Happiness Is A Butterfly <j.march>

☾𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠☾

James

Evelyn stood by the sink looking at the frozen lake mumbling to herself. "I should have told them sooner. Should have educated them. But instead in my head, I was so stupid enough to just believe it would never happen."  She kept staring at the frozen pond.

I touch her shoulder. "Lynnie?"

She jumps and turns around. Her hazel eyes have bags under them and they are puffy. Her lips were red from chewing them.

"Oh, Jimmy." She hugs me so tightly. I feel like she is scared of me disappearing into her hands. "I've failed my children." She started to cry.

"No you didn't, You didn't know. We didn't know about Lorraine and Tony." I touch her auburn hair and she shakes my head in her chest.

"They are doing it to protect me!" She shrieked. I wanted to just hug her, cuddle her. Tell her everything will be alright. But I wasn't sure of anything anymore.

"Lynnie you are tired. We had a long night why don't you take a nap and when you wake up I will make your favorite, Lamb and Mashed Potatoes." I start guiding her to the couch.

"Just hold me." She cried. I picked her up and then put her on the blue couch. I lay with her and rub her back as she cried. I try to quiet her but she just kept crying as my heart broke with every tear she sheared.

Soon her crying turned into snores. My shirt was damp from her salty tears. I got up slowly and put the purple throw over her and go into the kitchen and start to cook.

I start to get the lamb ready when someone spoke up. "What are you going to do?" It was Vincent. His light brown hair was slicked back and parted to the side. He wore a white shirt and denim jeans. His hands were covered in a dark grease probably from the car lot he works at.

"I was thinking of going back to California but Evelyn won't go for it, She doesn't want to go back there. I was thinking Massachusetts." I start prepping the meat.

"You have to get them out sooner or later. This town has done nothing but hurt my sister and my niece and nephew." It was true it did nothing but hurt.

"Yes Evelyn had a depression in California but this She can't be in a small town gossipy area right now. She has to be just with you and Mag and Eddie. She just needs her family."

"I know. I'm just going to take it out of here at the end of the week. After last night. They all need it."

"Yeah, I'm just saying because I feel like something is off. Like the calm before the storm."

It was the calm before the storm. The terrible, ugly, heartbreaking storm.