His Hope

Part 22: Heartbreak

22

Archie stayed with Louisa for hours. They talked about good things and bad, and she cried a lot. Now Eloise had joined them snuggling up to her eldest sister and joking about how terrible she looked. Louisa sniffed and sighed as she watched her siblings bicker back and forth. She had been struggling for hours about whether she should tell them or not. She swallowed hard and cleared her throat gaining their attention.

"Okay?" Eloise asked, turning to look at her.

Louisa's eyes welled up with tears again, and she fought to keep them in her eyes. She had to tell them, they deserved to know, he was their dad too. Her bottom lip wobbled and she chewed on it anxiously.

"Xavier..." She winced when she said his name and her eyes lowered as she took a deep breath. "Xavier is a cop," she tried again and looked to her siblings. They both wore neutral expressions as they waited for her to say what she needed to.

"A cop... killed our dad." She finished, huffing as she rubbed at her wet eyes. Eloise looked confused and glanced back at Archer who was watching Louisa carefully.

"I don't understand," Eloise said gently to her distressed sister.

"Xavier... killed our dad." Louisa choked out before the tears started again. She couldn't remember ever crying this hard, especially over their dad.

"Oh," Eloise said.

Archer's eyes widened slightly at the confession and looked towards the wall, his mind racing. He didn't say anything and the room settled into a quiet and tense atmosphere. Eloise chewed on her lip nervously, her sister's boyfriend had killed their father? What were they to do with that information?

Louisa understood that they were probably in shock as she sobbed quietly in the pillow that she was now clutching in her arms. Oh? That was all that was said in what felt like hours. Oh. Oh. Oh. She tried to calm herself, but panic had set in. How would they look at her now? Would they hate her too? The thought killed her. She gasped trying to pull air into her deprived lungs, but none would come. What was happening? She wondered if she was dying. Hands pulled her up and away from her pillow and she was able to breathe again.

"You're having a panic attack, Lou, breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth. Again. You're okay, just keep breathing." Archer whispered to his sister, as he watched her struggle for a few minutes before she finally started following his instructions.

"Keep breathing," Eloise chimed in, running her fingers through Louisa's hair.

"Do you hate me?" Louisa whimpered when she was finally able to speak again.

"What? No." Eloise said at the same time Archer said, "never!"

Louisa finally regained some composure after she was sure they weren't upset with her.

"Did he... did he know the whole time, who you were?" Eloise asked thoughtfully.

"No... He said Zack, of all people, had figured it and told him before he was arrested. When he double-checked with Sheriff Lionel, he confirmed it." Louisa whispered as her body ached for comfort.

"Oh," Eloise mumbled again, more to herself than anyone else. She was trying to figure how exactly what she was feeling, but anger and sadness weren't in the mix. She was old enough to know what happened when her father died, and she remembered how relieved she was knowing he would never come home again. She never told anybody, but she wished she could have thanked the person who saved them, now she could.

"Can I ask what exactly has you so distraught?" Eloise asked softly and Archer gave her a look, making her shrug.

"I'm just saying... He was doing his job, we can't fault him for that. He didn't seek you out and get involved with you for some sick twisted reason and ultimately, he saved us. How many more years would we have had to suffer if he didn't do what he did?" Eloise questioned hoping to connect with the logical part of her sister's brain and not the emotional part.