Stuck In A Moment

The Letter

A/N: Sorry for not updating in awhile. My time has been pretty limited lately, especially with my sister graduating high school and my house almost catching on fire. (It's fine now. No damage.) But now I finally was able to publish. Yay!

After making up with Washington and enjoying a lovely dinner, Laurens went back to his dorm to find his special box. The one he had been carrying around for all these years. The box his mother gave him. He wanted to find some proof that his father could be good man again if he was able to maintain his mental health. This was the best option.

"Where is that thing?" He mumbled to himself as he checked every shelf like a crazy person.

"Oh, hey." Alister walked in. "You ok?"

"Can't find something." Laurens explained.

"What is it? Maybe I can help." Alister asked.

"Small brown box. It's full of some things I need to read right now." Laurens answered.

Alister went over to drawer and pulled out the box to where Laurens grabbed it and took it over to his bed.

"Saw it there the other day. What's in it, like notes or something?" Alister questioned.

Laurens opened the box and Alister could see all the letters. He could also see some pictures in there too.

"Oh. Who's that?" Alister asked as he looked at the women in the photo. "Is that like you with the reverse gender filter thing?"

"No. It's actually my birth mother." Laurens replied. "This is pretty much the only thing she left me, since my father took everything else for himself. Even though I never got to meet her, this box has let me see who she was. What she was like."

"That's pretty cool." Alister smiled. "But if you've had it since your mother died, what's so important about it now?"

"It's everything about my mother. Including my father. He came up to me the other day and said he wanted to be the man he was before his wife died. I'm thinking that means a good man." Laurens said.

"Alright. Well, let me know if you need any help going through all that stuff."

"Actually, yes."

The two spent hours looking for a good story that was really useful. Something that was undoubtedly proof that Henry had changed. Even if Laurens already believed it himself, he owed it to the Washingtons and the rest of his family to find evidence.

After a long time of searching, Laurens came across a fold in the top of the box. A little piece of cloth attached to the top of the box and torn slightly, and Laurens could see a letter he had never read before. He immediately pulled it out and opened up.

It read.

Dear John. This letter is something that I hope you never find until you're a teenager or adult. But hopefully before you get married. Since I never got to give you some motherly advice about love, I thought I'd make it into one of my letters. I wish you find true happiness someday with a special girl. I don't know if you've already had several girlfriends by the time you read this, or maybe you're on your first. But my point is, there's only one person out there who's made just for you. The one person who you feel a connection with. If her heart stopped beating, yours would give up as well. If she traveled the world by foot, you'd be there beside her. If she walked into a room, you'll light up as if nothing in the world could ruin your love. Love is the greatest crush you'll ever feel. It's the feeling you get, when you've met the person you'll spend the rest of your days with. Just like I knew when I met Hen- your father. Wow, I'll never understand why I write like I talk, but I guess that's something else you'd want to know about me. Anyway, me and your father first experienced love sophomore year of high school. We were both sixteen and he had just moved here from South Carolina. He and your uncle, my brother, were friends. I couldn't feel my heart anymore because all I could feel was his. And I just new. That was the day I was meeting my husband. And your father was the best of husbands. The best of men really. I'm sure you'll see that if he ever remarries. If he does remarry, don't be mad at him. He's not replacing me, it just means he found a second chance at happiness that not many find. And I want both of you to be happy. I want him to show you everything he did for me. Everything that made me fall in love with him. The little notes he'd leave, how he would always open a door for me, how he was so happy just to be near me, how he was a straight A+ student going to the best of colleges and gave it up for me because I got pregnant. The man I will love forever. You'll learn that someday, if you haven't already. I hope I didn't make this letter too hard to find. Who knows? Maybe you found it exactly when you needed it. One more thing I need to mention, is that I don't want you to be scared of having a family because of what happened to me. It's pretty rare, but I never had an ounce of luck anyway. Hopefully you'll take after your father with that. Once again, I'm sorry we never got to be with each other, but I love you more than anything. -Mommy.

"Yeah. I guess I did find this right when I needed it." Laurens smiled. "He was a good man."

"Then what happened to him?" Alister asked.

"I'm not sure. But my mother's death definitely drove him crazy." Laurens replied. "At least I'll never need to ask that question again. He was a good man, and he might be trying to be one again."