Don't Forget Me

Chapter seven




"Good morning, Emma!" I greeted, opening the door with a smile. As upset and tense as I felt, I wasn't going to let on in front of Emma. It was her first day, and in was determined to make sure this was somewhere she wanted to continue to work. Ryder clung to my left side, and Aveyah cuddled into my neck, sucking her thumb gently. Jon was in the kitchen fixing some breakfast for himself.

I wasn't sure how he managed getting up the stairs, dressed, and to cook without any help. I wasn't sure if he slept downstairs on the couch, or if he made it upstairs. It bothered me deeply, not speaking to him for so long.

"Hey Addison!" She greeted, setting down her purse in the entry way. I closed the door, trying to juggle Aveyah in my arms and Ryder stuck to me. "Here" she took Aveyah from me, allowing me to pay more attention to Ryder. He smiled as I picked him up, grinning towards Emma.

"Hi" he giggled proudly.

"So good to see you" I commented, as we made our way into the kitchen. Jon and I hadn't spoken in two days. Ever since our fight, I kept my distance and slept downstairs. I had to be annoying to Patrick; I cried both nights, making him stay up with me watching random movies on Netflix. He was currently gone to an early morning practice before the game tonight. I wasn't sure whether or not Jon was ready to go to the arena to watch, and I wasn't really feeling like having a battle with him about being able to handle things on his own. I opted to snuggle in downstairs and watch the game, ice cream and hot chocolate in hand.

"You too, and especially you" she motioned to Ryder. He smiled bash fully, placing his head into my chest.

"Hey Jon, you're looking great today" she commented as we came around the corner. He nodded, his mouth full of eggs. There was quite the mess on the kitchen counter, and a trail of burnt eggs leading to the sink, and presumably into the garb-orator.

"Thanks" he stated simply, finishing off the last of his eggs.

"So today I'm going to get you moving out of the wheelchair" Emma began slowly. She sat Aveyah at her high chair, handing her a plate of eggs Jon had left on the counter. "We're going to do some walking exercises, start working on gathering up your strength in your legs again"

"Sounds good" he smiled, awkwardly avoiding eye contact. "And what are you going to do today?" She asked Ryder, bending down to his level. He smiled his little fingers in his mouth. He looked at her bash fully, running away back into my legs.

"We're going shopping, aren't we Ryder?" I asked him, and he nodded eagerly.

"Well that sounds like fun" Emma smiled. She was so upbeat, positive, and her presence made me feel at peace; I was glad I had hired her. "What are you going shopping for?" She asked him playfully. He pondered for a moment, before deciding to answer.

"Were gon get a dog!" He shouted happily, jumping up and down a few times. "And- and mommy said I could name him, no one else" he confirmed proudly, pointing to his sister. She was busily eating the eggs Jon had so nicely prepared; for just the pair of them.

"A dog!" Emma shouted in excitement. "What's his or her name gonna be?" She asked.

"If it's a boy I want Brandon" he announced. "But if it's a girl puppy I want princess" he told her. I had no idea how he went from Brandon to Princess; but I did know one thing. There is no way I'm naming a puppy Princess; male dog it is.

"Those are very good names!" Emma eyed me skeptically before smiling at Ryder.

"I'm gonna look after him all the time" Ryder proclaimed.

"You gonna pick up his poop?" Emma asked, plugging her nose. "P-U" she mocked.
"No that's dad" he pointed to his father with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Oh I don't think so buddy" Jon warned with a wink. I looked up to say something to him but before I even had the chance, he had glanced away from me, speaking with Emma. I tried to suppress my tears; did he not like me anymore? It felt as if we were strangers who are married, and I hated it.
Taking Ryder and setting up at his big boy chair, as he called it, I fed the two of them. They both had their box of cereal in front of them, Aveyah not so much of a fan of the eggs her father had attempted to prepare for her.

As fast as I could I got the two kids fed, changed, dressed, cleaned the kitchen of the mess Jonathan had made and neglected to clean this morning, put on the first load of laundry of the day and finally; it was time to leave. I walked into the living room where Jon was walking with support from Emma. I smiled, missing the days he was able to walk himself. I knew this was incredibly hard on him; but I couldn't see past him being an asshole to me since he got home.

"We're heading out shopping now" I smiled, avoiding eye contact with Jon as long as I could. "If you need anything, you have my cell number; don't hesitate to call, even about the littlest things" I smiled trembling a little. Sure, I had had a very good first impression of her, but I was scared; would Jon be okay in her sole presence? Would she try anything on Jon? I knew almost nothing of her; would her and Jon from a connection? The missing connection that appeared between Jon and I?

"I'll keep you updated" she smiled, immediately turning back to Jon.

"Want to say bye to daddy?" I asked the two of them. They both ran over, holding onto his legs. He winced in a little bit of slight pain, accepting their hugs with open arms.

"Bye daddy!" Ryder called. "Can I tell you a secret?" He asked, whispered. Of course, his whisper wasn't much of a whisper; just a simple, normal conversation tone. "Stop making mommy sad" he instructed him, before running into the front entry way. I felt a little embarrassed; he just told his father to stop making me cry; he was a sweetie.

"Alright are we ready?" I shouted out, still avoiding eye contact at all costs. Emma stood in the kitchen, pretending as if she didn't hear a single word.

"Ready mummy!" Ryder grabbed his little bag from the front door. I slid into my shoes, before slipping Aveyah with a little struggle into hers. I held my tears, Emma eyeing me sympathetically; it wasn't hard to see what was happening between Jon and I. I smiled, before grabbing the both of them and heading out to the car.



"Do you like him?" I asked Ryder and Aveyah. We were at one of Abby's friend's house, who was a well known breeder of Border Collies around the Chicago area. They had a litter of puppies a month or two ago, and had promised Ryder he could have the first pick of which one he wanted. Thankfully, he excitedly picked out a boy.

"Brandon" he called, reaching down gently to pet the puppy. Brandon licked and jumped up to hug Ryder, very excited to be getting so much attention. Ryder giggled, turning to me with a big grin.

"Alright, I guess he's the one!" I smiled, turning to see a familiar car pull into the driveway.

"Uncle Patrick!" Ryder yelled, forgetting about the puppy for a moment to go great Pat. Under the stress of the morning, I had completely forgotten he had promised to meet us here, offering to help me with the kids. He knew how much Jon's condition was taking it's toll on me, and always did what he could to help me out.

"Hey buddy! Did you find a dog?" He asked. Ryder nodded eagerly, pulling on Pat to follow him.
"Brandon!" He called, as the puppy came over to greet Patrick with the same amount of energy he had with Ryder.

"Hey Pat" I greeted him with a hug. He smelt like he had just gotten out of the shower post practice. He wore a wide grin, picking up Ryder in one smooth movement. "Thanks so much for coming, I know you probably had plans with the guys after" I found myself apologizing like I typically did.

"There's nothing I'd rather be doing" he spun Ryder around and he giggled.

"Brandon!" Ryder called, reaching down to pet him.

"Hi Buddy" Patrick greeted him once more.

"No it's Brandon" Ryder corrected him. Pat and I looked at each other, suppressing a laugh.

"Here" Patrick stepped ahead, paying for the dog in cash. My eyes went wide in surprise.

"Pat you don't have to-"

"I know, but you're also out of work; really, I don't mind" he smiled cutting me off.




After a fun afternoon with the kids and I, Patrick was off to have his pre-game nap. I put Aveyah and Ryder down for a nap as soon as I got home, welcoming Brandon to his new home. He bounced around playfully, before settling down on the bed Ryder and Patrick had picked out for him. Emma had Jon in the living room, still doing some exercises, so I took the time to go up into the bedroom Jon and I shared.
Walking in, my eyes began to fill with tears. I spent night after night crying in bed hoping and praying for him to wake up. But now that he was awake I found myself living a bigger nightmare I had than before. It was hard living in the same house as him when he would barely even look at me. Obviously, I understood how hard this was on him, and how much information he was forced to take in all at once.
But every time he ignored me, Patrick's confession played in the back of my mind. I tried my best to forget it, but it was hard; he made such an effort to be there for the kids, and myself it made him a desirable choice.

But like every time his confession crossed my mind, I shook it out as fast as it came in. Patrick and I had dated, for almost a year. It was a great year, Patrick helped me fall in love again, after Jon had shattered my heart. We eventually decided to end it, mutually agreeing we weren't meant to be together. He was in love with somebody back home, I was in love with Jon. He had been through two rough break ups and his previous girlfriend dying of cancer, maybe he was just lonely, and looking for somebody to fill the void.

He had been doing rather well since the death of his girlfriend. After getting rid of most of her stuff, he was finally able to find it in him to move on. Obviously, he would never forget her, sometimes crying randomly at the mere memory, but he had to love on. Not only is it what she would have wanted, but for his own sanity as well. I couldn't imagine how much pain it was losing her; and I was so close to losing Jon.

Sitting down on the bed, I shook the negative thoughts from my head once more. I picked up the wedding picture that sat on the bedside table. We were smiling brightly, having had one hell of a day. Between losing the baby, an appearance from Daniel, and not having either of my parents there, it was a wonder we even made it through the day. But we did; the reception going off without any surprises, and the honeymoon being one of the best. Most relaxing weeks, very well spent.

Before I knew it, I found myself closing my eyes, drifting off into a nice, peaceful sleep.

Notes

I am finally back to the world of the internet! Literally have been so anxious to post on here, I wrote six chapters whilst I was gone, haha couldn't help it! I'm gonna post three tonight, and three tomorrow, so happy reading!

Once again, thank you all for reading, voting, subscribing and commenting, all your kind words truly make my day <3

Hope you like the chapters! Xx