𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 ~ Caleb LeBlanc

Prologue

The weather seemed to match with everybody's mood that day; it was a cold and rainy December afternoon, thunder crashing overhead as rain poured down on everyone's umbrellas.

Everyone but Iris Walters, who stood in the rain allowing herself to get soaked and shiver from the cold.

People slowly began to leave some time after the casket was covered in dirt and down in the ground, Iris's friends giving her a sympathetic smile and hugging her before leaving.

Once everyone else had left, Luna approached her 16 year old daughter, placing her free hand on her shoulder, the other gripping her black umbrella.

"Sweetie, we have to go," Luna said quietly.

Iris didn't reply; she stared down at the gravestone that stood in front of the dirt pile, flowers surrounding it. She felt like she shouldn't leave, or that she couldn't; she kept hoping to wake up from this nightmare, to wake up and find him next to her, holding her and letting her know that he was okay and still alive and perfectly healthy.

"Iris, you're going to get sick the longer we stay out here. We should go, your father and sister are waiting in the car," Luna insisted.

Iris nodded, knowing her mother was right; no matter how much she was hurting on the inside, she knew she had to keep herself healthy, to keep herself going and not give up because life is horrible at the moment. She knew she had to keep going, because that's what he'd want.

The car ride back to the house was silent, Iris staring out the window and watching the rain drip down. Her younger sister, Carly, reached for her hand, giving her a small, reassuring smile.

Iris trudged through the front door of their house and up to her bedroom, closing the door behind her and crawling into her bed. Luna followed her up the stairs, knowing her daughter needed her at the moment.

"Iris, let's get you out of these cold and wet clothes, yeah?" Luna helped her out of bed and insisted Iris take a warm shower after standing in the cold rain for so long. She handed her daughter fresh clothes and waited for her to finish, sitting on the edge of her bed.

At first Iris didn't say anything; she just sat next to her mother, staring down at her fidgeting hands in her lap. She tried not to, but she couldn't help it; her emotions took over and soon enough, she was bawling into the palms of her hands.

Luna wrapped an arm around her, bringing her closer and allowing Iris's head to lay on her shoulder as she sobbed. It hurt Luna to see her oldest daughter go through a horrible experience she had been through herself around that age; losing the person she loved most in the world.

"I don't understand," Iris croaked out, her voice hoarse from not speaking for several days; she hadn't spoken since she held his hand in the hospital earlier that week as the life left his body right in front of her. "Why did it have to be him?"

"I don't know, sweetie. I don't know why bad things happen to such good people," Luna replied as she rubbed her daughter's back, her sobs slowing down.

"He was doing okay, he was doing better than he had in a year. I mean, we all thought he was finally gonna be okay, but then... he was just gone... just like that." Iris sighed shakily.

"I know, and I'm so sorry—" Luna began, but her daughter threw her mother's arm away from her and jumped up, yelling, "How do you know?!"

Luna looked up sadly at her daughter as she wiped more tears away from her eyes. "How do you know, Mom? How do you know what I'm feeling right now? You didn't lose Dad, he's downstairs doing just fine, perfectly healthy! So what do you know about losing someone you love more than anything or anyone else in this world?!"

Luna began to feel her own tears threatening to pour from her eyes; she hadn't told anybody but her husband about him. She never told her two daughters about how she lost the person she cared for most in the world, the person she wanted so desperately to spend the rest of her life with; now felt like the right time, especially since Iris was going through the same thing.

"Iris, sit," Luna patted the spot on the bed beside her, Iris breathing heavily as she sat back down next to her mother. "When I say I know how you feel, I do. I know what it feels like to lose someone that you love."

"Who?" Iris asked.

Luna smiled softly to herself, a tear rolling down her cheek. She wiped it away before replying, "His name was Caleb. We met when we were five, and he was to me who Patrick was to you."

Iris frowned, her heart sinking even further; her mother went through the same heartbreaking situation?

"You loved him like I love—loved Patrick?" Iris asked, her voice cracking when she corrected herself.

Luna nodded, holding her daughter's hand. "I did. He was my first love. I loved him with all of my heart, and he made me happier than anybody else. But unfortunately, when we were eighteen, he passed away. I know how it feels right know, Iris; you feel like your whole world is broken. You feel the one piece that kept your life together is gone, and everything is falling apart. You feel there is no other piece that will fit in its place because it was so unique, and helped shape your life to be the beautifully lovely story that it is to this day. But here's the best part, and I know everybody says this, but you have to believe it; things will get better. At some point in your life, the pain won't be as unbearable as it is now. Believe me, Iris, one day you'll feel okay again. Of course you're always going to love and miss him, but you learn to live with the pain. I promise you things will be okay again, and until then, you have me, your father, Carly, and your friends."

Iris gave her mother a small smile, the first smile she had mustered in days. "Thank you, Mom. I really do hope things will get better."

"They will, sweetie, I promise you that," Luna pulled her daughter in for a hug, embracing her with all of the love she had for her in her heart, letting her know that if she got through her heartbreak, so could she.

"Can you tell me about him?" Iris asked as she pulled away. "About Caleb?"

"Well, what do you want to know about him?" Luna asked.

"Everything. I want to know how you met, how you fell in love with each other. I just... I want to know everything, if that's okay. I know it might be hard to talk about him, especially since it's hard for me to talk about Patrick," Iris answered.

Luna took her daughter's hand and smiled. "Alright, sweetie. I'll start from the beginning."

•••

A/N: wow i feel like this account has been dead for so long! but recently my friend riley got me back into the bratayley fandom so i decided to start a new story, especially after reading "the story of us", which this is inspired by because it is such a beautiful story.

a little background information: luna (face claim: signa mae o'keefe) is the main character of this story, and her daughter is iris. iris's boyfriend, patrick, recently passed away from cancer, and as you read from this prologue, luna explains to her daughter how she knows how it feels to lose someone you love. and throughout this story she'll tell her story of her and caleb, and i hope it'll be enjoyable, especially since my writing has improved since i wrote the first few stories on this account 😂 they're so cringey i'm so sorry lmao

ALSO COVER MADE BY -linkinsparks 💘

anyway, if you did enjoy this, please don't forget to vote comment and share because i love your feedback!

thanks, until next time ;)