by Emily Ward
Clarissa's mother glared at him. “Your wife is our daughter. Stop pretending that you own her more than we do. I birthed Clarissa, raised her to be the beautiful young woman that she is. If I don't want her to be with a cretin like you, she won't be.”
“Watch how you speak to my husband!” Clarissa snapped, surprising everyone but nobody more than herself. She rarely got angry and even more rarely than that did she raise her voice about normal speaking level.
Sighing, she continued. “I just wanted to come home and rest. My head is throbbing and I swear something in this house smells rotten, it makes me want to vomit. So, please, if you're here to try and convince me to leave, don't waste your breath.”
“Clarissa, I am your mother –”
“Maybe you should start acting like it then!” Clarissa continued her ranting, cutting her mother off. “A normal mother would be excited to see her child after they vanished. A normal mother would ask how she's been, if she had eaten anything, why she probably looks white as a ghost. All you care about is controlling me, and now that you can't there's nothing left for you here. Unless you want to accept my choices and be a part of my life, our lives. If you can't do that, then you'll never get to know your grandchild,” she promised, rubbing her slightly protruding stomach for comfort.
Edward's mother gasped. “You're pregnant? Oh, Clarissa, that's great news!”
“No, it isn't!” Her father shouted.
Clarissa sighed heavily, opening the front door to them. “You know what, just get out. I don't want you here, you're ruining everything. If you ever decide that you want to be a part of my life, you know where to find me.”
“Clarissa, don't be ridiculous,” her mother scoffed.
Edward stood next to Clarissa. “No, she's right. Clarissa needs as little stress as possible the next six months or so, and all you're doing is stressing her out.”
Clarissa's father grabbed her mother's hand and pulled her out the door. “If you decide that you want to let go of this silly fantasy, you know where to find us, Clarissa.”
She couldn't bear to watch her parents walk away, closing the door quickly behind them and rushing into Edward's arms. Her heart was breaking, the hope she had that her parents could come around to their marriage shattered the second she walked in.
“Are you okay, dear?” She heard Edward's mother ask.
Clarissa turned to look at her, tears muddling her vision. “It just hurts to know they don't love me enough to be happy for me. But, you're happy for me, aren't you?”
She smiled at her, the motherly smile Clarissa had always craved from her own mother and embraced her warmly. “I am more proud of you than I could ever say. You're our daughter, now. I know it isn't the same, but I promise that we will always love you. Both of you.”
“And the baby, too,” Edward's father chimed in, smiling proudly.
“I love you, Clarissa. You're a part of the Grey family now and that means having each other's backs no matter how angry we might be,” Edward told her, kissing the top of her head.
Clarissa was overcome with joy and her heart – which broke for the loss of her own family – swelled in pride as she looked around at her new one. She would go on to have two beautiful little girls in the following September, which they named Rose and Jennifer. Unfortunately, Clarissa's parents never did return to her with open, excepting arms. But, never for a minute did she feel alone with all the family surrounding her. “
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THE END