Just For This Moment:
A Revenge FanFic
Emily Thorne sat before a blazing fire but it was not warming the coldness and deadness which she felt in her heart. She had sacrificed so much of her life—both by her own choices and by the hands of other people—but this was too much. She looked down at the yellow Labrador, Sammy, lying before her. She glanced at the man crying next to her: Jack, her childhood friend and first love. The man who did not know her DNA revealed she was someone named Amanda Clarke. The little girl he had frolicked in the sand with, the one who he had pretended to marry so many years ago.
Amanda Clarke had ceased to exist; "Emily" had made it so. When one heard the name Amanda Clarke, they would hear and remember David Clarke—her father. David Clarke had been framed for a crime he did not commit; people believed he had been in league with terrorists responsible for taking down Flight 197 which had killed many innocent lives. David's pleas had fallen on deaf ears; instead, he was incarcerated in prison (and later killed there) while his daughter, Amanda, was sent to foster homes and juvenile detention centers. The name "Clarke" was poison throughout the country. Which is why Amanda swapped identities with a fellow "delinquent" named Emily. The name Emily Thorne could do what Amanda Clarke could not. She could make connections; she could reestablish herself as a philanthropic millionaire thanks to some money her father had stored away. And she could gain access into the lives of the Graysons, Hampton royalty and the family responsible for her father's demise. Her goal in life was to take them down and make them pay for their horrible deeds. She would do whatever means necessary to see justice done. She would even marry their son, her now fiancée, if she had to. She would live in the house she and her father had, right along the Atlantic shores—the one where FBI had raided in the night—if she had to.
Emily looked down at Sammy. She blinked back tears as she realized one simple truth. He was dying. He was old and had done his time. But with his death, that meant that one of last living tangible reminders of her father would be gone. He had been the one to give her Sammy as a pup. They had spent hours running along Hampton's shores together and Sammy had delighted in giving her father kisses. When David Clarke had been taken by the police, Sammy was given to Jack—who had done a fabulous job taking care of him—up until now.
Though trained to turn off her emotions, Emily could not blink back the tears any longer. She was not only a heartless woman only bent on revenge as some, had they known her true identity, would have surmised. She had feelings. She still knew grief and loss. All of her life had been about loss. Beside her, Emily heard Jack talking to Sammy. "Sammy, thank you. Thank you for being such a good friend, such a good listened and for making me smile. Every day, even on the worst of them. Thank you for teaching me about loyalty and friendship. Thank you for teaching me how It's okay. You go now, okay? You go play. We're right here." These were words that Emily wanted to say and yet she couldn't. She had to keep her cover. She wanted to blurt out to her first love her real identity, that she had never forgotten him or Sammy.
Silently, Emily thought out her own good-bye to her beloved dog, the one with whom she had been robbed of memories. "I'm sorry Sammy. I am so sorry we didn't run on the beach more often. I'm sorry I was there to see you grow up into the big boy you are today. But Jack took care of you—thank you for taking care of him for me. Thank you for watching out for him. For being his best friend and helping him through some of the toughest moments of his life. I bet you were a comfort after his dad died….since I couldn't do it. Thank you for coming back here, Sammy. Back to the home where we lived with Dad. You knew, didn't you? You knew my real identity and you wanted to say good-bye. Now you can go, Sammy. And if you see Dad, tell him I love him. Tell him I will always honor his memory and I'll always be his little girl."
Both Emily and Jack looked at each other. Sammy had drawn his last breath; his yellow body had no more life or fight left in it. Nor did Jack it appeared. He reached for Emily and she held him. She stroked his dark hair as tears flowed. There was no denying the bond between the two of them. How could Jack not know that she, Emily, was really Amanda?
Jack raised his head and looked at Emily, his eyes full of grief and longing. He had already professed his love to Emily once recently—and she had turned him down. To have accepted would have meant she was turning her back on her vendetta, on her mission of clearing her dad's name. But here, in this moment, with no one around, Emily felt her self-made walls crumble. Jack needed her. Their lips met in a kiss, a kiss that spoke of chemistry, try as they might to deny it.
The kiss deepened. She knew she it would be better to pull away now, but she couldn't. Her ties to Jack were as tight as those to her departed father. She could be Amanda Clarke right now—a girl who was grieving with a friend over a beloved pet. She didn't have to be Emily Thorne. No one was around to see her open up and reveal her true side. For a few moments, she could be free from revenge.
Here in Jack's arms, everything felt oh so right.