Kindred: A Love Story (Editing)

Chapter Twenty-five - Heartbreak

*This chapter has both points of view in it. If I had separated them the chapters would have been minute and that would be a waste. The song is Brokenhearted by Brandy and Wanye Morris, mainly because I think it fits well in the chapter. Thank you for reading.*

It’s the next morning and the Sheriff has told Pete he can leave. He grabs his things and walks out the door. Once he gets in his truck, he sits for a while before driving away. The thought of having to face Alex is making him nauseous.

‘How in the hell am I going to do this? I have no idea if I’m even strong enough to comfort her, be the man she needs me to be. There is no escaping this, I have to see her.’ He says to himself as he rests his head on the steering wheel.

He starts the truck and drives down the road heading toward the B&B. Once he gets there he pulls into the driveway, parks his truck and sits with his eyes closed and head resting on the back of the seat. He takes a deep breath, gets out of the truck, stands leaning up against the door looking up at Alex’s bedroom window. All he wants to do is go to her and make all of this go away. He wants to fix it, but he knows he can’t and that is killing him. Seeing the tears roll down her cheeks is splitting his heart in two and there is no way to repair it.

Alex is looking down at him, her hand on the window and tears running down her face. Her eyes are pleading to him to come to her. She needs him now more than ever. All she wants is for him to hold her relieving all of the aching in her heart, making her feel safe and protected.

They look at each other for a long time, gazing into each other’s eyes.

Pete knows he should go up and comfort her but he cannot work up the courage to do so. He doesn’t know if he can be the man she needs him to be. His chest is tight and his head is aching. He drops his head, gets back in the truck and drives away.

Alex sinks down to the floor crying uncontrollably.

It’s the next day and Pete is sitting in his mother’s kitchen talking to her with his head in his hands. His head and heart are fighting each other and right now neither is winning. It seems like an impossible feat to gain clarity and understanding of the past couple of day’s events.

He listens to his mother move around the kitchen and it is really starting to grate on his nerves. She realizes he is getting more agitated and finally stops, sits down across from him at the table and begins to speak.

“What are you doing here, son? That woman needs you.”

            “I know I should have stayed, but I didn’t know what to say.”

            “Nothing. She didn’t need you to say anything. She just needed you to be there for her. Imagine finding out a man you’ve known your whole life, someone you’ve looked at almost every day, was the one who did something so evil, and as a result you have a constant reminder of that evil. Not saying that she’ll love that baby any less, but it sure makes a difference. Then, to have the one person you trust most in this world just walk away, turn their back on you.”

            “I didn’t turn my back on her.” He says sharply.

            “No, well that’s what it looks like to her. Don’t do to her what I did to you. Don’t make her feel the way you have all these years. She deserves better than that.”

Pete sits and listens to his mother’s words, knowing everything she is saying is truth. Alex did deserve better than that. She deserved better than him. With everything that is happening right now and all she’s going to have to endure over the next couple of months, the last thing he wants to do is make her feel the way he has felt the last eleven years. To lose her faith and trust she’s fought so hard to regain is not something he wants to see happen. But how does he go back now when he has already left. Would she really forgive him for leaving? Would he be able to repair the damage he’s done?