Episode Thirty-Eight:
TO SEE THEM HAPPY
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F A W N ' S P O V :
When I finished speaking, I don't think I could see anything other than the monster that had been made from man, directly in front of me. His eyes bloodshot, and lips dysfunctional as his words rolled off in waves of indistinct slurs. I know, that this was no fault of his own, but it made me angry that he'd not been able to hold on just a little longer.
Just because he knew he could. Just for me.
Just for himself, and no one else.
Because he really did deserve so much better than the shit he's been forced to live with since he admitted to having a crush on Zach Effron and not Vanessa Hudgens when he was in seventh grade.
That was back when we lived in South Carolina, and Emerson was fourteen while I was a mere two years old. Morgan wasn't even conceived, let alone alive, and she wouldn't be for a while.
He went through hell, in high school, just for being gay in a homophobic town. He was bullied the entirety of the time that he lived with us, and that is what led him on the path to being a full-fledged, and unconcerned, alcoholic.
My parents got so worried that they packed up our whole entire family, even little baby Morgan into a moving truck so he could go to one of the countries best rehabilitation centers. They wanted the best for him, they gave up everything, their jobs, their home, their hard earned paychecks to help him get healthy.
It felt like getting shot when he never returned home. It felt like losing a piece of yourself.
It felt a little bit like dying.
"What the heck is all the noise? What took you so long to get home, Faw - "
Dressed in a hole sprinkled T-Shirt and fleece pajama pants, Morgan walked out of the apartment. She had a tissue box in one hand and a water bottle in the other, but they both fell to the floor when she saw all the people in the hallway.
"Fawn? What's going on?" She whispers, her eyes staring fearfully at the hands Elliott had around my waist, which I didn't realize had been around me, all this time, his thumb rubbing circles up and down my waist as I grew more and more heated. She then looked back up to meet my eyes, as if to question if I was okay.
I wish I could tell her I was completely fine, but eyes never lie.
"Who - who is this?" she gestures to Emerson who I've never seen more still in my life. His eyes squeezed shut, as tears begin to stream down his freckled cheekbones. He moves to turn around and face Morgan, but she flinched away, terrified.
So, terrified.
Emerson opened his eyes, and they were so raw, so pained, that I found it hard to continue looking. Elliott rested his head atop my own, and pulled me closer to him. I didn't hesitate to cuddle in further, as my throat constricted.
"Morgan," he whispers, looking at her in a way that could make you believe he was blinded by a light, his eyes attempting to readjust to the sight of his younger sister and failing, as they filled to the brim with tears.
"Who - Tell me who you are!" she shouts, looking back to me continuously, begging me to step in and take him away from her. But, I couldn't, even if I tried I could never rip Emerson away from something he had been needing so desperately for what has now been seven years.
His family.
She looked back up to Emerson and she visibly tensed, sucking in the atmosphere and looking at me and looking at him, and looking at her hands, and questioning,
"Emmy?"
He nodded his head, but not before she ran into him, and squeezed him so tight you'd think he'd become lightheaded, but he didn't. He squeezed right back and lifted her up off the ground to look her in the eyes. The eyes that were so much like his, the only reminder I had of him for the seven years he had been missing from our lives.
It is in this moment, that I can feel Elliott turn me around, and allow me to nestle my head in his warm stature, listen to the sound of his rapid heart, and let the waterworks begin. Soaking through his T-shirt. His hand moves to cup the back of my neck before he leans down and rests his lips on my forehead.
I remember the way that I felt when I came home from apartment hunting with Emerson that first night. I remember getting the text while I was spending time with Lawrence, and jumping on the opportunity to leave. I remember getting there and seeing him different than before. I remember not allowing myself to believe he had started drinking again.
I remember when his hand connected with my face, in a hasty argument over coming back home. I remember the way he froze, and his eyes softened, before he returned to the cold beast, he had made himself believe he had to be to survive. I remember the crying, and the running away, and the hating him.
I remember very vividly hating him, with all of my heart in that moment.
I remember coming back to Lawrence's place, and him not noticing my shift in mood, I remember him trying to get me to eat something that a girl named Margo had made for us, and refusing to eat, feeling sick to my stomach. I remember, that this frustrated Margo, and in turn frustrated Lawrence, who sat eating alone.
I remember when Lawrence's mother came home with his father, and he shoved us both outside hastily. I remember him telling me to get the hell out of his house, and slamming a wooden door in my face before I called Dakarai to come and pick me up. I remember, Elliott seeing me that night, seeing me in my most pitiful form.
I remember Emerson driving me to school the next day. I remember seeing Lawrence and trying to pretend like nothing had even happened. I remember him doing the same.
I remember us playing pretend.
I remember how exhausting it all was.
But after seeing the look on Morgan's face - I'd do it all over again.
Without a second thought, I'd do it again.
I'd do anything to see my family, reunited after these seven years.
I'd do anything to see them happy.
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QUESTIONS:
Thoughts on the chapter as a whole?
Thoughts on Emerson and Morgan meeting?
Thoughts on the reunion in general?
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
On to day four of posting EVERY SINGLE DAY for a week, in thanks for reaching Top 100 in Teen Fiction, 35K reads, and being awesome human beings! Thanks again for reading, I don't how much to say other than keep being you, you're amazing!
Don't forget to vote, comment, and share this story with out fellow Wattpadians!
- tat <3
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Teen Fiction❝Would it be wrong to think - to think, that I could make you so much happier?❞ Fawn Lockhart and Elliott Mass have never gotten along. The water and oil of people they avoid each other at all costs, and when they do interact it's nothing but petty...
