He did enjoy hearing about Brock's day. Brock wasn't always eager to share information by the time he got home. Last night had been an exception, apparently, because when he did asked for details, he just got the generic 'it was fine' or 'yeah I had fun.' To be fair, every time he had gotten home for the past while it was like Edith wanted to find reasons to yell and rant about. He didn't even understand how she was processing things to draw the conclusions she was coming to. He was glad that Brock was having so much fun though, it was amazing to see him so excited and he had a very odd feeling that he decided to shrug off. No. No. Edith was a good mother, right? She said stuff sometimes, did things, but she wouldn't ever hurt Brock, not on purpose, and he couldn't just--<br/><br/>When they got to the apartment, he looked at the tiny space and wondered if he was truly comfortable here, but then anyone could grow comfortable in a safe environment. He was focused on watching Finn's hands move. He didn't seem like he was going to burn everything, so he was impressed, but the more he worked, the more he saw that this must be something he did normally. They typically ate out. He didn't have time to eat sometimes, even, and so he just sort of made sure there was food at home and that Edith was perfectly fine using her debit card to buy take out for her and Brock. His focus was disrupted by a question.<br/><br/>"Dad says Power Rangers are the best. I think I agree. I like the one with Ivan Ooze. The guy who makes purple slim and tries to take over the planet. But then the Power Rangers go to space and come back and they can take him down too. And they saved all these people, and... and I want to be a Power Ranger. Mom doesn't like me at her computer so I watch a lot of TV. We also have a Switch so I've got a really pretty garden going in--"<br/><br/>"Your mother's computer?"<br/><br/>"Yeah, the one in her room." Brock looked up at him and he nodded.<br/><br/>"Sorry, of course, I forgot about that. I'm an old man, I can't remember everything." He smiled and then looked away, the fact that Brock was so excited to talk about the TV shows he liked, mostly Power Rangers and of course he couldn't live without Harry Potter either, he had dressed up as Draco Malfoy since kindergarten when school had been in session on Halloween day, and he had already let him know that he planned to go again, but 'more mature because<i>The Prisoner of Azkaban </i>is the best movie with Draco.' To be fair, he hadn't let him go any further than the third movie because even he still had issues with what happened in the Fourth book because it was absolutely terrible and he sympathized to the point that he had only read the last three books out of obligation the series and did so with a week long bout of anxiety when he was only thirteen and had to be dragged out of his room by his arm by Edith before his father ripped it out of the socket. That was pretty horrible.<br/><br/>But while he spoke, he stared at the wall. What had he meant her computer. She didn't have a computer that he was aware of. Of course she didn't have to ask permission for anything because he didn't want to control her, but when had he missed something like that, and was she leaving their son in the living room for hours to be on her computer so can watch Power Rangers for hours. He even knew the raven-bird-kenku things' names. Chris didn't even realize they were given names. This issue, though, was to be dealt with at home, but he really didn't want to go back. He had to, he always had to do things. He was glad that there was someone beside him who seemed to care about Brock, even if he pointed out all the ways he wasn't being the best for him. He was trying, he really was.<br/><br/>The bass line from the beginning of Body Crumbles by Dry Cell starts to play and he knows exactly who it is. He looked at his pocket and pulls his phone from it. Yeah, it was Edith.<br/><br/>"I'm sorry for that, but I should probably take this. I'll be right back, right over here, alright?" he pointed to the small area he had decided to stand. He trusted Finn, of course he worked with children all day, but when things got back sometimes it was nice to just realize that he was still there.<br/><br/>"It's been over an hour, where are you? I ordered takeout, to apologize for earlier. I was upset, I'm sorry," Edith said.<br/><br/>"Uh, we went out to get some food too. I'm sorry. I should have texted, but it sort of slipped my mind."<br/><br/>"Texting me when you're out after dark with our kid in that shitty little car you have? The headlights don't even work!"<br/><br/>"First, that's incorrect, because they do in fact work, you just don't like it because you think it makes me look like a f... faithless husband? Look, I really don't want to do this right now, can we wait until later. I'm tired, Brock's having fun, I just want to have a few hours without you screeching in my ear like a harpy."<br/><br/>"Christopher Cassidy, you take that back so help me God," she said, quiet and calm, too much so to be the truth. He didn't see how that made her more upset than anything else but apparently it did.<br/><br/>"I'll be home in an hour with Brock."<br/><br/>"Don't you dare hang up on me. Seriously? I've known you for how long and you're still lying to me? Didn't you realize I learned a long time ago when to tell when something's wrong and something is definitely wrong with you, so just spill it. Tell me and it'll make everyone feel better," her voice was soft and sympathetic but he knew better to trust that. Just as she said she knew him, he knew her, and it didn't seem all too terrible, he had dealt with this for a while, but he really was tired.<br/><br/>"I'm not lying to you," he said, more like begged. Why couldn't she just believe him?<br/><br/>"Are you at your girlfriend's house or something? Did you let Brock meet the witch before I knew? Does he know about your dirty secre--"<br/><br/>"I don't have a girlfriend, Edith, I'm married to<i>you</i>. Why would I need a girlfriend? That sort of defeats the purpose of being married dontcha think?" He put a hand on his hip, trying to keep his voice down but knowing that his raspy whispers were doing nothing to alleviate whatever paranoia was going through Edith's head.<br/><br/>"You told me to have an affair. Why wouldn't I think you'd want one?"<br/><br/>"You found someone? Oh thank god. Go spend time with him or something, damn. We're all fine here I promise."<br/><br/>"... you still think that I would actually do that to you? Why are you so adamant about it anyway? Just love me again, I just need to know what's wrong so I can fix it."<br/><br/>"I'm... I'm... You can't fix it, it's not your fault, it's mine. Honestly. It's my issues, not you. I love you, Edith, I really do, but I don't want..." he sighed, "Look, I'm getting weird looks around the diner and I can't leave Brock alone for much longer can we continue this tonight maybe?" Or preferably never again, but he couldn't exactly say that to her.<br/><br/>"That's bullshit!" He had to pull the phone from his ear because her voice had gotten so loud it rang in his eardrums. "You're lying to me, you're lying to yourself, you're lying to Brock!" She took a few deep breaths and seemed to relax again. Her voice wasn't nearly as harsh. "Tell your skank to let you go. Dinner's waiting at home, where I am, where Brock should be. I swear to God Chris, I will do it if you won't. I will file for divorce--"<br/><br/>"No, no! Don't do that, please don't do that."<br/><br/>"You haven't thought about it? Really? I'm sure you've thought about it considering you have to look them over so often." She said this and he looked at Brock who seemed to not be paying attention, but the twitching of his ears let him know he was listening, or trying to. "I'll do it and you're never home. Who would take care of Brock if you work so long? I'd move back in with my mom. You could see him on the weekends."<br/><br/>"That's emotional manipulation. You know that. Why can't we just do this later?"<br/><br/>"Why haven't you hung up yet? Too much of a pussy to do that too? Jesus Christ, I can't deal with your bullshit. Be home in an hour or I'm calling someone and you're not going to like the consequences--"<br/><br/>"He's having fun--" the line when dead. He put the phone in his pocket. "I-I'm gonna use the restroom, I'll be right, uh, right back."<br/><br/>And so he cried in a stranger's bathroom for at least five minutes, until his head hurt and he didn't know what to do. Legally, he knew that this wouldn't stand up, but legally he also knew exactly what she would tell them and he knew that she could turn the judge for family court against him, if not against him, then pity her enough to offer her the custody while he had visits. He was just the father, he didn't have many rights when it came to this sort of thing since she carried him for nine months. He couldn't deal with a divorce, he honestly couldn't. He could fix this, he really could, he just had to fake it until he made it. It'd worked for a while, he'd just thought he didn't need to anymore, but he was wrong, very, very wrong and selfish. He didn't want to play the doting husband when he didn't even like her anymore. Love, yes, he was practically obligated to loving her she was his oldest friend, but like her? He couldn't even tolerate her phone calls and the idea of getting scathing texts left his mouth sour. He got up though, he splashed his face with cold water, took a deep breath and wait for the heat in his face to fade before he walked out of the bathroom, flushing the unused toilet and washing his hands before he did so for appearances' sake.<br/><br/>"Hey, sorry about that... um, we need to leave soon, I think." He could tell from Brock's face that he didn't want to go but he was being pulled in two directions and no matter which direction he went he was hurting someone he cared about. "May I get a glass of water, please? Or I could get it, I just don't want to, uh... I'm sorry you had to see that. Both of you."  Yeah, he was pathetic, everyone had been right. All he wanted was to spend some time with Brock, do the right thing with another kid, just. Why did it feel like he was being punished for doing the right thing? Punished for trying to tell the truth in the only physical ways that he could because he certainly couldn't tell anyone, he couldn't even say the words out loud.