The Beat Goes On

Rob's P.O.V.
When I opened the door, I wasn’t surprised to find the lights off. It was eleven thirty in the city I’d claimed as my own and everyone was sound asleep. Jude didn’t even greet me at the door as she was probably in her usual spot, nestled at the foot of Ella’s bed.
I had taken the first available plane out of Los Angeles. Kristen had crossed a line, nearly dragging me with her. It took me all of two minutes of staring into her eyes to snap back to my reality. My small indiscretion was already splashed across the tabloids, my face and hers smashed between the words “lovers” and “reunite”, but I hadn’t left to clean up that mess.
I gently pushed open the bedroom door, as not to disturb Abbey. My chest tightened as I took in my surroundings, relieved to see that nothing had been changed. The smell of home even made my heart ache.
If I could stop it all, I would. I’d tie on my red cape and fly around the world in reverse to turn back the clock. I would have avoided that stupid getaway if it meant that Abbey would never have been in the accident. I would have never held anything above Abbey’s head if that meant we could lessen our share of disastrous, divine interventions. I wouldn’t have run away when we found out about Ella, and I certainly wouldn’t have put myself in the position of infidelity. And when the second one came around, I wouldn’t have considered it as obstacle conspiring against us.
If I could erase all of those mistakes, I would do it in a heartbeat.
But alas, I am no superman. I am not a wizard, I am not immortal. I get one life, nothing more nothing less.
It had been nearly a decade since I watched this lovely brunette sip her coffee, hiding her smiles as if she didn’t want me to know she was already envisioning the life we would build together. I was thirty-three now, thirty-three and terribly stupid. But if there was one person who could look past the scars, it was the woman lying right in front of me. If there was another person who could ignore the flaws, it would be the little girl tucked in beside her.
One hand rested slightly over her swollen belly, wrapping about Ella. The other strayed to the empty space beside them. In the moonlight, I could almost trace the paths her tears took across her cheeks but I knew that if I even made an attempt I would be finished.
Silently, I pressed a kiss to Abbey’s forehead and pushed back her hair. She had waited, just like she said she would.

Abbey’s P.O.V.
He was there. I could sense him before I even opened my drowsy eyes. It was as if ten years of his touch had vested itself so deeply within me that it was like radar. Maybe it was because I knew Ella didn’t take on an extra hundred and eighty pounds overnight, or maybe it was because I had only been thinking the day before about how his smell had started to disappear from the pillows and suddenly it was there.
I’d become part of a set. Like salt and pepper shakers, it was Rob and Abbey. Having only one shaker was off-putting, despite that the other shaker was perfectly capable of holding its own. The Abbey I had become with him didn’t function well without him and it was such a painful realization.
I didn’t blame him, for wanting to get out and away. I didn’t blame him for anything, yet I knew he always carried the weight on his shoulders. When it came down to it, hadn’t I always been the one to cause the commotion? I watched this beautiful thing we had hang in the balance so many times because of stupid mistakes I’d made. There was nothing I wanted more than to fix it.
I watched Rob’s face as I carefully traced his jaw line. His eyelids flickered as he dreamt. I hoped he was somewhere better.
Ella stirred momentarily, winding the sheets around her body more tightly. She’d taken to sleeping in my bed ever since Rob left for L.A., though I’m positive it was more for my benefit than hers. Ella may not have understood why the news of this baby wasn’t bringing happiness but she was intuitive, and she knew that something wasn’t right.
“Hey.” I’d been staring so intently at my little girl that I hadn’t noticed Rob’s eyes open.
“Hey.” My voice caught in my throat. “You’re back.”
A bit of a smile rippled across his tired eyes.
“I’m back.”