When There Is Nothing Left But Love (Ashton And Scarlett)

“Why won’t you be here?” Summer asked curiously, her wide eyes blinking up at me.

“Um…” I grew silent, pretending to contemplate her words for a long while. “Because your current school is very far from home, and Uncle John and I will have to travel very far to take you there and back. And right now, there are some bad people who want to hurt me and Uncle John. If you continue to go to that school, then we might get hurt, or worse, never be able to see you again. That’s why we might not be here anymore.”

Summer’s cheeks immediately puffed up in indignation, eyes filling with tears as she threw her blanket off and clung onto my arm tightly. “I don’t want you and Uncle John to go away, Mommy! I don’t want the bad guys to hurt you! I’ll change schools, so please don’t leave me behind…”

I felt upset watching her cry her heart out, but there was nothing else I could do. This white lie would serve to shield her from Jared’s attempts to hurt her.

“Shh, it’s okay,” I cooed quietly, patting Summer’s back reassuringly. “You’re a big girl now, Summer. You need to stay strong and take care of your little siblings, not cry all the time, right?”

She swiftly lifted her head at the mention of her siblings, clumsily wiping away her snot and tears and sitting up straight in her best impression of a grown-up. “I won’t cry anymore! I’ll do my best to protect Mommy and the babies! So please ask Uncle John to help me change schools; I can make new friends, I promise!”

It felt like Summer had instantly matured within the span of a few seconds.

had been hard for her to get used to her family members after returning from the chemical plant, let alone fit

to do with Jared in the back of

plotted for years and almost killed

next morning, I brought Summer to the hospital for

the doctors found nothing wrong with her,

visit him while at the hospital. It was only after we

to do, I brought

a quiet ding, revealing a familiar stoic

his expression completely unreadable as Thora stood beside him. She had gone for a lighter, more natural makeup today, but she had on

around us instantly dropped

and ran forward to hug Ashton’s legs, beaming