Don't You Go and Carry On With Your Life

*Jack*

"Okay Daddy that's enough pictures." My son, Kellin, complained.

"But it's your first day of your junior year and I have to post it on Facebook for our family to see!" I begged. He sighed and let me take one more. "Okay I'm done." I chuckled.

I felt my two year old daughter, Kylie, wrap her arms around my leg. I looked down at her wiping her eyes, she was just waking up. I picked her up and tried to fix her messy hair.

"I don't know what we're going to do without you at home with us today." I told Kellin and he chuckled. I was a stay at home dad right now and we were used to having Kellin at home with us all summer.

"I'll be back before you to know. Where's dad? He isn't over sleeping is he?" He asked and I simply shrugged.

"I’m right here, I didn't over sleep. I was just making myself some coffee." My husband, Alex, said as he walked into our foyer from the kitchen. My mood completely dropped as I heard his voice.

"Oh, did you want any pictures before I go?" Kellin asked.

"No I'm sure Jack took enough for the both of us." He joke and I gave him a fake chuckle.

"Okay well I'll see you two when I get out home." He said.

"Alright have a nice day." I walked over to hug and kissed him on the forehead.

"I gooo!" Kylie whined as she held her arms out for Kellin to take her.

"No you can't go to school with me." He told her and she cried. "I'll be back in a little bit Kyls, okay?”
"Otay." She whimpered and wiped her eyes. Kellin kissed her on the cheek and waved to Alex. He walked out of the house and to his car we bought him for over the summer.

I closed the door after him, picked up Kylie, and tried to walk my room to give her a bath.

"We're gonna have to tell him sooner or later." Alex sighed before I could walk off.

"No you're gonna have to tell him." I snapped and kept walking. Thank god Kylie couldn't talk in full sentences so she couldn't tell Kellin how much Alex and I argued when he wasn't around.

Alex and I met in high school when I transferred to his school during my sophomore year. We quickly became close friends and started dating within three months. When we graduated high school Alex went to Law school while I worked two jobs to pay our bills in our tiny apartment. Then Alex finally got his law degree and became a lawyer. He began to make a lot of money in no time and told me he didn't want to work another day in my life. He bought us this big beautiful house and we decided to adopt our first child. I was twenty-six and Alex was twenty-seven when we bought Kellin home. Kellin was four years old and happy to come home with us. He immediately started calling me Daddy and Alex Dad. Then ten years later Alex and I decided to adopt one more, a girl this time. We adopt Kylie from a teenage mom so we got her when she was just a newborn. I thought we had the perfect little family until Alex started working more and later. I would casually ask him about it and he would always say I was nagging him. I stopped asking a while, afraid of pushing him away but that didn't help. A few months ago I answered a phone call from his secretary.

*Two Months Ago*

"Are you sure they wouldn't let you leave early?" I asked Alex while he took a shower. It was three am and his flight for his business trip was departing at five am.

"Yes I talked to my boss and she said I have to stay the whole four days, Jack." He sighed.

"Okay, well maybe we can have a date night when you get back. I can ask Kellin to keep an eye on Kylie while we go have dinner or see a movie." I desperately suggested.

"Uhh we'll see." He said. It was scaring me how short he had been with me lately. I felt like he was bored with me. I was always doing things to try and spice up our relationship, but it seemed like anything was helping.

I walked out of the bathroom and into our room. I went to Alex's suitcase to make sure he had everything he needed. I opened the top department to make sure he grabbed socks, but I saw a box of condoms in there. My body flashed hot and my stomach dropped to my knees.

"It's nothing. These are probably old." I thought to myself. I put them back in the suitcase and zipped it up before Alex could notice. If I brought it up he would just become angry at me for going through his stuff and accusing him of cheating.

I sat down on our bed and played with my fingers waiting on Alex to finish up. His phone began to light up on the nightstand next to me. It didn't make any noise because it was on silent. I picked it up and saw it was his secretary, Tay, calling. I wasn't sure why she was calling this early. Alex didn't say she was going with him. I swiped the call button over so I could answer and tell her he was in the shower.

"Hey baby, I'm on my way to the airport now." She said in a sultry tone.

My heart started racing and a tear quickly fell from my eye. I couldn't bring myself to say anything so I hung up. Tears started to fall faster now as I tried to digest what was actually happening. My worse fear was actually coming true.

I heard Alex turn the shower off and he stepped out. I quickly wiped my face so he wouldn't be able to know I was just crying. His phone began to light up from her calling again but I ignored it. Alex walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later completely dressed. My eyes weren’t all the way dried but he didn't look at me so he couldn't tell. I debated with myself whether I should tell him or just let him go.

"Where are you going again?" I asked while trying to stabilize my voice.

"California." He stated. That was far enough away from Baltimore to make sure he didn't get caught. That is if he was telling the truth.

"For a business trip right?"

He looked up at me suspiciously and saw my tears. "Are you crying?" He asked and I sniffled.

"You know, I've tried so hard to be perfect for you Alex, but that wasn't enough was it?" I cried. I could no longer keep my feelings inside.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Tay called." I mumbled.

"You answered my phone?" He questioned and I nodded. "And what did she say?"

"Enough. . ."

"Jack I don't know what you think is going on but you're wrong." He said angrily.

"Sure Alex. Just enjoy your trip." There was no reason to try to stop him. He was going to keep denying it and I would only be wasting my breath.

"Nothing is going on." He lied again, but I didn't respond. I looked down at the ground to let him know I was finished with the conversation. He grabbed his suitcase and phone and angrily stormed out of the house.

*Present*

I cried the entire time Alex was gone until I finally reached my breaking point. I went to his competing law firm and found a divorce lawyer to help me plan everything out. I made Kellin and Kylie stay with my mom the day Alex came back home. When he walked through the door I handed him the divorce papers without a word. He became infuriated and yelled at me while ripping the papers up. I handed him a second copy of divorce papers, still without saying anything, and he took them and stormed back out of the house. I left to spend the day with my mom and kids and when I returned home the papers were signed and laying on our bed. I cried myself to sleep that night, while Alex stayed with his parents.

Ever since that day we have been acting civil around Kellin and arguing when he wasn’t not around. We continued to sleep in the same room so he wouldn’t know anything was wrong. I didn't want to ruin his summer by telling him that Alex and I were getting divorced and Alex didn't want to tell him because it was all his fault. Alex was right though, we were going to have to tell Kellin sooner than later. I was thinking of telling him tonight since Alex most likely wouldn’t do it. Also our court date with our divorce lawyers and judge was next week. I needed to give Kellin time to process this and think about who he wanted to stay with. I most likely would be able to keep Kylie since Alex had an affair, but Kellin was sixteen meaning he could have some say so in who he wanted to stay with.

"Are you hungry, Kitten?" I asked Kylie after I finished dressing her. She nodded her head and I carried her to the kitchen.

I made pancakes for us and cut hers up so she could safely eat them. I picked up my phone and posted Kellin's first day pictures. I quickly got a few likes from our friends and family and a few comments saying how cute he is. My mom liked it letting me know she was on her phone so I called her.

"Hello." She answered.

"Hi mom." I sighed.

"What's wrong honey? Did Alex do something else today?" She was used to me calling after an argument with Alex and venting to her.

"No not really. I was calling because I'm thinking about telling Kellin about the divorce tonight. I just don't know where to start." I said.

"Oh Honey, it's going to difficult to talk about. I think it's important that you and Alex tell him together. You want Kellin to form his own opinions about Alex and what he did." She told me.

"So should we tell him that Alex cheated?" I asked. I was conflicted on whether or not he should know what Alex did.

"Um well he's most likely going to ask why you two are getting a divorce. You could probably get away with saying you both fell out of love with each other. I do think Kellin is old enough to handle the truth, he might just become really angry at Alex. But that's something Alex has to deal with since he did cheat."

"Yeah that’s true. I um don't think I want to be the one to tell Kellin. I'll see if Alex will do it when we talk to him."

"He probably won't say it, but you can try that." She said.

"Yeah, thanks mom."

"Anytime. Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah I’m fine. I met with my lawyer last week so we could go over everything I want to request to split with Alex." I said.

"Did you ask to keep the house?" She asked.

"I want to, but I can't afford the mortgage by myself."

"Well if you keep the kids Alex will have to pay child support plus he has to pay you alimony. So if you find a small job I'm sure you'll be able to make it. Plus I can help out with whatever you need." She assured me.

"I don't want you to waste your money on this. If I can afford it then we'll stay, if not then I can find somewhere else to stay."

"I wouldn’t mind helping you, Jack. You know that." She said and I could hear her roll her eyes through the phone.

"I know, I just already feel bad about having to rely on Alex for money. It makes me feel like I’m going to owe him something." I sighed.

"Don't think of it like that, think of it as he's paying you for wasting your time for a marriage that he ruined." She said and I laughed.

"That is a good way to look at it. I just want to get it over with so I can start my new single life."
"Yeah so you can find someone who actually deserves you."

"I don't feel like starting over and wasting anymore of my time."

"So you're just going to give up because of one asshole?" She asked.

"Basically."

"I hate that he hurt you so bad. I should get May or Joe to come rough him up some." She joked and I chuckled.

"It's fine mom. But I should go, Kylie finished her pancakes and I have to turn on Bubble Guppies or she’ll start fussing at me." I said and my mom laughed.

"Okay call me after you talk to Kellin."

"I will, bye."

"Bye."

We hung up and I took Kylie to the living room so she could watch TV.

Two hours later I put Kylie down for a nap. I picked up my phone to call Alex so we could discuss how we were going to break the news to Kellin. I had to call his office phone since he never answered his cellphone at work.

"Mr. Gaskarth's office, Ana, speaking how may I help you?" Alex's new secretary answered. I couldn't help wondering if he has had sex with her too.

"Hi Ana, its Jack. Can you put me through to Alex?" I asked.

". . . Hi Jack, um Mr. Gaskarth is in a meeting right now. Can I have him call you back later?" She lied.

"He only has meetings on Wednesdays so put me through." I demand.

I heard her sigh and then music started to play as I was placed on hold. I waited thirty seconds before he finally picked up the phone.

"Yeah?" Alex said.

"Wow that was a quick meeting." I said sarcastically.

"I told her to say that I was with a client but she got the lies mixed up." He said nonchalantly.

"Whatever. We're telling Kellin tonight." I said and he sighed.

"Shit. . . Okay."

"I was thinking after dinner."

"Yeah that's fine."

"Okay." I said and hung up.

I think that was the most Alex and I have talked to each other without yelling in a while.

I got up and went to the kitchen to make sure we had everything we needed for dinner. I was going to make Kellin's favorite to help him feel better. I had everything I needed to make a pot roast. It's been Kellin's favorite meal since I learned how to cook it from my mom. I began cooking since it was going to need to slow cook for a few hours.

********

I didn't realize I had fallen asleep until I heard the front door close. I sat up on the couch and saw Kellin walking into the living room. Kylie quickly ran up to him and he picked her up.

"I told you I'd be back." He lightly chuckled. "Hey Daddy." He said sounding exhausted.

"Hey Kells. How was school?" I asked as I stretched.

"It was okay. I have two classes with Vic and we have the same lunch every day." He beamed. Vic was his "friend" that he would never admit to having a crush on.

"That's great, Kells! I bet you two will become even closer now." I said suggestively and he rolled his eyes.

"We don't like each other, Daddy."

"Oh sure." I said jokingly.

"Is that what I think it is? Are you making pot roast??" He asked excitedly as he ran towards the kitchen.

"Yeah I thought I should make your favorite since we haven't had it in a while."

"My day just got better!" He exclaimed.

I turned away from him so he wouldn't see the worried look on my face. I really wanted to put off telling him again, but we've waited for so long. It was time to finally do it.

"How about you go rest up and I'll come get you when dinner is ready." I told him.

"Okay. I guess I'll take Kylie with me since she won't let me go." He said and walked up to his room with her.

I took a deep breath and went to sit back on the couch. I felt so bad for acting like nothing was wrong while talking to Kellin. He was probably going to be angry that we didn't tell him sooner. Or he was going to cry because our family was falling apart.

Alex came home an hour later at four. He walked in and went straight to our room without saying a word to me. You would think I would be the one ignoring him because he cheated on me, but he was angrier that I actually asked for the divorce. What if Kellin became angry at me for asking for the divorce instead of trying to work things out with Alex? We could have tried marriage counseling but I was just so angry and hurt; I still am. I'm pretty sure I'm making the best decision for my own wellbeing and the kids.

Two hours later I went to Kellin's room to wake him. He was lying in his bed asleep while Kylie sat on his bed next to him.

"Kells, come on its time to eat." I lightly shook him.

"Hmm?" He hummed.

"Come on, the food is ready."

"Oh." He sat up and wiped his eyes.

I picked up Kylie and we walked downstairs to the kitchen. I already had our plates of food on the table so they both sat down and began eating. Alex was still in our room so I went to go get him. I was not going through this alone.

I could hear Alex talking on the phone when I got closer to the door. I stopped around the corner to get a better listen.

"Yeah we're telling our son tonight… yeah maybe in two weeks... of course... I'm most likely going to keep the house so I guess you can just move in or whatever..." That's what I heard of Alex's conversation before I walked off. There was no way I was letting him keep this house and move Tay in, if that’s who he was talking to. I was going to for sure going to fight to keep it now.

I went back into the kitchen, sat down, and started eating. Kellin looked up when he noticed Alex wasn't behind me.

"Where's dad?" He asked.

"He was on the phone and I didn't want to interrupt." I stated and he nodded.

Ten minutes passed before Alex finally walked out of the room. He looked exhausted just like Kellin did when he first got home. Maybe stress was eating away at him too.

"Oh I didn't know dinner was ready." He said and sat down in front of his plate.

"Daddy was going to tell you, but you were on the phone." Kellin said and I sighed.

"Yeah it was work." He lied effortlessly. I was so annoyed I had to stop myself from calling him out.

Alex began eating and I watched bitterly as he just went on as if nothing was wrong. We had been doing this for a few months now and I'm sick of it.

Kellin stood up, a few minutes later, to put his plate in the sink. "Oh god I'm so full. I'm gonna go lay back down." He said.

"Wait! Um we need to talk to you about something." I stopped him.

"About what?" He asked, worried that he was in trouble.

I opened my mouth to answer him but nothing came out. I looked over to Alex and he looked back at me. We were all three silent for a minute.

"…Um is everything okay? Am I in trouble?" Kellin asked and I tried my best to fight back tears.

“No it’s not that at all, baby.” I assured him. This was way harder than I expected it to be.

"Oh, well what do you want to talk to me about?"

"We're getting a divorce." Alex finally said and Kellin gasped.

"No! No no why???" He asked in a panic. I continued to stay quiet because I did not want to answer that question.

"Your dad asked me for a divorce a few months ago." Alex said, trying to place the blame on me.

"Why Daddy?" Kellin sniffled and I frowned ignoring him and focusing on Alex.

"I only asked for a divorce because you've been fucking your secretary behind my back." I blurted without thinking. Alex dropped his fork and Kellin ran up to his room crying.

"Why would you tell him that?!" Alex yelled at me.

"Because you we're trying to blame me for us getting a divorce!" I yelled back.

"You're the one who brought out the papers! It is your fault we're getting a divorce!"

"No you cheated on me! That's the reason I asked for the divorce. I'm not going to stay married to a lying, cheating asshole!" I told him, and he didn't saying anything. I only noticed Kylie was crying once I finished yelling. I picked her up and walked off to go check on Kellin.

Kellin’s room door was open but he was in his bathroom with the door locked. "Kellin." I said as I knocked on his door. "Kellin, Honey, it's me. Let me in so we can talk." I begged. I could hear him crying but he wouldn't talk to me. I started to rock Kylie so she could calm down while I tried to get Kellin to open the door.

"Please let me in so we can talk. I know it hurts, but talking it out will really help you. Trust me I know how you're feeling right now." I sighed and sat down on his floor with Kylie in my lap.

I listened to him cry for ten minutes and reminded him that I was here every few minutes. His cries started to become quieter and finally he unlocked the door. I stood up and opened the door. Kellin had sat back on the floor next to his bath tub with his knees pulled to his chest. His eyes were red and his nose had turned pink. I closed the door and locked it behind myself. Then I sat down across from him with Kylie in my lap.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked and he nodded. "You can ask me anything." I said.

"How long have you two known that you're getting divorced?" He mumbled.

"A little over two months."

"Then why didn't you tell me!"

"I didn't want to ruin your summer. I was afraid of how you would react." I told him.

"I still would have liked to have known instead of being blindsided by this. I didn't even know you two had problems."

"We made sure not to argue around you so you would never hear us."

"I feel like I'm having a nightmare." He sighed. "Daddy actually cheated on you?"

"Yeah."

"How can you stand to be around him? He cheated on you!" Kellin said angrily.

"I was doing it for you, Kells. I really didn't want to hurt you with the news of our divorce."

"But Daddy I would have understood had you told me earlier. I don't want you to force yourself to talk to him anymore. I don't even want him in the house with us anymore."

"You're just angry right now." I said trying to calm him.

"No! He cheated on you and basically tore apart our family."

"Kellin can we talk?" Alex asked, as he knocked on the door.

"Go away!" Kellin yelled.

"Just let me explain myself to you." He said.

"NO! Just go away!"

Alex didn't say anything else after that. We heard his footsteps as he left out of Kellin's room.

"When are you guys actually getting divorced?" Kellin asked.

"Next weekend is our court date where we get to split everything. Then it'll be finalized after that." I told him.

"Will I get to stay with you?"

"I think you can request to stay with me, but the judge chooses who she thinks you’ll be better off with." I answered.

“I'm staying with you and Kylie no matter what."

"They'll probably only allow me weekdays with you two and you'll have to stay weekends with your dad."

"I’m not staying with him." He grumbled.

"We'll see what the judge thinks is best for you two." I said and he looked down. I didn’t want to get his hopes up just in case the judge gave custody to Alex. I knew this was a lot for him to accept at once. "Are you okay? I read that divorces can be extremely hard on the kids especially teens. It can lead to acting out, dropping grades, drug and alcohol use, and sex." I told him and he chuckled.

"That sounds so dramatic. Don't worry Daddy, I'm fine." He wiped the rest of the tears away from his eyes, but he still seemed upset.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay well can watch Kylie while I go talk to your dad for a little bit?" I asked.

"Mhmm." He grabbed Kylie out of my lap and I got up to go downstairs.

I found Alex in the room he made into his home office. He was sitting at his desk staring our family picture on his desk. He looked up when I walked in and sighed.

"Is he okay?" He asked about Kellin.

"He says he is." I said and he nodded. "I was thinking that now that he knows there isn't really a reason for us to have to stay here together."

"Yeah I was thinking the same thing." It didn't seem like he was getting the hint that I wanted him to leave.

". . . So are you staying with your parents, or Rian, or getting a hotel for the night?" I asked and he glared at me.

"I'm not leaving, you are. Go stay with you mom or something." He said, brushing me off.

"Fine I'll take the kids with me to my mother’s house." I didn't feel like arguing with him now, we could do that in court next week.

I walked off to our bedroom and Alex followed.

"You're not taking the kids" He said, as I grabbed my suitcase.

"Alex, don't start with me." I rolled my eyes.

"I'm serious, you're not taking them." He continued.

"Kellin doesn't want to be anywhere near you right now." I told him.

"Fine you can take Kellin, but Kylie can stay here with me."

I stopped packing and stared at him. I don't understand why he was being so difficult. I thought he would be happy for me to keep both of the kids so he could spend alone time with that homewrecker.

"Why can't I keep both of the kids?" I asked.

"Why can't I keep Kylie?" He asked, mocking my tone.

I huffed and finished packing my clothes. I was taking Kylie and Kellin whether he liked it or not. Once I finished I took my bags to the front door and went upstairs to Kellin's room. Kellin was lying on his bed talking on the phone while Kylie laid on his back.

"Hey come on we're gonna go stay at Grandma's for the week." I told him.

"Vic, I'll call you back later." He said and hung up his phone. "Why are we leaving?"

"Because your dad is refusing to leave." I said and left to go to Kylie's room.

I grabbed her suitcase out of her closet and packed enough clothes for her for the week. I walked back into Kellin's room when I finished. He was doing a double check to make sure he had everything.

"Don't forget your backpack." I reminded him and he nodded.

"I don't understand why he's making us leave." He grumbled angrily.

"I don't know but we'll settle it in court next week. Ready?" I said quickly. I wanted to be out of the house and away from Alex.

"Yeah." He stood up and grabbed his bags.

"Come on Kylie." I told her and she followed us downstairs.

Alex was standing there waiting on us when we got down to the foyer. He looked at Kylie's suitcase and frowned.

"I thought I told you she was staying with me." He said.

"I don't care. You cheated on me, proving you don't care enough about me or our family so she's going with me."

"Come here Kylie." He said opening his arms for her. She ran over to him and he picked her up.

"Put her down, Alex." I demanded.

"No." He said making my blood boil. "There's no reason she can't stay with me."

"Who's going to keep her while you go to work, asshole?"

"I drop her off at my parents’ house." He said smugly.

I took a step towards him, ready to grab Kylie out of his arms but Kellin grabbed my arm, stopping me. "Daddy let's just go. Like you said you can settle it in court next week." He reminded me.

I looked at Kylie one last time and took a deep breath. Alex was her father and of course he could take care of her, I just didn’t want to leave without her. I nodded and gave Alex a death glare.

“I’ll be back for you later, Kyls.” I told her.

Kellin and I grabbed our bags and left out of the house. We loaded our things into my car and I drove us to my mom’s house.

Notes

Hi I'm back with a new story! I know it's been months since I finished my other stories. I started on one story and I didn't like it so I wrote this one instead. I wanted to write a story with the guys in high school, but it didn't turn out well. Maybe I'll go back and try it some time later. This story will be updated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday just like the others. I'm not completely finished with the story so feel free to give me suggestions and I'll try to fit them in. I hope you all enjoy this story as mush as you did the others!! Please leave feedback so I know if anyone actually finds it intereting.
Also yes their son is Kellin Quinn for some reason lol I don't have a specific idea for Kylie so feel free to imagine her to look however you would like!