At No Time || Bruno Mars

71

Trystan had not gone to sleep. Since removing herself from the tub, watching her impurities circle down the drain and still feeling as if every bit of it coated her body, she went to her room and sat down on one of the couches to watch the sun rise and move across the sky until mid-morning. Raina, never the early-riser, bounded into the room and into her arms just passed nine o'clock.

She questioned Peter's whereabouts, and unwilling to divulge the young girl and what had transpired, Trystan told her he was still resting.

"But I wanna play," Raina pouted, poking her bottom lip out as she always did when things did not go her way.

Trystan urged herself to force a small smile and kissed her forehead. Even if she and Peter were not on good terms, she could not stop being a mother when she was down. "Why don't you play with Jewel until he wakes up?" she suggested, and thinking that as the next best option, Raina grinned and nodded, running towards the dog after Trystan helped her down the stairs.

Jewel seemed to be as equally excited, trotting over to Raina and barking as if to say hello. The two indulged themselves in playing made-up games with her new toys as Trystan made a quick breakfast of bacon and eggs. She was sure to make enough for Peter, too, but after she and Raina ate and noon and lunch came, there were still no signs of him. She worried that his hangover would keep him immobilized all day and she would have to continue making excuses for him not being able to spend time with Raina.

"But Mommy!" Raina complained when Trystan readied a thick blanket for her on the couch. "I don't wanna take a nap yet! I didn't get to play with Mr. B–I mean Daddy!"

"It's three o'clock, baby—you know that means nap time. And it'll only be for a little while," Trystan coaxed and grabbed one of the throw pillows and placed it below the arm of the couch.

Raina groaned and climbed onto the couch with her mother's assistance, curling into a ball as Trystan wrapped the blanket around her. "I promise he'll be here when you wake up, and you guys can eat your snack together, okay?"

Her face still sullen, the little girl muttered an "Okay," and beckoned for Jewel to come over so she could rub her head until she fell asleep. The dog obliged, setting her chin on the cushion, and Trystan left the two to doze.

Not wanting to be too far away from her in case she needed something, Trystan went to retrieve her journal and then into the living room. Like many of the rooms in the mansion, one wall was made almost completely of glass, overlooking the massive mountains in the distance.

Trystan sat down on one of the couches that faced the window, feeling chilly despite the radiating warmth within the home. She opened her booklet, unsure of what she really wanted to say, but needing something more to occupy herself with than thinking of Peter's well-being.

She had known, deep down, that his expressed sentiments were not completely genuine. She knew from the way he moved, what his eyes read behind the love, that all was not forgiven. She wished she could go back in time and erase the very moment she thought it to be a good idea to keep her pregnancy a secret. Had she just opened her mouth and told him the truth from the beginning, they would not be in a place where he had no choice but to resent her.

She wrote what was on her mind, her feelings of sorrow and regret, her desire for Peter to forgive her though she knew she had very little room to ask for it, what June probably thought of her, and what her dad would say if he were there.

Baby girl, you know that wasn't right, she could almost hear him say in his smooth baritone, rubbing her shoulders after her last battle with tears. He didn't make the best choices, but neither did you. He's a good man—you know deep down he would have taken care of you and Dew. You gotta let him get through this process on his own time; you can't push it. A man's pride is something big, may get us into trouble half the time, but it's still there and I know his is wounded, and it hurts worse because of who it was wounded by. He still loves you, baby girl. You just gotta give him his time.