The Final Chapter

Chapter Eighteen

MATTIA'S POV

I made my way upstairs, trying to hold back my tears as best as I could.

I entered our room and closed the door quickly, covering my ears as Axel's cries became louder. I wiped my eyes and walked over to him, carefully picking him up and holding him in my arms. He immediately stopped crying and instead closed his brown eyes. I breathed a sigh of relief and sat on the edge of the bed with him. He made baby sounds, as if we were having a proper conversation.

"I think Mommy's gone crazy too" I said, giving him a small smile. He laughed and I leant down to kiss his smooth skin, feeling his tiny fingers glide across my face. His eyelids started getting heavy and I rocked him gently before walking back to his cradle. I lowered his body towards the blue blankets, but his eyes snapped open and he started wailing again. I sighed and walked back over to the bed, watching a smile appear on his face once again.

"I know what you're doing" I whispered, caressing his cheek with my index finger. He let out a laugh as his hands reached out. I shook my head and got into our bed, placing him stomach down on my chest. I placed a hand on his back and felt myself falling asleep whilst he was.

But I was soon awoken by a click from the door. I quickly sat up, wondering if Elena was coming to sleep, but my gaze lowered to see Mia's small figure standing in the dark.

"Hey baby" I said, waving her over. She clutched her teddy in one hand and closed the door behind her, running over to me. I quickly put my finger to my lips and looked at Axel, who was finally sound asleep. Mia got up on her toes and peeked at him, before firmly nodding her head.

"I can't sleep, Papa" she whispered, frowning slightly. I felt my heart going warm everytime she called me Papa instead of Dad. I patted the space next to me, and she excitedly crawled into bed, reaching for the TV remote on Elena's nightstand.

"What are you doing?" I asked. She looked at me as if the answer was obvious.

"We're watching some TV"

"We?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Me and teddy" she replied. I smiled at her and shook my head, taking the remote and turning the TV off. I felt Axel stir in his sleep and placed the remote on my nightstand as softly as possible.

"It's way past your bedtime, Mia"

"That's not fair" she sulked, crossing her arms over her chest. I hated being the bad parent, but if she didn't get at least 10 hours of sleep, she'd stay cranky for the whole of the next day.

"We can stay up late tomorrow" I said, kissing her head. Her eyes lit up and she held out her pinky.

"Pinky promise?"

I smiled and linked my finger with hers.

"Pinky promise" I replied. She sat up on her knees and kissed my cheek before jumping out of bed.

"Wait where are you going?"

"I just came to watch TV, Papa"

I facepalmed and tried to stop myself from laughing.

"Goodnight Papa" she said, blowing me a kiss before running out of the room. I sighed and laid down, placing Axel next to me, but this time on his back. I admired him for a second, watching his little chest rise up and down. I knew Elena wanted us to have another break, but I wasn't about to give all this up again. Not for something we could work through.

I kissed Axel multiple times, all over his face, before placing a pillow either side of him so he didn't roll out of bed. I left our door open a crack before walking downstairs to the kitchen.

"Papaaa"

I paused and turned around when I heard Mia's voice coming from her room. I quietly crept inside to see her still wide awake.

"Why aren't you asleep yet, Mia?" I asked, flicking her night light on. I looked at her face and noticed tear streaks had formed on her cheeks. She sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"I can't sleep when you and Mamma fight"

My heart ached a little upon hearing those words. I never thought our arguments would affect Mia, especially at such a young age. I got into bed with her, pulling her onto my lap and wrapping my arms around her.

"Me and Mamma aren't fighting, baby"

"Yeah you are, there was yelling"

I bit my lip and held her tightly, hoping she didn't hear the part about us getting a separation.

"What'd you hear?" I asked, kissing the top of her head.

"Something about drifting" she answered, tilting her head "but I don't know what that means"

I laughed softly and ran my fingers through her brown hair. She smiled up at me, but I could tell she still had doubts about everything.

"Everything is absolutely fine, babygirl" I said, giving her little hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Okay Papa" she yawned, sleepily rubbing her eyes. I laid her down, resting her head on the pillow and wrapping the pink fluffy blankets over her.

I made my way downstairs and entered the kitchen to see Elena pouring a glass of wine. She pressed her lips together when she saw me, giving me an awkward tight lipped smile. I returned the smile and walked over to the glass cabinet, pulling out another wine glass.

"Make that two" I said, pushing the glass towards her. Without answering, she filled the glass and set the bottle back down on the counter.

"Are the kids okay?" she asked quietly, staring at her glass. I took a sip from my wine before nodding.

"They're fine"

"Good"

Another silence set in between us. She held onto her glass with both hands, anxiously nibbling on her bottom lip. That meant there was a lot going through her head, and she had no idea how to talk about it.

"I'm not doing it, Elena"

"Hm?"

She looked at me with tired eyes, although she knew exactly what I was talking about.

"The separation, we're not doing it"