𝔐𝔞𝔭𝔩𝔢

CHAPTER 9

"Well why are you still standing there go get dressed!" Donovans mint green voice barked as he began to wear his clothes.

Quickly Maple ran to her room and got dressed, brushing her teeth in the process and together she and Donovan ran out the door and drove off to the airport.

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After what seemed like centuries driving in the silent car that she and Donovan sat in, the airport came in sight and Maple's heart leaped into her mouth. Thorin had texted her the terminal number and once it came in sight she didnt even wait for the car to fully stop before she ran out looking for him.

Circling the terminal, she finally spotted a large group of people that she'd never fail to recognise. The Stravos Family. Her eyes immediately landed on the tall, golden haired boy and his eyes met her's and instantly, he beamed.

"Maple!!" He waved, weaving through his family that gathered round him. "Maple!"

She ran towards him without hesitation and leaped into his arms, wrapping her legs round his torso and her arms round his neck. His arms immediately welcomed her as he hugged her body with one hand resting on her head that was now buried into the crook of his neck.

" Je ne veux pas que tu partes" I don't want you to go, she mumbled into his neck and he responded by squeezing her tighter and kissing her head.

" Je ne veux pas que tu y allies aussi" I don't want to go too, he said "I don't want to leave you" his voice cracking as he buried his face into her hair.

Their words created a blue-pink bubble round them and the world surrounding them ceased to exist. They stayed there for minutes before his flight was called, shattering their bubble and Maple's heart shattered with it.

"Maple" he whispered.

"Thorin" she whispered back.

Pulling her out of his neck, they looked at one another, their noses touching and their coloured breaths fanning each other's faces.
Slowly their lips met and they kissed with a passion that they each had never felt before.

She loosened her legs off him as the kiss came to an end and he eased her to the ground. She hugged his torso tightly and buried her face into his sweater-vest, taking in all of his lemony scent one more time. His hands were placed on her hair and he kissed her head.

"I'll miss you" she mumbled before looking up at him. "I'll miss you so much.'

He knelt down till their eyes met on the same level and he placed both his hand on either side of her face and whispered.
"I love you Maple, I love you so much." Her eyes glistened with tears at his words and she placed her own hands on his face, brushing away the curls out off his face.

"I love you too" she coaked, and they kissed one last time before he began to walk away. His lemon scent slowly disappearing  and her pink haze drifting away with him.  Finally fading once he turned a corner. No longer seen.

After a while the Starvos family came towards her, giving her words of encouragement.
"It'll be fine Maple don't worry" a lilac voice said as she stared at the ground defeated. Hands rubbing her sides reassuringly.

"Time will fly by before you know it Maple." Oxblood coated words bolted through.

They all continued to gather and calm her as she fought back tears and reassured them that she'll "be fine, don't worry, I'll be fine." Even though she wasn't going to be fine. She knew she wasn't, but she had to push through the moment. Their reassurance only made her feel worse and worse.

Finally the Stravos family said their goodbyes and Quentin gave her a firm hug and whipspered teal into her ears. "Remember how much he loves you Maple. It's a whole fucking lot." Patting her back lightly he made his way into one of their 3 cars and they drove off leaving her with Donovan in a now quiet airport terminal.

They made their way out to the parking lot but Maple suddenly stopped and made her way to a nearby bench. "Donovan can we just..." he said feeling dizzy.

"Yes baby girl...no problem."

They both sad down in silence as Maple balled her hands into a grip, trying to hold on to her emotions. The silent went on for minutes as the morning sun began to peak through the horizon.

"I know you don't think I notice thing...notice you." Donovan's mint green words slashed through the silence morning.
"I know you don't think I care as much for you as I do your sisters." He paused. "But I see you Maple." He sighed.
"I see your strength, your resilience...you've changed a lot." He looked at her but her eyes remained on the ground. Hands still fisted.

"When you first came to us, you seemed so alone, so in your own world. You were sad and I wanted to help you, be there for you but every time I walked to your door I couldn't do it. I couldn't be a man, I couldn't be be there for you. I wasn't even scared, I was terrified. To look into your eyes that look so much like mine and see the scars that I helped to create,  scars that you pushed through without me, in spite of me" He stayed silent for a while still looking at his beautiful strong daughter.

"But he...he did what I couldn't do. He did it. And I'll always be grateful for him being in your life. He loves you the way I couldn't, he made you smile the way I wanted to. Everything about you radiated once you met him and I knew I would be forever grateful for the life he'd give you."

Maple now looked into his blue eyes for the first time since she'd been there. She'd looked deep in them and the sound of a waterfall rang through her ears.
Tears began to well up in her eyes the longer she stared and she finally broke free into a sob. "Popa!!" She cried out.

Donovan looked into the eyes of his child who had called him dad for the first time and his heart felt truly complete. "I know baby girl." His last born buried her face and sobbed into his chest and he embraced her.

"I know."

They stayed there together, the sun-rise beaming over them.