by Toni Aleo
Audrey shook her head. “I’m done with you. I’m not going to sit around and watch you bring everyone else down ‘cause you’re crazy.”
The words hurt but Fallon wouldn’t let Audrey see that. She shrugged her shoulders as Audrey made her way to the door, slamming it behind her. Once Fallon heard the car start and watched as Audrey sped out the driveway, the loudest sob imaginable ripped from Fallon’s body. She crumpled to the floor, holding her middle as she cried out in not only emotional pain but physical pain too. How did she manage to not only throw away the man she loved, but also her sister, her best friend?
What was she going to do?
Fallon softly knocked on Aiden’s door as she pushed it opened. Aiden lay in his bed, his cast above his head and his remote in his other hand. His hair was a mess and he looked so tired, but like always, a sweet smile rested on his lips. He was such a happy child, and she hoped it was because she was doing right as a mother.
She went across the room, crawling into the bed with him. He smiled over at her and cuddled close before shutting the TV off.
“I thought we could watch some TV,” Fallon said quietly.
Aiden didn’t say anything for a moment. Fallon glanced up at him to see his eyebrows drawn together as he looked down at her. “Why were you and AA screaming at each other?”
Fallon bit her lip, embarrassed that Aiden had heard them. She shook her head as she said, “’Cause we are mad at each other.”
Aiden sat up and Fallon did the same, looking over at him as he played with the cotton in his cast. He had been doing it so much lately that it worried Fallon he was developing a complex or something. When he looked up at her with the same eyes as his fathers’, Fallon didn’t know how she was going to make it without Lucas. Aiden’s eyes were like knives, stabbing Fallon in the heart for all the wrong she had done that day. She had started the day ready to make Lucas happy, ready to tell him she loved him but in the end, she left him.
“I don’t like it when y’all fight,” Aiden whispered. “It scares me.”
Fallon’s heart broke even more at the smallness of his voice. “Honey, me and AA are going to fight. We’re sisters.”
“Yeah, I know that, but you aren’t supposed to tell someone they can’t have their happily ever after. That’s not nice.”
Fallon looked down at her hands, hating that Aiden had heard that. “I know, Aiden.”
“Do we all not live happily ever after, Mommy?”
Fallon shook her head, “Not all of us, but you will.”
“How do you know?”
“’Cause you are awesome,” she said with a watery smile as she pushed back the tears.
“But Mommy, you and Daddy are awesome. Can’t you guys have your happily ever after together with me?”
Fallon didn’t think her heart couldn’t break anymore. “It isn’t that easy Aiden,” she whispered. How could she explain everything for Aiden to understand? He was her baby, he couldn’t possibly understand. Hell, she didn’t even understand. How could she let it get this bad, how could she hurt two people that meant the world to her?
Fallon moved her head down, covering her face with her hair so that Aiden wouldn’t see her cry. She had always been so strong in front of him and even though she was falling apart inside, she still felt like she needed to hide it from him. She was the selfish bitch that Audrey called her. She was disgusting and she deserved to feel like this.
When she felt Aiden’s hand slide into hers, it was her undoing and tears gushed down her cheeks. “Mommy, everything is going to be fine,” Aiden whispered as he leaned his head against her shoulder. “All you have to do is say you’re sorry.”
“I don’t know if sorry is enough, buddy,” she said as she wiped her face. “Mommy really messed up this time.”
“You said all you have to do is say sorry and everything will be fine.”
“I know, but I don’t think sorry will work this time.”
“Yeah it will, as long as you mean it and you make sure never to do it again.”
Fallon looked over at Aiden to see him giving her a small sweet smile. She moved her hand up to his face, cupping it lightly as she smiled. “How’d you get so smart?”
Aiden gave her a toothless grin before saying, “Dad says I get it from you. That you’re the brains and he’s the bear, or something like that.”
Fallon laughed as she moved her thumb along his cheek. “The brawn.”
“Yeah! That! He says that’s what makes you guys such a great team.”
Fallon nodded as the tears moved fast down her cheeks. They were a great team. When they were together, they worked so well. They could do anything as long as they had the support of each other, but Fallon wasn’t thinking that when she broke up with him. She was too busy taking all her anger about Audrey out on him. Audrey was right. It should mean the world that Lucas was there for Audrey when she needed him. Wasn’t that the kind of man she wanted? One that not only loved her completely, but her family too? Lucas was that man. He loved Aiden, he love Audrey and God knew he loved her.
And what did she do? Throw it all away.
Again.
God, she was an idiot.
“You know what I think you should do?”
Fallon looked up at Aiden’s smiling face. “What’s that, Punkin’?”
“I think you should tell AA you are sorry and that she will have her happily ever after because everyone should have that,” he said putting one finger up.
Fallon smiled as she nodded. “Okay, what’s next?”
“Then I think you should go to Daddy’s house and tell him you want to get married because I know for a fact that he’d marry you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yup, he told me that. He said he would marry you faster than he could shoot a puck. All you had to do was tell him you want to.”
“So you’re basically saying?”
“Go to my dad, ask him to marry you, have a baby, and then we’ll all live happily ever after together.”
Fallon couldn’t breathe as she looked into Aiden’s hopeful eyes. She wanted nothing more than to give Aiden the world, but was this even something she could give him? Would Lucas accept the apology, would he marry her tomorrow? It all seemed so out of reach and Fallon was beyond scared to even try for it. There was no use in trying if Fallon couldn’t learn to listen and try to work things out. She would always be running, and leaving Lucas behind. That wasn’t fair to either of them, not when they loved each other as much as they did.
It had to stop or neither of them would be happy, but how was she supposed to change after 28 years of being the same?
Fallon was sitting on the stairs when Audrey came through the door. She was soaked from head to toe and Fallon could tell with one glance that she had been crying. She looked up at Fallon and then back down as she slid off her shoes.
Fallon didn’t waste any time and said, “I’m sorry, Audrey.”
Audrey looked up and locked eyes with Fallon. The two stood in the quiet room, staring at each other as tears welled up in their eyes. Audrey closed the distance between them and dropped to the spot beside her, wrapping Fallon up in her arms. Fallon held Audrey tight as they both cried into each other’s shoulders. Fallon pulled back first and brushed her thumbs along Audrey’s cheeks, clearing the tears away.
“I was wrong for what I said, and I’m so sorry. I can’t stand that you kept this from me, and I can’t stand that Lucas knew and didn’t tell me but I have to stop this. I have to stop thinking that everyone is out to hurt me and learn to listen before acting. It’s a personal flaw and I need to fix it before I end up lonely and bitter.”
Audrey nodded her head. “Fallon we love you the way you are, but you can’t lash out at us. You have always wanted to fix everything about me, but you can’t. I gotta make my own mistakes and learn from them.”
Fallon cocked an eyebrow at her. “Audrey you have been with douche after douche, I don’t think you are learn
ing here, honey.”
Audrey smiled. “I want to be in love so bad that I’ll basically take anyone. I love Levi, but that doesn’t mean I think he’s the one. I’m hoping he is, but no one else, including him, thinks he is the one. I don’t know Fallon, I just want a Lucas. A man that is totally and utterly devoted to me and only me.”
Totally devoted.
“I will always love you Fallon because you’re my sister, my blood, but Lucas can only take so much. He can only be rejected so many times before he gives up. He loves you and I know you love him. So why not just jump into what y’all do best, and that’s love each other.” Audrey said. She squeezed Fallon’s hand and smiled, “You know him inside and out, and he knows the same about you. The rest will come as you go; you just have to trust him.”
Fallon nodded. “I do trust him, I do,” she said reassuring herself, “but I’ve fucked up so much. Why would he want to be with me when I constantly hurt him?”
“Because he loves you and when you love someone it doesn’t matter what they do, you still love them.”
Fallon shook her head. It couldn’t be that easy, she had put Lucas through seven years of hell before she forgave him. She didn’t believe him when he needed her to, how could he forgive that?
“I don’t even know what I’d say to him, Audrey,”
Audrey moved her hand up to Fallon’s face, looking deeply into her eyes before she smiled and said, “Tell him you love him. The rest will fall into place.”
Lucas sat on his couch, a glass of water in his hand and mindless TV on as he tried to not miss Fallon. He told himself that they were done and he needed to accept it, but his heart and body weren’t listening. They wanted her back and probably always would. He would probably always roam the earth, wishing she was by his side. It was how he was made.
He was made to love only her.
Lucas shook his head just as his phone went off from an incoming text message. He took his phone out of his pocket and opened the text message. He pushed the right button so that it would be read for him, but the voice talk didn’t make any sense. He looked down at the text message and tried to focus, but he didn’t have too.
.edistuo emoC
Come outside.
No one had ever written to him like that except for Fallon.
Lucas got up quickly, placing his glass of water on the end table as he made his way to the door. When he threw it open, Fallow stood on the sidewalk, drenched to the bone. She wore his old AHL tee and a pair of jean shorts. It was raining so hard that he could hardly see her.
“What the hell Fallon? Come inside!” he yelled. The rain was loud, slamming against the roof of the house and the windows. He didn’t even know if she heard him until she shook her head.
“No,” she said simply, moving her hair out of her face.
“Why? What are you doing here? It’s cold, come inside.”
“Come in the rain with me,” she said.
“No way. I came out in the rain with you earlier and that didn’t work out for us,” he said, crossing his arms over his shoulders.
“I know but I need to tell you something.”
“What Fallon? Come inside!”
But she shook her head, her eyes pleading with his.
“Don’t you remember that time Luc?” she yelled.
“What time? What are you talking about?” he exclaimed. He didn’t know what she was doing but she was pissing him off even more. He hated that he thought she was gorgeous even when he was furious with her. Couldn’t he get a break when it came to her? Could he not be affected by her beauty, her sexiness, for once?
Fallon moved her hand over her face, clearing some of the rain off it as she said, “Out at the beach, outside your house in California? It rained for five days straight and finally there was a break so we ran out and enjoyed the sun for all of five minutes before it started pouring again.”
Lucas nodded. He remembered that day like it was yesterday but he didn’t understand what it had to do with Fallon standing out in the rain. “Come in Fallon, you’re drenched. We can talk about this inside.”
“No, wait, listen to me,” she yelled throwing her arms in the air. “You lost the keys!”
Lucas rolled his eyes as he shook his head. Even though he wasn’t in the mood to laugh, he did. That day had been insane and perfect all in one. He looked up at her and nodded, “We were locked out the house, and the car was locked.”
She did a little skip as she smiled widely at him, “Yes! So we laid on the beach as it rained, and we made loved as the rain pounded against us.”
Lucas looked down at the ground, nodding his head. “It was the day I told you I loved you.”
When he looked up, Fallon was nodding her head, wiping the rain from her face, or maybe it was her tears. He looked down at the ground, kicking the floor and mentally kicking himself. They were so happy, so in love back then, and he threw it all away. Then he got another chance and instead of doing what was right by her, he did what he thought was right for Audrey. He knew how Fallon was. He knew she could be difficult and she hated secrets but still, didn’t she trust him enough to know that he would never intentionally hurt her? He loved her, he loved Aiden, and he wanted them together as a family. What else did he have to do to prove that he wasn’t going to hurt her?!
“And I told you I love you.”
Lucas looked up and Fallon stood at the bottom step, still in the rain as she looked up at him. Even with her black makeup running down her cheeks, her hair stuck to her face and her clothes so wet they stretched from her body, he couldn’t help but think she was the most beautiful woman in the world. To this day he was still stunned by her beauty and couldn’t help but love her with everything inside him, even when she drove him insane.
“You did.”
Lucas knew he should have said something else, but he couldn’t. He just stood there staring at her as she stared up at him. She took a deep breath, moving her hair from her eyes as the rain just poured on her.
“I want to tell you I love you in the rain again, Lucas Brooks.”
It was like she had just hit him square in the chest with a puck. His mouth fell open while his eyes bulged out of his head. Did he really hear her right? He struggled to speak as he went out into the rain, stopping in front of her. It was cold, but he didn’t care. He had one thing on his mind and that was wrapping Fallon up in his arms.
Lucas wrapped his arms around Fallon and picked her off the ground. Her arms came around his neck as her legs came around his middle. She looked deep in his eyes before laying her forehead against his. Rain pelted against their skin as they just stared into each other’s eyes, not knowing what to say or do. Everything was about to change, Lucas could just feel it. He didn’t care about what had happened, all he cared about was hearing her say it. Hearing her tell him that he was the one for her. Nothing else mattered but hearing those words.
“I’m sorry Lucas….again. I haven’t been right to you, but I promise I’m gonna try to be better,” she said against his lips. “I promise I’ll be better.”
“Baby I love the way you are. You are difficult but you keep me on my toes and I love that. Just trust me and everything will be fine.”
She nodded her head. “I do, I will, I promise,” she said quickly. Her button lip wobbled as she looked down at him with her gorgeous wide eyes.
“Sounds good to me,” he said. He moved his nose along hers and placed his lips only millimeters from her, “I think I said it first,” he whispered against her lips. Fallon nodded as he felt her heart beating fast against his chest, and he knew his was beating just as fast.
“You did.”
He smiled as he again ran his nose along hers, placing a kiss against each corner of her mouth. When he looked back into her eyes, he smiled. “I love you, baby girl.”
Fallon’s eyes fell shut while his grip on her became tighter. He couldn’t wait to hear her say it. It had been so long, and before it would take his breath away. All h
e could hope was that it did it all over again because when being loved by Fallon gave him a reason for living. The need for her love was what had kept him going all these years, it was everything to him.
“I love you Lucas James Brooks. I never stopped.”
Lucas couldn’t breathe as their lips met, and they kissed like it wasn’t raining or like they were freezing to the bone. It was just them, just their love.
What was a little cold rain?
Her hands came up to his face as his arms tightened around her. When they parted, Fallon smiled against his lips. “I love you, so much.”
“Not as much as I love you.”
She giggled as she shook her head. “I am pretty sure I do, but anyways, where’s my ring?”
Lucas laughed. “What ring?”
“I was told if I tell you I love you and I want to get married, that you’d married me tomorrow,” she said with a grin as she held him close.
“Who told you that?”
“Our son.”
It was like the air was knocked out of him and Lucas couldn’t seem to catch his breath. Fallon had never called Aiden their son; he had always been her son. Hearing it for the first time made everything seem to fall in place. Lucas knew what he wanted and he wouldn’t stop until he got it. He wanted Fallon and Aiden in his house and he wanted Fallon pregnant. His dreams were becoming a reality and he couldn’t wait for the ride.
“Kid knows his stuff, because I will marry you tomorrow, but I don’t have a ring for you yet.”
“Maybe I need to reconsider this then?” she asked with a wink.
Lucas laughed before pressing his lips to hers, and when they parted she gave him the most beautiful, full of love, smile he had ever seen. “You’re not reconsidering anything, you made the right choice.”