July (Robsten) [Discontinued]

16| Mother's Help

Closing the door behind her, Kristen's whole body was shaking. She couldn't believe what she had just done and she had to keep going. Quickly she climbed into her car and drove away from her house. But the tears wouldn't stop rolling down her face. For the whole drive she sobbed, until she arrived at her mum's. Drying her tears was useless because it was obvious she was a mess, but only to gain a bit of composure she did it. Her keys in her hands, Kristen stepped out of her car and walked inside the house as silently as possible. Not wasting time she got into the room she knew her mother would have put Laelynn.

Sitting down next to her daughter's crib, tears appeared again. For a moment she watched her, through her blurry vision, and all she could see was how sometimes she looked like Rob. It was painful.

"Kristen." Hearing her name she glanced at the door and saw her mum, in pyjamas, waving at her to come. She obeyed and followed her to the kitchen. "Here." Jules gave her a glass of water with a piece of cake, then sat in front of her in the kitchen island.

"I left him." She choked out trying to contain another round of tears. Her mum stood up to take her in her arms and soothed her, running her hands on her back.

"It's okay, baby girl." Kristen moved back from her mother's touch. "You should go rest."

"I don't know. I wanted to go to New York." She put a hand through her hair thinking about what to do.

"You can stay here." Jules offered her, selfishly because her daughter was scaring her being in that state and wanting to leave for the other side of the country. Here she could enjoy her and her granddaughter.

"Thank you, mum. For taking care of Laelynn. For not judging me." Kristen avoided meeting Jules' eyes, too ashamed of herself.

"I love you, Kristen. Now go take a shower and get some sleep. I'll take care of Laelynn when she wakes up." Kristen sighed but she really appreciated her mother's help. She knew she'd worry about Laelynn, but she could catch up some sleep.

Agreeing upon this Kristen went to take some stuffs in her car and rushed to take a shower. In the bathroom she looked at the time and she was surprised to see it was almost four in the morning. She felt guilty letting Jules take her duty in less three hours with Laelynn, but her body and mind needed rest.

When she got out of the shower, she felt better. Not good. But that was an improvement. At least her tears stopped. Ready to go to sleep, she stopped upon hearing her phone. Checking who it was, her trembling started all over again. Even seeing his name on her phone was enough to bring her down.

Have a safe flight to NYC. I love you and Laelynn.

His text message was simple. Probably too scared or drunk to say anything else. Though, it suited Kristen.

I'm staying at my mum's for the rest of the night.

No hearts. No 'i love you'. She replied only because he had a right to know where his daughter was. Nothing more. Locking her phone she slid under the covers of the guest room bed and slowly fell asleep.

Hours later Kristen woke up to a silent house. It was disturbing her until she remembered she wasn't home. Laying in bed she hugged her pillow, searching for some soothing. But comforting herself when she was a sleep deprived mess wasn't working. Even with a few hours of sleep she was still exhausted. Never mind that she got out of bed, looking for her mother and daughter. Kristen found them in the garden.

Leaning against the doorjamb she observed. Laelynn was sitting in the grass watching Jules moving her hands around in a repetitive motion. What amused her was how Laelynn tried to mimic her grandmother. As much as she wanted to go scoop her up, she walked back inside to get some food. It was almost noon. So unusual for her to wake up this late. Sitting down she enjoyed a bowl of cereals with some apple juice. It reminded her of her mornings when she was going to school.