Scarlett isn't sure her life could fall any further apart. On the morning her husband, Captain James Tamworth admits to cheating on her, she's diagnosed with cancer.
In the midst of caring for their two small children, battling through her health t...
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SCARLETT
James is stumbling after Elsie in a daze. In some kind of superhuman strength, I reach out to grab his t-shirt and pull him back. Elsie's sobbing noises only make me stronger as he fights helplessly to get to her, but I don't know yet if he's fully conscious.
"No," I shout, yanking him so hard, he becomes unbalanced enough to stumble. "Don't you dare touch her!"
He blinks. "Scarlett, I'm not going to hurt her. I'm awake."
I leave him in the hallway to rush into Elsie's room where she's standing in front of her wardrobe with her little arms around her belly. Once she sees me, she runs up and sobs when I pick her up.
It absolutely petrified her to see James so distraught and tearing at the sheets as a nightmare took hold of him. It's my fault for putting them in that situation in the first place given how tense he was already.
"It's okay. You're okay," I whisper, holding her messy-haired head close to my lips.
She pulls back to look at the door, face screwing up when she cries at the sight of James.
"Leave us," I tell him, but he hovers around. "Let her calm down first."
He stumbles in here. "I'm messing her up. Don't you see? She's going to grow up troubled."
I sway her as she sniffles and holds onto me. "Can we deal with one problem at once? We need to make sure she's okay before we discuss your worries."
That shuts him up and he steps out of the room and by the sounds of the floorboards I know he's going back to our bedroom. Elsie wipes at her face when I sit down on her bed with her on my lap.
"You okay, Elsie?"
She keeps wiping at her face. "I don't want to sweep in your bed anymore."
My heart breaks to hear it, but I nod. "Of course. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."
She looks at me with red eyes. "Daddy is really stwong."
Using my thumbs, I wipe her cheeks. "He is strong. I want you to know he would never purposely hurt us."
"I was very scared," she says, grabbing onto my hair to twirl as her comforter.
James knocks on the door. "Elsie? Please can daddy come in?"
She looks at him for a really long time and I think we both think she's going to say no until she nods. "Otay."
He pushes off the doorjamb and walks towards her bed, keeping a safe distance. "I'm so so sorry. Daddy has a hard time sleeping and sometimes his dreams get scary."
Her eyes float all over his face. "You shouted and your eyes were open but you wouldn't answer me. And you were shouting nasty things at mummy!"
This destroys him. "I didn't mean it, baby. I promise you."
