After All This Time ⚢ ✓

Chapter 2

DINNER wasn't something Axelle wanted to do.

Dinner wasn't something Geneva wanted to do, either.

In fact, dinner was something  only Jackie and Gideon wanted. Jackie knew that. She knew all too well the short comings that had befallen the foster kids over the years. Specifically regarding Axelle and Geneva. Axelle leaving had created an earthquake that completely rocked the once sturdy foundation that was this family, and that was something Geneva had held onto for years. There were other things there, of course. Things the girls didn't know that Jackie knew.

Sherlene had just one request before passing on, and that was to mend whatever was broken all those years ago.

Jackie intended to honor her friends promise.

She had prepared herself for the challenge, but as each foster kid slowly made their way to the table, Jackie was starting to understand that Sherlene may have sent her on a suicide mission.

"This looks great." Gideon commented, attempting to break the awkward silence that fell upon the dimly lit dining room. Axelle and Geneva refused to make eye contact. They just spent their time sneaking small glances each other's way when the other wasn't looking. It felt much like when they used to fight as kids, except this time around, the conflict was a little more than borrowing clothes without asking.

"Thank you, Gideon." Jackie gave him a smile. She had some sympathy for this naïve young man considering his obvious adoration for Axelle  would never be reciprocated.

Jackie wondered if Axelle had finally told Gideon about her sexuality. Even if she were straight, Gideon was the farthest thing from Axelle's type... Yet here he was, clearly overjoyed to be in the same vicinity with a woman who's ignored his calls for years. "I made a bit of each of your favorite dishes. These are the mashed potatoes you always asked for, Geneva. And I made my infamous roasted chicken for Axelle." Both Geneva and Axelle leant forward to take a look at the dishes.

If there was one way to get to all three kids's hearts, it was through their stomach.

"I also made Gideon's favourite mushroom snow peas stir fry, and to close this meal, there's Sherlene's Double Chocolate cake in the oven." Jackie lifted the remaining dish lids, and set them besides the porcelain ramekins. She now had the attention of everyone at the table.

"Thank you." Geneva was the first to say, offering her a smile.

"Yeah this is great, thanks." Axelle replied. It still took Jackie by surprise ever time she heard her voice.

"It's the least I could do for you kiddos." Jackie replied. She watched as each one of them slowly started to fill their plate.

-

Axelle did her best to remain quiet for most of dinner. That was quite difficult to do, when her actions was one of the reason's Geneva could barely even look at her. Jackie did her best to keep the conversation light, regardless of the probing that Gideon was doing. He wanted to know what Axelle had been up to, and why she had kept her distance from the family for all these years. Everyone at that table wanted to know that, in one way or another.

Axelle wasn't ready to have that conversation. In fact, everything she had done these last few years, were in an effort to start new. Fresh. Being here brought back moments of her life that did nothing now but make her sad. And she was sick and fucking tired of being sad.

Geneva carried most of the conversation at the table, which Axelle had no protest to. She spoke about the more recent years of her life, one of which being her engagement to this guy name Allan. That had almost made Axelle choke on a piece of her chicken, but she quickly took a gulp of water to push it down.

That information was a surprise to everyone at the table, including Jackie, who took pride in trying to keep up with most of the foster kids' lives. Maybe she really would need to see what this social media business was about.

Geneva knew that she had retained this information from her foster family. Allan was apart of a different life, one that she wasn't necessarily ashamed of, but it was... different. The complications of that life wouldn't mix well with the simple pleasures of this one. There was just one person she cared to see a reaction from, and that was Axelle.

Had Axelle given her the reaction she wanted tonight? She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure she herself knew what kind of reaction she was looking for. Probably some form of jealousy... but what would Axelle have to be jealous about? Geneva wondered to herself,  as she turned restlessly in bed again. This mattress felt far more comfortable nine years ago. Now, the springs made her body feel stiff. Almost like she was finding a comfortable position over a bed of pebbles.

Every time Geneva made eye contact with Axelle, she was transported back to the last night she had seen her. The night Axelle left abruptly, and for good. No warnings. No notes. Nothing. It brought into question every moment Geneva and Axelle had spent together up until that point.

From the moment Axelle was welcomed into this home by Sherlene days before Geneva's eighth birthday... to the moment Geneva woke up to an empty bed that last morning. That was the morning of Axelle's seventeenth year on this earth.

A date Geneva now resented Axelle for.

All this thinking wasn't doing anything to help Geneva get to bed, so the did her best to clear her mind completely. Sleep found her soon after.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Axelle.

Axelle laid awaken for hours, staring up at the glow in the dark stars Sharlene had helped put up. That now felt like lifetimes ago.

It was strange being back in her childhood room so many years later. Of course, with being tossed around through Foster Care, Axelle had had a lot of childhood rooms. This was by far the nicest of them, though. Sharlene was by far the nicest of foster mums. If only younger Axelle had kept that in mind before she left... she couldn't imagine how differently things might've turned out.

Many things kept Axelle up, but tonight it was Geneva. Tonight, it was more of those whats ifs.

What if Axelle hadn't been snooping through Sherlene's desk to find the pack of cigarettes she confiscated from her?

What if Axelle had just minded her fucking business, and returned to bed?

Returned to where Geneva was, fast asleep?

Would that night have gone differently?

For starters, Geneva wouldn't have hated her very existence now.

She wouldn't have hated Axelle for kissing her, then leaving.

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