Better With You Gone
Chapter Eight
KC said nothing as Eli walked into the room with a solemn look on his face. Alicia was in his arms with her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and her small face buried in his shoulder. He felt his heart clench painfully at the site. It was obvious that even Alicia was affected by what was going on. The usually bright, sunny faced, chatterbox of a child was unusually quiet.
"We had better get going." Eli said, breaking the silence. He shifted his feet and walked over to his wife, hugging her close to him, comfortingly.
Clare nodded in agreement as Alicia unwrapped her arms from around her father and reached for her. Taking the little girl into her arms and hugging her close, she began to follow Eli out to the car. She turned slightly to look at Evan who had just walked outside. "Do you want to come with us, Evan?" She asked of him kindly, reaching a small hand over to ruffle his hair, messing up the blond locks, slightly.
Evan shook his head and said, "Actually, I think that I'm going to ride with KC, if he's okay with that."
Clare looked up, locking eyes with KC questioningly.
The man in question swallowed the lump in his throat and walked over to his son, resting one of his large hands on his shoulder. "Yeah buddy, that's fine." He said in a rough, raspy voice.
Clare's gaze softened and she leaned in to brush Evan's bangs back from his forehead, pressing a gentle kiss there. "Alright baby. As long as you're sure that you're gonna be alright.' she murmured, reaching down to squeeze his hand gently before walking back to her car and slipping inside of the blue SUV.
Evan slid into the passenger seat of his father's bright red sports car and fastened his seatbelt. It was silent for a few moments as they followed Clare, Eli, and Alicia down the road. Finally, Evan spoke up. "So, have you decided if you're gonna stay in Toronto or not?" He asked of him, looking at him out of the corner of his eye.
KC looked out at the road as he continued to drive. "I don't know yet." He admitted honestly. "I mean, I love my job. And I love New York, but being back here made me realise how much I missed it. How much I missed my friends. And I really want to be there for you, like I should've been from the beginning."
The young boy nodded in understanding as they parked outside of the church. His hands began to shake with nerves and his bottom lip trembled slightly with emotion.
KC glanced at the boy, concern filling his green eyes. "Are you going to be okay?" He asked of him, worriedly.
Evan looked at him, giving him a weak, little smile and nodding. "Yeah. I think so. This...it's just hard. I really miss my mom."
KC felt tears sting his eyes for what seemed to be the hundredth time in the past few days and ran a hand through Evan's hair, before pulling him into a hug. "I miss her too, Evan."
The funeral was long and exhausting. The crying had gotten to him and the preacher's words kept rushing through his mind. How could it possibly have been Jenna's time to die? KC didn't understand it. The girl that he'd known and loved had been so vibrant and energetic. From what Clare and his son had told him, that hadn't changed after she'd found out that she had cancer. She had still managed to paste a brilliant smile on her face and be the best mother that she could possibly be to Evan.
He took a seat, indian style by her freshly covered grave. His hands traced over the marker before going to the flowers in his lap. The white and purple lillies. They had always been her favorite type of flower. Even after all these years, he remembered that. "Hey Jenna." He said softly, pulling his coat tighter around him as he stared up at the clearing sky. "I bet you're pretty shocked to see me here after everything that happened between us twelve years ago. I'm shocked too, actually. I didn't think that I missed you this much. I thought it would be easy to just...drop in and then leave after the funeral. But it's not. I've missed this town. I've missed Clare and Alli. I've missed my life here. Even more than that, I've realised that I'm still in love with you and that I love our son. He's so wonderful, Jenna. You've raised him right. Way better than I would've."
"Do you want to be alone?" A soft voice asked him, questioningly.
KC glanced up, tears streaking down his cheeks as he stared up at Bianca. The woman in question stood with her curly, black hair straightened and in a tight ponytail. Her face held a concerned look as she gazed at him. "No. That's okay, I'm fine." He told her, trying to smile a little bit.
"So, I heard what you said to Jenna." She said casually as she sat down on the ground gracefully and wrapped her slender arms around her bent knees.
He laughed harshly, swiping at the tears under his eyes, roughly. "You probably find it pretty pathetic. Me talking to a grave like this. I mean, it's not like Jenna is here."
Bianca shrugged. "It's not really my place to decide, is it? I mean if it helps you, then it should be okay, shouldn't it?" She asked of him.
KC didn't say anything after that. Finding comfort in the silence and Bianca's prescence.
000000000000
7 months later
Fiona and Adam Torres smiled as they walked into the Goldsworthy living room, glancing at all their friends. They had good news. News that they were wanting to share with some of the people closest to them. A pregnant Clare saw them and grinned, walking torwards her two friends and wrapping them in a hug. "Adam, Fiona! How was your trip?"
Fiona giggled and smiled face lighting up as she bounced on the balls of her feet. "It was magnific!" She said brightly. "Anyway, Adam and I have got some good news." She said eyeing her husband as she squeezed his hand, gently.
Eli raised his eyebrow at them from his place on the floor beside Alicia, Evan, and KC. "What is it?" He asked with his signature curving upon his lips.
"Well, you know how we've been talking to the adoption agency for awhile now, right?" Adam asked, grinning.
Clare's eyes sparkled knowingly as she nodded.
"Well, they've accepted us. We're in discussion to adopt a five year old and her unborn sibling. Their mother can't care for them anymore and she wants to know that they'll be okay. We've already met with her and everything." Fiona said as she reached over to grasp Clare's hands warmly.
Her friend's face broke into a grin and she squealed happily, throwing her arms around her. "That's great!" She sang out excitedly. "You two will make great parents."
Fiona laughed and hugged her back just as tightly as Eli and KC walked over to clap their hands on Adam's back in congratulations.
"Does that mean that I'll have a new friend?" Five year old Alicia asked as she stared up at Fiona, holding onto Adam's hand tightly.
Adam grinned down at his goddaughter, kneeling down so they were at eye level. "It sure does, princess." He said as the little girl threw her arms around him.
Everything seemed to be going good in their lives, now. Clare and Eli were successful authors with a beautiful daughter and a son on the way, Fiona and Adam were growing closer and closer to their dream of starting a family, and KC and Evan were strengthening their relationship. They had no idea what would happen in the future. They were just happy to all be there for eachother.
The End
A/N: There will be a possible epilogue which will show the adoption of Fiona and Adam's children and Bianca and KC growing closer. The sequel to this, "Baby, I'm a Fool for Love's first chapter will be posted sometime this week.
