Three days passed. Parker figured it would be best to keep his distance for a while, but every second he thought about what he could do to get his wife back. Turns out that was the best motivation in the world for him to quit drugs cold turkey, because he would feel disgusted if he even looked at marijuana or a pill. He didn't see anything wrong with it, but Layla didn't like it, and that was a good enough reason for him to quit. Parker had been depressed, laying in his bed for hours on end just thinking of what could possibly make it all better.
He thought about flowers, candy, new car, new clothes. Then he realized that none of that would probably work. He thought about making a grand gesture to show her how much he loved her, but she hated him at the moment so he doubted it would do any good. He thought about finding a way to erase her memory of the day she found out about what he had been doing, and he thought about finding a time machine to go back and change what he had done.
But those things were crazy.
Meanwhile Layla and Logan spent time alone together at the house. They had been apart for many months, but the bond and love between them remained the same. Their days started off with breakfast, then playing and watching movies until lunchtime, then after eating Logan would take a nap, accompanied by Layla. When Logan woke his mom up, it was more play and movie time until dinner. The day ended with bath time followed by bedtime. Logan had gotten to sleep in the bed with Layla the past couple nights, which he seemed to enjoy as he held his mom's arm throughout the night.
Layla keeps it together during the day, but her nights are sleepless. She can't cry for fear of waking Logan up, but at night she buries her face in her pillow and quietly sobs from time to time with tears rolling down her cheeks. Even though she had to leave Parker, her heart still aches for him, and she longs to be in his arms somewhere in a cabin in the mountains.
But she's not. Instead she's in the king bed laying beside her son, the love of her life. Which isn't a bad thing, but she knows that there's an empty place in the bed and in her heart where her husband should be. In the back of her mind she wishes that she would have never found out, but she did, and she had to deal with it the only way she knew how.
There must have been a million times between the two of them that they had picked up the phone and started to text or call the other one. However, Layla had too much pride, and Parker knew it would make no difference. He had said it all that night that she found out, and in his mind, he thought Layla didn't love him anymore.
"Why don't you come back to Cali?" Lizzie asked on the other end of the phone as Layla sat on the couch in her pajamas while Logan sat on the floor playing with his toys.
"Because then how would he see his son?" Layla said as she threw a piece of popcorn back into the bowl in her lap.
"So what if he can't see him? He wants to see him that bad he can get a plane ticket." Lizzie replied.
"I'm not that much of a bitch, Liz. I'm not gonna keep him from his dad."
Lizzie scoffed, chuckling lightly. "Hell if I wouldn't."
"I might go down there for a visit." Layla mentioned. "I think me and Logan would benefit from a change of scenery and it's getting to be so cold up here."
"Yay! And then you'll love it here again and never leave!"
Layla rolled her eyes, laughing. "Unlikely."
"Hey um, I just wanted to say I'm really sorry for making you find out in the middle of Logan's party, I didn't mean for you to hear it then and I know that you and him were planning a vacation and I just —"
"Lizzie." Layla interrupted. "It's fine. It's something that I was bound to find out sooner or later. It's probably a good thing me and him didn't go on that vacation. We were starting to try to have another baby and..." She paused as she frowned.
"Then it is a good thing because as cute and lovable as Logan is, you didn't need to have another baby with that cheater."
"You right." Layla said lowly. "So how about you tell me what's going on with you."
"Well the other day I had to..."
Lizzie's voice became just another background noise to Layla as she thought about how she would probably never have another baby. She was determined to stay away from Parker, but she knew she'd never be able to fall in love with another man. It would only be her and Logan forever, and she had no idea how she would cope when it came time for him to move out and start his own life. He was her whole life and reason for being now.
When Layla had gotten off the phone, she saw a text from Parker asking if he could come see or pick up Logan. Layla replied yes, whatever one he wanted to do. He said he would just come over for a few hours if that was okay. Layla sent back a thumbs up emoji before discarding her phone to the side before getting on the floor with Logan.
"Your daddy's coming over." Layla told him as she took the play truck Logan was handing her. "You're gonna play with him for a little while, okay?"
Logan nodded his head before asking, "Mommy too?"
"No baby I think that I'll just go take a bath and maybe make you something to eat while he's here." Layla replied.
Logan nodded again as he rolled his truck across the floor. Layla played with Logan for several more minutes before the front door opened, and a rough-looking Parker walked in. Layla unnoticingly glanced at him and thought how rough these past few days have been for the two of them, and how she must look similar.
"Baby I'm going to take a shower, okay? Daddy is going to be with you." Layla said to Logan.
Logan nodded before standing up and giving Layla a hug. Layla smiled and kissed his head before turning to walk towards the stairs.
"Hey bud what you been up to?" Parker asked Logan as he sat down beside him on the floor. "I missed you."
Layla glanced back at the two boys on the floor, and she cracked a smile as she saw Logan give him a hug. That short-lived smile turned into a frown as she started walking towards the bedroom, because she knew that everything would never be how she wanted it to be again. She wanted things back like they were before.
A few hours passed. Parker and Logan enjoyed playing together, and Parker was the one to give him his bath followed by rocking him to sleep that night. After Logan was placed in his crib, he walked into the doorway of the bedroom where Layla was laying on the bed wearing a nightgown watching television. He thought about how beautiful she was, and how he would do anything to be laying beside her holding her.
Layla glanced at him before turning her attention back to the television.
"Lays," Parker sighed. "Can't you see I've been through hell the past three days?"
Layla scoffed. "Yeah and so have I."
"So why are we suffering through this babe come on." Parker pleaded as he walked into the room. "We don't have to be going through hell, we can work this out."
"No we can't Parker. You cheated, equals end of relationship. I could get over the pills and weed, I really could. But knowing that you laid in bed with another woman and fucked her, and—" Layla's voice broke as she frowned and a tear rolled down her cheek.
"Layla." Parker sat on the end of the bed and placed his hand on her leg. "You're crazy if you think that the whore meant anything to me. I just want you back. I want you and our family back. I want us to have more kids like we were talking about. I want to grow old with you."
Layla cried as she buried her head in her pillow.
"Layla sweetheart." Parker said softly as he moved to lay beside her in the bed. "I know you're more hurt and sad than anything. If you were mad you would've cussed and yelled and fought me. I know I broke you. But when I thought I had lost you, it broke me. And I did things I never would have done. When you woke up, I was alright in my right mind again. Just like I am now. I can't bear to lose you again though."
Layla faced away from her estranged husband in the bed and sniffled, "It's over. I know it was my fault. But I still can't be with you knowing that you—" she couldn't even finish the sentence.
"Honey it was not your fault." Parker said as he rubbed her back. "It was 100% my fault."
"I don't want you touching me, Parker."
He sighed as he moved his hand from her back, running it through the front of his hair. "I'm going to get you back, Lays. You're my wife. You know we were always mean to be together and always will be."
"That's what I thought anyway." Layla said bluntly.
"It's still true. It's just going to take time and I understand that. I'll be back to see you and Logan again on Friday."
Layla didn't say anything else, just wiped the tears off her face.
"Do you want me to bring him in here so you won't be alone?" Parker asked.
Layla nodded, and Parker left the room before returning back a few minutes later and laying the sleeping baby beside Layla. He kissed Logan's head and told Layla and him both that he loved them. After that, he left the house, going back to his parent's house to sleep in an empty bed.