STORM FRONT
By SFwriter
Ever After
Aftermath
Set after SF5.13 - Ever Hopeful
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Carl sat on his bed, still in disbelief over the way the evening had gone. White Swan had come to ruin Merlow’s party, and succeeded in that endeavour. Sporting a few bruises, Carl had taken his fair share of knocks in the melee, but none so much as coming home to find his princess gone.
While tension had been growing between them lately, and part of him wondered if she loved him now the way she used to, he didn’t want her to leave. He didn’t want June to be gone. He loved that little girl.
His parents would be happy, no doubt, that their son was free of this ‘burden’, and perhaps some part of himself was too. He still wanted her back. He still wanted to try. He’d given so much of himself to trying, and she’d still left him.
Carl sniffed and wiped his eyes when his phone beeped. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at it. A message from Storm?
‘Need a ride. Police station. x.’
“Police station?” Carl asked himself, scratching his head.
He was about to put the phone down when he saw a piece of paper sticking out from under his leg. He pulled it out and quickly realized it was a note from Claire. He wondered if he should even bother reading it, but that thought was quickly tossed aside when he realized he wanted to read it more than anything else.
‘Dear Carl …’
“Ominous.” Carl said wryly, “Might as well change my name to John.”
‘I’m sorry I’ve been so selfish lately. I’m sorry I haven’t been as attentive with you as I should have been. I’m sorry I haven’t told you how grateful I am for the sacrifices you’ve made for me and my daughter.
Becoming a mother has changed me, and it’s changed us. I didn’t know how to tell you this before I left, but I’ve been thinking about you, us, our future, and Dade, for a long time. I began to wonder if leaving Dade was the right thing. That maybe our noble intentions, while misguided, was the right way to go for Dade and I.
I love Dade. He loves me. He loves our little girl. Lately he’s been wanting her more and more and I was afraid I’d lose her and felt the only way to make sure I kept her with me, was to give myself to him and for us to be a family again.
That isn’t what I want. What I want is to be with you. More than this, I want you to want to be with me and be happy about that. I’ve seen how tired and worn you are lately and I don’t think I am making you happy. But I want to try again, Babe, and I want you to be happy again with me.
By the time you read this, June and I will be on our way to Saran City to see Dade. I’m going to stay there for a few days, and Dade might be angry I’m not going there to stay with him the way he wants. I am going, as much as this scares me, to leave June with her father as he’s asked. Not for good, but long enough for me to come home and for you and I to try and see if this really is what we both want.
I’ll be home in a few days. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you this to your face before I left. I just didn’t think I would’ve had the strength to leave if I saw your face after telling you. I know you’d have tried to stop me and kept June with us, but I think two weeks of just you and I might be important.
It may be longer than that, as Dade may fight with me to keep June with him. That scares me, but he is her Daddy and he loves her and he wants her with him. He deserves some time.
I love you very much, but I also want you to think about us while I’m gone and if you don’t want me to come back, please don’t be afraid to say so. This isn’t just about June and I, it’s about you too.
Always yours,
Your Princess.’
Carl was a blubbering mess by the end of the letter. He was also grinning like a loon. For a brief moment his world was turned upside down, but this letter had him realizing that he adored his Princess. He didn’t want to lose her, and now he didn’t have to.
“Woo hoo!” He screamed, jumping off the bed and throwing his hands up, “Dear John my ass!”
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“So … try and help me understand why he’s lying in there for you.” I said softly, trying not to let my tempestuous nature overwhelm me, “He took a hit for you. You’d have never done it for him. You’d have let him take it and crawled back to your fucking bottle. That’s what you do, isn’t it?”
Lucas just stared at me, sniffling and casting his eyes down in regret, before he raised them, “Maybe I’m no hero, but I love him. I love him so much, and I wouldn’t have let him do it if I knew. No matter what’s gone on between the three of us, I love him. He was there for me when you weren’t. He came back when you didn’t. He cared when you didn’t. I don’t even care what you think. You just stand there and be pissy, okay? That’s what you do, isn’t it?”
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Full Chapter Coming Soon