Chapter 13
Summer blinked, and the first raindrop hit her cheek. Then they thundered down all at once, drenching her in seconds as she stood on the dock.
Her wide eyes stared out to the darkness of the water, the sea stretching on into the horizon, broken by a handful of boats and vessels. Summer hardy saw them, the same way she barely felt the rain on her skin.
Her knees crashed into the hard deck and her hands fell forward, holding her up from collapsing entirely. Her eyes stayed wide, not daring to blink for a moment. This… this couldn't be real, she thought in a daze. She couldn't be here, back on the docks. How cruel – exactly back where she'd started.
She stared down into the swirling depths of the see over the edge of the docks, and felt the surge of hopelessness call for it. The tears welled in her eyes.
Loki had said the gateway had been closed. Even if she threw herself to the watery depths there would be no wonderful prince to save her this time. She would drown… her hand fell on the bump of her stomach and her mind snapped into focus; it wouldn't just be her life she'd be taking this time.
She sat back on her heels and let the rain drench her, her white dress clinging to her body, water running down her bare legs and into her boots. Her eyes softened. They were glazed and distant as her mind swam with dizzying thoughts, her throat hauling in ragged breaths into her unwilling lungs.
Loki… she could still see him in her mind. His dark hair and his glistening emerald eyes, wide as he fought to get to her. Then Thor's cold face crept into view, and Summer's heart hardened. The fingers on her belly clenched.
He'd done it. He'd ruined her.
Her mouth thinned angrily and she felt the urge to tear her hands through her hair. That man… that monster. How dare he do this to her, and just abandon her here.
What did she have left now? How could she support a baby? A strength flooded through her and she forced herself upright to her feet, her legs trembling beneath her. She wouldn't give in though. Thor had destroyed her, but she wouldn't just lie down and take it anymore.
She couldn't. there was no Loki to protect her now, no family to care for her. She was on her own; just her and her unborn child.
Her hand cupped the underside of her pregnant stomach she lifted her face to the sky, seeing the stars glitter through the clouds. Thunder rumbled, and she saw the lightning crash through the Heavens.
You'd better be upset, she thought darkly, imagining the furious thunder god that ravaged the skied. He'd ruined her life – the least she could hope for was that he never forgot the evil he'd done to her, that it weighed on his conscience. If he even had one.
And Loki… "Don't you dare forget me." She warned, imagining the sorrowful eyes of the god, praying he was looking down on her.
Her arm stretched up high, as if reaching could bring Loki closer somehow, as if she could somehow touch him. But she couldn't, and the thought that she might never be able to again, made the tears spill, mixing with the rain as it pummelled down on her face. Her guardian was gone, forever.
She gritted her teeth in defiance and let the emotions swell her heart; the anger, the pain, the fear and utter hopelessness… but she wouldn't roll over and surrender. Not anymore.
She may have been abandoned to a world that may destroy her, but something boldened inside her, and she kept her chin up, refusing to be quashed. Her hand stayed on her stomach as if she were already supporting her baby, promising to it that she wouldn't give up.
There was more than just herself she wouldn't give up on: the image of Loki's orbs at their fiercest, most passionate, flashed in her head, praying he would use that to find her again.
Her fingers stretched to the dark skies above. Don't forget, she willed, eyes burning at the clouds with resolve.
"Never forget!"
XXX
Loki stood in the golden cave of the Bifrost, staring into the dark void that could – but wouldn't – take him to where he wanted to be. His fists were loose, his heart weighed down with sorrow.
His heart had given up the 'it's not fair' hope, knowing that no good would come of it. Summer was gone, and that wasn't about to change.
Anger didn't matter to him anymore. He just missed her, like she'd taken a piece of his heart with him. He wished they'd had time at least. To say goodbye, to kiss one last time, to help her… but that had been torn from them, and the barbs clung to him. There was no clean separation. No way for a clean break.
He imagined Summer all alone on Earth and his heart ached. He didn't want her to be alone. What would she do? Would she go back to the gang members? Where else could she go…
Loki wished more than anything she could stay by his side.
The injustice of it burned him, and the fury at his brother had settled into a bitter repulsion. Even now, people cheered his name back in the city, as Odin announced his precious, perfect heir to be his successor. Loki hated every moment of it. How could Thor, after all he'd done, win?
"I won't let this pass." He vowed, repeating the words he'd sworn to Summer when he'd first discovered she was with child. Only this time he really meant it.
The darkness flurried in his soul, darkness he knew only Summer could banish. He'd been lenient, patient, standing by and letting so much pass a die at his brother's hand.
No more, he decided. They might think it was over, but Loki wasn't ready to live without Summer just yet. He wouldn't let Thor triumph this time. He wouldn't give up on Summer as so many others had.
Summer… he thought of her down on Earth and prayed there was at least some way he could let her know he was thinking of her. Don't give up on me. His eyes were gleaming, but strong and solid as his determination set in. He'd lost a lot before, but nothing compared to this. He couldn't even see her from afar, to see she was alright.
He blinked, feeling the solemn promise swell in his heart, one he would rather die than break: we will be together again. Wait for me.
He gulped, knowing that he was about to rip apart the fabric of all he'd lived by for the sake of one woman. It was worth it, he decided. He didn't care how long it took, or how he would do it, but he would be by Summer's side again.
Words echoed in his head, and he heard the soft voice of Summer breath willing words into his consciousness, as if she were willing him on from the worlds apart they were. Loki's lips parted and mouthed them back to her, her image dancing in his head gloriously. He would not give up. Not so long as there was breath in his body. All that remained was that Summer would - "Never forget."