THE OTHER SIDE OF FOREVER
(Chapter 9)
That night…
Kelvin stormed into the house, slamming the door behind him. Lucy was waiting in the living room, her expression unrepentant.
“So, you’re just going to cheat on me in public now?” Kelvin spat, his anger boiling over.
Lucy shrugged. “I don’t see what the big deal is. You’ve been cheating on me for years.”
Kelvin’s eyes widened in outrage. “That’s not true, I have never cheated on you and by the way, that’s not the point! The point is you’re my wife, and you’re supposed to be faithful to me.”
Lucy laughed. “Faithful? So you’re the one to talk about faithfulness. You’ve broken every vow you ever made to me.”
Kelvin’s face reddened with rage. “How dare you! I’ve given you everything, and this is how you repay me?”
Lucy stood up, her eyes flashing with anger. “You’ve given me nothing but pain and heartache. I’m done with this marriage, Kelvin.”
Kelvin’s voice dropped to a whisper. “You’re going to regret saying that. You’re going to leave my house, Lucy. Tonight.”
Lucy smirked. “Oh, I’m shaking in my boots. You can’t make me do anything, Kelvin.”
Kelvin’s anger reached a boiling point. “Watch me. You’re going to pack your bags and get out. Now.”
Lucy raised an eyebrow. “And where exactly am I supposed to go?”
Kelvin’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t care. You can go to your lover’s house for all I care. Just get out of my sight.”
Lucy’s expression turned cold. “Fine. I’ll leave. But this isn’t over, Kelvin. Not by a long shot.”
*******************
Lucy went upstairs and carried her bag. As she came down with her bag, she was met with a heartbreaking sight. Wills was kneeling at the door, tears streaming down his face.
“Please, Mommy, don’t go!” Wills begged, his voice trembling. “I don’t want you to leave!”
Lucy’s expression faltered, and for a moment, she hesitated.
“Mommy, please” Wills continued, his eyes pleading. “Daddy, please forgive Mommy! Don’t make her go”
Kelvin’s anger began to dissipate, replaced by a deep sadness. He looked at Wills, then at Lucy, and saw the pain in her eyes.
“Alright Lucy,” Kelvin said, his voice softening. “Let’s talk about this.”
Lucy hesitated, then slowly put down her bag. Wills jumped up, relief written all over his face.
“Thank you, Daddy!” Wills exclaimed, hugging Kelvin’s leg. “Thank you, Mommy”
Kelvin knelt down beside Wills, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll work through this, son. We’ll figure it out together.”
Lucy nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Wills. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Wills hugged Lucy tightly. “I love you, Mommy. I love you, Daddy. Please don’t fight anymore.”
Kelvin and Lucy looked at each other, both of them seeing the pain and fear in Wills’ eyes. They knew they had to put their differences aside, for their son’s sake.
“We’ll try, Wills,” Kelvin said, his voice filled with determination. “We’ll try to make things work.”
Lucy nodded, a small smile on her face. “We’ll try, baby. I promise.”
******************
As they stood there, trying to process what was happening, Wills suddenly shouted in pain. “Ahh! My leg”
Lucy and Kelvin rushed to his side, shocked to see blood streaming down his leg. “Wills, what’s wrong?” Lucy cried.
Wills was trembling, tears streaming down his face. “The dog… it bit me… last week… I didn’t want to tell you because you were fighting all the time…”
Kelvin’s face turned white. “Oh no, Wills. Why didn’t you tell us?”
Wills sobbed. “I didn’t want to make things worse… I thought it would get better on its own…”
Lucy’s eyes widened in horror. “We have to get him to the hospital, now”
Kelvin quickly scooped up Wills and rushed out the door, Lucy following close behind. “Call 911” Kelvin yelled.
As they sped to the hospital, Wills cried out in pain. “Mommy, it hurts… Daddy, make it stop…”
Lucy tried to comfort him, her voice shaking. “We’re almost there, baby. Just hold on.”
At the hospital, the medical team rushed Wills into the emergency room. “What happened?” a doctor asked.
Kelvin explained, his voice trembling. “He was bitten by a dog last week… he didn’t tell us… we didn’t know…”
The doctor nodded grimly. “We’ll do everything we can. Let’s get him into surgery.”
As they waited, Lucy and Kelvin held each other, both of them overcome with guilt and worry. “This is our fault,” Lucy whispered.
Kelvin shook his head. “No, it’s not. We just didn’t know.”
But deep down, they both knew that their constant fighting and neglect had contributed to Wills’ silence.
To be continued…
© Amazing Pen
