Wounded Hearts

Chapter Six

The week passed quickly. Ronan noticed that Laura was home everyday before he left and she always found a way to pull him into a conversation. Ronan found himself unable to resist talking to her. He was always surprised by how easily she could make him laugh and they fell into a comfortable friendship.

Ronan told himself that friendship was all he wanted but his body was quick to call him a liar with the way it reacted to seeing her everyday. He tried to tell himself that he couldn't let himself fall in love with Laura but his conversation with Abigail kept replaying itself inside his head. He knew she was right and that Amelia would have wanted him to move on but how could he when it was his fault his wife and the mother of his child was dead?

It was Friday morning and Ronan was on the phone with Abigail and the conversation was not going well.

"I cannot watch her today, Ronan. You'll either have to take the day off work or take her to work with you." Ronan sighed. He couldn't just skip work today. The wiring in that damn house of Laura's was terrible and he wanted to get it fixed before the place caught fire and burnt to the ground. Of all the days for the kids to not have school, they had to pick today when Abigail and Bruce were both busy.

He knew Laura wouldn't mind him bringing Penelope along though he was nervous for his daughter to meet his new friend. What if Penelope got the wrong idea about Laura? Ronan ended his call with Abigail and then turned to Penelope who was just finishing up her breakfast.

"Pack a bag with some toys, sweetpea. You have to come to work with daddy today." Penelope squealed happily as she jumped to her feet.

"I get to spend the day with you?" she asked. Ronan smiled at her excitement.

"Yes. But you have to promise to be good." Penelope stuck her hands on her tiny hips.

"I'm always good." she said. He ruffled her hair.

"Yes you are." he replied honestly. "Now go pack some toys. It's going to be a long day and I don't want you to get bored." Penelope ran off as fast as she could to her room.

888

Ronan could hear Laura's angry voice coming through the door as he and Penelope walked up to it. He tested the knob to find it unlocked and he walked in with Penelope clinging to his pants leg. Laura had her back to them as she stood in the living room waving her free hand as she yelled into the telephone.

"Does your conscience feel better now that you know I'm not dead or crying my eyes out every day because of you?" she demanded. Ronan couldn't hear the reply but by the tensing of her shoulders he assumed it had not been a good one.

"You are one selfish son of a bitch." Laura spat and this earned a gasp from Penelope. Laura turned and her eyes widened when she saw the two of them watching her. Ronan gave her a questioning look and she mouthed the word 'Mason'.

"I would not take you back if a giant flesh eating plague came to earth and you and I were the only survivors left with all their parts. I would gladly be with a half rotted, brain eating zombie before I would ever take you back." she hissed into the phone. While the image that brought to Ronan's mind was not a pleasant one, he had to give her points for originality.

"Mason, please stop…" Ronan saw through her anger and realized just how badly she was hurting. Whatever Mason was saying it was hurting Laura and as far as Ronan was concerned that was unacceptable. He strode across the room and jerked the phone from Laura's hand.

"I think Laura has said all she wants to say to you." he said in a cold voice full of ice that Laura had never heard from him before. Other than the few times she'd heard him sad, his voice was normally happy and sometimes even full of teasing mischief. Never had she heard him sound angry like this.