Begin Again

Four - Copernicus's POV

"You self-important, self-courteous, prat. You're an ignorant, selfish, beast that should be put down." Her pointer finger had jabbed at his chest with every syllable, her once blazing evergreen eyes a subtle flicker of sage.

Her tongue seemed to lick at his ego, setting every molecule in his body on fire. He was battling internally, his head lolling, his eyes rolling back in his head. He didn't know whether to slap her, or kiss her.

Giving in, he did both, pushing her against the wall, pinning her wrists down with his hands, while breathing in her intoxicating scent, pushing his lips onto hers.

It was a ferocious battle of lust and want, while hate and disgust dueled.

Gasping for air, he pulled back, only to find her frozen, her eyes shut, and her expression undeniably shaken.

Her hands were clenched onto his shoulders, her nails satisfyingly digging in. Her heel pressed into his foot, one leg latching around his in a snake-like motion. Precariously leaning forward, she let her fury free, in one dangerous hiss---one only a mother could muster.

"Get. Out." Shoving him backwards, he watched, wide-eyed as she swooped over him, ripping off of his tie, cutting off his air. "I thought I told you that you weren't welcome here anymore.... She spit out the sentence with venom, the ability to say his name assumingly impossible.

Leading him to the door, she bid a farewell, successfully ushering him out. He felt his jaw set, an unnattractive nervous habit of his.

The smell of tobacco came off of his breath, the wind rustling his copper curls, the pupils of his eyes still staring through the binds. As quickly as he'd found a way in, she closed it off, snapping the blinds shut.

Tears crept into his vision, his eyebrows crinkling into oblivion. Not only had he lost the love of his life, but his own flesh and blood.

Looking down, he kept his glued to his shoes, biting his lip and tasting salt as he heard a faint cry. "Daddy!" It hurt even more when he felt an aching thud on the back of his legs.

A head of blonde curls bobbed up and down beside him, big baby-blues peering up at him. He managed a weak smile, his face now weathered, but nevertheless, handsome. "Copernicus." Leaning down, he ran a quaking hand over her cheek, shaking at this close proximity.

Gasping, he felt the tears take over, his whole body raking with emotion. He heaved breath into her neck as she nestled against him, calm compared to himself. "Daddy? Are you okay?" He wanted so badly to tell her that he was.

"Yes, sweetheart. Daddy's fine. He's just upset that he doesn't get to see his little princess anymore." She looked adoringly angelic, her stature as graceful as her mother's. God, he managed to miss her to.

"Me too. When are you going to come back? Momma says that you're going on another road trip." He cracked a smile, a broken, defeated smile.

"Yeah. A road trip." So that was what it had come to. A "road trip".

It had once been a weekend getaway---two days of not seeing his daughter. A short vacation----three to four days of not seeing his daughter. A job interview----a week without her. A visit with family----a two to three week break. But a road trip. Something that would take him away for at least a month. What was next?

A new house?

A job across the country?

Across the world?

He was tired of it. He was sick of not seeing her. He was dying from it. "You know that daddy loves you, right, Cope? That daddy will always love you." He said it to her with earnest, gripping her arms.

"I know. But daddy, you're hurting me." The little girl in front of her winced at his touch, struggling out of his grip. He shook his head----he was no good for her.

This would be the last time they would ever meet. The last time that she would remember having a father. The last time that he would love her.

"I love you." Pressing his cold lips against her warm forehead, he took one last black-and-white photograph in his head.

Turning around briskly, he cleared his throat, opening his eyes to a new world of expansive wealth. With the motor humming and his ID in his back pocket, he kept his eyes on the road.

The little girl with the blonde girl was just another girl now.

But as he drove, he couldn't help flicking his eyes back to the rearview mirror.

They would always have Paris.