To say it had been a rough couple of days, weeks, months even, was a total understatement. The tension was high between them. The water rising higher and higher until the two of them found themselves submerged in this wasteland of negative emotions and hostility. It was difficult to be around one another most days, playing the avoidance card like it was the best hand sitting inside the deck. By now Rose wasn't optimistic, nor was she positive. She was running low as the days grew longer, waiting for some sort of gesture or effort that came with stripping himself and trying as hard as the words that were slipping out from the surface of his tongue; that was all she ever wanted, she wanted the truth and what was actually going on inside.

She was sick and tired of hearing empty promises and words. What good were words anyway? She knew that he loved her, that was the closest to a fact she could produce with something as unpredictable as love, but love wasn't always enough to keep two people together. It wasn't enough to make her want to stick it through when he was too busy sitting with his legs crossed inside his own head rather than putting himself out there, remedying what had been tainted.

Sleeping together hadn't been happening often, tonight being no exception. She crawled into the cold sheets, the amount of room she had in the bed felt foreign and strange. Rose would typically joke about wanting all the room possible, and there she was, able to stretch and curl them as much as she wanted and still it just felt sad knowing he was downstairs or out at the studio until the early hours. She wasn't always sure where he was, he wasn't always checking in the way he used to, though she could understand why. She couldn't tell him that she didn't want this anymore and expect him to sit around and beg for her with glossy eyes and a thumping heart.

Sleep didn't come easy that night, but when it happened, she was out. A regular heavy sleeper, she slept through storms, fights outside on the sidewalk, and more, so it wasn't all that surprising while he waltzed around the room, she was knocked out cold. There were moments where she tossed and turned, none of which escalated to her eyes pulling open to see him on the carpet with his knees against it, placing all these notes around like he was setting up a scavenger hunt of sorts for her.

Waking up that morning, Rose stretched around eight, waking up a bit before Rocco would start rattling the crib with his cries to be pulled out and have some breakfast. It didn't dawn on Rose that there was anything abnormal in the room until she swung her bare legs over the edge of the bed and went to grab her robe from the chair in the corner, feeling the paper against her skin. Her heartbeat sped up at first, unaware what was going on until she looked down and saw them all, her gasp caught in her throat.

She read every note, every last one with tear stained eyes, rubbing her face with her balled fist as she placed all of them together in a pile on the nightstand. It was a lot, an unexpected rush of emotions and behavior from Ezra to do something like this. Sat on the edge of the bed again, Rose breathed in deep, collecting one breath after the other as she contemplated saying something to him, wondering if she should even bother or what. Her train of thought was interrupted by a cranky baby who had been in his crib longer than he would have liked while Rose was in the bedroom reading and fighting back tears.

Her head shook as her hand picked up the note on the door, leaving it there as she quickly went into the nursery and got Rocky out, pulling him into her arms with a faint hint of a smile. The two of them went downstairs into the kitchen where Rose was able to see Ezra camped out on the couch. The coffee was done and sitting in the pot, the fresh smell of grounds filled the air, leaving her warm and pleasant. She watched him on the couch while getting Rocky's seat ready. Shaking her head again, she kissed her son's forehead and went over into the living room where Ezra had set up camp. She was still unsure how to say thank you to him, so for right now she took the toddler and set him in Ezra's lap. "Wake up, daddy," she whispered, tapping his back with her fingers to get him to move forward and try to get him up. He did just that too. He began pushing against his chest and laughing, trying to balance himself so he could stand up. Rose watched from a short distance away, hands crossed, pulling the robe over more until he woke up and saw them there. She offered him a smile that let him know that she knew. It wasn't the reaction he wanted, but he was a start, a good one at that.