Splinters In Time

Blind Eyes

Fair Warning: Reference to suicide/suicidal thoughts.

Lawrence's heart dropped into his stomach when he came home to find the door hanging open.

Inside, it seemed like nothing had been disturbed- nothing had been touched, there was no signs of a break in or a struggle. The kitchen had been tidied and the pram was folded up in the corner. The only things missing were Ava's shoes and coat, and a white blanket from the three-year-old's bed. Ava and Lili were gone.

Lawrence's mind raced. In a split second, he turned on his heel and followed them out of the door. But where would they go?

As he reached the end of the road, he didn't know which way to turn.

He could see them in his mind's eye; Ava all in white, slipping on her coat and swaddling the little girl up in a blanket like baby to keep her warm. She was singing softly as she carried Lili, a little french lullaby that she sang to their daughter on the days she was feeling up to it, and that she had sung at their son's grave for many years prior.

Lawrence felt sick. A part of him still wanted to consider a third party, but he knew- he knew; he had known, had seen and yet he had done nothing about it.

They couldn't have gotten far on foot. Presuming, of course, that they were on foot- but they had to be, he had the only car. For a moment, he briefly entertained the thought of someone coming along and picking them up. From the house. From the side of the road. But no, they were on foot. He knew.

He should call the police. But instead, he was running again, moving like he knew where to go. Because he did- he knew.

It had been a few weeks back, maybe a month. They had been out on a walk- one of the footpaths close to the house. He had been carrying Lili, showing her things he found in the trees and hedgerows, and Ava had been walking along beside him, a genuine smile on her face for once as she enjoyed the breeze in her hair. She had been seeing a new doctor for several weeks now, and was telling him all about it.

"-He understands our situation, you see. He says that he can help. It certainly seems like he knows what he's talking about."

"I'm glad." Lawrence had said, only half-listening, although the positive sentiment was real. "It's great that he's helping you."

They had come to a bridge- a great, wooden construction that spanned a deep crevice, looking like it had stood solid for aeons and could withstand aeons more. The water rushed below, dangerously fast, its constant thunder providing background noise to the scene. Pushing past him, Ava had given him a beckoning look as she stepped out into the middle of the bridge, pirouetting like a ballerina over the planks. Holding Lili tight, Lawrence had carefully followed.

Running to the edge, Ava had looked over; leaning right over the sides to peer below. "...Do you ever just look at the water and..." Spreading her arms wide, she had thrown her head back to the sky, watching the birds dance above. "...want to know what it's like to fly?"

Lawrence had just shrugged it off as strange. It was one moment, too easily dismissed. Besides, he was enjoying her smile. He had chosen to be blind. And now the words were ringing in his ears.

And there they were, on the edge of the bridge. Placed almost too neatly- Ava's shoes.

With an anguished sound, Lawrence rushed desperately to the side of the bridge, peering down into the churning water.

Nothing.

A/N: So, uh... that took rather a dark turn. Which was the turn I was always planning it to take, but I'm still genuinely shocked I actually wrote that. Everyone okay?

I admit now upon reading this chapter, it probably needed setting up better- the flashback probably should have been it's own separate scene, but I hadn't realised that earlier as I was trying to condense everything down into a few chapters. Hopefully it works okay!

Please do feel free to share your thoughts! (and theories about what really happened. XD) And/Or tell me one good thing going on in your life, because we could probably all use the mood boost!

I promise you, it only goes up from here, so later chapters should be jollier. Luv ya all, thanks for reading. XD