Page 2 of A Layperry's Hope
“It’s really nice to meet you. Gendry has talked about you a lot.”
My chest aches with joy at the mention of my friend’s name. I’ve missed him so dearly. He calls my name and bounds down the ramp towards me. My face breaks into a grin.
Gendry pulls me into a tight hug that I readily return. When I pull back, I look down at the baby in his arms, my stomach swooping. This human looks only a few hours old!
“And who is this?”
“This is MJ, my daughter. You’ve met Aldo, my partner. Beside him is my mother-in-law, Maria.”
It looks as though I am not the only one with a new member of the family. “I never expected this when you left. Are you happy?”
“More than I can say with words,” Gendry says. He places his hand on my shoulder and we come together, allowing our link to be forged once more. I open myself up to him and he does the same for me, allowing his emotions to flow through the tether we share. I feel his excitement at being a parent, his peace at being home, and finally, my knees threaten to buckle as I feel the love he shares with Aldo.
“Oh,” I breathe out, finally pulling back so I can look into Gendry’s eyes. “That’s lovely. I am so very happy for you, Gendry.”
“Thank you,Toralleh.”
I can't help but smile at his formality. “I say this as your friend, not yourToralleh. You deserve this.”
Gendry opens his mouth to say something else, but a hand reaches up to his shoulder, pushing him out of the way.
That’s when I see him.
Christian is here. Christian is back onDeltourah. All of my hope has been rewarded with himhere, standing before me once more.
My knees grow weak and my stomach swoops almost violently. I do my best to close the link once more, closing myself off so I can have these emotions all to myself. When it comes to Christian, I am greedy. I don’t want to share him, I don’t want to share the way he makes me feel.
His hair is just as messy as I remember it, maybe even more so as he’s let it grow out a bit while he was gone. His brown eyes look around before finally locking onto me. By the Ancestors, he’s just as beautiful as I remember.
He steps into my space and before I can process what is happening, his hands reach out and grab a fistful of my shirt. Then he’s pulling me down and kissing me square on the mouth.
In an instant, I’m transported back to that night about a year ago. Christian is at my door, telling me he’s leaving in the morning but wanting to spend one night with me. Foolishly, I thought that if I gave him that, he would end up staying. We kissed. We touched. We fucked. It was everything I hoped it would be, but in the morning he still left.
All too quickly, Christian is pulling away. Without a word or second glance, he walks away from me again, this time into Miles’ arms. The two are hugging and holding each other. My heart is glad for them while also being broken simultaneously.
My fingers go to my lips, touching them, wondering briefly if the way they tingle is all in my head. Did he really just kiss me? Is he truly back? Will he be here to stay this time?
All of that happens in a matter of seconds before I’m composing myself. I turn towards the crowd, lifting my hands to get their attention. As much as I wish to dissect every bit of that encounter, I still have a duty to fulfill.
“We welcome everyone here whether they’re returning or only just starting their stay here! Tonight, we celebrate!”
There are cheers and joy through the air. My heart is racing in my chest and the voices are getting harder and harder to ignore. I carefully swing Maribel off my back and onto my chest, tucking her against myself. Her soft snores help soothe the ache inside of me.
I walk through the crowd, needing a place of quiet to catch my breath. Christian is back, which is everything I’ve been dreaming of. But I hadn’t thought about what that would mean for the two of us and Maribel. Now that he is here, what now?
Chapter Two
Christian ~About A Year Ago~
I sit out on my porch, watching as the sun slowly sets. The sky turns a dazzling purple color, reminding me of Gendry’s skin. What is it about this place that makes me all philosophical and shit?
I let out a deep sigh, rubbing tiredly at my eyes. Tomorrow is the day. Tomorrow I leave this planet and don’t look back. I need to find my place in the world and that place doesn’t feel like it’s supposed to be here.
What the fuck does belonging even feel like? How does a person know they’re in the place they’re supposed to be?
This feels like one of those things a parent is supposed to teach you growing up but what would I know about that? My parents were in and out of my life. Sometimes they’d be gone so long I’d have to go stay with my grandmother. Other times I crashed at my friends’ houses until their parents started getting concerned. No matter how much I cried or begged or pleaded for them tostay, they’d always end up leaving. The pull of their next fix was too strong for them even in the face of their child.
Maybe it’s better this way. I can leave before the one person I trust most leaves me. I can be the one to run away for once. It’ll be a nice change.
