He pursed his lips before pointing at Elyse. “Go.” She sniffed, shaking her head. “All I know is when I came by ten months ago, you were completely devastated and broken. I have stayed with you, Jack. She hasn’t.”
He frowned, holding Aubrey close. The baby gurgled, tugging on his shirt and he looked down at her for a moment before looking back up at them. “Both if you need to leave right now,” he said quietly. “I need to think. Both of you leave.”
Elyse stepped forward, her head tilted. “Jack...” “Leave,” he replied harshly. She pursed her lips before turning to leave, hanging her head.
Avice returned to the beach, her hand imaginatively reached up to touch the feather in her hair, only to be reminded it was absent.
Jack sat inside for a long time, holding the baby in his arms. He didn’t speak, except to soothe her when he cried, but she eventually stood up and put on a linen baby carrier and slipped Aubrey into it, heading to the beach.
"You think I wanted to? I missed the entire first year of my baby growing up, Jack. I didn't get to see you or her. I was by myself, and if I didn't leave then Knox would know."
“That’s right. You did miss it,” he said, a new edge to his voice. “You did. I was by myself too. I had to raise a baby by myself, feeling like her mother and the love of my life couldn’t stay because she couldn’t stand to be with me. That wasn’t too great either.”
"And so she entered your life, huh? Elyse? I left and she's a liar. You pick well, Jack." She shook her head, burying her face in her hands. "Can I at least see Aubrey? Please?"
