Together Again
Chapter 1
She let out a sigh once she was safely inside of the town she'd left behind years ago. Actually, the town she was dragged away from. Ten years ago almost down to the hour.
*Flashback*
An eight-year-old Gwen ran down the stairs dressed in her little angel costume. "Mommy!" she yells as she turns into the kitchen. She stops in her tracks once she sees the man who she considered her worst enemy. Even at such a young age she knew that things were better without him there. He turns his attention to her. "Mommy, what's he doing here?" she asked giving the man the best glare an eight year-old could possibly give.
It was then that her mother let out the most mournful sound she'd ever heard, as the tears started to run down her face.
"Damn it, Amy! You're still lying to me after all these years?" the man asked angrily.
"I never lied to you!" Gwen's mother snapped back at him.
"You never lied to me? You just said Gwen wasn't home! Where's Dylan?"
"He's with his school, on a fieldtrip. He won't be back for a few days," the tiny angel answered as she made her way towards her mother. She hugged her and tried to get her to stop crying, but this only made her mother sob more. "Mommy, what's he doing here?" Gwen asked with a hint of anxiety in her voice.
"Da-Daddy said he c-came to get you and-and Dylan. He wants you to go live with him."
"What?" Gwen breathed.
*End Flashback*
A tear rolled down her cheek as she remembered that day. Her father took her away, warning her mother not to call the cops. If she did he would crash the car, or drive it off a cliff or something that guaranteed they'd both die.
Of course later that night her mother did call the cops. She couldn't just let her ex take away her child. Unfortunately the cops couldn't find them.
Now after ten years Gwen was back in her home town. The different colored leaves blanketed the ground. Little children already running around in their little costumes, despite the fact that it was only noon. It reminded her of the reason she was back, despite for the obvious reason of escape.
*Flashback*
The doorbell rang as Gwen's father finished warning her mother about the cops.
"Go answer the door," he ordered Amy. "If you tell them I'm here I'll kill Gwen right here and now."
She jumped off of the chair and wiped away the tears. She tried to compose herself as she walked out of the room.
After a few minutes Amy returned. "Gwen, Duncan's at the door. He wants to see you."
The tiny Gwen looked up at her father. "I'm going to talk to Duncan. I'm going to tell him that I'm leaving and won't be back. I won't tell him you're here." Before she left the room she shot another glare back at him. "Don't hurt my mommy."
She ran to the front door and hugged her best friend dressed in a little Jason costume, holding the mask in his hands. Before she pulled away she gave him a kiss on the cheek. Without giving him a chance to react she began talking. "Duncan, I'm leaving and I won't be back for a long time."
He blinked and then gave her a confused look. "What? Why? Where are you going? How long will you be gone? Will you come back to visit? Gwen you can't leave!" The eight year old Duncan hugged his best friend and squeezed her as tight as her could.
"Duncan," she lowered her voice, "my dad is here and he's taking me away. If Mommy calls the cops he'll kill me. If he hears me telling you that he's here, he'll kill me. There's nothing I can do. I need to get him away from my mommy and get him away from here before Dylan comes back."
He looked angry, and then his expression turned sad. "But, I'm going to miss you."
Gwen started to cry. "I'll miss you too." She wrapped her arms around his little torso and buried her face in his chest.
"Gwen, look at me." She silently obeyed. "When you turn eighteen, come back. You'll be a grown-up and he can't stop you."
"But what if you move, or something?"
Duncan thought quietly for a moment. "Come back on Halloween. That way you won't have to look for me, and if I move away I can come back too. We can meet under the old oak tree where we like to play. We can meet there at midnight. Since we'll be old, we'll be allowed to go out that late. We probably won't be tired either, because we can drink that coffee stuff that our parents always drink."
"Duncan, that's ten years away, are you sure you can remember? You can barely remember to put on clean underwear in the morning."
"That only happened once." She gave him a look. "Okay, so it happened eleven-ty times, but that doesn't matter! I'll remember!"
"Promise?" she asked holding out her pinky.
"Promise," he said wrapping his slightly bigger one around hers.
She walked him to the door and opened it. As he began walking down the porch steps Gwen began closing the door. Before he hopped off the last step he turned around and called her name.
"Yeah?"
Duncan hesitated for a moment and then dropped his head and mumbled something.
"What?"
The blushing eight-year-old looked up and said a little louder, "I said, I-I love you." He then jumped off the last step and ran off.
*End Flashback*
She turned onto a small street and began scanning the houses. Once she spotted the one she was looking for she pulled into the driveway and got out of the car. It took all of her willpower to not just burst through the doors and start crying. She walked up the familiar porch steps and rang the doorbell.
Within seconds it was open with a middle aged woman with brown curly hair in the doorway. She was wearing kitty-ears and had face paint all over her. Gwen couldn't help but smile. She should've expected her to be wearing something like that.
The woman, in turn, observed the young lady who was standing on her porch. She saw the dark clothing, dyed hair, and teal lipstick accompanied by the dark eyeliner, but paid no mind to it. Beyond that she saw the shape of her face, her pale complexion, the small smile, her expressive eyes, but most of all, the fire burning deep down inside of her.
She took a step towards her. "Gwen," she breathed. It was no question, she knew her daughter.
Gwen rubbed her arm sheepishly and gave her another small smile. "Hi, Mom."
...
A/N: So how will Gwen's mother handle her being back again? What about her brother? Will Duncan remember the promise that they made years ago? Fret not, since this is a three-shot the next chapter should be up tonight, and the final tomorrow.
