Never Say Forever (LAMS READERS CHOICE)

Chapter Six

Option Two - Sneak Out The Window

John's POV, two weeks later..

He disappeared again. He fucking left me all over again.

After Eliza left my house, I ran upstairs to check on Alex to see him gone and the window wide open. I had looked out the window and found he was nowhere to be seen, he didn't want to be found.

Two weeks later and he still hasn't returned.

Part of me feels like it never even happened. Almost like I'm just making this up in my head because I miss him so much. God, how I missed him.

But that doesn't matter anymore. What does is I'm at his old house, babysitting for his wife while she's on yet another date. According to my hallucination, it's with Miss Maria Reynolds. But that could be wrong, oh so wrong.

"Uncle John, Uncle John!" A tiny voice snaps me out of my thoughts and I turn my head to the small freckled boy. "Look what I drew for you!"

He holds out a paper with a bunch of green and blue scribbles and I chuckle gently while looking at it. "Wow, this is amazing, buddy!" I say.

"It's a turtle! I know how much you love them." He giggles.

I smile and hug him. The drawing looked nothing like a turtle, but he was six, what did you expect? "Well, thank you Philip, I love it."

He pulls away and looks down at his feet, swaying his body from side to side. "I drew it because you looked sad.. Are you sad because Daddy is gone?" He asks, not looking up at me.

Before I could answer, a small girl in a big, poofy, purple dress runs in, all excited. "Daddy's home?!" She exclaims. "Where?"

I frown and pick her up gently. "No, Daddy's not home, he's gone.. But yes, Pip, that is why I'm sad." I pick Philip up as well and sit on the couch with both of them in my arms. Angelica looks like she's about to start crying and Philip sighs softly, looking to the side.

"I miss Daddy!" Angelica whines, hiding her face in my chest. I rub her back and Philip nods.

"I know, I know.. I miss him too. Your father was a very good man." I assure them, kissing Ange's head.

Philip takes a deep breath and looks up at me, tears threatening to spill from his big brown eyes. "Are you going to be our new dad?" He asks.

I shake my head at them. "No, no one could replace your father." I tell him. "However, maybe someday your mom will meet someone new, and they could step in and help out a little bit."

"Like you?" Ange asks, gasping and looking up at me.

I shake my head again. "No, no not me. I'm just helping in the meantime." I explain and they both nod. "Now, why don't we get some ice cream and we can watch a Disney movie?"

They smile and nod, and I set them down before heading to the kitchen. I grab the tub of ice cream out of the freezer and set up three bowls for us while Philip picks a movie on Disney plus.

About half way through the movie, both kids were fast asleep - Philip asleep on the couch arm rest, Angelica asleep cuddled up next to me. I smile and pause the movie, picking Angie up and moving her to her room. I tuck her in and when I return to get Philip, I see he has woken up and played the movie again.

I sit next to him and he sighs. "What's up, kiddo?" I ask, looking over at him.

He nods at the screen. "I feel bad being sad.. I only lost Dad, Anna and Elsa lost both their mom and dad.."

I look to the screen to see Elsa and Anna singing their song in Elsa's ice castle, before looking back to Philip, who was hugging his knees close to him.

"Philip, grief is not measured by how much you lost. You don't have to feel bad because your grief isn't worse than other people's." I explain, rubbing his back.

"But... But.. It would be so much worser if I lost Mommy and Daddy." He whines, leaning into me.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you can't be sad. It's okay to be sad sometimes." I tell him. "Especially if you lose someone close to you."

He looks up at me. "How sad are you?" He asks.

I sigh softly. "Very, very sad."

He nods and looks back at the TV. "Too bad I don't have ice powers. Ice powers would make me feel so much better." He says and I chuckle gently.

"That would be nice, Pip." I say. A few minutes later, I could hear him snoring very quietly, so I decide to bring him up to his room. I set him down in his bed and tuck him in before returning back downstairs, waiting for Elizabeth to come home.

When she does, I was so tired I could have fallen asleep standing up it felt. She walks in and raises an eyebrow at me.

"Oh no, I was out very late, wasn't I?" She sighs softly.

I shrug and stand. "It's fine," I yawn. "How was your date?"

She smiles softly at me. "It went well. Thank you for watching the kids for me, were they good?"

I nod. "As good as always, Elizabeth."

She nods and tries to hand me a fifty dollar bill. "Here, I'm sorry again for being out so late."

I shake my head at her. "Elizabeth, I don't want your money. I love watching your kids, they are not a bother at all."

"But I-"

"I will not allow you to pay me for something that is no chore." I explain and she sighs, putting the bill back in her purse.

"Well, thank you again." She says before studying my face. "You seem very tired, and it's pretty late. Did you want to stay here for the night instead of going home?"

I shake my head. "Oh, I shouldn't. I'll just drive home, it's only a mile away."

"Yes, but it's past midnight. You shouldn't be driving tired."

"I'll be fine, Elizabeth. I'll make it home just fine."

"John, stay here for the night."

Option One - "Okay, fine, I'll stay."
Option Two - "Wouldn't want the neighbors to think anything."

Place your votes here -->

I actually got this chapter out on time, yay! I didn't have any of it written, I was worried I wouldn't have time. Hope you're enjoying, though.

1100 Words