The Aftermath (Book IV) [NaNoWriMo13] (On Hold)

Chapter Thirteen - Broken

“Is this your final decision?”

“I’m afraid so. I won’t do it.”

Destin nodded to show that he heard me. “That is highly disappointing. You do know how important this is?”

I narrowed my eyes. “I do. But I won’t do it to my husband. I love him too much to hurt him.”

“But this is vital for the Twiad—“

“She has made her choice,” Paul interrupted Destin before facing me again. “A decision that may be changed at any time.”

“It is a selfish choice,” Destin snapped.

I stood up without even meaning to. “I have to go. My family is waiting for me,” I said dryly while turning towards the door, but paused right there. “You wanted me to come in this room in hopes of changing my mind, didn’t you?”

They all fell silent.

I continued my way towards the door when Paul stood up.

“I’ll walk you to the main room,” he muttered.

I was about to say that it wasn’t necessary, but he was already at the door. We stepped out into the hall and left the others back in the room. I wanted to be alone. Paul fell into step next to me, keeping up pretty well considering I was walking so fast. “You must care deeply for Jack.”

My feet skidded to a stop when he spoke. “Huh?”

“You must care deeply for Jack. You kept mentioning about hurting him and how much you loved him.”

I raised an eyebrow out of confusion. Wasn’t that already obvious? “I really do.”

He nodded with a smile. “Jack is good with you. He’s much calmer now, in a way.”

I had forgotten that Paul knew Jack long before I knew him. In fact, he might have known Jack’s parents. “Well, right now he’s probably still pissed that I tried to drag him over to his father’s image.”

My language made him flinch. “He will forgive you or apologize. He isn’t one to let things fester for long. He prefers to take care of things.”

“Did you know his father?”

Paul’s curious expression went cold. His eyes were suddenly an intense blue while his hands quavered just a little. “I did. Good man.”

Curiosity got the better of me. “What was he like? Jack, err, can’t remember him.” That wasn’t exactly true. Jack just couldn’t remember past what his father had done.

“Gordon was a man that sought adventure.”

“Gordon?” That was his name? It seemed so strange to hear it.

“Yes. He was always trying to find something exciting to do. He must have gone to earth dozens of times. He would come back and boast about what he saw while he was away. I think he enjoyed the attention.”

I leaned against the wall, no longer wanting to go back. I wanted to hear more about Jack’s history and his family. He never talks about them. “So he met his wife, Joanna, on earth?”

He smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. “That man was already married before he even came back to Renton. She was his greatest adventure of all. He treated her like a precious porcelain doll that might break at any second. It was different from how the other married couples were. He was bewitched by her.”

“He really loved her, didn’t he?”

“Absolutely. He rarely was alone. He always had to bring her with him everywhere he went.”