(no subject)
Author: adina_anne
Title:
Rating: K/G
Author's Note: I don't expect anyone to fully understand this story. I wrote it because it came to mind as I was trying to fall asleep and it just wouldn't leave. It's set in about the year 2014.
Kaylanee has been quiet all afternoon and quickly went into her room after dinner. I followed a few minutes later and sat down next to her on the bed. She's having a rough time at school. The students don't think she blends in well. She said she hates her name--Harper. She knows she's not Irish. She knows I'm not Irish either, but that didn't help. I told her she can go by her last name, she can learn about where she came from and study the culture of her birth-parents. It's hard when you're nine though. She didn't want to.
She can be distant. She is distant. She always has been. I don't blame her; her life wasn't ideal. She says she likes it here, but I'm not so sure. I held her hand, rubbed my thumb across the bones and tendons along the back of her hand... She grew colder. I understand not wanting to be close to anyone. I don't know how Harper broke through that. I wish I did though. I wish she
Carolyn quickly closed the journal as she heard the glass-sliding door open. "Aren't you cold?" She smiled slightly and nodded without looking behind her. Harper always knew where to find her, go figure.
"I guess." In truth she was quite cold but she had more pressing feelings to deal with, most of which were temporarily forgotten as Harper sat down on the hammock next to her, almost causing her to fall over.
He smiled a bit and caught her. "Sorry." He glanced at her face, catching, for the first time since his arrival, her expression. "Lie down." She did, leaving as much room as she could for him to follow without rolling off herself. He pulled her in close, the journal laying forgotten on the ground where it had fallen in their movement. "What's wrong?" He whispered just before kissing her head.
She didn't answer at first, choosing instead to look up at the stars, some of which were twinkling faintly in the night sky. "Having a child might be more painful than not having one." She closed her eyes, laying her head against his chest while trying to postpone the inevitable tears.
"What do you mean?"
"She won't let me hug her. I want... John was so easy to hold, and... And Autumn..." Jack squeezed her gently and closed his eyes too. Children had, and would always be a tender subject. It had taken almost twenty years after Autumn's death before Carolyn had told anyone the details, but with John she didn't have to. Jack had been there, he was part of the story. They hardly spoke about John or the consequences of his birth. Jack found it far more difficult to deal with than he could have expected; he didn't want to fathom how badly his death had affected Carolyn.
It was several more minutes before either one of them spoke. "Is Kay still having problems at that school?" Carolyn nodded, Jack sighed. It had been almost a year and things weren't looking up. "Maybe she can go to a different one..." He didn't sound too hopeful, their daughter's past not having been a good preparation for New York public schooling.
They fell silent. Sounds from the streets below filled the hollowness. A horn honked and a window opened. Two friends walked by, talking loudly but inaudibly. Jack looked up at the sky. In their seven years together they still hadn't managed to leave the city. He still wanted to see all the stars with someone he loved. When he looked down again, Carolyn was asleep. The smile he gave was slightly melancholy, but he rested his head against hers and closed his eyes again.
Title:
Rating: K/G
Author's Note: I don't expect anyone to fully understand this story. I wrote it because it came to mind as I was trying to fall asleep and it just wouldn't leave. It's set in about the year 2014.
Kaylanee has been quiet all afternoon and quickly went into her room after dinner. I followed a few minutes later and sat down next to her on the bed. She's having a rough time at school. The students don't think she blends in well. She said she hates her name--Harper. She knows she's not Irish. She knows I'm not Irish either, but that didn't help. I told her she can go by her last name, she can learn about where she came from and study the culture of her birth-parents. It's hard when you're nine though. She didn't want to.
She can be distant. She is distant. She always has been. I don't blame her; her life wasn't ideal. She says she likes it here, but I'm not so sure. I held her hand, rubbed my thumb across the bones and tendons along the back of her hand... She grew colder. I understand not wanting to be close to anyone. I don't know how Harper broke through that. I wish I did though. I wish she
Carolyn quickly closed the journal as she heard the glass-sliding door open. "Aren't you cold?" She smiled slightly and nodded without looking behind her. Harper always knew where to find her, go figure.
"I guess." In truth she was quite cold but she had more pressing feelings to deal with, most of which were temporarily forgotten as Harper sat down on the hammock next to her, almost causing her to fall over.
He smiled a bit and caught her. "Sorry." He glanced at her face, catching, for the first time since his arrival, her expression. "Lie down." She did, leaving as much room as she could for him to follow without rolling off herself. He pulled her in close, the journal laying forgotten on the ground where it had fallen in their movement. "What's wrong?" He whispered just before kissing her head.
She didn't answer at first, choosing instead to look up at the stars, some of which were twinkling faintly in the night sky. "Having a child might be more painful than not having one." She closed her eyes, laying her head against his chest while trying to postpone the inevitable tears.
"What do you mean?"
"She won't let me hug her. I want... John was so easy to hold, and... And Autumn..." Jack squeezed her gently and closed his eyes too. Children had, and would always be a tender subject. It had taken almost twenty years after Autumn's death before Carolyn had told anyone the details, but with John she didn't have to. Jack had been there, he was part of the story. They hardly spoke about John or the consequences of his birth. Jack found it far more difficult to deal with than he could have expected; he didn't want to fathom how badly his death had affected Carolyn.
It was several more minutes before either one of them spoke. "Is Kay still having problems at that school?" Carolyn nodded, Jack sighed. It had been almost a year and things weren't looking up. "Maybe she can go to a different one..." He didn't sound too hopeful, their daughter's past not having been a good preparation for New York public schooling.
They fell silent. Sounds from the streets below filled the hollowness. A horn honked and a window opened. Two friends walked by, talking loudly but inaudibly. Jack looked up at the sky. In their seven years together they still hadn't managed to leave the city. He still wanted to see all the stars with someone he loved. When he looked down again, Carolyn was asleep. The smile he gave was slightly melancholy, but he rested his head against hers and closed his eyes again.