Glassheart (RedxChloe) Book 2

Chapter 7

Red had been acting weird all day, ever since their little interaction between her and Chloe. She couldn't put her finger on it, but Chloe did not like it. She wasn't flirting, she hasn't spoken to her about getting back together. It was like she had given up. And the thought did not sit well with Chloe. Not just because she wanted her ex-wife to fight harder for them, but also because Red wasn't acting like herself. She seemed depressed. Almost like something snapped inside her. Chloe makes a note of it to talk to her after the kids go to bed. She goes to talk to her older children when she hears a thud coming from the office.

Her and the twins run to Red's office. "Whoa mama!" They slow down a little, if only to avoid a collision with their mother, who they swore took Sword and Shields in school, not track. "Red?!" She bangs on the office door. "Red, you ok?!" She tried to open but the door was locked. "Ma." Cree gently pushes her aside before ramming his shoulder into the door repeatedly. Finally, once it's loose off its hinges, he kicks it down. The sight in front of him made him almost wish he did erase himself from existence. Chloe screams in agony as Crimson steps aside to see what all the commotion was about. The sight made her sick to her stomach. "Oh my god...." They all hurry to Red's desk, her body lifeless beside it. Chloe searches around her when she spots it. An empty pill bottle. She quickly starts doing chest compressions and CPR. "Ma...." "No, no you're not dying on me!" "Ma...." "You're not dying on me!" "MA!" "YOU'RE NOT DYING ON ME!" Chloe finally stops as she realizes her attempts were useless. Her ex-wife was gone. The mother of her children. Her best friend. Despite everything, she truly does still love her. "I'm sorry." She whispered as she held her close to her chest. "I'm so sorry. I never gave you a chance." She sobs.

"Mama?" They all hear Cruz's voice. Chloe sniffles. "Quick, don't let your brother see this!" The twins hurry to stop him from coming in. Chloe sits there, holding Red's lifeless body, tears endlessly flowing down her cheeks. "I should have told you. I still love you. I never stopped loving you. I should have given you a chance. I shouldn't have ever pushed you, Red.  I know your past with your mother. I know trauma isn't easy to get over. I should have been more understanding. I'm so sorry." She looks at Red's hand reaching for something. As if she was reaching to grab one last thing before she slipped away. She notices the open drawer that's usually locked. She opens it and finds the broken pocket watch. "Oh my god...." She whispered. "You kept this? After all these years?" She sobs as she kisses her forehead one last time. Sirens are heard from outside as authorities arrive.

After what felt like hours, which it was, they finally left. A coroner lifts Red's body on a gurney. Chloe stops them before they push her away. "Wait!" She unzips the body bag slowly, looking at the motionless woman in front of her. "I'm sorry this all happened. I never stopped loving you." She places one last kiss on Red's lips before they take her away. They all head back inside, exhaustion taking over after the adrenaline of trying to save Red. "Ma? Where's mommy going?" Chloe bites her lip to keep from crying. "Mommy's going away." She tells her younger kids. "Oh, where's she going?" "Somewhere far away." "Is she coming back?" Chloe bursts into tears. "What's wrong mama?" "She's um.... she's not coming back, sweetie." They frown. "Oh, will we ever see her again?" Chloe nods. "Someday." The twins come in and grab their siblings. "Hey, it's been a long day," Crimson sighs. "How about we all go to bed?"

Soon everyone was laying in bed. Well, almost everyone. Chloe was shuffling Red's clothes, her suitcase, all her belongings. She rummaged through her office drawer when she saw it. The pocket watch. The twins, unable to sleep, both go and knock on their ma's door. When there was no answer, they pushed open the door. When they still couldn't find her, they tried their mom's room. Her old room at least. Once again falling short, they finally try the office to find Chloe holding the pocket watch. They slowly approach her, as to not frighten her and have her accidentally send herself back in time, again. "Ma....what are you doing with that pocket watch?" "Nothing, it's broken. I can't even go back if i wanted to." Chloe mumbles, defeated. "Did you....want to go back?" Chloe sighs. "I'd give anything to go back right now." The twins slowly walk up to her sitting at the desk. Cree reaches into his pocket and pulls out another pocket watch. This time, not broken. "How and where did you get that?" Chloe asks them as she stares at it. "Madison Hatter sent it to us after we told her that mom took our other one." Crimson mumbled. "So, you've had another pocket watch this entire time? Do you realize how dangerous that is?!" Chloe scolds them. "But now, you can go back. You can save mom." Chloe shakes her head. "I can't, I can't. What if i make things worse?" She asks them. "Ma! Mom is dead! She committed suicide, you tell me there's something worse than that!"

She shakes her head. "There isn't. But i can't go, your mom told me if i ever saw myself, it wouldn't end well." Chloe sighs and gives it back to them. "What if we go again?" Crimson asks her. "You can send us back to the exact moment everything went wrong between you two." Chloe tries to think. When everything started going wrong. They've been fighting for years, it's hard to pinpoint an exact moment. But if she had to guess.... "I know when it all started." The twins take the pocket watch. "Which is?" "Back in high school, after you kids left, your mom and i were great, until one day, one of her classes was doing a project. I accused her of cheating on me, and that's when all this madness started." Chloe admits. "Wait, so it wasn't even mom that did anything? It was you?" Cree stares at her, wide eyed. Chloe shakes her head. "I should have known. I should have known better. Your mom has never known love, even after we changed your grandma Bridget, it took a while for her to get used to things, so why? Why would she choose to cheat on me if she's finally found love? It was the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life! And that's what led to all the fighting. We actually broke up a couple times after that but we managed to get back together in the end. Now....now there's no getting back together. It's just loneliness." Chloe can feel her tears coming back.

"Let us go, ma. Please let us fix this." Cree begs. "I can't, what if you change something again?" Chloe shakes her head. "We won't." Crimson promises. "Are you sure?" She asks. "Ma, no offense but look around. Is this really the future you wanna live in?" They ask her. Chloe shakes her head. "Not without your mother." She whispered. She quickly wipes her tears and hands them the pocket watch. "Ok, you go back. You tell me to stop being so fucking stupid! And you fix this! Do you understand?!" They both nod. "In the meantime, I'm gonna look after your siblings, maybe I'll see if Madison Hatter can fix this pocket watch." She points to the shattered time machine on the floor. They both nod and hold the pocket watch in their hands. "Remember kids, fix this. Save your mom. Do not tell me nor your mother why you're back! I'm sure we'll still have very fresh memories of you being the past." The twins look at her. "Wha- how long after we left the first time did you start accusing her?" They ask. Chloe bites her lip. "About a month...." "What?! You knew you two were gonna end up together with kids and you still accused her?!" Crimson shouts. "It's not my finest moment, ok?! Just go!" Chloe quickly kisses their cheeks. "Be safe, come back as soon as you can." They squint their eyes at her. "Shouldn't it just be as easy as saying 'hey, don't accuse mom of cheating'?" Cree asks her. Chloe shakes her head. "You'd think, but time travel is never easy. Now, go. I can't stand another minute without your mother."

They both nod as Chloe gives them one last kiss on the cheek. "We'll be back soon Mama." They smile at her. "Hopefully to a future where you two are together again." Chloe nods. "At least you'll be going back to after you two already left, so you don't have to worry about seeing yourselves, but still. Be careful." "We will, we promise." "I love you kids." "We love you mama." They hold hands and press the button on the pocket watch.

--

"Mmmm." Red moans as Chloe kisses her neck. She slowly moves up and kisses her lips once again. Suddenly, there's a knock at the door. "Ugh." Chloe pulls away and grabs her shirt off the floor. "Oh come on, let them wait!" Red complains. "Red, I'm not gonna do that! What if it's important?" Chloe laughs at her girlfriend before throwing a pillow that had been knocked off the bed at her. "Ugh, fine." Red also climbs off the bed and joins her girlfriend. She definitely wants to know who interrupted their alone time. It was past curfew, everyone should be in bed by now, which they were, just not sleeping. Well, not yet. "Alright," Red opens the door, "what the hell do yo- twins?!" "What?!" Chloe comes up behind her. They practically tackle Red to the floor. "Mom!" They start tearing up. "What are you doing here? I thought you went home? Why are you here?" Red asks as she tries to get out from under them. "It's a long story. Um, but first could we get some water? Time travel kinda makes my throat dry." Crimson lied. "Uh, sure. I'll be right back. Chlo, you want anything?" Red asks her. "Ice cream?" Chloe smiles innocently. Red sighs. "Chocolate chip?" She asks her future wife. Chloe nods. "Alright, just cause i love you." She leans in and gives her a kiss. "I'll be back, but you guys got some explaining to do when i do." Red scolds them before she leaves. She closes the door behind her as the twins quickly turn towards Chloe. "So, what happened?" She asks them. "Mom's dead....in our future...."

----

Oops....back at it again....