Chapter Thirty
Stepping into the dark house, both Julie and JC headed for the kitchen. He flipped the light switch on and groaned when he got a good look at his daughter’s face. Her eyes had already started blackening and she had blood splatters on her shirt. She was an exact replica of Abbi from when she’d been in a fight earlier in the year.
Hurrying to the freezer, he yanked an ice pack out and carried it over to where she sat, holding it out for her. “Here,” he said kindly, offering her a weak smile. She took the ice pack in his hands but could not find it in her to offer him a smile in return. She was far too ashamed of what she’d done.
“I’m going to get you some medicine, okay? It won’t do much, but it may make it easier for you to sleep tonight,” he told her. He knew if her face was throbbing, there would be no way she’d get any rest. At least Tylenol may take the sting away for long enough for her to fall asleep. He gave her another smile and turned from the kitchen, missing the broken look on his child’s face.
He let out a breath as he pushed the hallway door open and headed up the stairs to his bedroom. To keep medicines out of Abbi’s reach, they’d always kept them in his bathroom. He pushed the bedroom door open quietly, careful not to wake Jen as he headed into the bathroom to pull a bottle of pills out of the medicine cabinet. Heading downstairs with the pills in his hand, he paused at the doorway to the kitchen, listening to his daughter’s bitter weeping. He pushed the door open just a bit and peeked inside, his heart breaking when he saw her at the table, her head down and her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. It was quite a sight.
“Hey now… hey, what’s wrong?” He cooed, pushing the door open all the way and stepped in through. He hurried to the table and dropped into the seat behind her. “Are you hurting? Is that why you’re crying?” He asked, his hand resting on her shoulder as he tried getting her to talk to him.
“No”Yes, but that’s not the point!” She wept, letting out a shuddery breath as she lifted her head to look at him. Her eyes were red and swollen; her cheeks were stained with tears.
“So then what is the point?” He asked, slightly confused. “Why are you crying?”
“I’m so ashamed of myself!” She sobbed, dropping her head back to the table. “I know how important it is to you and Jenny that we not fight and I don’t want you t-to be mad at me! I can’t stand it when y-you look at me with disappointment in your eyes. It kills me,” she finished, her shoulders shaking even more.
JC had not been pleased to get the phone call from Abbi earlier that night. He’d REALLY been upset when he had heard the nature of the call. However, he couldn’t bring himself to punish her. She was doing just fine on her own and truthfully, just looking into her sad blue eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to reprimand her. So instead, he tugged her from the table and into his arms, wrapping her up.
“You’ve had a long night, we both have. What do you say to ending this discussion now and picking it back up in he morning when we’re both well rested?” He suggested, dropped a kiss onto her head. He had no intention of yelling at her, but he just needed to talk to her, to get the full story from her.
Not trusting her voice, Julie nodded in response before getting up and heading to the doorway. She paused, one hand on the door and looked back at her father. “I love you,” she managed to get out softly.
He gave her a smile. “I know. And I love you too baby. No matter what happens, no matter what you do, that’s not likely to change,” he assured her. “Good night.”
~*~
The Next Morning…
The house was silent, save for the sound of his own footsteps on the stairs. He knew his wife had to be near, as she’d not been in the bed, and neither she nor his infant son was in the nursery. He let out a tired yawn as he padded down the hallway, peeking into the living first. Huh. Nothing.
With a sigh, he turned to the kitchen and smiled at the sight. Jack was asleep in his carrier that had been placed on the table, an empty bottle beside him. Jen was in the chair beside him, slumped forward, her head resting on her arms as she slept at the table.
He walked over to her and knelt beside her, resting his hand on her back gently. He smiled when she jumped and sat up, a lazy smile creeping onto her lips at the sight of him.
“He got you up at the ass crack of dawn, huh?” He asked, looking at his sleeping son. He looked so peaceful. Standing up, he leaned over and kissed Jack’s forehead lightly. “I love you buddy,” he whispered, careful not to wake the child up.
“Mmhmm. He surely doesn’t take after you in the sleeping department,” she teased, smiling up at him. “How did everything go last night when you got home?” She asked, her tone going from playful to serious.
JC sighed and shook his head. “Well, I wanted to talk to her, but she started crying on me, so I told her to just go up to bed. I couldn’t punish her, Jen. She’s sorry for what happened.”
Holding her hands up in defense, Jen shook her head. “Hey, I’m not saying you should punish her. I’m glad you didn’t. I just think we need to know the whole story.
“And we will. I promise, we will. As soon as she comes down, I’m going to talk to her.”
Snorting, Jen looked over at him. “Good luck. She’ll hide up there all day to avoid you. You must have scared her good!”
“I didn’t do anything! I swear!”
“You don’t have to do anything,” she reminded him. “You know how she is. Just go talk to her. And then come let me know what was said.”
“Has anyone told you that you’re ridiculously nosy?”
“Eh. Maybe. Just go!”
“Alright, alright! Sheesh, pushy woman!” With a sigh, he kissed his son once more and headed to the stairs, determined to talk to his daughter and put this whole thing behind them.
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