Life in Fae Valley

Chapter 2: Part 2

Natalie stood by herself, starting to pace back and forth as she tried to contemplate what she should do to make it up to Brandy. "Nat! Where is he?! Is he in his room?" Chuck demanded as he ran into the house, the women startling a bit. She hadn't been expecting him for another few days, but she figured Brandy had called him, nodding some. She watched as he sprinted up the stairs, jumping two stairs at a time before disappearing at the top of the stairs, Natalie shaking her head some and sitting down on the couch in the living room, burying her head in her hands.

She sat like this for a good few hours till she heard footsteps again, these walking downstairs. This was Chuck who heaved a sigh but went over to Natalie and sat down beside her. Silently, he pulled her into a big hug, the natural smell of sandalwood he carried that she had so quickly gotten used to flooding her senses again. She was frozen in the hug but gradually started to break down, her hands clinging onto his shirt helpless as she cried into his shoulder. He said nothing, merely embraced her before gradually pulling away to press a soft kiss to her forehead and brush his thumb over her cheek, gently wiping away her tears.

"Hey... Beautiful, look... Look at me... There's those pretty eyes of yours... Take a deep breath... It's okay... It's... Okay... Brandy is fine... Lil shaken up but he'll manage... It's just a sore spot for him, aight?...He just needs some time to himself... Then y'all can talk things out, okay?... Please... Don't cry now... It hurts me to see such a pretty lil lady in pain" he murmured to her softly, staring deep into her eyes with his own hazel brown ones, giving her a soft smile.

Natalie stared back at him and sniffed a bit, letting herself rest inside of the hug with a heavy sigh. Her tension eased into concern for Brandy, though Chuck's comforting words and his hand slowly rubbing her back helped her to stay calm, the women slowly pulling out of the hug.

"Thank you Chuck, I needed that..."

"It ain't a problem, Nat... I figured as much... Say, Brandy's gonna be by himself for awhile, to clear his head. Do you wanna explore a bit of the farm? I can take ya to a really special spot of ours..."

Natalie blinked a bit and looked up, smiling as she realised the ginger had been blushing. "Sure Chuck, we can do that" she replied, getting up and helping him up too, following him out of the house. She hesitated as she saw him go into the barn, rather relieved to see him come back outside again, pushing a quad bike infront of him.

She was thankful that he didn't say much, though she gave an embarrassed squeak as he lifted her up by the waist and placing her on the quad bike with ease, climbing on behind her. She found him pressed against her back as he leaned forward to start driving, the women silently taking in the sights as they drove along a dirt path that went off behind the house.

As she watched, they passed many various pastures on their left, the edge of the woods on their right. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the treeline, pressing more against Chuck as she could have sworn she saw something in the woods... Snapping back to reality, Natalie stared up at the giant oak tree he had brought her too, hundreds of swings hanging from its branches, leaving her in complete awe.

Parking the quad bike, Chuck hopped off and helped her off too, taking her to one of the swings where he gently helped her up. "What is this place?" She asked in disbelief, Chuck smiling some up at her. "This place is a place of traditions... Every dad in our family has placed a swing here with his sons.... My... My dad wasn't here when I was of age to do it, so... So Brandy did it with me.... Man... Brandy practically raised me..." He murmured as he sat down on a swing next to her, rocking on it slowly.

"... My big brother... Is basically like a dad to me..." He murmured this slowly as he realised it, coming to a halt. Natalie didn't notice it at first, his hat tipped low to hide his face, though he still couldn't hide the tears that fell into his lap.