Fortitude

Chapter 6: Forgiveness

Song that inspired me to write this chapter:

To Build a Home - The Cinematic Orchestra

Valerie's POV

Two years ago...

Ty stood up, helping me up with a hand, and I felt like my knees were about to give up.
I felt like falling.

They were here. Standing right in front of me.

They were shadows, shadows from my past, and when they stepped under the lantern, I could clearly see their faces, those faces that haunted me every night until I was Angela was born.

It was even worse than the day of Angie's third birthday last month. They looked like ghosts, and I was scared. I didn't want to be, but I was.

I instinctively took Tyler's hand, yearning for his warmness, because I felt cold.

I couldn't find my voice, so Ty spoke up, in a sharp, cold tone.

"She told you to stay away. Why didn't you listen?"

He was looking at them as if his eyes could burn them to death. And I wished they could.

"We've been trying to reach you-"

"What do you want?" Tyler thankfully interrupted her.

"We need to say this. Please, just hear us out. And we'll be on our way. For good." he said, his voice breaking at the end.

It was all part of their act. They were trying to get to me, but I wasn't going to let them.

Tyler shook his head.
"No way-"

"Go ahead, say it," a voice said, and I finally realized it was mine.

Tyler was as shocked as they were.

And I was, too. It was like someone had taken over me and was controlling what I said.

Maybe it was my subconscious telling me to listen to them, give them a chance.

Or maybe I just wanted this to be over. I just wanted them to say their piece, and leave.

She stepped forwards, her eyes burning into mine. I could actually see the tears in them, but then again, it was all part of their act.

"Valerie, no matter what we say, nothing will make up for what we did to you. And we know it. We abandoned you when you needed us the most, our own daughter, kicked out. And I will never ever forgive myself for that. We will never forgive ourselves. And I see no reason why you should forgive us, but we just needed to say it. Right after you... left, we felt guilty. We looked for you, everywhere. We called all your friends, all the people you knew from school, the neighbors, looking for any sign of you, but it was in vain. We went to every hotel and motel nearby, but none of them said your name was on their guest list. You couldn't be found. It was like you had disappeared into thin air, and the guilt ate at us every day more and more. It was our fault. We tried to force you to do something unspeakable of, something we then understood was cruel, horrible, but it was too late. You were gone, and you would never come back. You would never forgive us, and we couldn't live with ourselves knowing that. So we kept looking. A few months later, we hired a private investigator, because we were starting to think you were...God. I can't even begin to explain how scared I was. How scared we were. We found out nine months later that you were at the 7th Motel, and that they had lied to us, because you had asked them to. So we knew you didn't wanna be found. They told us that you had barely spent two weeks there, and we were confused. They explained that you had gone with some boy, but they didn't know his name. They weren't much help. We went back home, thinking about you. All the time. Thinking that by then, you must have had gone into labor, and maybe given birth to the baby. Even three years later, we couldn't find you. Until that day. We would have never guessed that you had moved halfway across the state, but then again, you were right to. You needed a fresh start, and we're happy to know you've got yours. Because we haven't gotten ours. We were heartbroken. We still are. We should have been there for you through the pregnancy, through everything.
I can't believe we even mentioned the abortion, when we can't even have kids ourselves. And seeing you that day, the day of your girl's birthday, with him, with all those people at your house, we finally felt at peace. Even when you told us to leave. Because you were happy, you had a family of your own, you had moved on. Of course it hurt, it still hurts, but all we wanted to know was that you were safe and happy. And you were. You are. You, young man, have made sure of that. And we can't thank you enough for taking care of our daughter. For loving and cherishing her the way we should have. For being a better father than my husband had ever been. And you, Valerie, you're a better mother than I had ever been, than I ever will be. That child of yours is lucky to have you both. You weren't as lucky, and it's on us. We will never forgive ourselves for that, all we can still hope for is that you forgive us someday. Even if we don't deserve it, because believe me, we know we don't."

By the time she was finished, tears were streaming down my face, and down hers.

They had looked for me, they were truly sorry for what they had done to me. They hadn't given up on me. It was all I had wanted to hear.

They still loved me, and I was still their daughter.

They were still my parents.

I couldn't help it. I ran and threw myself at them, wrapping my trembling arms around both their necks. I hugged them like my life depended on it.

I had missed them. Too much.

I had told them they were dead to me, and I regretted it now. Because I hadn't realized until then that I wasn't dead to them. I was dead without them.

"Mom, Dad, I forgive you. I forgive you."

They smiled through their tears, both of them, hugging me back fiercely.

I turned around to look at Tyler, and he nodded at me, smiling, and a single tear ran down his cheek.

I hadn't seen him cry for a long, long time. Not since he told me about his own parents.

"We forgive you." I said, sobbing uncontrollably.

The front door opened, revealing Angie.
Her hair was a mess, she was holding Fortitude against her chest, and was looking at us with a confused expression.

"Mommy? Daddy?"

My parents gasped, and I realized it was the first time they ever saw her.

Mom covered her mouth with her hands, still crying, and Dad hugged her, admiring Angie with adoration and pride in his eyes.

Pride. He was proud of me.

"Dad, Mom, meet Angela. Your granddaughter." I loved the sound of it, I never thought I would. Up until now.

I went to Angie, taking her small hand in mine, slowly walking her towards them.

She was shy around strangers, and she didn't know who they were.

She'd always asked me about them, what they were like, why she couldn't see them.
And I always avoided the subject.

She knew Ty's parents were dead, and she used to get upset when I told her that mine didn't wanna see us. She's never had grandparents, and I knew she wanted to.

"Angie, baby, say hi to Grandpa and Grandma." I smiled down at her, as she stepped forwards.

"Hi," she shyly whispered, looking at them with curiousness.

They couldn't say a word, they were too overwhelmed by their emotions, this whole night was too emotional.

When Angie smiled at them, they knew.
We knew.

She had just let them in.

Like I had let them back into my life.

-------------------------------------------------------

Author's note:
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! I'm feeling quite emotional now! This is by far my favorite chapter! Which one is yours?

Don't forget to vote & comment!
Thank you for reading!

All the love. -C