Rose Petals

Epilogue

10 years since his funeral.
10 years since his death.
10 years since his decline in happiness.

10 whole fucking years since I was able to hold him, talk to him, kiss him, take him places, give him things, do any fucking thing with him. It was all singed away by the simple flicker of an imbecile. A jealous maniac who claimed to love me more than the one my heart truly belonged to. He committed I consider to be the worst crime anybody could commit, and he got away with it.

He got away with taking the love of my life from me, because there wasn't enough evidence to confirm it was him. When they announced he was not guilty, he looked at me with a smug, evil grin. It made my blood boil and I almost lost control. Christy put her hand on my shoulder to keep me seated. The touch alone calmed me enough, and I broke down in tears.

He's in prison though, for the things he did to me, but not to Ash. He's not in prison for the right thing, for the thing that mattered most.

It's been 5 years since he was sent to a maximum facility prison place thing. Although there's a void in my heart still, it's been filled since then, and in the best way possible.

"Daddy! Daddy! Come look what I drew!" I get up from my chair and close my laptop screen.

Writing this much about myself took a toll on me. My students from 5 years ago suggested I write my life story out in a documentary like thing. It took me 5 years to do it; to face my past head on and share it with the world. I still haven't found a title for it, though.

I walk into the living room and see a little boy and girl sitting at the table. They both had the same color hair, bright red. "What's going on here, kiddos?" I asked, smiling bright. The little boy looks over, big green eyes bright as he jumped down from the chair and ran over with a piece of paper in his hands. He stopped in front of me and held up the paper.

"Look! Do you like it, dad?" He said with a wide toothless smile. It was a picture of a rose, with petals on the ground. It obviously wasn't that good, but it was a masterpiece in my eyes.

"It's gorgeous champ! I didn't know you were the next Leonardo da Vinci!" He laughed and then ran away into the kitchen. I went over to the girl, who was still sitting at the table. She had a frown on her face and a crayon in her and as she stared at a blank piece of paper.

"What's wrong, Rae?" I ask her. She looks up at me with her bright green eyes and her red curly hair bounced, exactly like her brothers.

"I want to draw something but I don't know what to draw." She said. I made a 'hmm' sound and looked over at the fireplace.

"How about you draw daddies snow globe?" I said. She looks over at the snow globe on the fireplace and her face lights up.

"Okay!" She jumps down from the chair and goes towards it.

"Be careful!" I call out and heard a faint 'I will'.

I made my way into the kitchen and saw my son, Ryan, putting his drawing on the fridge. "Now you can see my art work everyday!" I smiled and felt my heart swell.

These kids are going to give me a heart attack from their preciousness. The doorbell then rang and both kids screamed 'grandma' and ran towards the door. I stayed in the kitchen though, looking at the pictures on the fridge.

Most of them were pictures of Ryan and Rae in school, field trips, and their drawings. There was one though at the top that was a family picture. Rae, Ryan, Christy, Matt, and myself. I was holding the snow globe in my hands, since he couldn't be in the photo physically. But that day, I felt his presence with me.

"Hey Nathan." I turned around to see Christy holding Rae in her arms and Ryan glued to her side.

"Okay kids, you behave while I'm gone." They both said 'I will' in unison and I couldn't help but smile.

"Go play for right now, I need to talk to grandma." Christy put Rae down and they ran out the back door. I gave Christy a hug and smiled.

"Thank you for watching them while I go down to the publishing house." I said. She waved me off and smiled gently.

"Of course. I love those kids with all my heart. And I know Ashton would too. I know he does now." I smiled gently.

"I just need to figure out a title." I sighed and stretched my neck. Christy chuckled.

"Make it meaningful." She said. "I'm going to go out back with the kids." She said. She then slipped out the back door. I sighed again then looked towards the fridge and saw Ryans drawing. Then, I got it.

I went back into my office and opened my laptop. I typed in my password at lightning speed, 10/16. I went to the title box and typed in the margin the title I thought suited this story best.

Rose petals.