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Elliot's eyes widened walking back up into the attic. There were tons of letters on the floor and four piles of journals. The pictures were still also in stacks that were organized by date. "Wow, how many years does this cover?"
"The letters cover about six months. The journals go on for twenty years. The pictures, you can just about imagine." Olivia stated laying on her stomach. She lifted up a journal and handed it to him. "The whole thing starts on page one of that journal."
Elliot took the journal and opened it. "Frank Gibbs 1836. This journal is almost two hundred years old." Olivia nodded at him. "This is how it starts.
Today was the town picnic and father introduced me to William Cragen. He and father have been talking about my arranged marriage to Ann Winchester. Yet, I can't think of her as my wife when I am utterly obsessed with Cragen's daughter, Kate. She was with Simon Hanson. They are expected to be married in three weeks. I remember when we were younger and we used to climb trees together for fun. I talked to her when she escaped the presence of her fiance and we walked around the town for a few hours. She asked me if I fancied her... and I said yes. Before I realized, her lips had been on mine and she was smiling. Now, I want to take her out with the horses, but the town will frown on both of us.
What's up with horse thing?" Elliot asked looking at Olivia.
"Well, there weren't cars back then. That was probably considered a date." Olivia shrugged before opening the journal she had. "Kate Cragen 1836.
Today, Frank Gibbs took me around the town and talked to me like we did when we were young. I took a chance and kissed him. He smiled at me. I feel terrible about Simon, but Frank is different. He told me he would write me, but I'm supposed to be married. How do I marry Simon when I like Frank more? Father is already talking about me and Simon having children. I knew being fourteen brought changes, but this is awfully quick. Simon is already eighteen and will be nineteen soon. He is expected to have children by now. I wish Frank was here now to talk to me.
She was only fourteen." Olivia breathed looking down at the journal. "Does any of yours say what age Frank is?"
"Uh..." Elliot said looking through the journal. "Here is something about his birthday. He turned seventeen. So, he was sixteen when they talked at the picnic."
"Okay, so, in this journal entry, Kate said that Frank was going to write to her. Is his next journal entry before or after his first letter?" Olivia asked grabbing the first letter that Kate wrote.
Elliot grabbed the first one that Frank wrote and then looked at the journal. "The letter was first."
Hours later, they were finishing up the last journal entries and found out that Frank and Kate had a love affair for twenty years and had two kids together, making Simon think they were his kids. Frank and Ann got married, but Ann died two years later from childbirth. The baby passed a few days later. In the last few journals, Simon found out about the affair and started abusing Kate. Frank ended up killing him and burying him the middle of the woods. They also found out that Kate's brother's grandson, Bill Cragen, was the one that started the feud against Franks's brother's grandson, Walker Gibbs.
Frank and Kate ended up running away together, leaving everything behind in the house that Elliot and Olivia were in now. The journals said that they packed what they could and snuck away in the middle of the night. They planned on going to California which was supposed to be highly dangerous. The last journals were dated in June of 1858, the day before they left for California.
Elliot was reading the last one that Frank wrote. He was laying on his back, holding the journal in front of his face while Olivia had her head resting on his stomach. "June 16, 1858
Tonight, Kate and I are meeting by the old bridge and leaving for California to escape the feud. The town knows that Kate's kids are my kids and they are starting to ignore us. Our boys are their families are coming with us to live better lives. Kate and I just want to be together. We know that we are leaving everything behind, but that's what we want. I buried the money we couldn't take with us so the family doesn't get their hands on it. We plan on coming back for it, but we don't even know if we'll make it to California.
I wonder if they made it." Elliot breathed closing the journal. He set it on the floor beside him before his hand on Olivia's stomach, the other one resting on his own stomach. "Is there a way to find out?"
"Maybe there's a website or something that could tell us." Olivia sighed before taking his hand into hers. She grabbed a photo and stared at it for a moment. It was a picture of Kate with one of her sons with Frank. She was sitting in an old rocking chair. "Hey El, isn't this the rocking chair that you have in your room?"
"Yeah, it is." Elliot smiled looking at the photo. "I found it in the basement. All I did is fix it up a little bit." He noticed the time on his watch and saw that it was almost dinner time. "Your dad is going to be wondering where you are."
Olivia squeezed his hand lightly. "I don't want to go home. I like it here, being with you." She turned onto her stomach and moved closer to him, half laying on him.
Elliot wrapped his arms around her as she lowered her head to his shoulder. He started playing with strands of her hair. "I don't want you to go either." He kissed her head. "This is never going to be easy for us."
"I know." Olivia breathed before looking up at him. "It just means that we want this that much more." He watched the grin spread across his face before he leaned down and kissed her hard.
"You're worth fighting for. I literally may die for being with you." Elliot smiled lightly, brushing hair out of her face.
Olivia nodded. "I don't want you to die over me though." She rubbed his chest slowly. "I would never forgive myself. I'd make my family's life a living hell."
Elliot ran a finger down her nose. "At least I know I won't die in vain." Olivia chuckled into his chest. "We could always end up like Frank and Kate. We could run away together if need be."
"It would be hard, but that would be our only option." Olivia nodded in agreement. "Where would we go?"
"Well, we could go to California, or Vegas, or New York. There's tons of places. If we really wanted to, we could be one of those couples that just travels the whole country in a RV." Elliot grinned. "How much money you got?"
"Not much." Olivia chuckled.
Elliot nodded. "We could sell the house. But, then we have to pay for gas everywhere we go." He shook his head and making a clicking nose with his mouth. "Scratch that plan out."
Olivia smiled. "How about we think about this more when we've been dating longer?"
"That sounds good." Elliot chuckled before kissing her. "C'mon, let's get you home."
Please review! You guys are the best! My brother and his girlfriend are coming over tonight! So excited!
