He knew the minute his mother showed up, his quiet life with his niece was going to be ruined, but he wasn't expecting to see the woman he gave up in order to give Mary as normal of a life as he could give her.
Set in the movie Gifted starring Chr...
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The next night, Frank came back home from the marina, pissed. Cullen had just told him about the deal that Evelyn's lawyer offered up. He didn't want Mary to go into a foster home, let alone put her through all of this again when she turned 12. The door slammed, surprisingly not waking up Mary even if it startled Ryn.
She looked up from where she was sitting on the couch, sketching. Some of the stories Mary had told her about the sandbars, Freddy, and the sandpipers sparked some inspiration. Frank paid her no mind as he stalked into his bedroom. Ryn laid her sketchbook and pencil down next to her and closed the door behind her once she was just inside the room. There Frank was, pacing, hands in his hair as he thought about the deal he had to make a decision on.
"What happened?" She asked, stopping him in his tracks, his back towards Ryn.
His hands went down to his hips and he took a deep breath. "I'm gonna lose her. Cullen brought me this deal Evelyn offered and he likes it because the foster family is in Tampa so she's only 30 minutes away from me. Cullen likes it so much because he thinks the judge is going to side with that woman."
"Is there anything else that we can do?"
Frank shook his head. "I can meet the family tomorrow before giving my final answer." He turned around, tears making his eyes glassy. "Will you come with me?" He hated everything about this but if he had Ryn by his side then maybe it wouldn't be so terrible.
Ryn immediately went over to him, wrapping her arms around his middle. "Of course."
The house backed up to the intercoastal waterway that led to the open bay waters. A long pier was built over the marshland, connecting the inlet water and the backyard that was taken up mostly by a pool. Ryn had her arm looped around Frank's as they took in the view, both silent as they listened to the foster family try to sell themselves on being the best fit.
The family had added a desk in a small nook near the back door, already decorated with all things pink and a large pink and white polka dotted M by some office supplies. Both Ryn and Frank remained silent as they walked through the house. It was a nice house, there was no doubt about that. She would even get to have her own room and sadly Ryn was starting to see Mary playing in it with Fred and jumping on the bed.
The image soon shifted to what it would look like if Ryn would turn the second room in her condo back into a bedroom instead of a home studio. The family life she could have had if she didn't tell Frank to leave. She truly hated that she was never an option because nothing formal had ever been done with her title as godmother. She felt like she was breaking her promise to Diane even more so than the morning she found out that Frank had left without her.
"So while I'm trying to sell you on the house, and us, I just don't want you to think that we are completely insensitive to what you're feeling." The woman said to the both of them.
Frank looked at the people who would be taking in Mary. He didn't like it but he also didn't want to drag this fight out any further. He didn't want to hurt Mary for longer than was necessary even if letting her go would break both of their hearts. They seemed like good people and they even had a piano which Mary had been going on about for some time now, about how she wanted one and then about how Evelyn had one. He then looked to Ryn, searching for what she thought.
