Come A Little Closer

When the tour ended Oli was afraid to go home. He wanted to go home, but he knew that on the other side of his front door there would not be a welcome home party. He tried to be happy about going home to see his wife, but it simply exhausted him. The idea of having to talk about Ellody, the accident and having to work things out between them made him want to throw up. He wasn't ready for this. He never would be ready for this.

Oli knew that Emmie probably wouldn't want to talk to him. He knew that she probably hated him. He also knew that he had to talk to her. No matter how painful, or infuriating it was, he had to do it.

Ian Sykes had picked up his sons from the airport around mid-afternoon on a Thursday. He gave them both a large hug and helped them with their bags, leading them to his car.

"How was it?" He asked when they got in the car and the boys were silent. It was rare that the Sykes family was ever quiet. He knew something was wrong.

"Tell Dad what you did, Oli." Tom ordered softly. tom knew he was walking a thin line with Oli's patience lately, but he was doing it because he knew what had to be done. If no one else in Oli's life would push him, then Tom took on that responsibility.

"What did you do?" Ian asked, looking at Oli.

Oli stayed quiet. He didn't want his father to give him a hard time about the tattoo like Tom did. Oli didn't regret his decision to get the baby's name tattooed on him, and he didn't want to have to apologize for it or get in a fight about it.

"Tell him about the tattoo, Oli." Tom ordered.

Oli felt like he was being punished for something. He felt like he was being ganged up on. It was his body, his life, his should-have-been baby. What say did Tom have?

"I got a tattoo of the baby's name," Oli shrugged. "It's not that big of deal."

"Does Emmie know?" Ian asked.

"No! Emmie doesn't know!" Oli stated firmly, sick of that question. "No, Emmie doesn't know. Yes, I'm going to tell her and no, I don't feel bad about it."

"Okay," Ian nodded. He realized that Oli was already angry and he didn't want to provoke him. Not if he was going home to see Emmie and most likely have a fight break out between them.

Ian dropped Oli off first and helped him get his bags to the door. He gave his son a hug and then left. Oli walked into the house. It looked the same, nothing had changed. Emmie's large pink tea cup was sitting right beside the sink as always, a fashion magazine sitting beside it, a blanket bundled up on the couch. It was all the same. Oli wondered if the woman in the house was the same.

"Honey?" Oli called, walking through the house. He walked into their bedroom and say her laying on their bed.

Oli tossed his bags on the floor and walked over to their bed. Instead of climbing in with her, he knelt on the floor at the edge of the bed. He moved some of her hair off of her face, gently trying to coax her awake.

"Emmie, I'm home." He stated softly as he watched her eyes open.

"Hi," She whispered, blinking a few times. Oli couldn't remember a time when he'd been happier to see those eyes.

"I missed you," He replied, still brushing her hair off of her face.

"I missed you, too." Emmie nodded, taking his free hand in her own and bringing to her chest.

"How have you been?" Oli asked. This was the longest they had spoken without it being a fight for a long time.

"Okay," Emmie replied. "Not as mad."

"I might have to ruin that," Oli muttered. "I did something while I was away."

Emmie's eyes got wider, her grip on his hand loosened. Had he cheated on her? She knew what they were going through was hard, but she had hoped, even prayed, that Oli wouldn't do that to her. Not now of all times. She knew the temptation would be there. A heartbroken wife at home while he's out searching for affection, the affection he doesn't receive back home.

Oli lifted off his shirt revealing his painted up body, he turned around and showed her his back.

"See? Just there on my shoulder?" He stated, pointing to the tattoo. He felt her cold fingertips running over his warm skin.

"Me, too." She whispered.

Oli turned around and looked at his wife. She leaned up on her arm and pulled the collar of her shirt away. On the left side of her collarbone was the baby's name in the font similar to Oli's.

"Honey," Oli whispered, touching his fingers to her collarbone. "I can't believe you did this. I was scared you'd break my arm for my tattoo."

"I love it," Emmie smiled softly. "I do."

"Is it worth me saying it anymore?" Oli asked.

"Saying what?"

"That I'm so sorry," Oli sighed. "I can't take it back, but if I could I would. If I could take it back I would have done it all differently. I would tell myself to sit down and calm down before getting in the car. If I could I would have made it be me that got hurt and not you. I would do anything, Emmie, anything to make sure that you and our baby were okay."

"There isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about that night," He continued. "There's not a day that goes by where I hate myself for doing this to you, to Ellody, to us. If you can't forgive me, I can't forgive myself. Even if you do forgive me, I have no idea how I'll forgive myself."

"I do forgive you," Emmie whispered. "It's my fault, too."

"No! No, it isn't!" Oli replied, sitting on the bed beside her. "This has nothing to do with you."

"If I really wanted to I wouldn't have gotten in the car," Emmie stated. "I got in the car. I didn't stand up to you like I always do. I guess maybe a part of me knew something would happen if you drove. I don't know. I've spent months going over this in my mind wondering where in the hell I went wrong and what I was thinking getting in that car with you."

"What did you think of?"

"I guess I subconsciously thought that if you were going down, I was going down with you." Emmie whispered.

"Honey," Oli sobbed, holding her face. "You're so stupid."

"I know," Emmie laughed softly through her tears. "So are you."

Oli didn't need to hear her say it. He didn't need to hear her say that she forgave him. Every time he heard it, she always went back on her word and got mad with him. He took her tears, her silence and her touches as forgiveness. He didn't need to know what process her mind had to go through to get to her conclusion, he didn't care anymore. The only thing that mattered was that, in a way, he had his wife back.

"I'll do whatever it takes to make us better again," Oli stated firmly. "I swear to God, I'll do anything."

"I know you will," Emmie nodded. "I will, too."

The war was over, and the white flags waved. The storm had passed, and the sun was shining again. Oli cracked a smile. The first genuine smile he'd had in months. He leaned in and kissed his wife for the first time in what seemed like decades. He was so happy to be back.