One Call Away

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Decisions

"There's something that I wished to discuss with you," Viola stated sitting down next to Caitlyn's hospital bed, a cup of coffee clutched in her hands as she took in Caitlyn's face. 

With Laura gone, Viola felt it was her duty to protect Caitlyn; she would do anything that she could to make sure that she was safe. 

Caitlyn looked up from her lunch, she chewed on the sandwich that Jay had dropped off to save her from the horrible hospital food before he had to head into work with the promise of coming by to see her later. 

It was strange having her grandmother hover, she had never known the older woman to be this way but she guessed that her mother's murder would have changed a lot of things. 

Her stomach turned at the thought of her mother's death, memories from the moment that Edward had taken her life in front of her swam in front of her eyes and Caitlyn felt sick. 

"I want you to come to California with me," Viola stated firmly, she was not going to leave Caitlyn in this city and it was not safe for her to be here; she cursed Laura for the mess that she had made before she had left this world. 

Viola would never speak ill of the dead, she had loved her daughter greatly and part of her understand why she had lied for so long about who Caitlyn's father was. 

However, Laura had left behind one giant mess that Caitlyn had to live with for the rest of her life; something that she would never be able to shake and Viola wished she could fix that. 

"What?" Caitlyn whispered staring at her grandmother, this was certainly not what she had been expecting to come out of her mouth. 

Caitlyn had not even considered what she was going to do now that this was all over, she hadn't put much thought into what would happen when she got out of the hospital. 

"I've been doing a lot of thinking. I've got plenty of room, you would certainly not be intruding. It could be the fresh start that you need," Viola stated leaning back in the hospital chair, she seemed to stare straight past Caitlyn for a moment before she looked her in the eyes. 

There had been a moment when the news had reached her that Laura had been murdered and Caitlyn was missing that she thought she'd have to bury the last of her family. 

No parent should ever have to bury their child and yet Viola had been forced to do just that, she had nearly been forced to bury her grandchild as well.

Opening and closing her mouth, Caitlyn did not know how to respond other than the fact that she had not considered if she should leave Chicago after everything that had happened. 

A small part of her did want to run from all of this, to get on a plane and leave behind the city that had brought her even more pain that she had ever thought possible. 

"You don't have to decide right now. But I want you to consider it, what is there here for you but bad memories," Viola asked reaching over and took Caitlyn's hand to give it a squeeze. 

Viola would do anything to make sure that when she got on the plane to fly home that Caitlyn was in the seat next to her. 

There would be no peace for Caitlyn here, the past would come back to haunt Caitlyn further; Viola was not going to allow this city to swallow her like it had done Laura. 

"I can wait for an answer but you need to think about this, do you truly want to live in the shadow of this for the rest of your life... do you truly wish to be remind of what happened every time you walk down the street," Viola explained trying to persuade her to come to California with her.

Viola was happy to play dirty if that was what she needed to do to make this happen, she knew that no one would have Caitlyn's best interests at heart like she would.