Protecting Olivia

CHAPTER FIFTY

LIVY

Matthew and I watch as Ethan gathers his things, making sure he hasn't left anything behind. The sun is just starting to peak over the horizon and the cold air nips at my skin. The mood is solemn, my thoughts going a million miles an hour as I watch Ethan place his bag in his car before returning to us on the front step. He wraps Matthew in a hug, kissing the top of his head.

"You look after your mum alright?" Ethan tells him earning a nod from Matthew. I can see the tears forming in his eyes that are so much like his fathers. He wraps his arms around Ethan again and Ethan hugs him back, a shaky breath leaving his lips as he pulls away and ruffles the hair on his head.

Ethan turns to me, and I close the distance quickly, muffling a sob into his chest as his arms tighten around me. He sways gently, his cheek resting on the top of my head as tears fall down my cheeks. I knew it would be hard to see him go, but I wasn't expecting just how much my heart would break in this moment.

Ethan pulls back and cups my face in his hands, his thumbs caressing my cheeks as he captures my tears. He bends down and presses his lips to mine and I kiss him back, twice as hard.

"Come back to me," I whisper as he moves to place his forehead against mine. "Come back to us." I can hear the pleading in my voice, but I don't care.

"There is nothing in the world I wouldn't do to make it home to you," Ethan's voice cracks slightly and I crash my lips against his, savouring the feel of him, committing his scent to memory. We pull away and he hugs me to him, one arm tightly around my waist as his other disappears before I feel Matthew pressed against me. I smile through my tears at our small family embrace. He pulls away all too soon, taking a backward step away from us as his eyes scan over Matthew and then me.

"I'll call, as soon as I can," he promises and I nod my head, unable to speak. He looks at us both, one last time before turning around and walking towards his car. I watch his confident steps move away from us, as I realise there is a chance, we may never see him again. A sense of urgency has me running down the steps towards him.

"Ethan," I cry out, making him stop and turn towards me. I stop just in front of him, my voice stuck in my throat as I take him in. "I..." I croak, swallowing slightly I say to him something I haven't told him since I was a teenager. "I love you..." I whisper, my vision blurry with tears.

Ethan steps towards me, pulling me into his arms and pressing his lips against my forehead.

"I love you, Livy, more than you could ever imagine." He leans down and captures my lips again in a brief kiss full of promise. "I will be home before you know it." He states before he steps away and walks towards his car.

I stand in the middle of my front lawn, Matthew joining me as Ethan starts his car. I wrap my arm around Matthew as Ethan reverses out of the driveway, looking at us momentarily, before driving away.

*

Matthew went back to bed when we entered the house, but I knew I wouldn't sleep. Instead curling up on the couch and putting the TV on, the sound playing softly in the background as I paid no attention to what was on the screen. My mind was on Ethan and our morning together, waking up to his lips on mine, all the way to watching him drive away. It played on a loop in my head and I felt the tears fall down my cheeks as my heart ached.

Half an hour after Ethan left, my front door opens and Lucy walks in with Hayley and Richard following tiredly behind her. The kids walk to the opposite couch and curl up, almost falling asleep before their heads were down as Lucy sits beside me and wraps me in a hug.

The sun hadn't even risen, but I wasn't surprised by her arrival. She didn't say anything, just held me as the tears fell. Another presence appeared on the other side of me as more arms wrapped around me, I looked over to see Kaley give me a sad smile as a hand gripped mine. Jane sat on the floor at my feet, her hand squeezing gently in comfort.

"You're not alone." Lucy says quietly after a long moment. "We are in this together." She tells me. I nod my head, grateful that they are here, knowing that they know what this is like as they had watched the men they love leave this morning just like I had.

"How do you do it?" I ask, not even beginning to fathom how I am meant to live these next few months with an ache in my chest and constantly worrying.

"We keep working, raising our kids and living each day," Lucy states.

"And we love them more when they are home." Jane adds. I let out a shaky breath and nod my head in understanding.

"What's that song?" Kaley asks before answering her own question. "Keep the home fires burning... or something like that." Jane and Lucy murmur in agreement as we descend into silence and I marvel at the strong women around me. They had been through this countless times, their hearts breaking and living in fear when their men go off to war, yet they drop everything in the early morning to comfort me.

I don't know what these next few months will entail, or what the future holds, but I know that with these women to lean on, I'll do my best to keep it together until Ethan gets home.