~Rachel's P.O.V.~
"I'm sorry baby I just can't help myself." Marshall laughs, holding me from behind and planing kisses on my neck. "It's hardly ever just us in the house."
"Lola's coming back tonight, you know." I giggle, shifting against him. "We have to stop asking Thatcher to watch her."
"She asked to have a sleepover there, remember?" He laughs, turning me around and letting his hands roam free. "I swear she likes him more than me."
"Oh shut up she loves you." I tell him, pressing a kiss to his lips. "You're all she ever talks about when you're gone."
"I'm gonna be around more now baby." He nods, moving a piece of hair from my face. "I hate being away."
"I know you do." I nod, kissing him again.
I pull away lightly but he shoves his lips back against mine. He backs us up against the wall and begins feeling everywhere and anywhere he can. I run my hands up his chest and throw my arms around his neck. His hands slide up underneath my shirt and he leans his hips into me. I go to take his shirt off but we're both cut off by the doorbell.
"So close." He whines, releasing me and putting my shirt back in place. "She's been cock blocking since before she was born."
"Don't act all deprived." I joke, laughing. "You have been so needy since you got back."
"I'm needy all the time." He laughs too, walking towards the door. "If you don't want me to have sex with you anymore then just tell me. You know, abstinence."
"Shut up." I laugh.
He opens the door and Thatcher stands with Lola on the other side.
"Daddy!" She runs right into his legs and he picks her up.
"Hi baby." He says, stepping aside so Thatcher can walk in. "Did you have fun at Uncle Thatch's house?"
"Mhm." She nods her head a few times.
"Thank you for watching her." I tell Thatch, taking Lola's bag from him.
"It's no problem Rach." He says, flashing half of a smile at me. "You know I love her."
We all stand in the living room in a very awkward silence for a few moments. Thatcher scratches the back of his head with one hand. His teeth are gnawing nervously on his bottom lip. Something's up.
"Daddy Uncle Cash took me to the park." Lola breaks the silence and then continues to explain all the details of her overnight to Marshall.
"Walk me out?" Thatcher proposes, and I nod.
I give Lola a kiss on the cheek and Marshall secretively taps my butt on my way out. Thatcher and I walk down the steps and the long driveway. Once we get out to his car and we're out of earshot of the house Thatcher turns to me. The look on his face somehow gives it all away. He looks rather disoriented, but mostly sad.
"Is it what I think it is?" I ask him quietly.
This seems to trigger his tears, and he shuts his eyes for a minute. Silently water rains from his eyes and rolls down his cheeks.
"How bad is it?" I ask.
"Stage three. In his pancreas. It's more aggressive this time." Thatcher mumbles, trying not to choke on his words. "I just don't understand. They said he was in remission-"
He cuts himself off and starts to cry even more. I furrow my brow a little and pull him into a hug. We hug for a good long time until he's able to calm himself down.
"He's beaten it before and he'll do it again." I reassure him, rubbing his biceps. "He's going to be okay Thatch, and so will you."
"I just don't know why the world is so cruel." He says, wiping some tears away. "He was cured."
"We're gonna get through this Thatch." I tell him, not knowing what to say.
"I just don't know anymore Rach. Sometimes I feel like I'm being punished." He rubs his eyes with his hands and it tugs on my heart strings. "He's still not completely recovered from the first time. Like, mentally."
"He'll get there." I try, nodding. "It would take anyone awhile to comprehend and deal with something like this."
"I'm just so mad and upset and tired." He tells me. "He doesn't need this right now. We don't need this right now."
"He will beat it again." I repeat, he needs to hear that.
"I can't lose him Rach." He shakes his head. "Not after AJ."
"You won't." I tell him. "Cash is strong, you need to stay positive. You're going to make yourself sick thinking about it."
"I just don't want to see him go through it all again." He sniffles. "I love him."
I sigh and pull him in for another hug. This hug is a little shorter but seems to do more than the first one. When we pull away Thatcher takes in a deep breath and exhales slowly.
"You should get back to him." I say.
"Yeah." He says quietly and opens the car door. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"If you need anything at all Thatch just call me." I tell him.
"I will. Thanks."
He starts the engine and I stand on the sidewalk until he pulls away from the curb, heading down the street. It takes me a moment but I start back towards the house. When I walk back through the front door I see Lola under a blanket on the couch watching tv. Marshall must've gone upstairs.
"Did you have a good time?" I ask her, bending down and kissing her forehead as she nods. "Good."
I make my way up the stairs and walk into the bedroom. Marshall is in there, setting down his phone like he's just got off a conversation with someone. He hears me the second I take one step into the room and he turns around.
"Lola still downstairs?" He asks me.
"Yeah." I nod, folding my arms across my chest.
"What's going on?" He walks over to me and puts his hands on my hips. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah I'm fine it's just-" I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It's Cash. He's sick again."
"What?" He furrows his brow.
"Yeah Thatcher just told me." I tell him. "Apparently it's worse this time."
"That fucking sucks." He says, exhaling deeply. "I can't believe this. Did he say anything else?"
"He's stage three." I say. "He's going to get a lot worse before he gets better."
"Oh my god." Marshall says quietly, rubbing his eyes.
"I know." I shake my head. "I wish he'd told me sooner. I wouldn't send Lola over there so much."
"Don't say that, they love her." He says sweetly, moving a piece of hair from my face. "She's probably a nice distraction for them. If it was too much they would say something."
"I know, you're right." I sigh.
I look up at him and he presses a kiss on my lips. I turn my head towards the door when I hear little footsteps coming down the hallway.
"Can I have a snack?" Lola asks, standing in the doorway.
"Sure Lo go downstairs and I'll get it for you." I tell her.
She skips out of our sight and the minute she's gone Marshall's hands drop to my butt. I squeal and he chuckles at me.
"What?" He laughs and then squeezes. "I want a snack too."
"Stop it." I say through my smile. "Come on. She's hungry."
"I'm hungry." He whines.
"Later." I tell him, putting my hands on his chest.
He furrows his brows and has a pained expression on his face. I laugh at him and then free myself of his hold, walking downstairs. I feel his presence close behind me as I walk past the living room and into the kitchen. Marshall reaches up into the cabinet and grabs her some goldfish before I get the chance. I turn around and he pushes me against the counter. I smirk at him and he leans in for a kiss, but before our lips touch we're interrupted.
"Daddy you're on tv!" Lola calls from the living room.
He pecks me quickly on the lips before we both head out there. Lola's perched up on the couch and points to the tv when we enter. I look at the tv and see a picture of Marshall from the tour with the headline "Alleged Assault by Rapper Eminem" across the bottom.
"I think it's safe to say that Eminem is quickly becoming an American icon, but how far are these fans willing to go to get his attention?" The reporter says and a picture of a guy shaking hands with Marshall shows up on screen. "A fan came forward three weeks ago saying the star allegedly punched him in the face after he asked him for an autograph. The fan wishes to remain anonymous as he 'is afraid of what Eminem might do to him' which leaves many sources to question the validity of these allegations. More after the break-"
Marshall switches off the tv and we all stand there in silence for a second. He bends down to Lola and kisses her cheek.
"Go upstairs so I can talk to your mom." He says, and she obeys him without any objection.
Once I'm sure Lola is fully up the stairs and in her room I turn to him, crossing my arms over my chest. My heart is in my throat. What the hell happened?
"Is that true?" I ask, still trying to process what just happened.
"No of course not." He tells me.
"Well why is it being taken to the news if it didn't happen?"
"Look baby, people say crazy things for attention all the time." He tries to reassure me but I can see past it.
"Who is it?" I ask. "Why is he scared of what you 'might do' to him?"
"I don't know his name and I don't know why." He answers obediently.
"You know him though?"
"Sorta."
"Why didn't you say anything?" I ask him, tilting my head to the side.
"Rachel, I didn't say anything because I didn't want to scare you but in the last couple weeks of the tour we had a couple groupies following the shows." He tells me. "One of them was really aggressive and he was trying to pick a fight with me."
"Did you punch him?" I ask him again.
"No, I already told you that." He says. "He lunged at me and Diego shut it down with the other security."
I sigh a sigh of what I think is relief but I'm not quite sure. He's had a few crazy fans before but nobody ever made allegations to the news.
"He just wants attention." He tells me. "It's not going to go anywhere, nobody sees that shit anyway."
"Your daughter did." I tell him.
"Yeah." He says, his brows crinkling at the memory. "I should probably go talk to her huh?"
I nod and he takes my hand, leading us up the stairs. He walks towards Lola's room and stops in the doorway.
"Daddy do you want to play with me?" She asks him.
"Sure." He answers, walking into her room and sitting down on her bed. "Come here for a second though I want to talk to you about something."
I position myself so that I'm within earshot and can see into the room a little bit, but this is his thing and he should explain it to her.
"You know when I go to work I meet a lot of new people right?" He asks her and she answers with a little 'yeah'. "Okay well some of the people I meet aren't very nice, and they don't like when I have to go to work instead of talking to them."
"Is this about the tv?" She asks him.
"Yeah, baby. It is." He nods. "Sometimes people say things because they're mad even if it's not true."
"It's okay daddy. I know you wouldn't hurt anybody." She tells him. "Uncle Thatch says the people on tv are crazy bastards."
I put my hand over my mouth to keep down my laughter.
"Okay I think you need to stop hanging out with Uncle Thatch so much." He laughs and then tries to make himself sound serious. "And don't say bastards."
"Okay." She says.
"Alright I love you." He says, planting a kiss on her forehead.
She scrunches her nose and smiles at him. He stands up from her bed and walks out into the hallway.
"I also love you." He says to me, putting his hand on my cheek.
"I love you too...daddy." I say and he laughs, pulling me in for a kiss.