Sixteen Letters [COMPLETED]

Chapter 10-The Tenth Letter

Chapter 10: The Tenth Letter

A/N: Happy New Year, guys!! I hope all of you had amazing holidays! I'm so so sorry for the delay. The holidays are a crazy time! LOL Plus, we're planning my 18th birthday party cuz my birthday's on January 10th! YAYYYYYYYYY! Anyway, I'm sorry again & enjoy! Only SIX MORE CHAPTERS till it's all over! I'm astounded by your support and keep sticking with me, you'll wanna see how it all ends! PS Thanks for 1,000 reads!! I can't believe it!

Upon hearing her daughter’s voice, Lisbon sat straight up in bed. “Lucy? How did you find my phone number?”

Lucy was silent for a moment. “I might’ve…taken Aunt Grace’s phone and found your phone number…I just want you back, mom, please come home.”

Lisbon suddenly felt lightheaded and her mouth went dry. She didn’t know how to respond to her daughter’s pleas and she hadn’t expected her to do something like this, though she hadn’t taken into account that an investigative nature from her side and a sneaky resourcefulness from Jane’s side were both in Lucy’s blood. She wanted to say something, anything to keep from disappointing her daughter a fourth time, but no words would come.

“Mom?” Lucy said, concern evident in her voice.

“I’m right here,” Lisbon replied, “I can’t come back, sweetheart, at least not yet.”

“Why not?” Lucy questioned innocently and the question hit Lisbon like a ton of bricks as she struggled to find an answer. She couldn’t directly answer her daughter’s question because that would involve revealing the secret to her, the secret that was in the final letter, and the secret that had kept her away for nine years. Lucy was far too young to know the truth of why she’d left. That was why Lisbon had put it in the last letter. She knew Lucy would be sixteen by then and mature enough to handle such a large burden. Whether Lucy would still want her back after knowing such a horrible thing remained to be seen. Even if she did, when Jane found out, it would be highly unlikely that he’d allow her to be in Lucy’s life at all.  That was why she’d hoped Lucy would never have known her so that she would have a better life. At the same time, Lisbon had felt obligated to offer her daughter an explanation of her life and for her absence. She’d never expected her daughter to be so tenacious about getting her to come home but she should have given that both her and Jane’s tenacity was certain to run in their daughter’s blood as well. If Lucy was anything like her father, she would stop at nothing to get her home and given the dangerous secret she was harboring, that was what scared Lisbon most of all, just as she had been scared when Jane was tirelessly hunting his nemesis, Red John.

“Because,” Lisbon answered after a pause, “I’m not…I’m not ready.”

“You shouldn’t have to be ready, Mom, you should come home because it’s the right thing to do. Dad and I need you. He made me go to soccer practice with his stupid girlfriend last month and when she was cheering for me when I made a goal I kept wishing she was you,” Lucy said, struggling to hold in tears before continuing, “Do you know what that feels like, to have a mom that’s alive and know she doesn’t want you? And Dad’s still in love with you, you know, the only reason he even goes out with her is because you’re not here. He wants you and I want you. Why don’t you get that? We’re tired of you hiding, Mom. Why do you wanna hurt us?”

Lisbon swallowed, holding back tears that stung her eyes, threatening to fall. “I…I don’t wanna hurt you, Lucy, I promise…”

“Then you should come home. The girls on my team always ask why my Dad takes me to practice when they all get taken by their moms. I always lie and say that you’re working but you’re not because you’re not even here.” Lucy informed her, and Lisbon’s heart clenched at the obvious pain in her daughter’s voice.