Title: Forever Love
Summary: "One day you will find a man worthy to be your forever love. Don't you ever settle for less, okay?"
Spoilers: Nesting Dolls
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never have been, never will. :( Except Emily. She is definitely mine!
Author's Note: Another one written way back in 2009! I actually really like this one! I hope you guys do too. So please, read and review this! It's been a few years, let's see if I'm still any good at writing. XD
Forever Love
1982
Emily came flying into the small, cramped room we shared, tears streaming down her face. The commotion of her unexpected arrival startled me, and sent my fifth grade homework into the air. She collapsed on her bed, sobbing. I hurried to her, wondering what on earth could be wrong.
"Emily? Emily... What's wrong? Why are you crying?"
Emily looked through bloodshot eyes at me. "Mark... Mark... he's been adopted!"
My eyes almost bugged out of my head. "Really?" I sank down onto her bed beside her in awe. No one ever got adopted from foster homes... and especially not older kids like Mark. He was seventeen, for crying out loud!
Emily nodded, dabbing at her tears with her sleeve. "He's gone..."
I wiped her tears away. "But Emily, if he has a family now, why are you sad? Shouldn't we be happy for him?"
She shook her head. "I love him though. You know what we've been through..."
I nodded. Emily's mom had loved Mark's dad. But they were both married. So her mom and his dad killed her dad and his mom so they could be with each other. They went to jail, and Mark and Emily were thrown into foster care. They'd been in the system for ten years together.
"But he has a new family now. It's what every kid dreams about!"
She sniffled. "But I was his family! We were each other's family!"
"Well..."
She sighed and pulled me into a hug. "Sara, sweetie, you're too young to understand. You're only nine years old. You don't understand what love is." She stroked my hair as she spoke. "I'm seventeen, and I do know what love is. And I love Mark. He and I have gone through something no kid should have to endure. We've gone through it all together, and I can't lose him when he's the only family I have left."
Her tears dropped onto my head and she hugged me tighter. I didn't know what else to do but hug her back. We fell asleep like that, and in the morning Mark's final papers were signed and he was gone.
I stayed with Emily and tried my best to make her feel better. A few weeks later Emily packed up and was going to leave. She pulled me aside and held me tight. "Mark and I had a special kind of love, Sara. The forever kind of love. I'm going to find him, so our love can thrive."
"Good luck. I hope you find him."
She smiled at me and kissed me on the forehead. "Thank you sweetie. One day you'll find that kind of love."
I shook my head and looked away. "I don't think so," I mumbled. "I haven't had any good examples. I don't know what real love looks like. You and Mark kept to yourselves a lot, so... I just don't think so."
She crouched down to be eye level with me. "Now you listen to me, Sara Sidle. One day you will find a man worthy to be your forever love. Don't you ever settle for less, okay?" I nodded. "Promise me, Sara."
"I promise."
"Good girl." She kissed the top of my head. "I love you. Don't you ever forget that."
I nodded again, this time with tears flowing. "Goodbye and good luck, Sara."
And then she was gone.
OoOoOoOoO
2009
Gil was on one knee in front of me on one of the beautiful beaches that lined San Francisco. "Sara, will you be my forever love by agreeing to marry me?"
I burst into tears and wrapped my arms around him. Gil, YES! Yes yes yes yes!"
He wrapped his arms around me in return and pulled me close. "I remembered that story you told me after your suspension," he whsipered. "I want you to know that Emily was right. You deserve a forever love. I'm just honored to be who you've decided on."
My tears wouldn't stop flowing, I was so happy. "Gil, I love you. Thank you for everything."
He hugged me tighter in the light of the dying sun. "I love you too, my forever love."
-End-