Willa

Chapter Thirty Five: The end of us

It didn't end on one conversation, over one day, it ended slowly over weeks, one thread, one gentle conversation, one subtle release at a time. We both needed to walk slowly to it, knowing it was there, the end, but not wanting to hurry it into reality. The gentle untangling of each other, limb by limb, beat by beat, word by word, until one day it was as if we woke up and we felt it, the last tie cut and fell away, our bonds released. We became two separate entities then, that can walk away, not that either of us wanted to. It was a painful process, letting go, and every day hurt more than the last to know that it was closer. Morgan never agreed with the end, she said she had wanted to stay with me and to live without kids. That wasn't true, and it was evident that she began to grieve it, what she would lose, and that was the beginning of the end, the moment I caused her to grieve something she wanted so deeply, her fate.

The moment that I held that mirror up for her, and she saw it, she knew. I was right whether she would agree to it or not. Morgan knew it was the thing that needed to happen. And so I let her go, released her to her own road, and I would never forgive myself for the look on her face the moment I had packed all of my things and we came to say our goodbyes. Morgan Keaton, the girl I thought was forever, she became a victim of what happened to me, and the dark moments that would change me as a person. It was quite honestly another reason I had to remove myself from my family, the damage done was still echoing in my life, nine years later.

I would soon leave the state. I was running, from everywhere that would remind me of her, and from our life together. There was no way I would ever be able to survive living in this town where our forever began and would end so soon.

I could run, but one day I would see Morgan again, quite a surprise meeting on the east coast. Neither of us would plan it, but it would happen... twelve years from now... perhaps not in the best circumstances, but it would be healing, for us both. Theodora Nomikos was of course the reason we were both in the same place at the same time. A story for later, but important to know, our journey took separate paths because we were not fated for forever. Morgan was fated for her children, and I was always, even when I didn't know it, always fated for Alberta.

*🥹 (if I broke you I'm sorry) we all knew it would hurt. Morgan will be back though, in Harper and perhaps even the book after that... we haven't seen the end of her character (does that soften the blow?) hope so 💔😩.
*update (Morgan gets her own book... coming august 2022)