Glimpse of Us | Jenlisa [COMPLETED]

Chapter 7

Trigger warning: miscarriage

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Hanbin arrives to pick River up in the late afternoon.

He greets Lisa with a hug and an honest 'how are you doing?', he listens to her chatter for a bit about work, while River gathers her things, and Lisa knows why she always liked him so much.

He's being careful with her, though, and she also knows why.

"How's- How's Yeri?" she asks him. "How's the baby?"

He smiles wide, almost like he can't help himself, and Lisa...she is familiar with that feeling. But Hanbin reigns it in.

"They're both great," he says. "Thank you, Lsa. It's- I, huh-"

"It's okay to be excited in front of me," she tells him, and it stops him in his tracks. She didn't mean to be so upfront, but she was never fond of the kid gloves. Hanbin looks sheepish, and Lisa feels bad. "I mean it, I...I'm really happy for you. What happened was a long time ago." A lie.

"It's a boy," Hanbin says, and it still feels like a punch to the gut. "Yeri didn't want to know at first but she caved in..."

Lisa smiles, and it's only a little tinged with sadness.

"Congratulations."

Hanbin thanks her.

"You should come over for dinner some time," Hanbin offers her, but Lisa knows it's just courtesy. She was never too close with Yeri. Yeri was always Jennie's friend. Once more, Lisa begins to fantasize about a place where no one's Jennie, no one knows their story.

"Of course," Lisa agrees, all for show.

River barges into the living room, cutting through the atmosphere, and Lisa and Ella both say their goodbyes.

"Mommy, can you brush my hair?" Ella asks, and Lisa nods picking her up. In moments like this, she likes having her daughter close. Ella gives her peace of mind, she's a balm against all the hurt she's experienced in life.

She's the best parts of Lisa and the best parts of her ex-wife.

Being a mother feels right to her. Making herself soft and gentle and protective is something she didn't do a lot of growing up, that she never thought she'd want to do, even, but it fits.

Lisa brushes her daughter's hair and she could never regret this, could never regret trying again even if it gave her so much heartache.

***

(August, 2023)

Only her back hurts at first.

Lisa thinks it's odd because she slept well the night before. Jennie complained about the room being chilly -even though it was summer- and Lisa curled herself around Jennie, the slight curve of her belly pressed against her wife's back. And she's only over the 3 month mark, 15 weeks to be exact, nowhere near heavy enough for it to cause her back pain.

So she ignores it.

Her stomach hurts next, starts pulling and stinging like cramps, and that is impossible to ignore.

A cold dread fills Lisa, and the only thing she wants is to listen to Jennie's voice. It's probably nothing, but she's scared.

She calls her once, twice, three times. It goes unanswered each time, and maybe it's the time at the phone that allows her to ignore the pain, because when she puts it down it kills her.