Wait For Me

A Mother's Love

As weeks went by, Connie lost count of the number of times she turned Chris down. She kept herself beside Grace, as she had done before returning to work. It was as though she had taken several steps backwards in time.

Jacob continued to visit, but never went in. He watched from the same window he had spent so many months frequenting when Grace's accident first happened. He sighed watching as Connie leant back against the chair. Her body language giving away just how tired and stressed she was.

Each time he approached her at work she seemed to back into herself and throw up every barrier he had ever seen from her. To say their relationship was how it was when they first met would be wrong. It was as though they'd never met each other before and their history was just that. Connie had shut herself off so much so that anything that had once been there between them no longer existed in her mind.

Jacob struggled to see past the woman he had known for so long, and he couldn't switch his mind off. He made sure to come by every night before he left the hospital, a part of him content in knowing they were together here.

Connie ran her hands over her face feeling someone's eyes on her. Twisting to the window, she looked to the vacant space before sighing turning her focus back to Grace. "M-Mum?" "Yes baby?" "Ho-me." She frowned slightly before sitting on the edge of her chair. "We can't go home yet sweet heart-" "Y-you..."

Grace squeezed her hand gently as Connie shook her head. "I'm not leaving you sweetheart. I'm staying right here with you... Come on, shuffle over." Grace smiled before moving with her mothers help. Settling on the bed beside her, she wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Pushing a kiss to the top of her head, Grace instantly relaxed in her mothers grasp.

"You mean everything to me Gracie, and I promise I'm never going to let anyone hurt you ever again... I promise." She ran her fingers through her hair as her eyes fluttered shut. Sleep over taking her body entirely as Connie smiled down at her.

She glanced to her phone seeing a message from Chris. He had been so understanding, promising that he would be whatever she needed at the time. Connie just couldn't find it within herself to message back though. Since she had come out of the visit with Steph, she replayed the scenes in the car park over and over. How he held onto her, reassured her. He still cared and she couldn't pretend like he didn't anymore.

Then there was the truth that was somewhat out in the open now. Every time she saw them she knew that she couldn't lie about how she was. Charlie had supported her through every step, whether she wanted to admit that she needed it or not. It was only now that she truly understood that she couldn't do this alone.

"I wish everything hadn't gone so wrong for us... I wish I hadn't pushed him away so much, maybe he'd be here now..." She glanced to her daughter asleep on her chest. "I wish that you hadn't had to wake up in an entirely different world to the one you remember..." Connie took a deep breath running her fingers through Grace's hair. Turning her head to the side she looked down at her phone, the image of her and Jacob one she found herself staring at more and more lately.

Grace tucked herself into Connie's side causing her to let go of her phone. Looking at her daughter she smiled, thankful that at least something had gone right in the last few months. Grace was getting better, yes it was a long road but they were taking it step by step with each other.

After hearing her mother's voice she had come round but remained quiet, opening her eyes enough to see that they were still alone. "I know you love seeing Jacob, and I don't blame you. Part of me still wants him here all the time, but I can't- Seeing him, it's too hard for me. I'll never stop you from seeing him, but I don't think I can be with him anymore."

Leaning down she pushed a kiss to the top of her head before feeling the tears begin to roll down her cheeks. Quickly wiping a hand over her cheek she removed the traces of them before resting her head backwards against the pillows.

Falling asleep with her daughter tightly within her hold. Grace hugged closely to her mother thinking about what she had just heard her say. There was no way she was letting her mum ruin the one good thing they had, had. Jacob. Somehow she would get them each to see what they couldn't seem to see in the other.