Betrayal with Me (Spin-off)

[18]: Return

A/N: Sorry for the delays guys, with Xmas right around the corner, I have less time to devote to writing and am in and out of town.  But I can promise updates will return to what they had been before after the holidays.  Thanks again!  This is a bit of a filler chapter to get into the good stuff in the next few :)

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[Elise's POV]

        The new morning rays of light from the sun refract over the dew drops over the grass, and the sky is a beautiful purple and pink haze.  I watch as the steam rises from the cup of coffee I have sitting on the table in front of me, as I sit in Laura's backyard.  Summer is leaving, and the first chill of Fall is now approaching in the mornings.  I tighten the hold of the multi-colored lap blanket I had taken out with me trying to repel the chill.  I hear the sound of a dog barking in the distance, and birds chirping.  But other than that, it is peaceful and the polar opposite of how I feel inside.

        There is the unyielding panic forming inside of me.  Nothing I can do or say eases the tension of it.  It's this heavy feeling that seems to live within my beating heart.  One that had arrived there only three days prior, but I couldn't get relief from.  Ever since that day when I picked Laura up from the doctors office, has been quiet.  Gone was her sarcasm and everything that made her whom she was.   She had told me what the doctor had said, and since then, she hasn't uttered another word.  Nothing, just silence and staring off into the distance.  Sometimes, she would stare through me, as if I wasn't even standing there in front of her.

        I had tried for the last two of the three days to try and lighten her mood any way I could.  Trying to entice her into a conversation, game, or anything that I though would get her out of the doldrum she was mentally residing in.  But it was all in vain, and nothing I could do would help her.  And a part of me was so terrified of what would happen to Laura.  I understood her mental shutdown, as I was barely holding on as the news settled in.  Laura, the strong-willed woman whom I had always seen as healthy and vibrant, was dying a slow death.  Maybe not tomorrow, or the next, or even a year from now, but her life was going to be cut short.

        I couldn't imagine a life without her in it.  She had always been a part of my future, alongside Scott.  More so now, since Scott was not apart of that future.  At least, that's what I think I wanted.  I went days where there was nothing more than I wanted than to be in his arms.  Then there were days where all I wanted was to kill him.  The death of my daughter, and his incessant infidelities had taken its toll.  Now with Laura's health issues, my patience was sorely being tested.

        As I sat there, thinking over other ways to help Laura.  I felt a hand on my shoulder, causing me to jump in surprise.  Turning my head and up at the person, I saw beautiful brown eyes looking down at me.  Worry etched into the furrowing of their brows.  Concern living within the dark orbs.  Standing up from the chair I was sitting in the blanket fell to my feet, and I immediately wrapped my arms around their neck.  My face nestled into the crock of their neck.  His hands began making small circular motions, lending me comfort.

"Thank God, you're back. " I stated as I was being held.

"It's good to see you, Elise." he says as he pulls back to look at me.

Tears begin to slide down my face.  He takes the pad of this thumb, and wipes the tears from my face.

"What's wrong Elise?  Why are you crying?"

        I am confused by his comment for a split second, until I realize in the stress of the last three days, it had slipped my mind to call anyone about Laura.  I had been so consumed within my own worries, and worry for Laura, that I hadn't even called the most important people in her life.  Her family.