And I'm back. Welp. Enjoy, tell me how fabulous my writing is (because I am clearly a god, not a tired amateur), and realize that I'm juggling a lot, so uploads aren't consistent. Chapter 4 should take less time.
"Welcome to our humble hotel room, Scarlett. Please come in and make yourself at home."
"Hardly," she scoffed, breezing past him and setting on the settee in the small living area of their suite.
"Hardly what?"
"Humble—you've always spent copious amounts of money on hotel rooms. And just look at this place."
While he hadn't chosen the biggest suite, Rhett had certainly chosen a hotel that made up for the cheaper room by picking the priciest hotel available. Windows towered over them, allowing the golden afternoon light to envelop them. The effect of the many massive windows was a wall seemingly made of glass that overlooked the Savannah ports. The furniture was all exquisitely carved from high quality wood and polished to perfection. While the upholstering was mostly an elegant shade between cream and ivory, it had an expensive-looking floral pattern shimmering in the sunlight. And the ceiling was practically dripping with crystal. The chandelier and gold leafing surpassed anything she had done with the mansion on Peachtree Street.
"I must admit that I'm coming around to the opulent style that you like so much. Of course I can't stand the oppressive darkness in our house, but I can see the beauty in glittering jewels. But I'm more southerner than I like to acknowledge and will always prefer a subtler style and a color palette that is easy to digest. One that doesn't give you a migraine."
Scarlett hummed a response. Housing was not her favorite topic with Rhett. He always baited her on her taste, using it as a way to insult and humiliate her. She needed an excuse to halt their conversation.
Remembering the small trinkets she had bought Ella and Wade, she began to dig through her reticule. While the current styles had leaned towards larger bags than the year before, they were still only intended to hold a few items and were accordingly sized. Scarlett couldn't help but muse that she must look rather ridiculous shifting around the tiny bag. Surely she would have already found the item or it was not in there. There wasn't much room for clutter.
Despite the absurd picture she painted, Rhett didn't say a word. He didn't comment when she stopped either.
Scarlett chanced a glance at his swarthy face and noticed that he was staring at her absently. He was lost in his own thoughts, but he was staring with a frightening intensity.
Deciding flippant was the best way to go, Scarlett further straightened her spine and challenged him with her gaze. "Could you try not to burn holes in my skull, Rhett?"
He actually startled for a moment, almost jumping out of his seat before he remembered himself. "My sincerest apologies, Scarlett."
He slipped seamlessly back into the recesses of his mind.
Scarlett certainly looked better than the last time he had seen her. She had gained back some of the fullness in her face that had been missing since the accident. How had she managed to flourish? The woman tried beyond everyone else's breaking points had managed to push through and become the breathtaking vision that she was. Beautiful as always, more confident, and content with her life. He had always wanted to be the one to restore her vitality. And despite everything he had done to hurt her, she had somehow done that for herself. And he had failed miserably.
"Vexing."
"What?"
"You're still staring at me."
A gust of air rushed past his lips and he ran a hand through his immaculate hair. "I guess I'm not just not as adept at blocking out introspection."
"In that case, I believe we'll lose all contact with you in a few years. I hear it gets worse with time."
Rhett let out a displeased huff of laughter, but didn't dispute the point. "I didn't ask you here to talk about my aging."
"You age?"
"Charming. Anyway, you came to see the children, so I better fetch them. They were in Wade's room "researching" his new soldier figurines. To tell you the truth, we all know they're playing make believe, but I wouldn't want to damage Wade's self esteem."
"I could just come with you," she suggested.
"I… suppose."
Rhett didn't want to admit that he wanted to give the children a crucial moment to process that their mother had come back. And who knew how Wade would react? But he couldn't tell Scarlett no. He didn't want to discourage her sparse interaction with her children. They needed their mother.
He stood and gestured a toned arm towards their private rooms. "This way, milady."
Just outside the door, Rhett felt Scarlett dig her slender fingers into his bicep. He glanced at her, confusion marring his brow, and noticed how anxious she seemed.
They were suddenly treading on very unfamiliar ground.
What should he do? Comfort her? Ignore her apprehension?
Rhett settled on lightly patting her hand. "Don't worry so much, it's just Wade and Ella."
Of course, that was exactly why she was worrying.
But there was no time to ponder it because Rhett stepped out of her hold and swung the door open.
Ella mumbled a greeting for her stepfather. Wade just glared at the intruder.
Scarlett followed suit and stepped into the light.
The two children failed to register it at first. They turned back towards the toy set up before their heads snapped back to Scarlett's direction. The silence was palpable.
And in an instant, arms cinched her waist and shoulders, preventing her from moving her arms. She could feel Ella's head resting against her abdomen and Wade's buried in her shoulder, seemingly trying to take in her smell and force her to stay.
"Hello."
She cursed herself for her inability to summon some cunning turn of phrase. Was a simple hello really all she could manage? Even after all those years, she was as incapable of connecting with her children as she had been when she was 20.
"Mother, you're not dead," Ella's small voice whispered into her stomach.
"What? Dead? No, I just had to… Atlanta was… well… I thought it'd be better if you both stayed with Uncle Rhett. I had to clear my mind and get better. You remember how sick I was in Atlanta. It wasn't a pretty sight."
"I would have preferred to stay with you," Wade murmured.
How odd that her children had missed her. After everything Rhett had said about her terrible instincts and their fear, she hadn't thought it a possibility. None of her children had ever expressed a true craving for her presence. Bonnie had missed her while in Charleston, but it seemed that the little girl only wanted the constant nature of her mother. The second they were reunited, the toddler had run off to spend time with her pony. The pony that she had loved… maybe more than her own mother.
Scarlett awkwardly bent her arm, trying to pat Wade's back a little. It was difficult with Ella pinning her down at the elbows.
"Don't be silly. I'm not nearly as fun as Uncle Rhett. I bet you've had a better time here than you would have with me. But why don't we go to the sitting room and you two can tell me about what I've missed."
Wade slowly let go, reluctant to release her should she flee from the premise. Ella, on the other hand, refused to budge. She had just gotten Mother back and she was not willing to let her go in the slightest.
"I don't want you to go anywhere."
"I'm only going to the sitting room, Ella, and you're coming with me. Come on now, let's go."
"I don't want to."
Rhett stepped forward in an attempt to prevent any discord between the newly reunited family. "Ella, you can have some sweets if you let your Mother go. I'm sure she'd like to have a seat."
Bribery was usually the best way to get children to cooperate, but Ella would not be swayed. She squeezed Scarlett tighter and shook her head violently.
Seeing Ella's face start to color, Scarlett desperately searched for a solution to her oncoming breakdown. "How about you hold my hand instead? I promise I'm not going anywhere but the sitting room."
Two watery hazel eyes peeked at Scarlett through their lashes. Ella has never heard Scarlett make such an offer to anyone else, and the idea of being the only one to hold mother's hand caught her interest.
"Do you promise?"
"Of course, Ella."
"Can I still have a cookie if I hold your hand?"
"You can have one, but no more. I don't want you to spoil your dinner."
Ella's eyebrows drew together in contemplation. It was a difficult decision, but she dropped her arms and immediately seized her mother's hand.
Scarlett blew out the candle by the bedside and smoothed the covers under Ella's neck.
"Goodnight, Ella."
"Night, Mother. Will we see you again tomorrow? You're not leaving us again, are you?"
Ella had always asked the most painful questions. They were the questions she could never answer, especially without hurting her.
"I'm not sure, honey. You know Uncle Rhett and I have had a hard time since Bonnie died, I'm not sure we'll be able to stay together. You know that we… separated, so it's a difficult situation."
The rare endearment, from her previously missing mother no less, went a long way towards soothing Ella's heart, though fear of abandonment still gripped it.
"We could still stay together. Or Wade and I could come with you to wherever you wanna go."
"But wouldn't you rather stay with Uncle Rhett, Ella? He's like a father to you and he's a lot more fun than I am. And you've always like him."
"Yeah, but…" Ella trailed off in hesitation. Whatever she had been about to say, it clearly bothered her.
"But," Scarlett prompted, running a slightly awkward hand over Ella's hair.
"He's not my dad." Though the admission brought guilt bubbling up inside the little girl, it was the truth. "You're my mother. It's just not the same." Somehow it meant so much more if Scarlett accepted or rejected her. She was Ella's mother in every way. Uncle Rhett was a father, but he wasn't her's. His love for Bonnie had always been significantly stronger than his affection for her. Sometimes it was like he ignored her in favor of Bonnie, no matter how treacherous the thought. But Ella had always been Mother's daughter and always would be.
"I'm not sure if you'll be able to come with me, Ella."
"But you won't leave tonight, will you? I haven't gotten to spend time with you."
"No, I won't be gone tomorrow. I'll talk with Uncle Rhett about what we will do. If you are going to stay with him, I'll make sure not to leave without saying goodbye."
"Promise?"
"Prominse." Scarlett lightly pecked Ella's cheek and whispered goodnight before slipping out of the dark room.
One down and two to go.
It had been a long day. While she had missed her children, it was still taxing for Scarlett to sit still and listen for prolonged periods of time. She wanted to move around a little, but Ella wouldn't hear of it. So she had sat and patiently listened to their tales, smiling and laughing in all the right places.
Light still seeped out from under Wade's door. Scarlett braced herself for another difficult goodbye and entered the lion's den.
He sat in a chair by the window, reading a novel that was falling apart at the seams. Moonlight streamed in from the window behind him, illuminating his hair and features with a blue tint. He looked eerily like the ghost of Charles Hamilton.
Scarlett lightly rapped the door to get his attention.
Wade's head shot up, his whole body tensing. When he saw his mother waiting for an invitation in the doorway, he immediately relaxed. He marked his place and put the book aside. Gliding with surprising grace for a teenage boy, Wade moved across the room.
"Sorry, I didn't see you."
"Don't worry, I know how absorbed people can be in their books. I just came to say goodnight."
"Are you leaving again?" His eyes, so similar to Melly's, burned with something that Melanie had never directed at Scarlett: accusation.
"I'm going back to my hotel. I'll be back tomorrow."
"What about the day after that?"
"I'm not sure yet, Wade. I have to talk to Uncle Rhett."
"You don't have to call him that, you know. You could just say Rhett."
Scarlett wrinkled her brow at him, but didn't comment.
After a beat of silence, Wade picked the conversation back up. "What are you going to talk about? How quickly one of you can paw us off?"
"It's not like that, Wade. I just want to do what's best for you and Ella."
"How is leaving me with Rhett what's best for us?"
"Well, it was Rhett or me. You remember when we were in Atlanta. I was far from capable of taking care of you two. And I needed to leave, to recover from it all."
"But you could still have taken us with you. Instead you left us with Rhett."
The overjoyed little boy who had greeted her earlier in the day had vanished. In his place stood an angry young man who felt abandoned by his mother.
"I was hardly able to take care of myself, let alone two kids. And Rhett's always been kinder than me. I'm not very good at comforting others, and I knew you two needed that."
"But I didn't want Rhett to comfort me. Not that he did. I wanted you."
"You've always been rather afraid of me. And I think I would have disappointed you anyway."
"It was you leaving that disappointed me."
"Wade… I still need to talk to Rhett. We need to sort out how we want to handle our… situation. But, if you had to choose one of us to live with, who would you prefer?"
"You. But… would Uncle Rhett be able to visit?" His face had morphed again, back into the doe-eyed boy she'd always known.
"Of course. Things might just be a little tricky, Wade. It's all very complicated, and it'll take some getting used to."
"It'll be okay, though, right?."
Scarlett could only smile and nod.
"I'll see you tomorrow, darling."
And then there were two. Rhett was still on the sofa the children had vacated when Scarlett emerged from Wade's bedroom.
All light in the room had gone out except the low embers in the fireplace.
The dim light flickered across his face, alternatively making him look tired beyond words and a formidable foe. He rolled a glass of whiskey in his right hand, the crystal cut piece glittering. He turned to her, shadows stealing over his face.
Danger. Warning bells rang in her head as she took in the adumbral figure before her. This was not a man she wanted to mess with. This was the cutting viper she had been married to, the one who stung and reviled her constantly. The very same one from the night of Ashley's birthday, only more in control of himself.
"Sit."
She did.
"Do you want a drink?"
"No, we need to talk about what we're going to do."
"You're in a rush. Why the hurry?"
"I can't leave Ella and Wade waiting on a decision. I've kept them in uncertainty long enough."
"You can afford to have a drink while we talk."
"I'm not sure whiskey is the best way for me to get back into drinking. Or that I should get back into drinking."
"It's only one glass."
Scarlett reluctantly accepted the glass that had been sitting on a side table and carefully seated herself besides Rhett, trying to keep an appropriate distance. She didn't want to feel the heat of his leg sinking through her dress or the feeling of his skin against hers. They were such terrible distractions. Despite the separation and trauma, Scarlett couldn't help the hold he had over her body.
"Your plan?"
"Sorry?"
"For the children."
"Oh. I'm not set on anything yet. I don't know where I'm going to settle yet, so I don't know if it's the best idea to take them with me yet."
"You could just stay here. Your grandfather's here."
"That was why I didn't want to live in Savannah."
"Ah. Well, he'll be dead soon, so it's really not that bad."
A small huff of laughter escaped her mouth. "I don't know, Rhett."
"Think about it. You can stay in the South without having to deal with most of the people you don't like."
"I'll still have to deal with a couple."
"Ah, yes. Well, I like to think that I am a necessary presence in the children's life, so it can't be completely helped."
"I was actually referring to my aunts and maternal grandfather. I know Aunt Eulalie and Pauline visit him every once in a while."
"Sure you were."
"Don't look so upset, Rhett."
"Well I am rather injured that I should be counted on the list of your least favorite people."
"Oh hush, I never said that."
"Didn't you? Maybe I'm mistaken."
Rhett was looming over her. The transition was so sudden she'd had no time to do anything. And somehow she'd managed to have enough whiskey to muddle her mind. She didn't remember pouring herself more, but that had been a classically Rhett thing to do when they drank together.
"I…"
What was happening? Rhett didn't feel anything for her. And she didn't feel anything for him. But the sparks between them were impossible to stomp out, and she could hear the shadows of his bedroom calling to her.
His face was almost completely obscured by darkness. The fire was so low that it was practically out.
"Maybe I can help you remember why I'm not quite at the bottom of that list." His lips crashed onto hers and the world shattered.