Better Than Yesterday

Thirty

20 weeks

He'd given her days. Five of them to be exact, and she hadn't come home yet. And that is why he sat in his car staring at the doors to the daycare. Her car was parked beside his, he knew she was inside, but despite knowing he was ready to apologize, he was still terrified. Despite the fact that he had brought her favorite lunch, and flowers, and dessert, he wasn't sure she wouldn't have Dana send him on his way before he could get across the threshold. In other words he knew he'd fucked up, and he knew he'd fucked up bad.

After a long ten minutes of idling, he plucked up the bag of food from the passenger seat, grabbing the bouquet of sunflowers with his other hand and pushing out of the car. The one plus to coming here, he knew she wouldn't yell in front of the kids. The worst she could really do was kick him out, but he was really, really hoping she didn't do that.

"Hey Cal, perfect timing she just went into the office for a little break." Dana grins as he walks through the door. He's half tempted to stop and ask why she's being nice to him, surely Skye had confided in her best friend and business partner about his shitty choice to run out on her for three days.

"Thanks." He musters, feeling slightly awkward as he passes the desk, unsure what exactly he should be feeling after such a friendly greeting from one person he was certain would rip his head off in one go.

His nerves are back as soon as he reaches the open office door, staring at his wife's profile as she does something on her phone, her attention fully engaged with the small device. "Um, h-hi, baby. Can I, can I come in?" He stutters out suddenly, cursing himself for sounding so nervous.

"Calum." Skye glances up, her phone dropping with a shock as she realizes he's standing there.

"I um, I brought you lunch. And, and flowers. Um, I need to apologize to you, Skye. Like a lot. A lot of apologizing. I was an asshole, and, and I fucked up."

"Shut the door if you're going to talk like that. No need to teach the kids those words." She beckons him forward.

"Right, sorry." He squeezes his eyes shut as he realizes this has not started well for him, setting the food and flowers on the desk before closing the door, taking Dana's chair across from Skye who is watching him intently.

"I um, I brought that chicken pesto pasta you love, but um, I sort of sat in the car for like ten minutes to get up the courage to come in, so you should eat before it gets any colder." He silently curses himself for stuttering so much. He is never weird around Skye.

"Thanks." She mumbles softly, sliding the bag to herself and finding the food, handing him the container of eggplant parm she knows he loves.

"Can I eat with you?" He asks hesitantly.

"Ya." She sighs, sitting back in her chair as she takes a bite of the delicious pasta.

"You um, you didn't tell Dana what I did?" He asks after a few minutes.

"No." she doesn't look up as she answers, "I'm pregnant, Cal, she would have literally torn your balls off with her bare hands for you doing that to me and the baby, and Nika."

"Thanks." He nods, knowing she isn't wrong, Dana can be scary. "And um, I'm really fucking sorry, Skye. I shouldn't have taken off like that. And I swear, nothing happened with anyone while I was gone. I got fucking high, and I drank way more than I should have, but I swear the only person who even got a hug from me was Mitchy."

"I just," She sighs, looking up at him finally, "I don't understand what I did to push you to that point, Calum. What did I do to make you take off?"

His heart breaks as she asks, this is not her fault. "Nothing, absolutely nothing. This had everything to do with me, not you." He sighs.