He pushed the door to the house open, pulling his key from the door knob. It had been nearly three months since he’d been further than the living room in the house. Three months since she asked for a separation. He didn’t understand how he could allow his infidelity to even happen.  He heard her laughter coming from upstairs followed by the sound of a younger, higher pitched shriek. Ascending up the staircase, he tried to be as quiet as possible. He was an hour early.

            He leaned against the door jam to the hall bathroom and smiled. She was leaning over the bathtub, her hair slightly wet. Their three year old daughter was blowing bubbles at her mother’s face, giggling when she would reach over and tickle the young girl. “Hayden Lynn, your father is going to be here in a little while and I am pretty sure he would like you ready for bed when he gets here, silly girl!” She tucked a strand of her curly hair behind her own ear and his shadow must have caught her eye. She turned her head slowly, her chocolate brown eyes traveling up to meet his blue ones. She was wearing one of his old North Caroline t-shirts and shorts. There was something different in the way she looked him but he couldn’t place it. Normally, she would given him an aggravated look and made Hayden hurry up. She hated when he was early to pick her up, breaking the current custody agreement. But she didn’t this time.

            She smiled at him softly and motioned with her head for him to come in. He pushed himself off the door frame and walked further into the bathroom, his daughter finally seeing her father. Her light grey eyes lit up and she smiled, “Dadddddyyyy!”

Justin laughed and leaned down, kissing his little girl on top of her curly and soaking wet head. She looked like the both of them. She had her mother’s caramel skin and her nose but she had his facial structure and smile. Marcy always commented on how every time Hayden smiled, she saw him. She had dark brown hair just as curly as his used to be and unruly like her mother’s. He took a seat on the toilet as Marcy pulled her out of the tub, wrapping a fluffy white towel around the little girl’s frame. “Go get your pajamas on and grab the hair brush. I’ll be in there in a minute, okay?” The little girl did as she was told.

Marcy turned around, pressing her back against the tub and pulling her knees up to her chest, “You’re early. I thought you had a meeting tonight.”

He nodded, “It didn’t go as long as planned and I was hoping we could talk.”

My state of mind
Has finally got the best of me
I need you next to me
I'll try to find
A way that I could get to you
Just wanna get to you
The world I see is perfect now
You're all around
With you I can breath

She took in a deep breath and released it slowly, “Yeah I guess we should.”

Justin leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, “Emme, I want to come home.” He used his nickname for her. She nodded and diverted her eyes to the ground. She hated that he could read her like a book so diverting her eyes was a way for her to stop him from doing so. When she looked back up, her eyes were glazed with tears but she didn’t say anything, “I want to work this out. Not just for our daughter’s sake but for us. I love you. I need you. I know I royally fucked up, I get it. You’ve made me pay but please, don’t throw us away. Don’t ask for a divorce.”

Until you're mine
I have to find
A way to fill this hole inside
I can't survive
Without you here by my side
Until you're mine
Not gonna be
Even close to complete
I won't rest until you're mine
Mine

Marcy groaned lightly, blinking a couple times to push the tears back, “Hayden keeps asking when you are coming back. She said she loves the other house but she’d much rather stay in this one.” She laughed harshly, “After two years of marriage, you kissed another girl then proceeded to bring her to our home. You slept with her. And to make it worst, it was in our bed, Justin. Please give me one reason, other than your so called need for me, as to why I shouldn’t ask for a divorce.”

Alone inside
I can only hear your voice
Ringing threw the noise
I find my mind
Keeps on coming back to you
Always back to you
Wanting something out of reach
It's killing me
You're all I see yeah

Without hesitation, Justin slid off the toilet so he was on his knees in front of her. He placed his hands on her cheeks and before Marcy could react, he placed his lips on hers. She tried to protest at first but ultimately her guard went down. She pushed herself forward, onto her knees so they were almost the same height. Justin turned his head slightly, running his tongue across her bottom lip. Marcy opened her mouth slightly allowing her tongue to dance with Justin’s. Her hands made their way to his chest as their kiss deepened. He dropped his hands from her face and wrapped them around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

Just stop wondering
If we were meant to be
Forget about wanting to soar
Just hold me
I'm ready to begin
The waiting has to end
Right now
Today
I've got to find a way

Marcy leaned backed back to catch her breath and pressed her forehead against his, “If you come home, Justin, you have to promise me that that won’t happen again. I will not put our daughter through that again and I sure as hell can not put my heart through it.”

Justin’s eyes lit up and grinned, “I can come home? I swear to you I will never ever do anything like that again. I messed up big time and I am so sorry. I want to spend the rest of our lives making it up to you.”

Marcy nodded and a giggle from the door way made them both turn their heads. Hayden was standing in her Hannah Montana pajamas, hair brush in one hand the other across her mouth. She pulled her hand down and the smile on her face was contagious, “Daddy come back?” She ran full force when Justin nodded his head, throwing her arms around her father’s neck. Marcy laughed and rubbed Hayden’s back gently, “Let Daddy breathe honey.”

She pulled back, kissing her father on the cheek before turning to her mother and doing the same, “Loves you guys.” Both parents laughed.

“Mommy is coming right now sweetheart to brush your hair. Why don’t you put in a movie and I’ll have Daddy tuck you in when I’m done?” Hayden nodded and ran back to her bedroom. Marcy turned to Justin, who helped her stand up and smiled, “I’ve missed you.”

Justin wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, “I’ve missed you more. My stuff is in my truck. I figure either you say I can stay then I won’t have to leave tonight or you turn me down flat and I just lug all the shit back into the old house.”

Marcy giggled and turned her face to nuzzle his neck. Kissing his throat she pulled back, “We’ve got a lot to work through but we’ll be okay, right?”

Justin nodded, “You’re mine again. We’re going to make this work.” Leading the way, the exited the bathroom and made their way to Hayden’s room. Justin watched as Marcy took the brush and began doing their daughter’s hair. He wasn’t going to risk losing this a second time.

“Until You’re Mine” – Demi Lovato