Chapter 1
The tears.
Wet and gentle as they cascaded down her cheeks. If crying could be beautiful, she's the one that would have made it so. Her hands folded over her knees, head bent downward to her lap. A lump grew in his throat as he watched her from the cracked doorway. A stabbing pain shot through his heart. She wiped a few strands of curly hair out of her face before she began to sob. He couldn't take it.
"You're scaring me you know." His voice was faltering already as he stepped out into the snow, forcing his legs to fold underneath him as he sat next to her on the cold concrete.
"Jim!" she gasped in surprise. She pulled the arms of her sweater over her hands and wiped feverishly at her wet eyes.
"Please don't cry," he pleaded softly.
"I'm not….crying," she growled gently.
The statement sounded a little silly when she had to pause and catch her breath like that. He looped his arm through hers, resting his hand on her knee.
"What's happening Jim?" Pam croaked, on the verge of losing it again.
"I don't know Pam," he answered truthfully. "I really don't know."
"Who's going to help me take care of Savannah?" And Pam started to cry again. As the fresh wave of tears came, Jim was quick to put a comforting hand on her cheek, wiping traces of tears away with the pad of his thumb. Her cheeks were cold and raw, tingling underneath his warm fingers. The tears weren't gentle anymore. They became devastated ones. Desperate. The ones Jim had sadly gotten used to. The ones that fit the routine.
"You don't have to worry about Savannah, Pam," Jim said, his quiet voice sounding weird to his own ears. "I promise I'll help you take care of her."
"She's so small," Pam semi-sobbed. She clutched on to Jim's arm desperately. Her face ran dry, body tired from being emotionally pushed every day. She didn't speak anymore for a long time.
"She's very beautiful," Jim said, cutting into the heartbreaking silence. He wasn't sure if it was the right thing to say. Savannah was gorgeous. Pam's tiny little niece. Enduring more then any other 8 month old baby should. Loosing both her parents, her grandmother. All in one fatal car accident that left Savannah in the care of the only one she had left.
Her Aunt Pam.