Back to You (Sequel to Take Me Away From Here)

Chapter 35

"You think?" She replies, before glancing up at me. I spare her a smile, before looking at the mirror over the dresser at the foot of our bed. 

"I could get us on a plane tomorrow morning. We could take the kids and spend the weekend somewhere." I suggest, watching her smile. She bites her lip, before nodding. 

"That'd be nice." She releases quietly. I push her hair behind her ear, watching her smile grow. "Where would we go?" She asks, while I shrug. "You have that show Sunday night though." She reminds me, although I don't see that as much of an issue. 

"That's in LA. We could stay out by Pismo beach and just drive down. You always wanted to go that way." I try to convince her, watching her think about it. "They have a cute lighthouse up the coast a bit. A buddy of mine went out there during our last show in California." I continue, as her smile grows. 

"Alright." She caves in, making me smile in response. 

We pull up to the private airport in Nashville, where a jet waits on the runway. Audrey gets excited, since she's never really ridden in a jet, except when she was really little. Faith looks over at me as I pop my door open, seeming to roll her eyes a bit. 

"What?" I let out, laughing a bit. She shrugs, before trying to keep herself from smiling. 

"A private jet? Really?" She remarks, as we all get out of the car. I open up the trunk, pulling out the girl's suitcases. 

"Damn guys... it's two days." I release, setting down the suitcases on the tarmac. Audrey quickly grabs hers and races Maggie to the plane. Gracie follows behind them while Faith and I stay by the car for a minute. She continues to give me a look. "I told Curb I was heading out early to adjust to the time difference." I admit, watching her drop her jaw. 

"Crafty." She laughs, shaking her head at me as she grabs her bag and starts toward the plane. I walk beside her, before grabbing her suitcase and pulling it for her. 

"Hey, it got you a free jet for our little getaway. I could easily go book us tickets on Southwest, if this is too much." I threaten, as she grins back at me. 

"You wouldn't dare." She taunts, as I bite my lip. 

"I think I would." I reply, trying my hardest to fight a smile. 

"Dad, there's a fireplace in here!" Audrey shouts from the open door on the plane. Faith looks down and laughs, while I nod, dragging our bags up the steps. We sit down in the two seats in the back, while the girls decide to sit up at the very front around a table. They chat while Faith and I kick our feet up on the seats across from us. She lays her legs over mine as we take off, her eyes watching the tarmac race under us. I look over her, and out the small window by her shoulder. She grabs my hand, smiling a bit as she watches the world grow smaller the higher we get. 

"Remember when we used to do this all the time?" I ask, watching her turn her head toward me. She leans her cheek against the seat, while I do the same, keeping my eyes on her. 

"Yeah. It was miserable." She laughs. Life has definitely slowed down a bit since those days. 

"I don't know. I used to love traveling the world with you, even if it meant running around like crazy all the time." I admit, as she smiles. "I'm pretty sure we conceived Maggie in one of these." I remark, hearing her laugh again. She looks toward the window, before I notice her smile grow. "What?" I ask, nudging her shoulder a bit. 

"I'm pretty sure we did." She admits, making me break out laughing. The girls glance over at us, before Faith rolls her eyes. They turn back around and continue talking, while Faith hugs my arm, lying her head on my shoulder. "I used to love it too." She confesses, before seeming to grow a little somber. I grab one of her hands lightly, blindly tracing the lines on her palm. It's really saying something when you've known someone for so long that you can trace their palm without looking. "But then you..." She starts, before I clear my throat. 

"I know." I cut her off, not really wanting to hear her say the words. She looks up at me, before sighing. 

"A decade ago, I was in complete hell." She admits, while I try to pinpoint exactly what were at that time. I lean my head back against the seat, while she wraps her fingers around mine. 

"A decade ago, you were with Michael." I release quietly, watching her nod. 

"And watching you suffer." She continues, kissing my shoulder. "That was hell for me... I didn't know what was crossing the line, and if I was being a bad mother by taking certain actions for or against you. It was like walking a tightrope." She says, enlightening me a bit. I never really thought about it that way before. "If I had completely ignored you, you would've died. If I coddled you, you would've died. There was no winning, and all I could do is try to keep the girls at a safe distance without completely removing you from their life." She says, while I stare at our feet. 

"I'm sorry." I admit, feeling her nod. 

"I know you are." She replies, before curling in closer. "I'm sorry I didn't do more." She says, forcing herself to take a deep breath. "I just wanted you to stop using so bad..." She continues, while I kiss the top of her head. "There was a while where I just didn't think it'd happen... I thought that I was going to get a call saying that you overdosed, and every time the phone rang, I was terrified." She admits, tearing up a little. I pinch her chin, and force her to look up at me. 

"Everything is alright now. I wised up, and got my shit together. I'll never do that again, you understand me?" I reassure her, watching her nod with tears hanging in her eyes. I kiss her, before wrapping my arm around her, taking a moment just to feel her close again.