The Suffering Of Fools (IJ Fanfic, Sal Vulcano X Brian Quinn)

Part 8

They drove back in silence, her stomach churning; the feelings of intense nausea rising with every turn closer to home. They pulled up on the driveway, and she undid her seatbelt, but remained sitting in the car with the engine off. She looked across at him, and smiled a weak, paled smile as he touched her hand and rubbed his thumb across her knuckles.

Once indoors, she clicked the door silently shut, and followed him up the stairs with legs of lead. In their apartment, surrounded by the familiarity of home, he held both her hands in his - gazing into her eyes.

They sat on the couch, close to eachother, but without their tender embrace which they so often shared.
"Sal..." she began in a small voice, "you know that I love you, right? No matter what." he nodded, looking at her with uncertainty. "And, no matter what, I'll always want to be with you, yeah?" she whispered, her voice cracking slightly. He reached softly for her face, but she flinched away. Sal recoiled his hand slowly, staring at her in a way that broke her heart. "Sal, please don't make this any harder. Please, baby, don't."

His eyes widened slightly with false realisation. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came forth. Finally, he choked up what he needed to say.
"are you... Are we..." he swallowed, "...finished? "
"No, Sally, no" she cried in a voice so quiet that it may have belonged to a little Church mouse taking shelter in a steeple. "No - Not if we try."
"What do you mean?" he asked, eyes glistening slightly as they began to brim with tears.
"I've... Got to go. Back home."
"Clarabelle, this is your home." he said, reaching for her once more. "here, with me."
"I know, Sal, I know it is. But they need me back over there. In England. I need to look after Jamie, it's unfair to -"
"unfair?" he cut off with a hint of malice in his words. "don't speak to me about unfair. Why can't he come here? We can look after him together: me and you" he cried, cupping her hand in his. "please, don't go"

"He's my nephew, Sal. He's young; he's just lost his father, and his mother left when he was a babe. You would do anything for your little nieces, so why can't I do the same for my brother's kid? I know what it's like to feel alone. And we can't just suddenly take him from everything he knows, all his friends, all his memories." she said, using for the first time a stern voice and looking him dead in his tearful eyes with her own.

They sat in silence for what seemed like ages, but could only have been moments.
"So, your mind is made up then."
She nodded.
"how are you going to support yourself and a kid? Belle, did you think this through?"
She nodded once more, and spoke in a low, hoarse voice: "I've gotten a contract for some work for a few months. When it's over, he should be done with school, and we'll see if he'd be OK about bringing him back here to live with us, yeah?"
His eyes lit up. "So it's not permanent?" he gushed with a tinge of hope.
"hopefully not" she smiled weakly.
"when are you going?"
"the job starts in a few weeks. I should probably leave a little before that, to try and sort some of the stuff with Jamie."

He held her tight, and placed his chin atop her head. "we'll get through this." he whispered, as they sat together and held hope for his words.