“Yeah… yeah, that’ll be good.”
My voice sounded unfamiliar to my own ears. I didn’t know what to say. I told myself to saysomething.But I didn’t want to ruin whatever fragile progress we’d just made. We had a long road ahead of us.
Khloe stood again. “I’m gonna make some coffee. You want some?”
I didn’t, but I also didn’t want to tell her no.
“Yeah,” I said anyway.
She nodded and walked into the kitchen. I followed a few seconds later, stopping just inside the doorway. She moved quietly, filling the machine, pressing buttons, focused on something simple like we weren’t standing in the aftermath of the hardest conversation of our lives.
My mind told me to give her space. My heart told me to go to her. I stood there fighting myself for a moment before my body made the decision for me.
I walked up behind her just as she pressed the brew button. Before I could second-guess it, I grabbed her and turned her toward me. Her forehead landed against my chest, and she didn’t pull away.
She melted and her body relaxed like she’d been holding herself together and finally didn’t have to anymore. She took one shaky breath, and then she broke down. A deep, painful sob ripped out of her, loud and raw, and it fucking shattered me.
I wrapped my arms around her tight. “I’m sorry,” she cried into my chest. “I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry…”
Her hands gripped my shirt and my throat burned. “I’m sorry too,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “I’m sorry too, baby.”
Years of distance collapsed between us in that moment. All the nights we went to bed tired instead of talking. All the times we swallowed hurt instead of explaining it. All the moments we thought we were protecting each other when we were really just drifting apart. We held each other and cried ugly tears.
“I never wanted to hurt you,” she said through sobs.
“I know,” I whispered, rubbing her back. “I never wanted to hurt you either.”
Our minds convinced us that we were alone in our marriage. When really… We had been trying to protect each other the entire time.
“I missed you,” she cried.
“I missed you too, but I’m right here now,” I told her, pressing my face into her hair. “I’m right here.”
We stood there in the kitchen, grieving the distance we never meant to create.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered again.
I kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry too.”
It finally didn’t feel like we were fighting each other. It felt like we were finally standing on the same side again.
We were still holding each other in the kitchen when the front door opened.
“Honey, I’m home!”
Khloe and I both froze and laughed at the same time.
I cleared my throat. “We’re in the kitchen!”
We heard Kennedi’s footsteps coming down the hallway. She turned the corner and stopped in the doorway.
Her eyes moved from Khloe’s face… to mine… then back again. Both of us clearly looked like we had just cried for hours.
She raised one brow. “Whoa. Who died?”
Khloe laughed through the last of her tears. “No one, girl. Come here.”
Kennedi hesitated like she wasn’t sure if it was a trap or not. Khloe pulled her in first, and I wrapped my arms around both of them, forming a tight group hug.
