Chapter 56

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Chapter 56

Catherine's POV

As soon as Harry was completely out of my sister's home, I slammed the door dramatically. There was an eerie silence throughout the house and I pad back down the hallway to Karleigh's room. While I stand outside of her closed bedroom door, I hear another object begin destroyed in the moment of her anger and frustration.

Part of me wants to step in there and prevent her from damaging anything else, but the other half of me knows that this is the release she's needed for quite some time now. Through the thin wood of the door, I hear Karleigh drop the her knees and cry. Never in my entire life had I heard my baby girl cry so much, not even after my husband passed away. She was always very careful to hide her emotions.

I knock lightly on the door, not wanting to intrude. The door is whipped open and Karleigh's swollen face stares back at me blankly.

"Karleigh?" I whisper.

"How could you?" Her voice is accusing and annoyed. My heart aches at her words, I thought that after our moment of bonding earlier tonight, she wouldn't be so quick to shut me out like she usually does. I still cannot find the heart to give up.

"How could I what? Kick Harry out?" The words tumble from my mouth.

"No. How could you bring me into this world? Bring life to such a horrific person such as myself. If there is a God, he will never forgive you for this sin." Her harsh words trample my heart and tears threaten to spill out of my eyes.

"You are not a sin, you are my daughter, and no matter what I will love you." I summon all of my confidence and strength into that statement.

Karleigh's blue eyes that are identical to mine, give me a cruel gaze. We continue to stare each other down for a few more moments before she does something that I was never expecting. Her knees buckle and she topples to the floor weakly. I rush to her side, and kneel down beside her, brushing my hand against her forehead.

"I don't want to love him, Mom." Karleigh cries tears of heartbreaking pain. My arms wrap around her and I wish that my husband, her father, were here to comfort her as well. When Harry told Karleigh that he loves her, I knew it'd be too much for her to handle. Coos of comfort fell from my lips as I said anything and everything to calm my only beloved child down.

How could she wish to be nonexistent, dead even, when she's the only thing I have left. She's my only child, and my husbands gone as well. Without Karleigh, I'll have nothing but my own misfortune.

And here she lies, weeping to me about how she wishes she didn't love this boy. Who knew that Karleigh would be capable of actual love after the hell-based past she's had. Pity swells in my heart as I think of the many struggles my baby girl has been through.

Karleigh's muffled cries slow down, and her heavy breathing takes the place of her aching sobs. Surely she must've fallen asleep, I stare down at her relaxed faces of slumber, and a memory floods my mind.

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"But Mama, when will he be here?" My five year old daughter asks me for the hundredth time tonight, since I told her of the news of her daddy's return home.

"Baby girl, when you wake he'll be here but you must go to sleep so the morning can come faster." I persuade the gullible child and she nods eagerly.

"Can't I just please stay up until he gets here? I'm too excited to sleep." Karleigh whines, in hope that I'd change my mind.

"No can do, young one. Daddy gave me specific general orders to be certain you were fast asleep so he could be here in the morning." I tell her in a positive voice.

Kalriegh lets out a long sigh as she sinks under the warm covers of her bed. The damp hair sticks to her face slightly, from the shower she just took. I couldn't help but admire her innocence, and in this moment, I promise I will do anything I can to prevent her from feeling the heartache I feel every time my husband leaves back to his station overseas. My daughter cannot afford to have her heart broken.

Her eyelids flutter shut and I hear her breathing slow. My fingers brush across her cheek gently and I rise from her bed and pad to the living room downstairs.

Absentmindedly I turn on the television, but I'm not watching. The only thing I'm watching is the clock right above the television, because I knew that when that clock strikes midnight, my husband will be back here safe in my arms, out of harms way if just for the night.

My heart is beating in anticipation, and time passes by unbearably slow. Three short taps on the front door send my heart and mind into a frenzy as I jump up to see my husband's missed face.

I rip the door open and when I see him, it's as if I'm seeing him again for the first time. My heart stops, along with time and he smiles his heartbreaking smile that I fell in love with.

"Catherine." He breathes a sigh of relief when his arms wrap around my waist, and I return the gesture. "Will." I whispered his name into his ear as he lifted me from the ground and spun my in a small circle.

When he sits me back down on my feet, I close the front door and drag him our our bedroom. "Calm down, Catherine." He jokingly smiles at me, making my heart pound louder.

"I can't, I've missed you so..." I tell him as I lean him back on the bed. My legs straddle his hips and he smiles up at me with a lovingness in his eyes. "How long?" I dare to ask him.

"Two days." He solemnly tells me and I nod painfully.

"Let's not waste time. Karleigh will be up early in the morning, we only have tonight." I tell Will as I lower my lips onto his, our bodies becoming one to fulfill our aching need for each other.

************************************

I blink and look at Karleigh lying still on her bedroom floor, she's much more grown up then she was back then. A sad smile takes over my features as I wonder, where exactly the time has flown to?

Lifting myself up from the floor, I walk quietly out of Karleigh's room to my guest bedroom that is much smaller and climb into the decent sized bed. Bringing my knees to my chest, I hug them tightly and clench my eyes closed.

Tears run down my face like they typically do at nighttime ever since Will died.

"Come back to me. Come back to Karleigh." I find myself speaking aloud, although I know Will won't answer out loud to me as he used to. My spite towards the military, has only grown since Will's death, I'd much have my lover back rather than their stupid folded remembrance flag.

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