One Summer, Part XX (Sawny & Ellen)
Most of you have been so patient and kind in the delay between chapters. I’m having a very difficult time at work right now, and I haven’t been able to find much of a work-life balance. I know that it is important, but saying “no more” is easier said than done when you have a professional responsibility/ethical obligation to clients. I am hoping to get more regular about updates again with this one and to see it through to the end. This was a difficult chapter to write, and likely will be a difficult one to read.
Part I (Adso), Part II (Dislocated), Part III (Entryway), Part IV (Pizza & Beer), Part V (Croissants & Coffee), Part VI (SMS), Part VII (Desktop), Part VIII (Sunday Sunflowers & Sundresses), Part IX (Caught Out), Part X (Netflix & Advil), Part XXI (Ben Nevis & Loch Lomond), Part XII (Non-Negotiable), Part XIII (Same), Part XIV (Toothbrushes & Eyeglasses), Part XV (Renovation & Dresser Drawers), Part XVI (Letters & Mattresses), Part XVII (London & Broch Mordha), Part XVIII (British Airways & Kittens), Part XIX (Airports & Antigua)
(AO3 link)
One Summer Part XX: Sawny & Ellen
Sunday.
Jamie wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to get off of his back.
That last moment, watching her measured steps as she walked down his front drive with her posture drawn tight, had almost killed him.
Somehow, he made it upstairs, crawled into bed with his shoes still on, and pulled the duvet up under his chin.
He had been through a battle with her, taken her blow, perhaps landed one or two himself, and retreated before either could take a kill shot.
Claire Beauchamp.
“I…” she had said, voice fading.
“Goodbye,” he finished for her.
The only woman who he had ever loved (without the connection of blood) was gone.
Something about this goodbye (wind whipping over her shoulders like it was carving worn slopes into steel) convinced him it wasn’t a farewell for only a week or two.
Not even for a month.