The Ink Family Legacy: Generation 3 Chapter 12 Part 3
Part three! The last bit until the heir poll! I'm not ready! D:
Part One | Part Two
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"So you decided to stay out all night with her instead of me, huh? Who's the bad parent now? What the hell were you doing?"
Ethan held her gaze. "You know what happened. And you know what I'm going to say now."
Soleil started shaking - from rage or misery, maybe both - so she put down Luna before launching into her tirade.
"So what, the past three years have been meaningless to you?! I gave up everything for you, Ethan. I had a beautiful apartment and was in a great school and now I'm here. You're really going to leave me after putting me through all that?!"
"What have you given up?! You graduated on time with full honors. We paid for all of your projects, all of your transportation, all of those damn art expos that you went to instead of spending time with Luna and I! And you wonder why we're splitting?"
"I gave you everything! All my love, all my firsts, and this is how you treat me?!"
Ethan sighed and looked away. "Soleil, agreeing to be your boyfriend was a mistake. Sleeping with you was a mistake. There was a time when I really cared for you, but that time is gone. We can both move on."
"Are you going to call Luna a mistake too?! An accident?!"
"Not so much of an accident, I think." he said levelly, meeting her eyes once more. A moment of understanding passed between then, and Soleil knew that he knew. She had lost control of the situation.
"FINE! LEAVE ME! But I swear to god, you'll never be happy with this, with this man stealing whore! And you know what?! If you leave me, you're leaving Luna too, because I am taking my daughter to France and you will NEVER SEE HER AGAIN!!"
Before either of them could react, Soleil grabbed Luna around the waist and bolted. Ethan and Nesrine chased her, but she jumped into her car, tossed Luna into the passenger seat, and pealed out of the driveway before they could get out front door.
There weren't any other cars home - they were all at the hospital. Cursing to himself, Ethan made a call to the embassy.
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Half an hour later Soleil had ditched her car in a random parking lot to throw off any would-be pursuers. Gingerly picking up her hysterical baby, she decided to walk to the train station. There was a train that would take them all the way to Sunset Valley, where the airport could connect her to anywhere in the world.
"Goddamn him." Soleil hissed through angry tears. "Damn him! I knew he'd leave me. They always leave me. No one can love me, is that it?"
Luna, who had calmed down, looked up at Soleil with innocent eyes. "Love, love Mama~! I love Mama!"
Startled, she looked down at her. "Who taught you to say that?"
"Papa~!"
Soleil stifled another sob. She loved him, she really did. For all her twisted insecurities and vicious mind games, she wanted him to love her. Then she could change.
But now he'd never love her. He knew she had tried to trap him. But Luna was a little piece of Ethan, and that would have to be her comfort from now on.
"No cry, Mama! I can sing yew a song!" Luna chirped.
"What song is that, baby?"
"Weels on da bus!"
Soleil smiled and absently walked into the street. Yes, Luna would be her comfort. She would take her to a little cottage in the French countryside and raise her as her pride and joy. They would bake together and travel together, and she would become the best mother in the world.
She would love Luna for the rest of her life.
For the rest...
...of her short life.
"SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE! A MOTHER AND CHILD HAVE BEEN HIT!!"
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Doctor Sekemoto sighed, disheveled. He had had a hell of a night. After restarting Clover's heart, again, he got a call that some food truck driver was on his way home after an overnight double shift. He missed a stop sign and plowed right into a woman and her baby. He died instantly, of course, and as luck would have it, the woman and kid belonged to Clover's brother. Small world.
"I don't know what to tell you." he finally sighed. "So I'll just have to be blunt with you - it's bad. Your girlfriend is in a very deep coma and it's very unlikely that she'll wake up."
Ethan choked back a sob. The doctor had always pegged him as the strongest one of the Inks, so it was strange to see him cry.
"You can go in and see her now. When you're done here, I'll take you to your daughter."
Ethan nodded silently and stepped behind the curtain, unsure of what he'd find there.
It didn't even look like her.
Face cut and bruised beyond all recognition. Her head was shaved, with numerous stitches and scars crossing her scalp where they had to put back together her head. There was a shunt to relieve the pressure. The only part of her that wasn't completely broken was her chest, where she had cradled Luna during impact.
This was all his fault.
If only he had waited until the whole family was home so they could sit her down and talk things through. If only he hadn't been so guilty at his betrayal that he let her slip past him.
But now Soleil, his one time childhood love, was as good as dead.
He tried to quiet his sobs and push down the nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach. Now...now he had to go see his baby.
"I'm ready to see Luna now." he said in a cracking voice.
"Are you sure?"
"Please, I need to."
"Luckily Soleil's body cushioned most of the blow." Jin said as Ethan rushed to the tiny metal crib. "She's going to pull through."
"W-when will she wake up?" Ethan stuttered, unable to hold back tears in the face of this.
"Probably sometime today. She's a fighter."
"Her face..."
"We did the best we could." Jin sighed. "Unfortunately, she'll probably have that scar under her right eye for life. It was a very deep cut - piece of glass shattered the cheekbone - and she almost lost her eye. Only a scar is very lucky."
"This isn't fair!" Ethan screamed. "She didn't do anything to deserve this! Neither did Leigh! Why did they have to be hurt in something so senseless?!"
After a pause for Ethan to calm down, Jin said, "Perhaps not completely senseless."
Ethan looked back, more defeated than mad. "What do you mean?"
"Just listen to me first before judging, okay?"
"Okay..."
"Ethan, Soleil is going to die. If not today, within the next month. Even with life support, she'd be no more than a vegetable. But her heart...her heart is still fine."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "What are you trying to say?"
"Your sister needs a heart. Soleil has a heart to give. With your permission, I can arrange it so that your sister gets that heart she needs to live. You can find something good in this dark hour."
"I...I don't know, Doc. That's...how can I make that choice for her?"
"When Soleil moved into your house a year and a half ago, she gave you her power of attorney. It's all here in her insurance and will." Jin said, handing Ethan a clipboard.
"I didn't know that." he said faintly. When Soleil said that she gave him her everything, she wasn't kidding.
"It's up to you, Ethan."
Two hours later, Ethan crept back into Soleil's room. All was quiet save the gentle whir of the machines tying her to this world.
"I'm sorry, Leigh. I'm so sorry for everything. But I really did love you back then. You were loved, and you're loved now. Luna always loved you. I'm sorry...I'm sorry that you won't get to see that. To know that. I taught her to say that she loved you, you know? And now she says it all by herself. I...I-I'll...miss you, Leigh. I'll never forget you. Never once as long as I live."
"Goodbye, Leigh."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, s-so s-s-sorry, L-Luna..."
"Pa...pa?" she murmured, her little voice wheezing. "Why...are...yew crying?"
"Sorry, s-sorry, sorry..."
"Want meh...to sing yew...a song? Yew will...feel better...Papa."
And Ethan fell to his knees, dissolving in tears.
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What a world.
Jin laughed sardonically and took a long drag on his cigarette. It was all done - Soleil's heart was now with Clover. With proper care, she could easily live to her fifties now, maybe more.
But at what cost?
His phone rang and he flipped it open, already knowing the caller. "Yes, Eve?"
"Come home right now." came a deadly low voice from the other end. "There's a coven meeting tonight and you are in big trouble."
"Yeah, I figured that."
"You figured?! You gave her blood, Jin! Her, your sanguis fidelis, drinking your blood! Do you know how twisted, how backwards, how insane that is?!"
"It's passed my mind, yeah."
"You're really in for it now, Jin. We could overlook you saving that toddler's eye with your powers, or transferring a heart that was definitely not a match, but that was a step too far. You go before the council at midnight."
Jin sighed as he hung up. He didn't really fear the council - they'd probably just hold him in the sun for a few hours - but it did worry him that they knew what Clover was to him. His sanguis fidelis. His true blood.
That girl would never get away from vampires as long as she lived.
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A funeral means the end.
Miles and Filly looked on solemnly. There had been too much death in the house lately. It was hard to be happy about Clover's recovery in the face of this.
Nesrine stood quietly a little bit behind them, cradling Luna. She was still very weak, but she was given permission to attend her mother's funeral.
Ethan placed the flowers on the grave, surrounded by his sisters. It was probably too soon for Clover to be out of the hospital too, but she stubbornly insisted on going.
Tears, there were always tears. If only Soleil knew how much she was missed.
But she was gone, and she took with her a gaping piece of Ethan's heart. He didn't know if he could think about love ever again.
"Goodbye, Leigh."
The end of something, the beginning of something.
Where would they go from here?
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Well my friends, that's the end of generation three. Ethan, Paige, and Clover are all at a major crossroads in their lives - how will they proceed from here?
The heir poll is next! It should be up within the day and will be up until 11:59 pm (or so) on January 2nd!
Oh, and please do comment. :)