CHAPTER 13
TW: Mention of thoughts of suicide
The next few months brought with it a set of whole new challenges. The main one being Roger's recovery.
After a few weeks of bed rest, he was able to start moving around again. Claire urged him to go slowly at first as his strength built back up. That wasn't hard for him to do since he wasn't very up to being around people or taking part in an events or activities on the Ridge. He mostly stayed in his cabin, getting lost as he stared endlessly at the wall. He hardly interacted with Jemmy as well. The little boy kept jumping on his father, and wanting to play with him. But all Roger did in return was hold his son, having no energy or motivation for anything else.
As his scar from the tracheotomy healed, Claire told him that he should practice talking.
"I don't mean speeches or Shakespeare monologues, but just a few words or very simple sentences."
But he kept refusing. Even when Jemmy would run up to him, crying out with a huge smile, "Clementine, Daddy! Sing Clementine!" With harrowing sadness in his face, Roger would just shake his head and walk away, leaving Brianna to think of some excuse for "Why Daddy doesn't sing?"
Though he avoided leaving his house as much as he could get away with, he did join everyone for Murtagh's funeral.
He was buried the same day they all returned from Hillsborough. But the funeral ceremony happened later so that Jamie would have more time to grieve on his own and try to make his head understand that his godfather was really truly gone.
It was small. Only Jamie, Claire, Skylar, Bree, Roger, Fergus, Marsalis, and Jocasta. Jamie had sent word of Murtagh's death to his aunt and she apparently had left River Run to come to Fraser's Ridge before the end of that same day. Being a proud Scot and a Mackenzie, she appeared tall and composed. But they all could see that she was broken inside. Murtagh had been the love of her life, though she would never speak that out loud. Skylar remembered when she had run into Murtagh at River Tun the night before Jocasta's wedding and he had told her that he had come to profess his love for Jocasta, but she had sent him away. Skylar could tell she regretted it, and she likely would until the day she died.
Jamie had also written a letter to John Grey, informing him over the loss. John had responded that he was deeply sorrowful that he was unable to attend the funeral, but would be coming down the moment his work allowed him to and pay his respects.
Jocasta stayed a week longer after. She, like Roger, tried to be around as few people while she was there if she could help it. She and Jamie spent the days together mainly at Murtagh's grave. Skylar would see them when she was on the porch, standing silently side by side. If they did speak, it was very softly to one another, but mainly they recited prayers or hymns.
John Grey arrived the day Jocasta had set to return home. They did cross paths before she left, and John expressed his condolences to her for the loss of her friend. He was aware that they had been far more than friends, but he knew to not speak of it.
Skylar and Claire were going to check in on Roger, so they said goodbye to Jocasta on their way. They told John they would return soon, and he told them to not rush.
"After the ride down from Virginia, I'd quite like the opportunity to walk on my own for a bit," he told them.
Claire did a basic exam on Roger, just to make sure that everything was continuing on the right path, physically at least. Skylar had come to assist Claire in any way she was needed, but she also was there, more importantly in her eyes, as a support for her sister. Bree was very worried about Roger. Not for his scar of any outward wounds, but just him in general. He hadn't spoken a word since that terrifying day and she was saying that he wasn't the man she married, but more like an alien walking around unsure in a new world.
"Everything looks good," Claire observed. "Your throat's healing nicely. Scar's faded." She pressed along the underside of his jaw to see if there was any tenderness. His lack of reaction told her there was none. "How do you feel?"
He shrugged. He still wasn't speaking.
Brianna put her hands on her hips and let out a quiet exhale, looking to the floor. Skylar rubbed her upper back. She and Claire made eye contact, and Claire tried to encourage him again.
"You really should try to speak, Roger. It'll sound croaky at first, but it's perfectly normal."
With no response, Bree added, "Maybe just try to whisper?"
Skylar could see him starting to fade away. His eyes had locked somewhere on the floor but he wasn't looking at it. His mind was miles away.
"Alright, well…" Bree went on, "just know that I'll be teaching a Jem to say 'sweater' and 'aluminum'. It's not gonna be 'jumper' or 'aluminum.'" She tried to make a joke comparing the pronunciations they each used.
Skylar laughed lightly. "We all speak English, but I swear to God, you Brits have your own language."
"Says the girl who says things like 'lit' or 'slaps' for completely different reasons we do," Claire teased.
"Just be glad I didn't come from any later. Who knows what vocabulary my generation came up with by now."
Bree smiled. "See? Words are overrated and too complicated. Who needs them anyway?" She put her hand on Roger's shoulder, bringing him back into reality instead of wherever he had just been in his head. "We could pretend we're in one of those silent movies we used to go and see in Oxford or Kenmore Square."
"Lord John has brought a whole trunk of books and gifts," Claire changed the subject. "Would you like to come up to the house to see him?"
He shook his head.
"I'll go with you," Bree offered.
"Do you want me to stick around a bit? Keep you company?" Skylar asked him. He shook his head again, not looking at her. "You sure? It's no problem. Ollie's with Jemmy and Germain, so he doesn't need me." Roger nodded. She licked her lips. "Okay, well, you know where to find us." She waited for any sort of response, be it a nod or a miraculous word. But he didn't give any.
The truth was, Skylar was scared to leave him alone. He was in so much suffering and had no outlet to deal with it. She was very scared that it was going to get too much for him and he might attempt to take his life. She remembered just earlier that year when she was silently in so much pain and felt like she couldn't do anything about it. Suicide had crossed her mind more than once and that had been terrifying. She wouldn't wish that on anyone, especially someone so close and important to her.
But she needed to believe that Roger was not in that place and allow herself to close the door behind her as she, Bree and Claire left, leaving him inside on his own.
When they returned to the Big House, they found that John was still away and that Jamie had joined him. So they sat together in the kitchen and Claire made them some tea. Brianna took the opportunity to vent her own feelings and worries for her husband.
"I've seen this sort of thing before," she started. "Once. Back in 1969. My roommate from MIT, Gayle, she had this boyfriend who went to Vietnam. I didn't really know him all that well, but she asked me to go with her to see him a few times after he got back. He'd been back almost a year when I first went."
I think I know where this is going, Skylar thought.
"I don't really know what I was expecting, but…he was like a zombie. Just no life in his eyes at all. Gayle called it his thousand yard stare.' He was hit by some shrapnel, but he wasn't seriously injured."
"We would call that 'war neurosis.' Or 'shell shock'," Claire said.
Skylar couldn't help from adding in what she knew it as, "PTSD." Claire and Bree looked at her confused. "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. That's what it's called in the 21st Century. Anyone can have it, not just veterans. Anyone who has been through some major trauma. Including Roger."
"But it's been months now, and you said that Roger is physically fine. So, maybe it is war neurosis or PTSD. I mean, it must be mental, psychological…It's like he's drowning in silence. And he has that same thousand yard stare in his eyes."
"Disassociation. His brain can't process what happened and so it's trying not to be in this reality by like…floating him away far from here so he can hurt less. He can't help it," Skylar continued to explain.
"But how do I stop that? How can I keep him here in this reality with me before it's too late and he's too far away. I'm afraid he's lost." Bree's eyes were getting watery and her voice was starting to shake. Skylar stopped talking and just held one of her hands as support and a comfort.
Claire took over and held Bree's other hand. "No matter how lost he is, you just have to have faith that you find him."
They all took a collective deep breath and drank their tea. But the heavy air was broken by a fit of goggles entering the room. They looked to the door and saw John Grey and Jamie coming in, with Ollie hanging onto one of John's legs, Jemmy on the other, and Germain holding onto his back like a monkey.
"Excuse our interruption," John said to the women with a giant smile on his face, "but I have a few deliveries for you." He took a few more steps into the room, causing the giggles to intensify.
"Oliver Ian, what are you doing to your Uncle John?" Skylar called out to her son, though finding it impossible to not laugh and smile as well. She stood up and went to pry the little boy off her friend.
"Jem, baby, come here." Bree opened her arms for Jemmy to come hug her, and he sprinted to his mother to do just that.
"And I think a giant bug has landed on my back. Would you mind checking it for me?" John followed. Germain squealed in delight and fun.
"Oh, yeah. You have a big old leech on your back. There's only one way to get it off." Skylar tickled her nephew's sides and was able to pull him off when he started laughing even more and let go. She held him in one arm while Ollie was still in her other. "And you, little rascal, where are your parents?"
"Mama is at home and Papa is at still," he said.
"Okay, well, we have to do some boring grown up work. Do you think you three can play nice and quiet in the parlor while we're in the dining room?"
"No!" the boys yelled, just to be rebels.
All the adults laughed. "That's what I thought," Skylar sighed.
"Why don't we go find Lizzie and make you munchkins her problem, hmm?" Claire decided. She stood up and took Jemmy's hand. Skylar put Ollie and Germain down so they could follow her out of the room. "I'll be right back," she said.
When she was gone, Brianna crossed the room to John Grey.
"It's been too long, John," she greeted him.
"It has indeed. My sincerest apologies. But, I bring gifts as a peace offering."
"Always welcome," Skylar joked. They went into the dining room where he had left the trunk. Inside were several books of varying genres, a few toys for the children, and other trinkets that John promised would explain how they worked after seeing the confusion cross Skylar's face. When Claire returned, he pulled a letter out of his jacket pocket, stating there was one other gift that wasn't from him. They sat around the table as Jamie took the letter and read it. It was from Tryon, acting as a sad excuse for making amends for what he did to Roger
"I offer my apologies fer the injury done te yer son-in-law. It was a most regrettable error," part of it read. Skylar couldn't hold back a scoff.
"An error. Like a-like a math problem that he made a simple mistake on," she commented.
Jamie looked over the rest of the letter, and when he reached the bottom, his head shot up from it and he took off his glasses.
"Governor Tryon has granted Roger 5,000 acres in the backcountry."
"What? Why?" Bree replied. Jamie slid her the paper so she could read it herself.
"Compensation."
"Or perhaps he thinks he can buy your forgiveness," Claire said.
"That's bullshit!" Skylar exclaimed. She glanced at John and added quieter, "Sorry. But it is."
"And what will we do with 5,000 acres?" Bree inquired, her tone making it clear she agreed with Skylar.
"It won't undo what's happened to Roger, but it's a valuable tract of land," John put in.
Bree threw down the letter. "Tryon can keep his land. I don't need land. I need my husband back." She got up and stormed out.
Both Skylar and Claire went to follow her, but John stopped them.
"May I?" he requested.
"Of course," Claire agreed. Skylar nodded. They sat back down and John went after Brianna, but paused to take one specific object out of the trunk that looked like a combination of a clock and compass.
Skylar rubbed her hands over her face and crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair. "This is insanity. Is this just how all problems get dealt with here? Rich men just throw money at you and then everything's forgotten?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Claire answered.
"Although I agree with ye, a leannan, that the offer is, uh, bullshit, I must side with John as well. This offer is too good te pass up. With it, they could yield a verra fruitful crop, build a bigger house fer their family."
"Roger is no way near being ready to commit to such a huge project," Skylar countered. "Bree said he's shown some interest recently in starting work on the loft for their cabin, but that's very different than taking care of 5,000 acres."
"Maybe the loft is a stepping stone," Claire suggested. "If he's able to put all of his mind and energy onto that, it'll help him stop doing the- what's the word you said? Disassociation. Then if that helps at all, he could be more open to taking on the land."
"I hope. But it's all just a guessing game. It's all up to Roger to when he wants to start to heal. No one can make that decision but him."
"On that, how are you doing, Skylar? We haven't had much of a chance to talk since Alamance and what you said about…"
"Accepting that Ian's gone? Yeah." She chuckled awkwardly. "That's been the least important thing by far happening around here lately. We don't need to waste any time on that."
"It is not unimportant. It's very important. You put other's problems so high above your own and you must take a break from that."
"I deeply apologize, a leannan. I wish fer ye te discuss this with me as anythin' that causes ye pain wears heavy on me heart, but ye must excuse me fer now," Jamie said as he stood up. He walked around the table and kissed Skylar's head. He touched Claire's shoulder, then walked out. The wounds from Murtagh's death was still too raw and hearing the mention of Alamance had triggered them to reopen.
"See?" Skylar pointed out, using Jamie to fuel her argument. "You should go be with Dad right now. I'm fine for now."
"Forgive me if I have a hard time believing you when you say you're fine. You went far too long saying you're fine and it nearly killed you. So I'll ask again, how are you doing, Skylar?"
Skylar could tell she want getting out of this, so she decided to just tell the truth. "Well, it's not getting any easier. That's for damn sure. I thought that once I had gotten to the point where I could, you know, say he's never coming back, it would be easier. But, holy hell, it's not. I don't even know what 'it' is. Living?"
"That's perfectly understandable. Acceptance is the hardest step of them all. I know because I went through the same thing, having to come to the understanding that the love of your life is no longer yours. It never got easier over the twenty years I was separated from Jamie. And yours is still very new."
"I've been trying to see how long I can each day without thinking about him."
"And?"
"I haven't even reached 30 seconds yet." She anxiously started picking at the corner of the table. "I've been thinking…um, thinking about maybe take- when he's quite a bit older of course, taking Ollie and um…maybe try to go t-to…go, like, see Ian in New York. I don't know, it's really dumb. It was a passing thought, once or twice. Just to have them meet, cause like, they are father and son. But if I did, if, big if, it would be years away. But then like, how would I even do that? How would I get into the-the village? Just walk in and be like, hi I'm Skylar, Ian's ex-wife. This is his kid he has no idea exists. We were just in the neighborhood. He around? Like, what? It-it's so dumb, it's very stupid. I don't know." She paused. "I'm sorry that I just word vomited all of that."
"Don't be. Thinking about that, it's a very big step."
Skylar swallowed and took a long slow breath, then let it out. "I miss him. I miss him so much."
Claire ran her hand over Skylar's hair and down her face. "I know, sweetheart."
"It's almost harder in the 'accepting' phase, whatever that is. It almost hurts more."
"It makes it real. But you're going to survive it. You are so strong and brave. I know you are going to come out the other side of this. It's going to take a long time, but you will. You'll see."
"Maybe one day I'll be able to say his name without feeling my heart rip in half?" She cleared her throat to get rid of the lump beginning to build.
Claire smiled and kissed her head. "It seems impossible now, I know. But that day will come. I promise."
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The next few days followed the pattern of what they were all hoping was not their new normal. Wake up, check in on Roger to see if he's talking, prompt him to talk, get shut down, go about the rest of the day and hope for more success the next.
On one of these afternoons, Skylar and Marsali had met up in the surgery to practice their stitches. They were both at the point where they could see a simple wound with their eyes closed, but they needed to practice their skills on more complicated injuries should any come in the door.
"Very impressive," Claire complimented them when she came into the room.
"Me lines wouldna be so wonky if this one," Marsali said, putting a hand on her pregnant stomach, "would just take a break from kickin' and makin' me mess up."
"He's still going hard, I guess?" Skylar replied.
"Aye. Ye'd think he was dancin' a reel in there. At all hours too. Hardly got a wink'a sleep the last couple nights."
Claire laughed and out a hand in Marsali's shoulder. "You know Jamie and I are always more than happy to watch Germain for a few hours whenever you need to rest. Which was actually why I was coming to find both of you, to offer our services for today. We have Jemmy for a while, and I thought he might like to play with his cousins."
"I thank ye, Claire. Truly. But Leah Baker was me savior teday and took him off te hers te play with her own wee lad, Andrew."
"Did Bree ask you two to take on Jem for her today?" Skylar asked.
"No, Jamie and I offered after what happened yesterday, we thought they might benefit from some time alone."
Skylar agreed. The day before, she, Claire and Jamie had brought breakfast to the Mackenzies. When water had started boiling, Jemmy reached to touch the scalding pot. But before he could, Roger screamed, "NO!" and lunged to get Jemmy away from it. Everyone had stopped what they were doing in shock at hearing Roger speak. They had taken Jemmy back to the Big House for the rest of the morning to give Roger a chance to try again with just Bree there. But when she came to collect Jemmy later that day, she said it had been no use. He didn't make any other noises, be it words or even just grunts, for the entirety of the day and into the night.
"I'm sure Ollie would love nothing more than to go spend time with Jem and his grandparents, but he actually just went down for a nap like ten minutes ago," Skylar said.
Claire was surprised. "He did? I thought he was starting to outgrow them."
"He was, or still is, I guess. But he had a very exciting morning and he was exhausted by 12:30. He was practically asleep before he was in his bed."
"what was so exciting?"
"He had another riding lesson from Benjamin today."
"And how's that going?"
"I can't believe how fast he's picking it up. I mean, he's not even three and this was only his third lesson, and he already knows which way to pull the reigns to get the horse to turn. Do you remember when Dad taught me to ride a horse and I just kept going in circles for days? I swear, he's too smart to be my son."
"And ye and Benjamin? How are ye te gettin' along?" Marsali asked.
"Slowly but surely we're getting better. I mean, snail slowly, but still. He's letting me be within ten feet of him now, which is really good. I'm able to watch Ollie learn to ride a horse and that's so incredible. Sarah on the other hand…"
"Is she still causing you grief?" Claire pressed.
"I feel like even when she's not nearby, I can still feel her eyes burning holes in my head, just lying in wait to make sure I don't try anything on Benjamin. Even though she knows very well that I ended things with him, she made a big scene about how I did. And then when she is around, even when Ollie and I are not with Benjamin but just in the same vicinity, she's flaunting her relationship with him like she's trying to make me jealous. It's very strange. I would love to be in her head and see how it all makes sense to her."
"I'm sorry to cut this gossip short, but I have two boys waiting for me and one of them is very cranky when he has to wait. Jemmy on the other hand is quite patient."
Skylar and Marsali laughed at her teasing Jamie, and said bye to her as she left.
After another half hour of sewing up pig flesh, they decided to straighten up the surgery since it had started to get a little messy. But after less than ten minutes, Skylar knew she was going to have to finish this job herself.
She looked over to where Marsali was sweeping, and saw she was leaning up against the broom stick with her eyes closed.
"Marsi!" Skylar called to her. Marsali's eyes shot open and her head popped back up.
"Sorry. Sorry. I didn't even realize I had closed me eyes."
"Go home, Marsali. Seriously."
"No, no. I'm fine. I'm just a small bit…" She couldn't finish her sentence because her words got overtaken by a yawn. "A small bit tired," she eventually got out.
"Yeah, I can see that. Go home and sleep. I have this." Skylar drove her point by going to her and taking the broom out of her hands. "Fergus is already with Joan, Germain is with his friend. Take this opportunity. You won't be getting any more soon."
"Yer sure yer fine wi' this?"
Skylar looked around. "Yeah, I think I have this crowd of bleeding and sick patients under control." Marsali smiled.
"Thank ye, Sky. I intend te repay ye."
"Absolutely not. This is not something g you have to repay. Just go now before you fall asleep standing up."
Once Marsali was gone, Skylar continued to clean the room. She finished sweeping and dusted the jars and shelves she collected all the used tools spread around on the counters and tables and brought them all to one table to wash them.
One hour later, she had finished with the instruments and was putting them back into their correct spots when she heard Claire call out, "Skylar?"
"Still in here," she called back. She looked up as Claire and Jamie walked in from the kitchen. "Marsali was falling asleep on her feet, so I just told her to go home. I figured I was more than capable of handling this very busy day on my own." She laughed, but it faded out and stopped when she saw the weird faces they had on. They were clearly happy, but it seemed like they were trying to hold back just how happy they were from showing. "What's up with you two? Is everything okay?"
"Aye. Aye, oh, everythin'…everythin's more than okay, lass. It's wonderful, in fact," Jamie said to her.
"Okay. Well, you're freaking me out. Can you tell me what's so wonderful?"
Jamie and Claire looked to each other, then Claire said to Skylar, "You should sit down."
Skylar was only getting more confused, and a little scared honestly, but nonetheless, she sat on a chair and Claire sat opposite her with Jamie standing behind her. She waited anxiously for them to tell her what this news was.
"Please, one of you say something. I can't take it."
Claire took a breath, then announced the three words Skylar could never have expected her to say. "Ian is back."
Skylar didn't know how long she had blacked out for. She figured it had only been a couple seconds since when she came back to, no one had moved. But it felt like days. She couldn't have heard Claire correctly. She had hallucinated. Her mind hadn't let her hear the truth, only what she wished to have heard. It wasn't real. No, she had to have misunderstood.
"I…I-I…um, I'm sorry? I don't think I…could you re- could you-you, um, say th…that again?" she stuttered out, barely loud enough to even be considered whispering.
"Ian came back," Jamie repeated. "He's home."
"Ian…who?" There was some other explanation. This wasn't real.
Claire laughed. "Ian who? Is there another Ian you've been expecting?"
A high-pitched ringing played in Skylar's ears and a sharp throbbing pain erupted behind her eyes. Everything was foggy.
They waited for more of a reaction from her, for her to jump up and scream and cry, and run out to find him. Or to just ask more questions. But when all they got was silence, Jamie kept talking to fill it. "He found us in the woods when we were with Jemmy. A boar had started te charge us, but Ian had seen from the top of a hill and shot it dead. We couldna believe our eyes when we looked up and saw it was him. But it really is him. Ian has returned te us and we brought him home."
"For how long?" was the question Skylar asked when she found her voice again. She was pulling at straws for any words to come into her head and out her mouth, and for some reason, those had been the first.
"We're not sure. We haven't been able to ask him yet," Claire answered. Skylar dropped her gaze from them to the floor. Her heart was going too fast. Tingles had spread through her entire body. She made fists so tight her nails were digging into the palms of her hands, but she couldn't feel it. Rapid breaths went in and out of her nose. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't move. Any energy she had left that hadn't been knocked out of her was being used to keep herself from passing out.
Claire went on. "I have to tell you, it's a bit of a shock when you first see him. His hair's been shaved, save one strip down the middle of his head, and he has small tattoos on his face. You may want to prepare yourself for that. But it's still him. He's still Ian." She could see Skylar was having a very difficult time processing this news. She didn't know what to do to help her though.
Skylar licked her lips before speaking again. Her mouth had gone completely barren and it made her voice raspy. "Did you say anything to him about Ollie? Or-or me?"
"No. No, Ollie's existence isn't ours to tell. That can only come from you. And we wanted the first mention of you to come from, well, you."
Skylar felt like her world was imploding. The room was spinning so fast she gripped onto the sides of her chair out of fear she would fall off. The ringing was getting louder and the pain behind her eyes was like a knife now. She felt freezing cold but sweaty at the same time. She felt like she was experiencing very emotion possible at once. It was too much. She needed to get away from this.
"What are you thinking, Skylar?" Claire asked her, her growing distress more than evident.
"I think…" she started. She released her death hold from the sides of her chair and straightened her back. She looked back at Jamie and Claire, who's expressions were impossible to read but totally different than how they were two minutes ago. "I think I should go check on Ollie. See if he's still asleep." She stood up and bolted to the door that led to the kitchen. Jamie and Claire followed after her.
"Skylar," Jamie called, making her stop. She held onto the door so that she wouldn't fall. "It's Ian. Ian has come back. Don't ye want te go to him and-"
She spun around and said plainly, "I can't see him. I can't see him. Yet. Not now. I just…I-I…I can't. I ne-I need to…" Not knowing how to finish the thought, she turned back and walked out of the room.
She slowly climbed the stairs to her bedroom. She stumbled as she went down the hall, needing to take serval break. Her mind had caught up and it was now going in a million different directions and she couldn't focus on one singular thought.
When she finally reached her door, she held onto the doorknob for a beat, then opened it and walked inside. She leaned her back against it after shutting it. She closed her eyes and breathed. She wasn't hyperventilating, but every inhale and exhale was a challenge and a little painful. Her chest, instead of being tight like during all of her other panic attacks, was on fire and each breath just made that fire grow.
When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Ollie still asleep in his bed. She crossed the room to him and just watched him sleep. She knew he looked just like his father. But in this moment, it was as if she was looking at Ian himself in the little bed. That made her dizziness pick up and she went to sit on her own bed.
She stared at the wall. Her body was still numb and shaking violently. The ringing was still there and she thought that if she didn't pass out from the dizziness, the pain in her head would make her.
This wasn't a normal panic attack. Her mind was still going too fast to make any lists of what she could see, hear or feel, and she didn't bother to try. She wasn't having difficulty breathing, and she wasn't crying. What she did feel was like she far away from her body. This wasn't just disassociating. She felt as if she was watching herself from across the room. She had never experienced this before. So all she thought to do was close her eyes again and wait until whatever this was passed.
It took a very long time for his feeling to begin to diminish. What brought her back was Ollie saying, "Mama!" in his happy, excited two and a half year old voice.
She glanced at the clock on her wall. It had been 45 minutes.
She looked at her toddler with the biggest smile on his face. "Hi, angel," she said back to him. She cleared her throat because her voice was still scratchy. "You had a nice nap?"
"Yeah! Yeah! Mama, we go see chickens, please?"
He was outside somewhere. She didn't know where he was, but she was not ready to see him yet. And, God forbid, he saw Ollie.
"We have to stay in here for a little bit, Ollie."
"Why?"
"Because…we're playing a game of hide and seek with Uncle Roger. He'll never think to look for us in here, right?"
That sent Ollie into giggles and he got out of his bed to sit next to his mom on hers.
"Shhhhh," he went, putting his finger on his lips. "We stay quiet so he won't hear us."
"That's right, sweetie. Shhhhhhh."
As they stayed in there, waiting for Roger, with no chance of him leaving his house, to "find them", Skylar was trying to wrap her mind around what had happened.
The one thing she wanted more than anything, what she wished and prayed for every day and night since he left, had finally come true. But something in her kept her from being able to face him.
Ian is back, she kept saying silently in her head, hoping the repetition would somehow help her understand it. Ian is back. Ian is back.
I got too excited and couldn't wait until tomorrow to post it lol
THIS IS IT! IT'S TIME! THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! IAN YAAAAAAAAAAAY!
I am very sorry that y'all have to wait a little bit longer before the reunion, but I have a plan! It's coming very very very soon!
I hope you all liked this chapter and are half as excited to read what's coming as I am to write it! As always, please follow, favorite, review, combo. I love so much to hear your thoughts.
I love ye all verra verra much and I will see y'all here soon with chapter 14 :)
