Drowning in Tears...

 Author's Note: 
For those of you who may not follow me on Flickr or Instagram, these past couple months have been really rough for me and I had been battling some depression, health issues, and some family stuff. Slowly things are getting better and I hope to post more consistently. Thanks!

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Late into the night, Krystal and Michelle stay to comfort Laura and help care for Phoenix. Little do any of them know that Luke did come back home but chose to avoid any confrontations, so he took off to sleep at Peter's apartment for the remainder of the night. 

 Krystal holds Phoenix and gently pats him, he had woken up and Laura nursed him back to sleep. Krystal takes him and gets ready to put him back in his crib. Michelle now realizing how late it is, needs to get back home she has a early day at work tomorrow.

*Michelle* "I hate to leave but, I have to be in early to work tomorrow 

to prepare for a trial."

*Krystal* "That's fine sweetie, I'll stay with her. I'll leave so you can say goodnight 

while I put Phoenix to bed."

*Michelle* "Okay..."
 Krystal takes Phoenix to his bed, so Michelle and 
Laura can have a moment alone.

 Krystal lays Phoenix in his crib and he squirms a bit from the sudden movement, she gently pats his back, hoping he stays asleep now till morning.
*Krystal* "Shhh....shhhh...shhh..."
 Back in the bedroom Michelle sits with Laura, who is still kinda
in shock about how her evening went and being blindsided by Luke's confession of infidelity. 

*Michelle* "I hate to leave, but I have an early morning tomorrow..."
*Laura stuffy sounding from all the crying* "I understand. Thanks for coming."
*Michelle* "You know I'm always here if you need me. I'll call you as
soon as I'm done with work tomorrow.
 Krystal comes into the bedroom, she thought Luke would come back even though Laura told him not to.  His erratic behavior over the past year has always made her uneasy, now she wonders if she shouldn't have pushed them into getting married.

*Krystal* "Well...Phoenix is asleep, lets hope he stays asleep till morning..."

Michelle gets up and Krystal takes her place.

*Laura* "He's having trouble sleeping cause Luke would sing him to sleep when he's fussy."
*Krystal sighs* "I know Sweetie, if he wakes up I'll take care of him. I think you need to
get some rest."
*Laura* "I don't know if I can sleep..."

*Michelle* "Mom is right, you need to get some sleep. Your head is gonna be pounding soon
from all the crying, try and get some rest. I better go, I'll call you tomorrow..."
Laura looks up at Michelle and smiles her eyes red
 from crying all evening.

 *Laura* "Thanks for coming by, Sis..."
*Michelle* "Of course, you know I'm always here for you."
Krystal turns to look at Laura...

*Krystal* "Get some sleep sweetie. I'll see your sister out, then clean up the kitchen. And don't worry about Phoenix, I'll take care of him tonight..."
*Laura* "Thanks, Mom..."
So Krystal and Michelle head downstairs and Laura tries her best to fall asleep and rest. She ends up falling asleep on Luke's side of the bed.

Back downstairs Krystal says goodnight to Michelle.
*Michelle* "I can't believe he cheated on her with Rufus!...
I don't think I could forgive him if I was Laura."

*Krystal* "I know, I understand you're angry. I am too sweetie. But people make mistakes some bigger than others. The important thing is we learn from those mistakes. I have been there and it's not easy, someone always ends up getting hurt. I just hope Luke realizes all of this."

*Michelle* "What are you talking about? Mom, you're like the sweetest person I know....
Ohmygod! Did you cheat on Dad? Is that what you're sayin'?"
*Krystal* "No, I've never cheated on your Father, but there was....Another time sweetie we'll talk about it. You should get home it's getting late."

*Michelle* "How can I leave now?! You got me wondering what you did..."
*Krystal* "Michelle, it's late and I'm tired too. I promise I tell you about it soon..."
*Michelle* "Okay...okay...you're right it's late. Goodnight Mom."
*Krystal* "Goodnight, Sweetie and drive safely..."

The next morning Laura wakes up and finds her Mother down stairs feeding Phoenix some breakfast and entertaining him with a few nursery songs.

*Krystal* "Patty cake, Patty cake..."
Phoenix watches her closely while he fiddles with his sippy cup.
Krystal stops, when she sees Laura coming down the stairs.

*Krystal* "Morning! How did you sleep?..."

Laura plops down in the chair across the table from her Mother and rubs her eyes, they feel heavy and tired.

*Laura* "Not so great...I just couldn't stop thinking about how things went last night,

 but I eventually dozed off..."

*Krystal* "You want me to make you some breakfast?"

*Laura* " No I'm not that hungry..."

As Laura wakes from her foggy, sleepy state of mind, Phoenix catches her attention, with his babbling as he bangs his sippy cup on the high chair.

*Laura* "Hey handsome! Are you having fun with Grandma?"
Phoenix smiles at his mother and Laura smiles back...
*Laura* "But what am I gonna do with your crazy Father?..."

*Krystal* "Do you think Luke is truly sorry about what he did?"

*Laura* "I think he is...but then he goes off to go check on her!
 And I don't know what to think. I love him, I just don't know if I can trust him anymore..."
*Krystal* "Yes, you need trust otherwise you'll be miserable...
What about marriage counseling?"

*Krystal continues* "This way you can talk out your feelings on neutral ground while you're still separated. And if all else fails, well then...*Krystal shrugs* ..."I guess you file for divorce. Your Dad and I will support you in whatever choose, Sweetie..."

*Laura* "Yeah...that might be something to think about..."
 *Krystal* "I think it would be a good place to start at this point."
Krystal gets up from the table and stands by the sink.
*Krystal* "Do you want me to clean up the kitchen before I go..."

*Laura* "No it's fine. I'll take care of it. I need to stay busy and run some errands as well."
*Krystal* "Okay, then I'm gonna head on home then.
It's been a long night for me too."
Krystal heads for the door grabs her bag and scarf. Laura follows to say goodbye and lockup behind her.

*Krystal* "Call me if you need anything or if you want to talk..."
*Laura* "I will, and thanks for taking care of Phoenix last night."
*Krystal smiles* "It was my pleasure sweetie, he's such a good baby."

*Krystal smiles* "It was my pleasure sweetie, he's such a good baby."
Then Krystal kisses her oldest daughter goodbye and 
heads out the door. Back at home, Krystal heads into her kitchen to see that her husband Scott is still at home.

*Krystal* "You're still here?..."
*Scott* "I wanted to know how it went last night, before I head into the office."

Krystal sighs and shakes her head.

*Krystal* "It's not good. They had more than just a fight..."
*Scott* "What'd ya mean? Did they breakup?"

*Krystal* "Luke cheated on her with that Rufus Blue singer! Now do you think it
 was a bad idea for them to have a prenup?!"

 *Scott a little in shock* "What?!..."

Last night was rough, even for this little guy...but he seems 
to be well rested now and enjoying the walk. A little earlier Laura called Luke and asked him to meet in the park. He of course agreed to and...

A few minutes later Luke caught up with Laura and Phoenix, who are taking an early evening stroll through the nearby neighborhood park. Laura needed to get out and clear her head and the change of scenery is entertaining for little Phoenix.

*Luke* "Hey..." *he pauses, things feel awkward*
"Soooo....what did you want to tell me?"
Things feel awkward for Laura too but if there is any hope for them then she needs to talk things through with him.

*Laura* "I've been doing a lot of thinking all day...."

*Laura continues* "And if you want to save what's left of our relationship, then
I want us to go to marriage counseling."
*Luke nods* "Okay..."
*Laura* "I made an appointment. Our first session is Friday at noon."
Then Laura starts walking again, pushing the stroller back towards the direction of home. As much as she loves him, the pain of what he did still hurts way too much, and being around him intensifies it.

*Laura* "I gotta get Phoenix back home for dinner and a bath."

*Luke* "Wait! That's it?! Can I at least come by and get a few things. I need my laptop."
Laura stops and looks back at him. She blinks trying to keep the tears from flowing again, it still hurts to look at him...
*Laura* "That's fine, but you might not want to stay long, my sister is coming over for dinner."

Luke cringes inside, crap! Sh*t! Everyone probably knows now what is going on, he thinks to himself....  
"Luke! you're a f*cking idiot! You've given Krystal even more reason to hate you!..." Remembering seeing their cars, which ultimately made him change his mind about coming home last night.

*Luke* "I'll be quick. I've got a lot of work to catch up on anyways."
*Laura* "Okay. Are you staying at Peter's?"
*Luke* "Yes...Why?"
* Laura* "I was just wondering."
Luke knows what she's thinking, and he plans on never seeing or speaking to Rufus again.
*Luke* "Everything between Rufus and I is over, Babe.  She hates me more than you do right now."
*Laura* "Luke, I really don't want to talk about this right now....
Friday at noon, I'll text you the address."

*Luke* "Okay...I'm sorry...I won't push it. Can I walk you to the house and
get my things, then I'll go."

*Laura* "Okay..."

So Laura takes off walking and Luke follows behind 
her and Phoenix.


The End...
For now ;)