Run

Introduction

Obviously most of this is exactly the same as the final chapter of the first book but there will be some differences so just go with it xoxo
Authors POV

5 months after Ryan passed away Chloe gave birth to a beautiful little boy named Tommy, it was hard in the lead up to without Ryan but she was coping and getting through it, the birth of her son was tinged with sadness as she felt the profound absence of her new sons father but one day she would tell him all about his father

Six years later and that day was today

Chloe's POV

So today's the day, the day I've been dreading for weeks, today Ryan would've been 30 years old

It hits me really hard, I know it's been so long now, I do, but I will never get over him or ever get over loosing him

When Tommy comes home from school we're going to go to the cemetery and leave so flowers, he hasn't been there many times but this is one he needs to go to

I went to pick him up at the end of his day, there was this profound silence going on like he knew something was wrong, but when we got home I was blindsided with a question I didn't ever expect to hear from my 6 year old son

"Mommy, do I have a daddy?" He asked me and I stood there stunned for a moment, did I really just get asked that?

"Of course you do sweetie, why would you ask that?" I asked gently as I knelt down to his level

"We were drawing our families today at school and the other kids kept asking me why there wasn't a daddy" he told me, the hurt, I didn't want to have to explain his to him at such a young age but he deserves to know

I picked him up and took him into the living room of our apartment

I sat down and sat him on my lap facing me

"Sweetie, your daddy was sick while you were still in mommy's tummy but the doctors couldn't help him get all better like they do when your sick" I explained slowly

"Why?" He enquiries

"Daddy was really really poorly and so they just couldn't make him better" I told him

"Where is he now?" He asks, oh dear god

"He's in the sky, watching over you" I say

"Did you love him a lot?" He asks, God this kid suddenly has a lot of questions, clearly Ryan's child

"Yeah I did sweetie, I loved him so much, just as much as I love you" I feel my voice cracking a little so I don't carry on

My hand instinctively goes to my ring which I still wear on a chain around my neck to this day, and I'll never stop

"What's that?" He asks looking at it, he used to love to play with it when he was a baby, I always worried about his little fingers in it but I just couldn't take it off, it felt wrong

"That's my engagement ring, daddy gave it to me when we got engaged" I tell him and he smiles

"Would daddy like me?" He asks curiously, where are all these coming from?

"He'd absolutely love you, he loved you from the second he knew about you, he'd be so proud of you, I'm sure wherever he is and whatever he's doing he's so very proud of you and he loves you so so much" I promise him

"Can you tell me more about him?" It's then I realise, I've almost never told Tommy anything much about his father

"Of course, he was in the navy, enlisted at 18, served 2 tours, he was one of he most highly decorated men of his age in the service" I tell him "but he got hurt during his second tour, he hurt his back a lot and it made it hard for him to walk, that's how he ended up in the veterans hospital where we met" I explain

"Did you love him straight away?" He asks me

"Not at first, I hated him to begin with, but as soon as we started talking to each other I feel madly in love with him, your dad was so charming and funny and just an amazing person to be around, you remind me of him a lot, you may have my blonde hair but you have his brown eyes" I tell him

"Can you show me some pictures of him?" Then I also come to the realisation that there's very few pictures of him out

I head into my room and grab a box I've had hidden under my bed for a long time, it's just pictures of us, all of it, and I'll admit to still sleeping in his shirts sometimes even though they don't smell like him anymore and that sometime so wear his jumpers because they're baggy and warm, I'll never let go of him, I will move on but never let go, he's my sons father, he'll always be a huge part of me and my life

I took it back down and sat down with it, we looked through pictures and I told him stories while I made a note to put out more of these pictures, he needs to see more of his father

I got changed into something s little smarter and Tommy therefore insisted on doing the same thing, we got some flowers and we went

We out then down on his grave and we spoke to him, I know he probably can't hear me but I talk to him anyways, I come at least once every month, usually more but I always talk to him, let him know everything's okay down here, its only been 6 years but it feels like it was a lifetime ago

"Sweetie go wait over there for me?" I ask as I point to a tree a few metres away that's still in my eye line so I can keep an eye on him but I want to talk to him alone

He nods and runs off to the tree

"Hey Ry, so you're thirty, well...you would be, I miss you, a lot, Tommy's started asking a lot of questions about you and don't worry I'm making sure he knows it's navy not army just like I promised, I know you're always with me but sometimes I feel so alone, I can't talk to Tommy the way I want to talk to someone and there isn't really anyone else, I can't talk to ally about this because she lost you just as much as I did but yeah, just know that I miss you and I love you, you will always be my true love and the love of my life" with that I put the flowers down, wipe my eyes and head back over to Tommy

"Mommy?" He starts

"Yeah buddy?" I reply

"Will you ever find someone else?" He asks, I don't know what to say but I've got to say something

"Maybe one day, but if I do that doesn't mean I love your father any less, he will always be the love of my life, maybe one day I'll have a second chance though, but don't worry, I'll never love anyone more than I love you and your father" I promise him

"It's okay if you do find someone mommy, I'm sure daddy would want you to be happy" I'll correct myself, this is how I know he's Ryan's son

"Thank you" I whisper, that was both for Tommy and fro Ryan because I know that I have him to thank for everything that I have and I am now, I will forever be indebted to him for leaving me Tommy when he left me behind, one day I'll be with him again, but until then tommy is right, Ryan would want me to keep living my life and being happy so I will do my best

Authors POV

What Chloe didn't see however was a man stood by the tree where Tommy was stood

"Hi" said the man, tall, dark brown hair and dark brown eyes to match

The little boy looked up into the mans eyes, eyes that reflected his own

From afar the man could just make out three simple words from Chloe

"I love you" he heard

"I love you too" he whispered back

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TBH I could've probably just skipped everything other than at the cemetery but I just wanted to kinda drag those tears back just a little before I went in for it 😂😂 Who do you think the man is? xoxo