Chapter 7 Return History

" Isabel," Jaxon's voice crepitated, noiselessly hopeless, like he had not said my name in ages. He was standing by the kitchen counter when I walked by, his broad back stiff, eyes concentrated on something only he could see. " Yeah?" I told myself not to look at him, but like every other time, I could do nothing differently. His being dragged at me, too strong, indeed when swearing on my honour not to move an inch towards him. Turning toward me, I could not help notice how his jaw strained; his fingers dragged at the edge of the counter hard enough that, from where he stood, it might be the reason he was still upright." We need to talk." I stepped outside, the door vocally clicking shut behind me. Hazel's room was down at the far end of the hall, and I'd just begun asking her how it had gone, but something in the air of this room was ladened. Too thick. Something hung suspended between them, staying. " About what?" I did not want to make this easy for him. He had not exactly earned my trust back. I did not want him to suppose he could just tromp in and play the concerned hubby again. It was not that simple. He took a deep breath, and I knew the battle had begun behind his eyes." The letter. The one you set up last week. It was not just any letter. It's from my family." I stuttered to a stop, my gait falters." Your family?" Skepticism strained into my tone. What in the world was going on? How could they be applicable now- later each this, he pulls out his family too? His family's drama I did not want to handle any longer, his family tying him down- it felt so wrong to me. " Aye," he said now, softer and further guarded." There's. there is further to it than I can explain right now. But this letter. It's something that had been buried for times. Something which could change everything for us. for Hazel." I felt my stomach clench at the mention of our daughter. He'd no right to bring Hazel into this mess. Not when he'd walked out of our lives without a word, without a single explanation. " Why did not you tell me about it sooner?" I could not keep the edge off my tone. " I was going to," he admitted, running a hand through his hair." But it's complicated, Isabel. And I —" He stopped himself, like the weight of whatever he wanted to say was too important to bear. He eventually looked at me, really looked at me, and there was something in his eyes that gave me break." I do not want to hide things from you presently." I squinted my eyes, making sense of what he was telling me. Some kind of late- life crisis confession, or did he try to drag me back into a life which I'd left? " You want me to believe that?" I crossed my arms over my chest, my heart pounding louder with each alternate." After everything? You suppose I will just forget everything you put me through? You suppose we can just pick up where we left off?" Jaxon stepped closer, but I held my ground. He was too close- too close for comfort, for my reason." I do not anticipate you to forget this, Isabel, but I want a chance to prove to you I'm different, that I can be that man you earn." My breath caught in my throat, was not this what I had been hearing for so long? Was this a change he could legislate, or just another pledge, whereby I wisecracked myself into allowing it was something further? This silence between us grew heavier and longer, till he eventually spoke again." The verity is, I have been running from my history- from what I did not want to deal with. And now. it's catching up with me." I turned a glance at the letter he was extending toward me. It was the usual type you shoved in the back pocket without subsequently giving too important afterthought to, but it felt different this time. " What is in it?" I asked, my voice slightly above a tale. Jaxon dithered for a alternate, his gaze fluttering to the letter before meeting mine." A secret. One that I should have told you years agone , but I was too spooked of what it might mean for us. For our future." I could feel my pulse quicken, a knot forming in the hole of my stomach. My mind whirled to connect the blotches, but nothing added up. Why was this secret so big? What was he hiding? " You are not telling me everything, Jaxon," I said with further conviction than ever that there was something deeper beneath his words." What are you really trying to say?" His face darkened, and whatever weight he was carrying sounded to sink deeper into his shoulders." I am telling you that my family- everything they have kept from you, from me it's all coming to light. And it's not about just me. It's about all of us." I did n't know whether to laugh or cry. It was exactly for this reason that I had left. He was always entangled in things that made no sense, people who pulled him in a thousand directions. And then I was, right back, standing in the middle of it again. " Why now, Jaxon?" I said eventually, the words slipping out before I could stop them." Why after all this time? Why drag me back into your mess?" He swallowed hard, stepping back as if my words soaked further than he anticipated." Because I need you, Isabel. I can not do this without you." There it was. The words I'd been both staying and dreading to hear. But before I could say anything, the doorbell chimed, cutting through the tension like a knife. My heart dropped into my stomach, and I felt a cold sweat break out on my neck. Who differently could it be? I turned to Jaxon, who wore a look of the same surprise. Without a word, I moved toward the door, my heart pounding with each step. But when I opened it, I was not prepared for what- or who- stood on the other side. A figure stood in the darkness, just out of the light, shrouded in shadow. I could slightly make out his features, but the glint of familiarity hit me like a blow to the gut. It felt as if the air around us held its breath, staying for me to speak. My throat went dry. " Isabel," they said, their voice low, nearly too familiar." It's time you knew the verity about your past." I set. My stomach twisted into knots, the room feeling suddenly colder. This was the last thing I demanded. But it sounded like the verity was catching up with me briskly than I could overrun it.