Life Finds a Way

Chapter 60

They sat there quietly for some time before Genesis stirred again. He lifted her face to look into her eyes as he spoke. His gaze was still full of pain. "I have some questions for you. Do you feel up to talking?"

She was only surprised he had waited as long as he had. She could only imagine the thoughts that were going through his mind at his shift in thinking. She could still hardly believe that he was accepting her truth. She finally gave him a nod. At that he let go of her chin but didn't move to put any distance between them.

He seemed to ponder what he would ask first before he finally spoke. "I am not really sure where to start. I will confess there are many things about what you have already said that I would like to question, but first, there is something more important." He brushed his knuckles across her cheek before he spoke again. "I had always assumed the sorrow you carry is because you were repressing memories of what had been done to you. If your status is from Minerva that cannot be the case. I know your sorrow is not a lie though. Would you share with me why?"

The fact that this question was the first he asked made her heart clench painfully. She was touched that he cared enough to ask about her before he tried to satisfy his own curiosity and it moved her to wrap him in a tight embrace. "Thank you." She was smiling at him as she sat back. She could tell her actions confused him so she spoke up quickly. "I know there is a lot you probably want to know."

She couldn't keep her smile for long though as thinking about her answer to his first question was bringing up a pain she worked to keep hidden daily. She wanted to bury her face in his chest and forget it again, but she knew he deserved to know if they were to be able to build anything together. She finally looked him in the eye before speaking again. "I did not endure any horrific experimentation to get me to this state, but that doesn't mean I didn't go through something horribly painful. I didn't know it at first, but I finally found out that I was killed in my own timeline. I don't remember it, but that is one of the reasons Minerva was able to pull my spirit across the universal divide. My sorrow isn't because I died, it is because of the life I left behind, my friends and family, that I will never see again. Not only that, but they will have to live the rest of their lives without me too. I will never get to see how their lives play out."

Her voice had become so choked by her last sentence that she had to stop speaking. He cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead before speaking. "Can you tell me about them?"

She thought she saw a flash of something painful in his eyes at his question, but it was quickly replaced by concern. She took a deep breath to clear the knot in her throat, so she could speak again. "I had been blessed to make many wonderful acquaintances through work, but there were only two that I could call close friends, Mia and Wren. One of them was always there to ground me when I needed it, or to get me in trouble if I needed that too." She said the last with a half-smile. It didn't stop the tears that had started to fall.

He wiped at her tears but didn't speak. He gave her the time she needed so she could continue. "Losing those two would have been painful if that had been all there was, but... the fact that I left my daughter behind rips my heart out. Whenever I think of her having to live the rest of her life without me, it kills me. I'll never know her future husband, or children..."

When she broke off with a violent sob Genesis gathered her close. He hated seeing how pained she was at the mention of losing her friends, but learning she had a child, that made his heart twist in a way he was unprepared for. He had never entertained the idea that she might have already had a family before meeting him.

He finally got himself under control enough to talk again. "I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child." He paused as she pulled back. When he saw the agony in her eyes, he had to keep from cursing. "I know there will never be a way to ease the ache of losing your family but know that I will be here for you. Please don't hide your pain from me."