Alright, well here's chapter number one. I know it's short, but most of my chapters will be. Hope it's not too sad. And don't worry, I'll be getting to the fun stuff soon, just thought I should reveal a bit more of her past. PLEASE review. -Susannah
And if we could float away,
Fly up to the surface and just start again.
And lift off before trouble just erodes us in the rain
Just erodes us in the rain
Just erodes us and see roses in the rain
And sing slow it down,
Through chaos as it swirls,
It's us against the world.
(Coldplay: Us Against the World)
Susannah woke from her nightmare with a start. She missed her parents, but found some comfort in the sleeping form of six-year-old Clark beside her. He had been hesitant to let her sleep in his bed that night, but she had assured him that, being four, she was past wetting the bed, and thus he consented. She sometimes wished she knew her older brother Dean, but to her Clark was the best brother anyone could have. She was sure that not even Dean could replace him.
The little girl turned around and squeezed her eyes shut. She wanted to be back in her own room, on her own bed, wrapped in her own blankets. She usually liked having sleepovers at the Lane's house, but this one was different. She had always been a very perceptive little girl, and could tell there was something wrong when her Daddy had gotten a call two days ago. After that he had hurriedly taken her to the Lane's, assured her everything would be all right, and left.
So Susannah got up quietly, so as not to wake Clark, and snuck downstairs. She waited by the window for a bit as if she expected her daddy to pull up, but nothing happened. Feeling alone, she curled up on the couch and started to cry softly. After a few minutes, the lights switched on, and she looked up to see her 'Uncle Eddie' and 'Aunt Sophie' standing in the door. Sophie immediately came over and scooped the crying girl up. When she was finally able to calm her down, Ed gently set her on the couch and, looking into her eyes, asked, "Hey Sweetie, what's wrong?"
"Why did Daddy leave me?" she choked, as more tears streamed down her little, round cheeks.
"Susannah," Ed said, gently wiping the tears away, "your daddy loves you more than anyone in the world. He would never leave you."
"Then why hasn't he come back?"
"Well," Ed hesitated, looking at Sophie, but then continued, "your mommy is sick in the hospital, and your daddy had to go see her, but he's gonna come back and get you soon."
"What happened to Mommy?" Susannah asked, looking shocked.
"Don't worry about your mommy," Sophie said, wrapping her arms around the little girl and kissing her on the top of her head. "She'll be fine."
Ed scooped her up and held her until she fell back to sleep. Then they took her back upstairs to tuck her into bed. Sophie couldn't help but smile when she saw she had been sleeping in Clark's bed instead. Ed tucked her in and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
The next morning, Greg came, just like they had said he would, but Susannah could tell something was wrong. And when she asked him, "Where's Mommy?", he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her, and sadly answered, "In Heaven."