Partially to blame

"Are you all ready for bed my love?" asked Margaret as she entered the spare room that was kept whenever Joy stayed over.

"Yes Grandma" replied Joy with a giggle as she nodded her head, she was very energetic tonight and that made Margaret feel at ease, with everything that was going on Margaret thought that all the negative feelings would imprint on Joy and cause her to feel sad, but luckily, she did not seem that way at all.

"So you have your pajamas on and you brushed your teeth?" asked Margaret as she walked into the room and Joy nodded happily as she got into bed.

She was wearing her favourite pink pajamas and she was all smiles as usual.

"That's lovely my dear" said Margaret as she smiled and walked to Joy's bed and sat down beside her.

"So are you tired yet?" asked Margaret as Joy giggled and shook her head as Margaret smiled.

"How come?" asked Margaret as she smiled.

"Well I had some soda after dinner and uncle Charlie told me not to tell because I asked for some of his" said Joy as she whispered and giggled as Margaret could not help but chuckle.

"Oh that's very bad my dear, now you are all energetic, your mommy would not like that at all" said Margaret as she smiled and shook her head.

"Mommy won't get upset if she doesn't know, so please don't tell her Grandma" said Joy as she Margaret laughed, she could really see that her granddaughter was growing up, she was already starting to try to hide things from her parents.

"Oh my love, I don't know, but I am not a gossip, so I won't tell if you don't" said Margaret as Joy's eyes lit up and she giggled.

"My love, do you miss your parents?" asked Margaret as she caressed Joy's hair.

"Well only a little, I do miss them, but I know that I will see them soon, besides, I love staying here and seeing you and Grandad and Grandpappy we don't see each other a lot" said Joy as Margaret smiled.

"Oh my love, I like that you think the same way as well, I am also glad that you are spending the weekend here" said Margaret as she smiled and Joy nodded as she yawned and Margaret could see that she would soon be asleep.

"Well it's getting late my darling, goodnight and have sweet dreams and tomorrow I will make you some blueberry pancakes for breakfast" said Margaret as she smiled and stood up, tucking Joy in as Joy nodded with a smile, she could not wait to wake up and eat those wonderful blueberry pancakes tomorrow.

"I love you my lovely child" said Margaret as she smiled.

"I love you too Grandma" replied Joy with a smile as she closed her eyes and Margaret stood up and switched off the lights closing the door behind her.

"Is she asleep?" asked Ernest Jr as he was waiting outside the door and Margaret nodded.

"How is she? Does it seem like she heard anything?" asked Ernest Jr as Margaret shook her head.

"I don't think she did, she is as happy as always" said Margaret as she smiled.

"That's good, all of you were definitely not careful in the afternoon, she was right upstairs, she could have heard us talking and that wouldn't have been good" said Ernest Jr.

"That may be so, but she didn't hear us" said Margaret as she sighed in relief.

"Have you been able to reach Dominic?" asked Ernest Jr as Margaret shook her head.

"I called him once, he didn't pick my call" said Margaret.

"The same here, what did Michael say?" asked Ernest Jr.

"Well Natasha feels terrible, which is to be expected... to be honest love, we both know that our son is partially to blame for this, if he had just listened to reason when it happened, and that goes for you as well, but what can I say, like father like son" said Margaret as she shook her head.

Ernest Jr was quiet, he could not refute his wife, she was right after all, but could you really blame them? All the proof pointed to Natasha, what were they supposed to believe.

"And by the look on your face you were supposed to believe that Natasha would never do anything like that, we've known her since she was a little girl, and you should have known better" said Margaret.

"Honestly Natasha needs time and Dominic needs time to reflect and think on his actions as well, and maybe you do to, everyone who blamed Natasha needs to reflect because that poor girl was the subject of your hate for years, she really suffered you know" said Margaret as talking about this was making her feel upset, so she walked away, leaving her husband to truly reflect.

...

"Do you feel better now?" asked Pete as Lia had stopped crying for a while now, she had just been silent, he could hear her heart beating steadily as she was still resting on his chest.

Lia nodded as she sniffed, her eyes were dry from all her crying, her face looked red and just honestly tired, she was tired.

"Are you sure?" asked Pete as Lia was in a really delicate state when he arrived here and he wanted to make sure that she was truly feeling better now.

"Yes Peter, I am sure..." replied Lia as she nodded.

"Thank you for being here... I appreciate your presence a lot..." said Lia as she sniffed, Pete didn't have to be here, he had work to do, he was a very busy man, and yet here he was all day, listening to her cries and comforting her.

Lia did not know what she had done to deserve his unfailing affection, she felt like she did not even deserve half of his attention and affection and yet, here he was.

"You don't need to thank me Lia, I want to be here" said Pete as he smiled and Lia looked at him as gave him a soft smile.

"I love you Peter, I really don't know what I did to deserve this, or what you see in me, but I love you, thank you for all your support, because honestly, I don't think that I would be able to get through this without you" said Lia as she was being a hundred percent honest right now, now she knew who truly loved her.

He knew what she had done, what she was capable of and yet, he was still here.

"You don't have to say that Lia, right now, what matters is that you feel better" said Pete as he smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Are you hungry?" asked Pete as they had been in her room all day, and it was already very late.

"No" replied Lia as she shook her head.

"Are you sure?" asked Pete.

"Even if I was, I do not think that I am welcome at the dinner table" said Lia as Pete looked at her.

"Don't say that Lia, this is still your house, you shouldn't hide away or refuse to come down" said Pete as Lia didn't really want to talk about this.

"Hey Peter, you know, I want you to stay over tonight... I don't want to be alone and I feel better when I know that you are around" said Lia as Pete sighed, he did not like how she changed the subject but there was no need dwelling on a topic that she did not like.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Pete as Lia nodded.

"Your parent's won't mind me staying over?" asked Pete as Lia shook her head.

"My father won't talk to me and my mother... well she wants nothing to do with me, I'm sure she doesn't care about what happens to me now, so you can stay, please stay Peter, I need you" said Lia as Pete looked at her.

"I can stay" said Pete as Lia's face lit up for the first time today.

"But I can't stay in your room, it's inappropriate and disrespectful to your parents, we are still in their house, and they don't know about our relationship" said Pete as Lia knew that what he was saying was true, but she honestly couldn't care less, they were adults, and it was not like they were planning on doing anything funny.

But she knew how Pete was, and he was a devout follower of the rules, it was just his nature, and she knew that nothing she said would be able to change his mind otherwise, so instead of starting an argument that would cause him to leave she preferred agreeing with him.

"That is perfectly fine Peter, I will ask the maid to prepare the guest room for you so you can stay over" said Lia as Pete smiled, happy that she complied with his reason without an argument.

"Thank you for agreeing to stay Peter, thank you" said Lia as she smiled and she hugged him as Pete hugged her. 

To be honest, he cared about Lia a lot, but he also cared about Natasha, and right now, he was worried about her as much as he was worried about Lia, but he knew that Natasha would want to be alone right now, which was for the best, he just hoped that she was okay.