Here's the second chapter to my short fic! Sorry it took so long, but I'm a busy college student now!
The rumors flew but nobody knew how much she blamed herself
Lucy knew the whole town was talking. They were talking about her. About Kevin. About how her soon to be ex-husband shot himself. In her heart she knew that no one believed it was her fault. No one except herself.
For years and years, she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath
Eventually Lucy moved out of her parent's house again. She lived alone in an apartment on Main Street. No one had really pressed her to get a job, or move on. It had been three long, painful years since his death. Three years of blaming herself turned her into him, an alcoholic who hurt the ones she loved the most.
Lucy didn't want to answer the door when she heard her sister-in-law Jennifer knock. She almost didn't, until she heard the baby start crying from the cold, and she heard little Lily's voice say, "Mommy, where's Aunt Lucy hiding?"
Knock, knock. Lucy opened the door. Jen stared at her for a brief moment, then turned to Simon. Funny how Lucy hadn't noticed him there. "Why don't you take them to get some hot chocolate?" Jen said, handing little Gavin to his father.
"Sure, I'll be back soon."
She finally drank her pain away a little at a time. But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind…
"Lucy, what are you doing to yourself?" It wasn't the first time one of her family members had made that comment. It definatly wasn't the first time they had come to her apartment to dump out all the whiskey and tell her how much they cared. Everyone else had just plain quit trying. But not Jen, the person who was her best friend as well as her sister-in-law.
"Lucy, are you listening to me? We all love you and care about you, it's time you stopped doing this to yourself. Kevin is dead. He shot himself, it wasn't you who pulled the trigger." Lucy stopped her in mid-sentence.
"I might as well have! I broke his heart. I promised to love, honor and cherish him for the rest of our lives, and I broke that promise!"
"He was beating you up, for Christ's sake Lucy don't you see? He was a very, very sick man. None of this was your fault! You've got to stop blaming yourself. Please Lucy, let me help you. Let me take you to a rehab center. Once you get you life back on track you can stay with Simon and me for awhile. Please, let us help." Oh no, here come the waterworks. Lucy felt bad for hurting Jen all these years. She wished she could make her feel better, wished she could make the years of pain go away. A plan was formulating in her head, and she couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it before.
"Okay Jennifer, your right. Just give me tonight to get some things together and get things straight in my head. I'll be ready to go tomorrow morning." Jen could not believe what she was hearing. She hugged Lucy, and was deeply repulsed by the whiskey on her breath.
"I'll be here tomorrow at 9 to pick you up. I love you Luce."
"I know."
Until the night…
"I can't hurt the one's I love anymore. This is the only way." Lucy looked at Kevin's picture one last time, and pulled the trigger.
Jennifer and Simon weren't expecting someone to knock on their door at 5 o'clock in the morning. Each one put on their bathrobe and headed downstairs to see what was so urgent. Simon opened the door and their stood his father, his face tear-stained.
"Dad, what is it? What's happened?"
"It's Luce, Simon. She's gone. She shot herself last night." Jen stumbled backwards, not even aware of her own voice as she screamed "No!" over and over again.
She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger, and finally drank away his memory. Life is short but this time it was bigger, than the strength she had to get up off her knees. We found her with her face down in the pillow, clinging to his picture for dear life…
The Camdens found the strength to attend the funeral of their Lucy, who had once been so full of life and love. Annie, Sarah, Mary, Jennifer, Ruthie, the assortment of Camden family women did not seem complete without her. Many wept aloud as her casket was laid to rest…
We laid her next to him beneath the willow, while the angels sang a whiskey lullaby
Epilogue:
It had been five years since Lucy had committed suicide, and Jennifer still insisted that her, Simon, and the kids visit the grave site every Sunday after church. They stood there so still as tears rolled down Jennifer's cheeks. Eight year old Lily and five year old Gavin knew enough to stand still and be respectful, but the seven month old little girl in Jen's arms, Lucy Mae, seemed to be quieted only by the gentle breeze that blew the leaves of the willow. Jennifer hummed softly as she looked into the clear blue sky.
La la la la la la la, la la la la la la la.
So, how do you like the finished product? Let me know!!!