Together we fall

05 | Keefe

Keefe stroked his daughter's soft, wavy hair as she cried into his shoulder, her sobs muffled by the soft fabric. She was shaking with fear as tears soaked into his shirt. Her emotions were so intense that Keefe's eyes watered too, making him blink rapidly.

Next to him, Sophie rubbed Ember's back, her brow creased in concern. Her vibrant brown eyes were frightened as she watched her daughter fall apart.

Secretly, Keefe had always worried about Ember. She'd struggled in school for as long as he could remember, she didn't sleep well, and hadn't manifested yet.

Yet, he kept telling himself. She had to manifest.

One of many things Ember shared with Sophie was her constant worry—and that was something Keefe wished they didn't have in common.

Ember pulled back and rubbed her eyes, looking ashamed. "Sorry," she mumbled, looking at all the people staring at her.

"It's okay, dear," Sophie said with a small smile. "We understand."

And they certainly did.

Keefe thought back to when they were teenagers, when everything was so messed up and crazy—

"Keefe!"

Keefe turned to see his best friend, Fitz. He was wearing his emerald encrusted circlet—the required attire of a Councilor.

"Wonderboy!" Keefe called back, giving him a big hug. "What're you doing here?"

"Just visiting," Fitz replied with a grin.

Sophie peeked her head out from behind Keefe and smiled. "Hi, Fitz."

Fitz smiled back. "Hey, Soph."

Suddenly someone tackled Fitz with a hug from behind. Biana strangled her brother with her tight embrace and left him gasping for air. "Fitzroy!" She yelled loudly, turning several heads toward their group. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

Keefe and Sophie laughed. Biana was still Biana, that was for sure.

Once she had finally let go of Fitz, she and Dex walked over to them with their children—Clove and Emerson.

Biana hugged Sophie and Keefe, a bright grin on her face. "We miss you guys!"

"We miss you guys too," Sophie promised, giving Dex a hug.

"Hi, Sophie," Clove said shyly to Keefe's wife.

Sophie smiled at the adorable eleven year old. "Hi, sweetheart," Sophie said warmly, bending down to hug Biana and Dex's daughter. "You're getting so grown up!"

"I know!" Clove said, grinning. "I'm almost 12 now!"

Biana ruffled her daughter's hair, eyes gleaming.

Someone tapped Keefe's shoulder and he turned. Biana and Dex's oldest, Emerson was standing behind him.

"Hi, Emerson," Keefe said.

Emerson looked so much like Dex had as a teenager, it baffled Keefe. He had the same tall build and dimples, plus the same strawberry blond hair. The only difference was his teal eyes, which he had inherited from Biana, of course.

"Hi, Mr. Foster," Emerson said formally.

Keefe smirked. "You don't have to call me that, you know."

"It is your name, isn't it?" The 16 year old said, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes," Keefe agreed, "But it's also Keefe."

Emerson laughed. "Okay. Hi, Keefe," he said with a mock bow.

"What can I do for you?" Keefe asked with a laugh.

Emerson's smile faded a little. "Is Ember okay?" He asked, gesturing to Keefe's daughter, who was quietly chatting with Daisy, Tam and Marella's daughter. "She's been acting weird all day."

Keefe glanced at his daughter, shoulders tout. "She's just worried," he said, letting out a breath. "She hasn't manifested, and she won't be able to continue at Foxfire if she doesn't get an ability."

Emerson's brow scrunched. "Really?"

Keefe nodded.

Emerson stared at Ember, his cheeks tinted pink. Keefe had long since wondered if Emerson had a crush on his daughter, as he was always worried about her and staring at her when she wasn't looking.

"Don't worry about it, son," Keefe said, patting him on the shoulder.

Emerson nodded, still gazing at Ember.

Keefe returned to the rest of the group, who were now chatting with Linh, Wylie, and their children, Avaline and Axel.

"Are you okay, honey?" Sophie asked Keefe. "You look pale."

"Yep," Keefe promised, wrapping his arms around her waist as he kissed her on the lips.

"Ew," Ace complained from a few feet away. "Really dad?"

Keefe smirked at his son before kissing Sophie again, this time for much longer.

Ace looked like he wanted to gouge his eyes out. Sophie and Keefe laughed.

"Hi, everyone," Marella said as her and Tam came into view, Daisy in toe.

"Hey!" Biana exclaimed, hugging the two of them.

"Hi, bangs boy," Keefe said to Tam with a smirk.

Tam tugged his bangs over his eyes and shot Keefe a dirty look. "It never ends, does it?"

"Nope," Keefe agreed.

Marella nudged Tam and he half-heartedly gave Keefe a hug.

"Dad!" Daisy yelled as Tam pulled back from the embrace, tugging on her father's arm. "Look!"

Daisy closed her eyes and covered their group in a canopy of shadows, to which everyone clapped and applauded her.

Tam smiled. "That was good!"

Daisy smiled at the praise as she pulled Ember into the group.

Keefe wrapped an arm around his daughter, whose eyes were fixed on the floor. Her emotions were the opposite of upbeat, and she stared at all the happy faces with sadness.

"Cheer up, Em," Keefe told her as Sophie laced her arm through Ember's. "We'll worry about this later, okay?"

She nodded, but didn't return his smile.

Keefe caught Emerson staring at Ember again, out of the corner of his eye. Sophie seemed to notice it too and glanced at Keefe. He shrugged.

Sophie took Keefe's arm and leaned into him, her hand resting on his chest. Her soft blond hair smelled amazing—like lilacs and fresh rain. They watched their friends converse, smiling.

They didn't notice that Ember had disappeared.