~ oOo ~
Okay, so I'm a total fail and I'm soo sorry this
chapter has been so delayed. FF seemed to be
having issues, then I messed up by saving the
chapter to my drafts instead of emailing it off
to be beta'd. Anyways, this one is going up now,
and I'll be sending off 17 asap so it should be ready
for Sunday/Monday as usual.
I'm loving all of your theories, thoughts, and how much
you're loving on these characters! Please keep 'em
coming :)
Thank you to my dream team,
SunflowerFran and annaharding
for catching all my silly mistakes and making
Pinky Promises pretty!
I did tweak this a little after they worked their
magic, so all mistakes are mine.
Emmett's outtake is on its way, but he's proving
to be a quiet dude so I'm still working on him.
~ oOo ~
Summary: When two little girls were allowed to walk
home from school one bright spring day nobody could've
predicted the events that followed. The way two families
were torn apart by the vendetta of a deranged man.
Nearly twelve years on, we'll watch as the two girls stolen
away from their homes at eight years old fight to take
back their lives. If only it were as simple as escaping. AU
Pinky Promises
Chapter Sixteen
It had been years of heartache, longing, and anger for Archie, waiting for the tiniest bit of news regarding the whereabouts of Scarlett and Rosalie, yet sitting in his car idling outside his childhood home, he found himself frozen to the seat. Clammy hands white-knuckled the steering wheel, his foot trembling on the pedal. Despite the overwhelming need to have his sisters in his arms again, there was a part of him preparing for imminent, crushing disappointment.
In the past month he'd been keeping in close contact with Edward, Charlie, and Peter, so he knew in his logical mind that Scarlett, Rosalie…, and Marley, the niece he couldn't picture or make sense of just yet, were less than fifty feet away. He knew it wasn't a trick. However, knowing that didn't dispel the years upon years of debilitating blows, of rushing to the police station in the middle of the night only to discover it was a false lead. A false sighting, a cold trail, a kid playing a cruel prank.
It couldn't erase the memory of being told the case had gone cold.
Carl-Roman kicked the back of his seat. "Daddy, why're we in the car? Can we go inside now? Puh-lease?"
Archie looked at his son in the rear-view mirror, his heart beating a frantic tattoo against his rib cage.
"Uh," he paused to clear his throat. "I've gotta tell you something first, champ."
"What?"
"You know your Auntie Scarlett and Auntie Rosalie?"
At the mention of the aunts he knew of but had never met, Carl-Roman cocked his head to one side, curious. He nodded.
Archie swallowed hard, the words he was about to say both easy and difficult to push past his lips. "They're in Pawpaw's house."
Carl-Roman's eyes grew impossibly wide, and his mouth fell open in a comical 'O.' "Are they here to see me?"
"Something like that, champ," was Archie's watery, chuckled reply. "You know when Mummy got sick, and she was a bit fragile? A bit smaller than normal?"
"Yep! I had to be real gentle 'cause she hurted when I jumped on her. Are my aunties sick also, Daddy?"
Thankful for his son's intelligence, Archie explained that he had to be gentle with them until they were stronger. With his dad's tearful description of the girls' conditions fresh in his mind, Archie tried not to think about it too hard, and moved on to the next subject he needed to cover.
"All right, and there's one more thing…So you know how Ben's auntie had a baby last year, little Robert?"
Carl-Roman nodded. "Uh-huh. He's Ben's cubbin."
Archie tried not to laugh, knowing it would annoy Carl-Roman, and corrected him gently. "Cousin, champ, Robert is Ben's cousin. Well, Auntie Scarlett had—" He had to cough again, struggling to get out the words. Struggling to come to terms with the fact that his baby sister, "had a baby. Auntie Scarlett had a baby, champ. You have a cousin."
Carl-Roman grinned with glee, looking towards the house, then back at Archie. "I have a baby cousin, too? That's cool, Daddy! Can I hold him?"
"Her, champ. Your cousin is a girl. And she's not a baby, either. She's five."
Counting on his fingers, Carl-Roman frowned. "So she's a year younger than me? 'Cause I'm six, and she's five."
"That's right, champ. Good math, son. Her name is Marley, and she's five, so yes, she's a year younger than you, but she's older than Chase."
"Okay, I guess that's all right. I can share my toys, if she wants, I don't mind."
Smothering chuckles and swallowing back tears, Archie grinned and reached around to ruffle his son's hair, never more proud of him than in that moment. "I'm sure she'll really appreciate that, son, thank you."
Finally, after ten minutes of sitting on the driveway, Archie stepped onto the pavement, letting his eager son out before removing Chase from the car, still in his carrier, and following Carl-Roman up the path to the front door. A mixture of terrified and excited, he used his key to enter.
The sound of his dad's voice from the kitchen told him where he needed to go. In spite of the fact that he'd walked this small hallway thousands of times, Archie couldn't help but feel the wariness of his feet, the photograph hanging on the wall making his eyes prickly with heat as he passed it. It was taken the same day as the one the police used during the search.
Rosalie, Scarlett, Archie, Heidi, and Pippa were all there, lying fast asleep on a picnic blanket. They'd worn themselves out in Hampden Park and tumbled onto the ground upon their return where Peter managed to capture the sweet scene on his camera.
"Hi, I'm Carl-Roman Swan. You're my Auntie Scarlett, and you're Auntie Rosalie, right?"
Archie stepped into the kitchen just as Carl-Roman barreled up to two figures, much smaller than he'd envisioned but so very recognizable with their strawberry-blonde curls and red-blonde waves.
Dark eyes remained fixed on Carl-Roman and the aunts he was just then meeting as he rocked on his heels, grinning up at Scarlett and Rosalie.
Scarlett nodded shakily, unable to take her eyes away from him, unable to believe he was her nephew but loving him on sight.
"Good. Oh, this is my baby brother, Chase. He's really little, so he doesn't talk or dance or play football like me. Daddy, how old is he again?"
Archie shook his head at his little whirlwind, but before he could answer, Carl-Roman was running his mouth once more.
"Oh! D'you wanna see my new trains? They're so cool! D'you like trains, Auntie Rosalie?"
All eyes were on the trio around the dining table, even more so when both girls found themselves incapable of speaking. Tears poured over their cheeks, splashing the stone tiles underfoot.
Carl-Roman's grin drooped. "Why're you sad? Pawpaw," Charlie scooped his worried grandson into his arms, trying so very hard not to give into his own tears, "why are Auntie Scarlett and Auntie Rosalie sad?"
"They're not sad, champ. They're just so, so happy that they don't have room for it all. The happy is leaking, that's all. That's why they're crying. They're happy tears."
The looks the girls gave him were of gratefulness, joy, and overwhelmed disbelief, which was all the confirmation he needed that he'd hit the nail on the head.
Meanwhile, Carl-Roman's expression evened out into his usual grin. "Oh. Okay, Pawpaw, I got this."
With his trainer-clad feet back on the floor, he stood between his aunts, eyeing Scarlett, then Rosalie. "You gotta be happy all the time now, 'cause you're home with us. Daddy said you went away for a while, but now you're home so I can show you my trains! They're super cool; I swear you'll like 'em." Eyeing the girls skeptically, he sighed. "I might even let you play with my Thomas train. He's special, but I think you'll be okay if you don't take him outside. Right, Daddy?"
Archie nodded, but it was Peter that spoke.
"Hey, Carl-Roman, you want to show me first, and we'll get them all set up for your aunties?"
Carl-Roman cast a longing look at Scarlett and Rosalie but was placated when Peter reiterated that they'd be right back once they'd set the tracks up and got the trains ready. Archie sighed long and low, realizing he was just trying to give him time with his sisters, shooting Peter a grateful smile as he led Carl-Roman from the room. Peter had seen the trains hundreds of times, but he always managed to muster the same amount of excitement for them as he had the first time Carl-Roman brought them over. It was from him that Carl-Roman had learned his love of trains, in the first place.
As soon as he didn't have to hold himself together for his son's sake, Archie crumbled. "Oh God…"
His eyes took in the slim figures of his sisters. They weren't the girls he remembered. They were only a little older than he'd been when they went missing. Of the five children Charlie and Peter had between them, Archie was the only one with really vivid memories of their mothers, and it was with those he recognized Scarlett and Rosalie.
Twelve years later, and neither girl looked anywhere close to the same as they had back then. They were different people.
After numerous discussions with his dad, uncle, and friend during the past weeks, Archie had been informed about Scarlett's panic attacks, nightmares, fear of touch, and second pregnancy. He knew that for the time being, very few could get close to her. Charlie had explained they were malnourished, and haunted by a man on the run.
He'd never have expected to feel so lost as he gazed at them, a breeze blowing through the open French doors, allowing the smell of freshly cut grass to fill the air. The urge to pull them both into his arms and never let go was so strong that he had to clench his free hand into a fist at his side, tightening the other around the handle of baby Chase's car seat. He rooted his feet to the tiles, dark eyes swimming with tears of apprehension, and the pain of the two previously vibrant, energetic, healthy girls standing before him as shadows of their former selves.
Abruptly, Rosalie stood. In just seconds, with a sob, she hit Archie's chest. He set Chase's carrier down, his strong arms engulfing her tiny, five-foot-five frame, his forehead resting on her crown as she shook with the tears that wracked her body. He'd spent enough years wishing for his sisters' return that he didn't care there were people around him watching the tears pour from his eyes into Rosalie's hair, tied back in a scruffy bun.
"I've missed you, squirt," he rasped.
"I've missed you too, Arch," came her whimpered reply, her voice muffled against his t-shirt.
Over Rosalie, Archie watched his dad give into his own emotions, casting a look of hope and heartbreak at Scarlett. She stayed curled tight in a ball on the chair at the dining table, legs pulled to her chest, eyes wide and pointed right at the sight of her brother and sister just feet away. The desperation to join them was written all over her face. It was palpable, a scar worse than the physical ones she bore purely because it was mental and couldn't be fixed with a plaster, with stitches, or with medicine. This scar ran deep, her fear so powerful she couldn't make her muscles move even to hug her brother – even after twelve years of wishing for this moment.
Archie's heart thundered as he tucked Rosalie under his arm, smiling through his tears as he raised a hand to wipe moisture from her cheeks.
"Hey, don't cry, Rose, you're home now."
Rosalie sniffled as a smile crept onto her face. "I can't even…God, it's so good to see you again, big brother."
Simultaneously, their eyes moved to Scarlett. His stomach rolled at the gut-wrenching look on her face. Glistening beads telling of her sadness leaked from tumultuous, sea-green eyes before tumbling over pallid cheeks to splash her shirt. Everybody could see the tremble of her hands resting atop her knees.
Without thinking, Archie stepped forwards. That one stride took him two feet closer. His sister's body shook with an involuntary shudder, eyes containing a tempest as she forced herself not to cry out. Rosalie slid herself from beneath Archie's arm, watching along with Charlie with rapt attention as he approached Scarlett as one might approach a wild, scared animal. His wariness was all for naught though, because a moment later she slumped, falling sideways into the waiting arms of her brother.
"Is she okay? What happened?" Rosalie cried frantically as Archie cradled her, placing Scarlett on the small sofa beside the doors.
In a shaky voice, he muttered, "She fainted. It's okay, she's okay."
"It's all a bit too much, that's all," Charlie told Rosalie gently, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and tugging her into his side to wait out Scarlett.
~ oOo ~
Deep brown eyes were the first thing Scarlett thought of when she slowly began to come back to herself. Deep, dark, chocolate brown eyes.
Struggling to wade through waves of confusion, she fought to regain her senses. It felt as though she were underwater, the surface eluding her on purpose. There were a few reasons she knew that she couldn't have been underwater.
The first was that she could hear the breeze. Soft voices were the second clue – muffled, but only slightly. The third was because she had a vivid recollection of seeing Archie. He'd never let her go under the water. Never.
It was with that thought her eyes opened gingerly. The bright light was startling at first, so she blinked a few times to adjust. Taking in her surroundings for a moment, Scarlett first spotted Rosalie's nervous expression from across the room. Charlie offered her a reassuring smile from his place at her side. Her eyes shifted then, finding the young man perched on the end of the sofa.
He grinned sheepishly, fresh tears springing free. "How're you feeling?"
"Like crap," she murmured, the emotions from before her faint returning full-force.
It was Archie…her friend, playmate, big brother. Gazing at him, she could see the scrawny boy with perpetually skinned knees, the lean teenager with girls hanging from his every word, and the man he'd grown into without her. Chocolate brown eyes he shared with their mother were the only thing the same. His hair was longer, flopping over his forehead instead of standing upright in carefully arranged spikes. What had been lightly tanned skin was much darker, a result of having a six-year-old with a love of the outdoors. Where he was once too lean and too tall for his frame, Archie was now over six feet tall, broad-shouldered and muscular, the long-sleeved white t-shirt he wore straining around his biceps. As he smiled carefully, Scarlett realized even his smile had changed.
"You've changed," Scarlett pointed out needlessly. Just for something to say.
Archie's quiet, sad chuckle was only for her ears. "So have you."
She winced.
"I can't believe how grown up you are, squirt. Christ, you were a baby…"
Memories flashed before his eyes. Memories of a smaller, much healthier Scarlett. Rosalie, too. The day they were born was still so clear in his mind. It was an insane day. They'd driven home from the hospital together, their mothers walking up the paths side-by-side with their daughter swaddled in matching blankets and caps, cooing over their newborns despite the tiredness setting in. Charlie, Peter, and Archie had trailed behind, smiles tired but miles wide.
Nine-year-old Archie had been beaming with pride at being able to carry the baby bags, one over each shoulder. He couldn't stop himself from making a list of all the cool things he'd be able to teach his new sisters.
The feel of soft fingertips on his cheek yanked him from his thoughts. His eyes widened when he realized they were Scarlett's.
"I hate seeing you cry, Arch. Please don't—" She broke off, eyes trained on Archie's as he reached for her. A long, shaky exhale tickled her lips on its way out as calloused fingers pressed feather-soft against the back of her hand, still resting on his cheek.
"I won't hurt you, Scarlett…ever."
Years of pain, desolation, and as-yet, unsaid admissions swirled between brother and sister, their bond strong against the onslaught of emotions that slammed into them like a wrecking ball as Archie's arm wrapped slowly around Scarlett's shoulders. He left it deliberately loose so she could move away if she wanted to. Everyone watching breathed sighs of relief as she bit hard on her lip and raised her arms reverently to rest them around his neck.
The pair relaxed into each other, curling together and releasing twelve years of pent up emotion in tears, sobs, and declarations of love.
~ oOo ~
"Daddy?" Carl-Roman wandered into the room, stopping in front of his dad.
"Yes, Carl-Roman?"
Carl-Roman frowned, setting his train down for a moment, to stare at his dad. "Where's my cousin?"
Scarlett gasped from her spot between Archie and Charlie on the sofa, her hand flying up to her mouth.
Archie sighed, leaning forward. "She's next door, at Uncle Pete's house, with Uncle Edward."
"Uncle Edward's here? Can I go see him?"
It made Archie grin, to see and hear his son's excitement to see his best friend. He loved how Carl-Roman and Edward had bonded, despite his friend's often demanding work schedule. "I think he's going to come over here."
Charlie nodded when Archie looked to him in question, then met Scarlett's teary eyes. "You ready? I can shoot him a text now if you are. No rush, though, all right?"
"No," Scarlett breathed, "it's okay. Text him."
It had been decided that Edward would take Marley to Peter's house until the reunions had taken place between Archie and the girls. Nobody wanted to upset her, and they'd known emotions would be running high, so it just made sense for her to be kept out of the way just for a little while. In the twenty minutes since Scarlett woke after her faint, the group had relocated to the living room where Carl-Roman had delighted in showing Scarlett and Rosalie his train sets – including the lilac train emblazoned with Rosalie, and the pink bearing Scarlett's name.
He'd made Scarlett cry by announcing that he needed another one called Marley, and that's when he'd realized his cousin hadn't yet arrived.
~ oOo ~
Come on over, we're all good. Chuck.
Edward read the text from Charlie with a grin on his face. He'd been nervous, petrified actually, until Charlie had sent him a photo of the Swan siblings embracing on the kitchen sofa. Sure, there were plenty of tears, but that was expected. It made Edward happier than he knew how to express, to see Archie and Scarlett again back together.
"Mommy?" Marley asked in her sweet, almost-American accent, pointing at his phone with a hopeful half-smile.
Edward chuckled, scooping her up and swinging her around Peter's living room. "Yeah, little sweet, let's go see Mommy." It tickled him that she'd picked up a slight American twang like Scarlett and Rosalie had. He was often teased when he returned to Italy after his summers in England, having taken on English-isms as his friends called them. Just the way he'd enunciate or say a word differently made them laugh.
"C'mon, let's go then." Edward took Marley's hand, leading her out of Peter's house, and across the lawn into Charlie's. He heard voices in the living room and ushered Marley in with a gentle hand at the back of her head. She paused and stepped back into his legs as soon as she saw the unfamiliar faces of her uncle and cousins.
"It's okay, baby girl, come here," Scarlett beckoned her forward with outstretched arms, and Marley was happy enough to go to her. Archie had moved, sitting on the floor on the other side of the coffee table from Scarlett so Marley would have space. It was clear to all present though that he desperately wanted to hold her, see her up close, despite his unease with the reality of his baby sister having a baby. And that she was having another baby…
"This is your Uncle Archie; remember I told you about him? And he has two babies like I have you."
"I'm Carl-Roman, and I'm six. You're five, aren't you?" Carl-Roman piped up from his spot on the floor, eager to go closer just like Archie was, but doing as he'd been asked and staying put for now.
Marley eyed him curiously, and only then did Scarlett realize something sad.
"She's never seen another child before," she whispered, looking at the shocked faces around the room. All except Rosalie's. "She's never met another child her age."
"Doesn't she go to school?" Carl-Roman asked. "Daddy says I gotta go, or he'll get put in time out."
Archie laughed, ruffling his son's hair and catching Chase before he toppled sideways. He was getting good at sitting up unaided, but occasionally he lost his balance. "Marley didn't have to go to school where she was before, but she's a bit younger than you, champ."
"Huh. All right. D'you wanna play trains, Marley?"
Scarlett caressed her daughter's head as she squirmed, obviously uncomfortable. "Baby girl, do you want to play with the trains with Carl-Roman?"
Unsure, Marley looked over at the toys, clearly wanting to but too nervous of Archie and Carl-Roman to go alone.
Edward moved then, plonking himself down on the floor beside Carl-Roman and scooping him onto his lap to tickle him. The little boy's shrieks brought smiles to everyone's faces, including Marley's. "All right champ, let's see how these work then, huh?"
"All right, all right, stop tickling me, Uncle Edley! I can't breathe, dammit!"
Nobody chose to reprimand the boy for his 'dammit,' letting it go just this once, no one wanting to ruin the high of this moment.
Thoroughly distracted by Edward and his trains once more, Carl-Roman gave Marley the chance to just watch the unfamiliar family dynamic around the room, her wide eyes taking everything in with the wonder of a child experiencing family life for the first time. She took in the way Rosalie and Peter spoke quietly, anxiously waiting for the twins to be back from their grandparents. She watched as Archie and Edward fell into the same easy rapport they'd shared since their first meeting some twenty years before. Marley smiled at the way Charlie and Scarlett interacted, including her with smiles and gentle tugs on the end of her braid.
But, out of everybody in the room, it was baby Chase that had her attention the most. As he wobbled and teetered beside Archie, grabbing for the teething toys spread around his chubby little legs, she couldn't help but gaze at him, confused but oh so curious of this strange little creature, the likes of which she'd never seen.
Checking that her mother was distracted, she slid from her lap and edged closer to Chase, peering at the adults around the room as she made it to within a few inches of him. He noticed her then, smiling a big, gummy, two-toothy grin and babbling some nonsensical sounds as he reached for her. Chase would've face-planted the carpet if she hadn't quickly leant forwards, eyes like saucers as she managed to turn him onto his back in the air. His curl-covered head barely bumped the carpet, but the shock startled him, and he let out a single, sharp cry before getting distracted by Marley's braid swinging over him as she hovered, nervous she'd be told off but worried about the squirming baby.
"Oh, what're you doing, bud?" Archie reached for Chase, twisting him back up to sit on his bottom. Once again, his gummy grin returned as he stared at Marley, contentedly playing with her hair when she leaned close enough for his chubby arms to reach. "He likes you," Archie murmured, grinning at the sight of his niece and son bonding for the first time.
Marley's smile grew slowly, her nerves at Archie's proximity overshadowed by her curiosity about Chase. Growing in confidence, she reached out a hand to stroke his cheek, snatching her hand back when he turned and began gumming on her fingers.
"He's just teething, that's all. His baby teeth are coming, so he likes to chew on things like a dog does."
It took a few seconds for Archie to blanch, looking to Scarlett when he registered Marley's confused expression and head-tilt. "She knows what a dog is, right?"
Scarlett shook her head sadly. "I don't think so, no. She's seen cats because there were two…um, she's seen cats, but not dogs."
"Jesus…" Archie breathed, shaking his head and gripping his jeans tightly to stop himself from lashing out.
"Marley, c'mere, little sweet," Edward called, crouching in the living room doorway with his arms outstretched. Always happy to go to Edward, Marley darted around the sofas and clung to him, smiling as he stood with her in his arms. "This, is a dog." He picked up his phone from the cabinet it had been resting on, and the whole room heard the panting, then barking, of the dog in the video he showed her.
"Oh, would you look at that," Peter sighed, his grin wide and wistful as he squeezed Rosalie gently around the shoulders.
Marley's face was split in two by her ear-to-ear smile, the sparkle in her eyes undeniable. She bounced a little in Edward's arms, patting his cheek in excitement before snatching the phone with both hands to put it even closer to her face, eyes a hair's width from the screen.
"Careful, you'll get square eyes," he warned gently, a chuckle in his voice. It only occurred to him once he'd said it that such a phrase would be totally foreign to her. Not that Marley was listening. She was utterly entranced in the video in front of her. He moved to take a seat on the pouf, settling her on his lap to continue watching the Golden Retrievers on the screen.
~ oOo ~
Morning segued into afternoon, and the girls slipped away for some quiet time, and to allow Marley a nap. She'd warmed up slowly to Carl-Roman, and they'd had to drag her weary body away from where they were laying side-by-side on the carpet amidst his train collection.
Not ready to reacquaint themselves with the floral, very girly room within which they spent many a night being typical little girls some years ago, Scarlett and Rosalie took an hour to calm their racing hearts, mind, and emotions in Charlie's room. Five minutes after curling up on the bed with Marley and Mr. Eddie between them, Scarlett came to a sudden realization.
The room was unchanged.
The silvery-gray, geometric wallpaper, the dark wood floor covered mostly by a lilac rug, the vase of artificial white lilies on the mantle over the decorative fireplace, and the bedspread with a purple throw over one end…it was all exactly the same. Exactly how they'd left it.
Exactly how Penelope left it.
Sixteen years after her death and the master bedroom was exactly the same as it had been since Charlie and Penelope decorated it in the July of eighty-six, a month after Archie was born. Somehow, the thought of her dad hanging on to not just her long-gone mum but also to her, obvious in the way her bedroom hadn't been touched in twelve years, brought hot tears to Scarlett's eyes.
She didn't know it, but Rosalie was silently crying for the same things. Having briefly visited her own house earlier, she knew it was in much the same state as Charlie's – stuck in a time warp.
When Scarlett and Rosalie felt ready to leave Charlie's room, the latter clasped their hands together in a show of silent support they both needed. Marley scrambled from beneath the covers, Mr. Eddie tucked under one arm and walked behind them with a tiny fist clenched around the fabric of her mum's left trouser leg.
Emerging into the kitchen, the trio spotted Charlie first, then Peter, Archie, Edward, and Carl-Roman moments later. The little boy was leaning, cross-armed over the table, his height aided by a bright red booster seat, scribbling frantically on a piece of paper. Rosalie's lips tipped upwards when she spotted his tongue poking out at the side of his mouth. Archie saw where her eyes had gone and chuckled ruefully. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I used to do the same thing."
Confused for a moment, Charlie and Peter looked between Rosalie and Archie. Then, it dawned.
"Oh!" Charlie laughed, grinning with more than a hint of teasing in his expression. "Your buddies used to tease you mercilessly over that. Do you remember?"
"Yes," Archie groaned theatrically, far too happy to be annoyed at their good-natured ribbing. Nothing could sour his mood. "You used to drive me mad, making fun of me."
Edward plastered an innocent expression on his face when he saw where Archie's pointed glare was aimed – right at him. "Hey, now! I never!"
Scarlett laughed, a peal so bright and sunny it lit the room for a moment. Everyone stopped in their tracks, all eyes swiveling towards her as she tipped her head back, reminiscing. "You so did, Edward! I think you even used to get us to help you wind him up about it!" With her eyes closed to better remember, she didn't notice everybody looking at her until she shook the memories away, flushing under their scrutiny.
Edward's grin was so, so wide as he chuckled, opening his arms to Marley when she peered around Scarlett's leg to see why he was laughing. She darted across the room, clambering into his lap and settling back against his chest. Carl-Roman continued coloring, but silently pushed some paper and a tub of pens and pencils in her direction. She was curious, but didn't reach out to investigate right away.
"Oh, check you out! Ratting on me," Edward shook his head in mock reproach. "You do remember the penalty for that, right?"
It took a few seconds, but Edward saw when it hit her. Rosalie was a second behind, and she shrunk back, covering her smile with a hand as Scarlett began shaking her head slowly.
"No…Edward, you wouldn't…"
Charlie and Peter laughed loudly, Carl-Roman joining in despite not knowing what they were laughing at, while Archie just sat back in his chair, arms across his chest, enormous grin firmly in place as he watched Edward shift Marley to sit on the chair he was vacating. He crept across the room slowly, feet making little sound on the tiles. Scarlett slunk slowly backward, hitting the wall with her hands splayed against the cream paintwork with an ever so slight tremor.
Alarm bells began to ring in her head. Loud and intrusive, they screamed that she should run. A man advancing on her in such a manner as Edward currently was could never be a good thing…except it was. He was teasing. Scarlett remembered perfectly the punishment for ratting.
Tickling.
"Edward…" she warned quietly, pleased when the word was tinged with only a little fear.
He grinned, but it was tempered by an odd look. Like he was trying to put her at ease, even as he stalked towards her. Scarlett felt her lips twitching towards a smile, her body remembering the torture of tickling despite having not felt it for over twelve years. She'd always been incredibly ticklish, ever since she was a baby. Charlie had once greatly enjoyed dressing her, making sure to tickle her chubby baby belly and tiny feet. Her mind strayed back in time, to the years when tickling was a daily occurrence, and she'd enjoyed touch. Her thoughts lingered on the laughter it had wrung from her body, and the way she'd antagonize her daddy over the back of the sofa so that he'd chase her to tickle her sides until she was breathless.
Memories of not-so-funny touches edged closer, but Scarlett fought them back, her overwhelmed mind unable to cope with more than she was already dealing with.
Lost in thought, Scarlett was startled back to the present by Edward's fingers reaching her. He pressed lightly at the one spot he knew she couldn't handle – the spot just below her bottom-right rib. She crumpled like an accordion, unable to stop herself laughing as she knelt, ducking away from Edward's hand as it came at her again and again until they were both panting, cheek-splitting smiles adorning their faces as he extended a hand and they agreed on a truce.
As she watched on, having taken the seat beside Marley who was now leaning across the table, coloring with Carl-Roman for the first time, Rosalie dashed tears from her cheeks.
Scarlett was laughing. Laughing. Edward had touched her, albeit, fleetingly and in a manner Scarlett knew was teasing. But still, she'd allowed him close enough to touch her, and was laughing about it.
Before they'd boarded the plane back in New York, Megan had made Rosalie promise to keep her updated once they were back home. She had no doubt that this was exactly the type of thing she'd want to know about; exactly the kind of thing she'd smile and congratulate them for.
Progress.