"I've hurt you. I know that."

"One day at a time, Bobby. Okay?"

He smiled and agreed.

By no means was I inviting him back into my bed any time soon, but I was willing to mend fences to see if he'd changed, and if there was a way that we could get past it.

Chapter 21.

November 2012 I was doing good, standing on my own two feet and not letting Bobby's guilt trips get the best of me. Though he still tried to make amends, I'd come to the conclusion that I didn't really want to take the chance of him hurting me again.

Then it all changed.

It wasn't long after our little heart to heart that things went awry.

I got the call at nine in the morning from his shop cas.h.i.+er. She worked three days a week for him, and if she wasn't there, I don't know how long he would have been stuck with no one to call for help.

Bobby was working on an oil change for one of our neighbors. On the mornings that he would do things like that, he'd pick up their cars and leave his truck for them to use.

Sally, the cas.h.i.+er called, speaking so frantically that I couldn't understand what she was saying. "Bobby's gone to the hospital in an ambulance. It's so bad. You have to go there, right now!"

In complete worry, I grabbed my keys, left B with Sarah and drove as fast as I could. Again, with Sally's vague details, I had no idea how injured he was or what could have possibly happened. My worst fear was that he'd spilled some kind of flammable chemical on himself.

When I arrived at the hospital, I found out that one of the lifts in the shop had malfunctioned. While he was under the car, it collapsed. He managed to try and move out of the way, but landed on his side and had both of his legs crushed in the process.

I was told that he was sedated due to the extreme amount of pain he was in, so I wasn't going to be able to have a conversation with him to find out more details, like if I needed to contact the insurance agency for the business.

Bobby was casted from his chest and then down both legs. They had his lower body elevated, I a.s.sume to prevent clots. He looked terrible and I felt horrible for what had happened to him.

Since he was in the intensive care, he was only allowed one visitor and I knew I couldn't leave him there by himself. I had to be at his side to let him know that I cared.

Because I did care.

Bobby's anger problems didn't change the fact that he'd taken care of me for so long. He'd provided comfort when I felt all alone. I needed to give that back to him, for as long as it took.

He was released two weeks later, in which I'd already moved his things into my place, since it was easier for Dave to come over and help me with getting him up. Bobby wasn't happy about not being in his own home, but I think once he realized that we'd be living together, he never said another word about it.

B was happy to see him all of the time, even though she didn't understand that his boo boo couldn't get better from a simple kiss.

Bobby would have a long road ahead of him to rehabilitate and the doctors had already scheduled him for his first surgery, requiring a rod to be placed in his back.

The shop closed for three weeks before the insurance company could deem it safe. Thankfully, his employees could work even if he wasn't around, so once they'd reopened he'd still get a check to pay some of his bills.

In the meantime, I kept the construction going on my new house, including ramps for Bobby's wheelchair. They'd be temporary until he would no longer need them.

I know it was wrong to think it, but I knew he couldn't hurt me if he was helpless. It was game changing, giving me that last push to let him back into our lives.

I'd always believed that things happened for a reason. Bobby getting hurt was as if someone was telling me that we needed to stay together.

By Christmas Bobby was mobile in only a wheelchair. He spent a lot of his time propped up in bed and had lost twenty pounds since his accident. On most days he was in good spirits, considering that he could have lost his life.

He liked to read and play with B. She enjoyed pointing to pictures and having someone tell her what it was.

Things were good for us.

I don't know what made me do it, but I made a call without thinking it through, not knowing that it would set things into motion that could change everything.

I'd been thinking about Melissa and how I'd missed her. Since I was at a good place in my life, I felt that it was finally alright to reach out to her.

"h.e.l.lo."

"Merry Christmas, stranger."

"Katy? How are you?" She seemed happier to hear from me this time.

"I'm doing well. How are you?"