All the King's Horses... [Allison]

[Keiran Byrne]

Keiran looked in the mirror and glared at the lock of hair that refused to lay flat. There was no use, of all the things that were immune to the Byrne Glare, it seemed his hair was among them as it continued in it's noncooperation. He had asked Nona to trim it for him but when she had found out it was so he could look decent for his date with Allison she had given him the Glare and walked off. He had contemplated trimming it himself but he wasn't very good at it and a bad haircut was worse than shaggy hair. Of course he could have paid a professional to trim it for him but it seemed foolish to pay someone when he just needed to convince Nona he wasn't being stupid. 

The morning after Allison had reappeared and he had kissed her, Keiran got up and was in a particularly fine mood. Nona had noticed and questioned what had him so jolly and when he had told her...well to say it hadn't gone over well would barely cover it. The worse part was Zane sided with Nona. And then when he had told them he had asked her out on a date after she had come to see him at the pub...that plan had been met with even less favor. 

He understood. They were just looking out for him. But what they didn't understand was that Alli was "The One" for him and always had been. He had been lost without her and now that she was back it was as if the world had been on it's side and finally righted itself. Of course there was plenty that Keiran refused to think about which made it much easier for him to be happy Allison was back rather than upset about it. 

He sighed at his reflection and checked his clothes one last time. The shirt was freshly pressed, the pants as well. His shoes were a bit old but still had plenty of life left in them. He had shaved and washed his hair...though it was curling and aggravating him due to it's fresh washing. Still, he looked presentable and, he hoped, good enough for Alli. He remembered what it was like on thier first date and realized he was just as nervous this time as he was then. 

Keiran stepped away from the mirror and went to the closet and pulled out his jacket. It too was something he had had for many years but he rarely used it and it was in better condition than his jean or leather jacket. But he was determined to make a good impression on Alli. All he wanted was to show her that they still belonged together. The little niggle of doubt that was a shadow in the back of his mind was only there because Nona and Zane made him question the wisdom of dating the woman who had left him so devestated when she had disappeared without a word. 

'Yes. But that was all a misunderstanding. She says she mailed letters. And did call.' He still wondered what had happened to those letters. As much as she said she had written it just seemed impossible for them all to have gotten lost. One or two he could understand. But she sent a letter a week for months. He shook the thought loose from his mind and buried it again. None of that was important right now. Because Alli was waiting for him. A small smile crept up on the corner of his lips as he grabbed his wallet and keys and headed downstairs and out the back door to where the old truck he had been working on sat. 

"All right, my girl...here's the deal. I need you to work tonight and not act up. I know we still have work to do on you but you should be able to make it to Marseilles and back with no problem. So, please do and I promise that I will repaint you soon."

His bargain with the truck complete, Keiran opened the door and slid behind the wheel. He took a deep breath and turned the key, releasing a sigh of relief as the engine roared to life. Everything would be fine. They would get to the restaurant, have a pleasant dinner and catch up on what has happened to both of them, and if he could...he'd kiss her again. 

The Academy was not too far from the pub and it only took him a few minutes to get there by driving. Keiran parked the truck and stared at the dorm hall, noting the other students milling around. The whole village probably knew by now he had chased Alli out in the rain and followed her back to her room at the academy. Which was a very good reason to take her to Marseilles for their date...fewer prying eyes watching their every move. 

He paused in front of her door and tried to tame his hair one last time. The effort was futile and Keiran ended up just brushing off his jacket from a few strands of blonde hair that Dog had somehow managed to deposit on him before lifting his hand to rap quietly on her door. 'This is it. No turning back now.'

[Allison Greene]

Allison stared at herself in the mirror, running her hands through her hair for the fifth time in a row. She wasn’t dressed, she wasn’t ready and she only had twenty minutes. The only thing she had actually done in preparation for her date was shower. But after it she had put on the same pair of shorts and tank top she had been wearing. All day she had been going back and forth with herself. Either she was going to go and have a good time… or she would call to say that she was coming down with something and stay in the dorm. Both options had been warring particularly hard against each other. Currently the part of her brain that was telling her to go on this date was winning. Though probably because it was a little late to call at this point.

Make-up. Make-up was a terrible invention designed to torture. Allison poked herself in the eye as she tried to use her less than steady hand to apply eyeliner her to her lids. She started blinking rapidly and tipped her head back to make sure a few tears didn't escape. Well, wasn't this starting off on the right foot. She inhaled deeply through her nose, the sound more like a sniffle than a breath. With a small sigh, she finished applying her make-up and moved to brushing through her hair. That had been part of the problem, too. Did she want it down or up. In a bun or a pony tail. Blow dry it, or let it hang until it dried naturally. Girls had far too many options.

She looked at her watch to realize that now the time was going to dictate what she would do. She had less than five minutes before he was supposed to be here. Allison went back out to the bed, stripping on her way there, and grabbed the dress lying on top of it. She hadn't even owned this dress before yesterday. It was safe to say that Allison had been certain she wasn't going to have to worry about going on dates in Sanglignée, so when she packed to come here all she brought with her were pants and a few skirts that were quite plain. She had spent at least an hour in the town's small shop staring at garments before she finally settled on the bright blue number. Now she was pulling it roughly over her head and adjusting it over her body until it was in the right position.

Dress, she had the dress on so that was a check. What else did she need? Oh, a purse. She moved to the top of the dresser, her hands grabbing the small black bag on top of it to make sure she had her key, a wallet and the cell phone that didn't even work. She supposed she carried it around to remind her that she needed to get a new one, but another reason was because she had messages from all of her family members on it. It was kind of like keeping them close to her even though she was thousands of miles and an ocean away.

So… dress, bag, hair drying and hopefully not looking funny but hair ties in bag just in case. Oh! Shoes, she needed her shoes. And her belt. Allison dropped the small purse on the bed as she picked up the belt and fastened it around her waist. Just as she was finishing she heard a quiet knock on the door. She shoved her feet into her heels before running slightly to get to the door. She opened it wide and gave Keiran a big grin. She was going to have a good time whether her brain wanted her to or not. "Hey … you," she said. "I'm ready to go."

Well, not quite ready to go. Allison's brow furrowed softly and she held up one finger before she darted back to her bed, grabbing the purse that laid almost forgotten on top of it. She wobbled slightly on her heels on the way back to the door before letting herself out of it and closing it behind her. "So, where are we going tonight?" she asked as she started walking down the hall towards the exit.

[Keiran Byrne]

Keiran thought he was ready for when the door would open. He thought he would be able to smile and greet her like a normal person, to speak without fumbling for words and tripping over his tongue. But instead the door opened and his lips parted to smile and give her a greeting and he was struck silent and found it hard to breathe. Even after all this time, he had never found a more beautiful woman than his Allison.

Luckily he was saved from having to answer right away by the fact that she had forgotten something in her room and turned around to get it. Keiran shook his head in an attempt to refocus his thoughts. He hoped she hadn’t picked up on too many of them already. The problem with dating a telepath was never knowing what thoughts they were going to read and which ones were still yours. It hadn’t bothered him before but this time they were supposed to be starting over when everything inside of him just wanted to pick up where they had left off.

The dress was a stunning blue and as she returned to him he noticed it made her eyes even more prominent. He loved her eyes, the way they were so expressive and the way they changed color a bit when she wore different things. Her hair was hanging loose down her back and it always had a beautiful natural wave to it that made him want to run his fingers through the golden locks. But those were things a boyfriend would do, and they were supposed to be starting over. He was supposed to be patient and not trying to rush things. Not like when he had followed her back to this very room and they had kissed and things had been going spectacularly well until Zane’s phone call had broken the spell they had both been under.

He managed to return her smile and conceal the thoughts he was having…or so he hoped. Alli was never one to pry so odds were she wasn’t trying to pick anything up at the moment. The problem was that Alli had told him once before that her brain seemed tuned to his thoughts, like she picked up his radio station all the time and only when she concentrated could she change the frequency.

“You look beautiful.”

For the millionth time he wished he had gone and gotten his haircut like a normal person. He had splurged on everything else for the night for her but not for himself. Not that she needed or wanted him to spend money on her…he just wanted to make the night memorable. They had lots of memories, the two of them. All good ones up until she had disappeared. They had been so ridiculously happy and perfect for each other that even their arguments were generally mellow. Usually with him giving in to her because he’d do anything to make her happy and there was very little that he just had to be right about when it came to Allison.

He followed her down the hall and out into the parking lot where the vehicle that Nona referred to as “The Rust Bucket” awaited them. Knowing that Allison didn’t have a clue which vehicle was his, Keiran quickly moved in front of her and stopped at the passenger side of the truck, glad that at least he had installed a new bench seat so there were no tears or mysterious stains. He opened the door and gave a tiny wince at the creak it made and gave himself a mental note to oil it the next day.

“We’re going to Marseilles. I have reservations at Al Dente and then we have tickets. For what is a surprise, so you’ll have to be patient. I know you don’t particularly like being patient, but just this once, try it.”

Keiran waited until she had climbed into the truck and closed her door, catching a glimpse of her legs as she settled into the seat. He walked around to the driver’s side and climbed in next to her and put his key in the ignition. ‘Now, remember our bargain. You’re supposed to start up and give me no hassles. And no embarrassing me in front of Allison.’ He practically held his breath as he turned the key and for one second that seemed to last for an eternity, nothing happened. Then the engine he had been working on for weeks roared to life and Keiran sucked air back into his lungs and looked over at Allison with a smile.

“Ready then?”

[Allison Greene]

Allison's head ducked slightly and her cheeks tinged the lightest shade of pink as Keiran called her beautiful. It wasn't something he had ever been shy about telling her. It also wasn't something she had ever quite gotten used to. She supposed that was a good thing. It didn't take the pair long to reach the parking lot and when they got there the woman slowed to let Keiran get ahead of her. She had no idea which vehicle was his, and none of them looked even vaguely familiar. It had been a long time however.

Keiran walked up to what looked like the oldest truck in the parking lot and opened the passenger side door. She smiled and laughed once softly. The vehicle suited him. She looked at him with raised eyebrows as he explained where they were going to be heading for the night. She couldn't remember if she had been to the restaurant he had named, but there was a surprise? "You're right, I don't like being patient. You could always just tell me," she said with a small grin.

As she climbed inside and settled into her seat, she dropped her purse onto the floor next to the middle section. Allison bounced briefly on the seat and ran her hands over the upholstery. It had been a long time since she had been in a vehicle that didn't have at least seven seats, juice stains, and three boys in the back. Her attention snapped up as Keiran opened his own door and climbed inside and she smiled at him.

As he started the truck, Allison reached over to put her seat belt on. When she was through with that, she sat straight in the seat with her hands on her knees and took a deep breath. She was beginning to hear dull voices in her head, though there was a male one that seemed much more prominent. Not being around him for that long had taken its toll on her… immunity? No, that wasn't quite the right word. Either way, she closed her eyes tight and gave a little shake of her head. Almost all of the voices quieted and what she assumed was Keiran's went down a few notches.

Allison's head turned to look at him as he spoke, a mild look of surprise on her features. "Hmm? Oh yes. Ready," she said, reaching a hand up to her seat belt and tugging on it gently. It was only now that she started to realize that Marseille was over thirty minutes away and that was a long ride in a truck. She turned her head to face the front as she mildly panicked. What were they going to talk about? Were they even going to talk at all? What if it was all just one big, awkward silence that neither of them knew how to break? Would it last the whole night? What if this was just one big mistake? It was too late to change her mind however, as Keiran was now pulling out of the parking lot.

She drummed her fingertips against her knees as she tried to think of something, anything to talk about. If she started with the small talk already, that meant whatever conversation they had during dinner was going to be the heavy stuff. Did they really even need to talk? Rides in a truck weren't all that bad. People were quiet on trips in vehicles all the time. Then again, if she didn't talk she was probably going to burst. Maybe it was just nervous energy, but Allison was holding back the urge to just start rambling about anything and everything.

Breathe, just breathe. He probably didn't even care this much, and here you are obsessing. Stop it, Allison. You're being silly. She inhaled deeply though her nose with the hint of a sniffle. It wouldn't have been a lie if she would have called and told him that she thought she was coming down with something. Why didn't she just call? This would have been far less awkward. Allison turned her attention to him and smiled softly. "So, lovely weather," she said, her soft smile slowly turning into a grin.

[Keiran Byrne]

He was beginning to wonder if she had changed her mind and was now regretting agreeing to go out with him. Keiran couldn’t really blame her. There were a lot of unanswered questions between them. Unanswered and unasked. He wondered if he really wanted the answers. There was a large part of him that wanted to forget that they were ever apart and continue on as if it never happened. But that wasn’t the truth. And Keiran and Alli had always been truthful to each other and basing a relationship on a lie never worked.

The truck took them over the dark pavement towards the city’s light but there was still a long way to travel before they would reach their destination. The fact he’d be in a vehicle with her for almost thirty minutes without any distractions hadn’t really sunk in before. Things had grown awkward and the cab of the truck hung heavy with the silence that filled his ears until at last she said something. His lips curled up at the corners in an involuntary smile, something that hadn’t happened to him in a very long time. He turned his eyes on her and it took all his strength to keep his hands on the wheel and not reach out and touch her.

“Really? All the things in the world to talk about and you land on the weather?” He chuckled and turned his attention back to the road.

“It’s been raining cats and dogs lately. Found a new leak in the attic because of it. It got to a bunch of my boxes before I realized it was there. But I was able to salvage most of the stuff.”

He was babbling. Which was odd. More than odd, it was unheard of. Keiran was used to not talking, used to keeping his thoughts to himself and letting others talk themselves out. But here he was, going on and on about nothing when what he really wanted to do was ask her ‘why’ again. That was the one question he wanted the answer to the most, and the one he didn’t really want to hear. Because he wasn’t sure if the answer would be good enough…and if it wasn’t, what would that mean?

The road stretched out before him and the words jammed in his throat. Two years. What had she been doing? Where had she gone? Had she missed him at all, had she thought about him? A burning started in his chest and it was like the air got sucked out of the cab of the truck and left him with nothing to ease his lungs. He wanted to know and yet would the answers comfort him or make things worse?

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t tried to move on himself. It hadn’t worked. Keiran had never really let her go. Because when you found your soul mate, you didn’t just move on, especially when you had no idea what happened to them. Part of you died and yet you somehow inexplicably kept living. If that was what you could call the last two years of his life.

The silence had returned and this time it was his fault. Thought had taken over and he had done as he typically did, stopped talking. Keiran cleared his throat and pulled at the collar of his shirt nervously. She was still so beautiful and her skin practically glowed in the moonlight. Two years he had been dreaming of this and now that it was happening, Keiran found himself floundering. ‘What if she doesn’t want to talk about what really happened? What if she does?’ His heart was pounding and his mouth went dry.

“Anyhow,” he cleared his throat, “runnin’ out in the rain probably wasna the wisest thing. You probably still get sick at the drop of a hat. Nothing more surprising though than finding the one person you never thought you’d see again standin’ in yer doorway.”

[Allison Greene]

Allison shrugged as her grin turned slightly sheepish. Yes, she had chosen the weather. Because she didn't know what else to choose. She had known him for what felt like her entire life, and she was just so awkward around him. It wasn't supposed to be like this. No matter what Allison and Keiran had been to each other, they had never been awkward. Had they? Maybe she was seeing their relationship through the tint of rose-colored glasses now that she knew he loved her again. It was funny how that little tidbit could change her mind enough to agree to go on this date with him.

But what if it wasn't true? He had ignored her for two years, just like he thought she had ignored him. Two years was a lifetime when you were going through it. Could she really forgive all the nights she had to fall asleep crying because she thought the man she had given everything to was just messing around with her? Why couldn't he have tried harder? Didn't he know that her family was in Massachusetts. Why would she go running around Europe when she would have just gone home? Hadn't she left her mother's cell phone number somewhere in the apartment?

She gave herself a mental shake. She needed to stop thinking like this. This wasn't the kind of thinking for two people who were starting over. It was the kind of thinking for a woman who just wanted to know why. Why she had to go through that if he really did still love her. Was he still just playing with her? What if he never thought she would have come back? What if he thought he was free? No. Stop. Stop, stop, stop. She turned her head to look over at him and it seemed that he was lost in his own thoughts as well. Not that it was a surprise with him. He had never been much of a talker.

As he cleared his throat, Allison turned her face forward like she had been caught staring. She hadn't been staring though. She had just looked over at her date for the evening. It wasn't a big deal. Why did everything have to feel like a big deal? She let out a short involuntary laugh as she shook her head. Running out into the rain had been the worst idea. But she didn't know what else to do. She had wanted to get away from the Sticks in any way possible. The fact that it was the one to get her sick didn't cross her mind until much later. "I do. In fact I've got the sniffles already," she said.

There it was. A comment he probably meant nothing by, but it felt like a heavy hit to her chest. He had never expected to see her back in the pub. How could he have not expected her to come running back when she could? How could he think she would really stay away from him? Had their year and a half together meant so little that he didn't even want her to come back? She chewed lightly on the inside of her lower lip, trying to think of something to say. Anything would do at this point.

"I always knew I'd come back. Must have been quite a shock for you though," she said quietly. Especially knowing now that he probably didn't want her to be here. She was stupid, so stupid. Here she was sitting in his truck in a new dress on her way to Marseille to have a date with a man who never expected to see her again. She had to be one of the most naïve people… ever.

Allison raised up a hand to run her fingers through her hair, pulling it down on the side of her head to make it act almost as a shield between them. Silly, little Allison. She pulled both of her hands to her lap and looked down at them, twisting her fingers together in weird shapes. He probably still knew her like the back of his hand, which would make all of her signs completely telling. But maybe, just maybe, he would be paying too much attention to the road and not enough attention to her to notice.

[Keiran Byrne]

She was pulling away from him. Not physically, as there wasn’t much room in the cabin of the truck for her to do so. But emotionally it was like someone had flipped a switch and suddenly he felt like he had just been hit with a cold blast of air. His chest hurt. It was that band of stress that tightened and made it hard to breathe. He had never wanted anything more than for Allison to return to him and she finally had. But there were times in the two years he had wondered if something was keeping her from coming home to him or if perhaps she really had abandoned him.

‘The Dark Times.’ That was what Zane had called the months after she had disappeared and he had been dying inside. Zane had helped keep him sane. First it had been the reassurances that Alli would come back. She loved him. There was no doubt about that. Then it had become the cautious warnings that something might be preventing her from coming back. Eventually Zane had finally broached the subject of maybe she didn’t want to come back. It had been a bitter pill to swallow and Keiran had refused to give it any credence. Allison wouldn’t abandon him. What they had was stronger than that. Wasn’t it?

So she had always known she’d come back. That meant she hadn’t really planned on staying gone. But why then run when she saw him? Unless it was because she believed he hadn’t wanted her to come back. How could two people who had been so in love believe the worst in each other? Time. They said it could heal all wounds but it could also nurse doubts. Doubts about your feelings and what if what you had believed had all been a lie? Doubts that had haunted him in the dark night and chased his memories down paths he didn’t want to go.

Keiran’s palms were sweaty and he tried to wipe them inconspicuously on his pants in a way that might not draw her attention. His eyes kept sneaking over to the corner trying to watch her and flicking back to the road to make sure he didn’t drift too far. He took in the way she moved her hair to the side of her face and how her fingers twisted in her lap. He didn’t need to be a mind reader to know something was up. The question remained though…how should he deal with it?

He swallowed hard and weighed his options. Everyone knew that Keiran Byrne had a dark temper and it was best not to cross him. And many people had been on the receiving end of that temper, some more than once. The only exception in the entire world was Alli. During the entire time they had been together, there had not been one fight. Because when he looked at her, he hadn’t the heart to do it. Whatever she wanted, whatever she desired, it was far more important than how he felt about something. And he was flawed anyway. And she was perfect. She was a better person than him so it was only right that he agreed with her. Besides when you were so blasted happy all the time, there was no reason to fight. And they had been happy. Hadn’t they?

There were those doubts again. He didn’t like them. But that didn’t mean he could just dismiss them either. She had disappeared and never even bothered to tell him where or why. And though most of him wanted to just grab her and run and forget that part of their past, it was still there. And if they didn’t deal with it, it would always be there. He hadn’t planned on doing this tonight. They had reservations and tickets to a show. He had wanted to romance her, to rekindle the flame that had obviously not been extinguished between them. God. He wanted her. He wanted her in his life and damn everything else.

“It was,” he finally replied. “I saw you so much in my memories that I thought at first that’s all it was. I had just been thinking about you. Like always, when it rains.”

[Allison Greene]

The rain, she almost hated the rain now. Even in Massachusetts, every morning she woke up and she could hear the drumming of droplets against the roof it was like she was back in France. She would smile lightly before even opening her eyes and then reach over to the other side of the bed, searching for Keiran. A mild rise of panic would set in. Why wasn’t he there with her? He must be getting breakfast, starting the two pots so they could each have their preferred drink in the morning. She’d start to stretch and open her eyes and then… then the realization that he wasn’t going to be coming back into the room would hit. Her entire body would slump back into her bed with a quiet sob. He wasn’t making coffee, or tea, or anything else for that matter… he wasn’t there.

The memories never ceased, the pain never lessened. It hadn’t mattered if it had been two months, when she was still hopeful about getting letters, or twenty, when she had more than realized that he didn’t love her anymore. If she wouldn’t have seen him two nights ago, been able to touch him, to kiss him. She had no doubt that she would have woken up the next morning to the light rain and felt the very same thing she had the last two years. Empty.

“We did like the rain, didn’t we,” she said quietly. She couldn’t look over, she couldn’t even look up. She didn’t like the rain anymore. He had ruined that for her. Just like he had ruined movies, and sitting on the couch, and drinking tea late at night when he would close the bar and come up to the apartment. He’d give her a kiss and ask her how her night was, like she was the one that needed asking. He had ruined everything for her. Yet here she was, sitting in his truck on her way to Marseille. Why was she even here? Why couldn’t she have just stayed back in Massachusetts? She would have dealt with the looks, the comments; anything had to be better than going on a date with the man you thought loved you.

But he didn’t, he couldn’t. He couldn’t have hurt her so badly if he had ever loved her at all. She had spent months writing him letters. Telling him everything. Begging him to write her back on occasion. Those had been the bad weeks. Six months of letters don’t get lost in the post. They only disappear if the person receiving them didn’t want them. He didn’t want them, he didn’t read them, and he didn’t want her. The only reason they were even here right now was because she had showed up unannounced. If he would have known she was coming, he would have left. She was sure of it.

Allison inhaled a deep breath, exhaling it as steadily as she could. She didn’t want to give him any more of a reason to look over at her. To realize just how much he was upsetting her, even now. Why could he still get to her like this? Why? Why after all these years couldn’t she have hardened, even just a little? Just enough to make this easy on her. Why did he have to be the one for her? Why was it him that she loved? It had always been him, ever since she had first seen him. But why? She found herself mildly angry at herself. Stupid heart, stupid brain. They didn’t know what was good for them.

She picked up her face, but instead of looking out the windshield she turned to watch the landscape racing by her window. It wasn’t dark yet and it felt like everything was just a blur outside as she focused and unfocused her eyes. Just like her. Focusing and unfocusing and nothing slowing down enough for her to get a long enough look at it. She had hoped with her return to Sanglignée everything would fall back into place. She would be in a place where she would be accepted. She wouldn’t have to hide the fact that she was different. But now… now it was almost worse.

[Keiran Byrne]

Throughout their time together, Keiran had never once cared that Allison could read his thoughts if she wanted to. He wasn’t a talker by nature and the things she picked up on meant she got to know him better than anyone. But during all that time, he had never once wished he could read her thoughts. Until now. Now when she sat silently beside him, eyes looking out the window like she’d rather be anywhere else than with him. It hurt. And he wondered if he was mistaken in asking her out.

It had seemed simple enough the morning after they kissed when she had shown up at the pub. He was still in love with her and she wasn’t over him, so obviously they needed to get back together. They were meant to be together, right? Keiran couldn’t imagine a life with anyone but her and that was what his father had told him was a sign of The One. ‘It’s not the one you can imagine your life with, son…it’s the one you can’t imagine your life without.’ That was Allison. Always Allison. Even through the years he hadn’t the courage to ask her out and had to watch while she dated other guys, it had still only been Allison.

Nothing was simple anymore, and Keiran hated it. He liked simple. His life was simple. He got up in the morning and did the books, shopped for the fresh items the pub needed, cooked whatever was going to be on the menu, and when it was time, opened the pub. Deviations were few and far between and the biggest upset to his routine was when Dog got sick or he needed to go to the city to get a part for his truck or something that wasn’t available in the village. Until the night she had shown back up and his whole world had shifted like some strange god decided to change the tilt of the axis and everything was knocked askew.

Keiran took a deep breath and let it out slowly while he realized he had to make a decision. Clearly they had jumped back in too fast. Things were not settled between them yet and unless they dealt with it, it would be the elephant in the room that everyone knew about but no one wanted to mention. And it would slowly destroy them. That was the last thing he wanted. Keiran wanted Alli back, and he wanted the future he had once seen in her eyes back too. And that meant dealing with the past, as unpleasant as it was.

He pulled the truck off to the side of the road, slowing them down and eventually stopping and shifting into park. His fingers found the key and he shut the engine off so the only sound that remained was the two of them breathing. Keiran turned in his seat and looked at her. Two years he had dreamed of being able to do that again. Two years. It was a very long time to be separated and filled with doubts about what you had once known was the truth. She had told him she had gone back to Massachusetts, but he still didn’t know why. She had told him she had written him, dozens and dozens of letters, but he had never seen a single one. It was time to find out why.

“Allison,” his voice sounded so loud in the quiet cab of the truck and he grimaced a bit. “I need to know something. Why did you leave, especially like how you left? I was only going to be gone a few days, would have been back in no time. But you didn’t wait. You didn’t even leave an explanation as to what was happening. You just…left.”

Keiran stopped himself from going on. He didn’t want to get too far ahead and leave her struggling to answer question after question. ‘One at a time, Byrne. Just like everything, take it one step at a time.’ It had always bugged him that she had taken off while he was gone. If she really didn’t want to be with him anymore, why not just tell him to his face? He had made up so many excuses for her as to why she had gone like she had, but now it was time to hear the truth from her own lips.

[Allison Greene]

As the truck slowed, a mild rise of panic set in Allison’s chest. Why were they slowing? What was going on in his mind? The scenery slowly got easier to distinguish until they were stopped and she continued to stare out the window. She didn’t want to look at him, she couldn’t. She had no idea what she would say, what he wanted to say. But she knew that none of it was going to be good. Good conversations didn’t happen on the side of the road.

At the sound of her name, she jumped slightly. Why, why did they have to do this here? Why did they have to talk about anything right now? They were on their way to Marseille. They were supposed to go to dinner. Wouldn’t it be easier to talk about it when they were there at the table, gazing at each other over the candle light? Allison inhaled deeply through her nose, straightening up a little in her seat. She needed to look at him. She brought a hand up to wipe under her eyes and took another couple of breaths before slowly turning to face him.

Why had she left? She had told him all of this before. In the letters that he “never got”. He had to get at least one of them. Any of them. Thirty letters didn’t disappear, they didn’t. Her gaze dropped to the seat between them. She had hoped to never actually have to spell out the reason to his face. It was embarrassing, wasn’t it? It was why she hadn’t included it in the small note she left when she had to catch the cab. It was stupid, it was dumb, and it had nothing to do with her. Yet, it had still wholly affected her life. It made her hate the man even more.

“I left because…” she started, inhaling another deep breath before she could continue. “my mother and Daniel split.” Yes, split. Because he went to prison for being a bad, bad person and left her mother to have to find work. Because he was the idiot drunk who thought it would be okay to shoot someone in a convenience store. She had no idea what could have been running through his mind to make him think that it was okay. Thankfully the store clerk had been fine, but what if he hadn’t been? What was going to happen to her mother when Daniel got parole for good behavior? Would he find her?

“She had to move, no one was there to take care of the boys while she was at work,” she said, ending with a light shrug. “There was only me. Thousands of miles away. She bought the cheapest flight to Mass she could find. It was non-changeable, non-refundable. I knew that as soon as I told you, you would let me go… I wrote a quick note. Gave it to Jean and hopped in a cab.”

If she would have know the day before was the last time she would have seen him for two and a half years… she wouldn’t have let him go. She would have told him to stay home. Jeoffri could move himself wherever he wanted to go alone. Or even just push it back. Push back the move two days. How hard would that have been? How could they have been so in sync their entire relationship, only to have it fall apart in that one brief moment.

Allison finally brought her gaze to look back up at him again, shrugging her right shoulder just a little. It had been an easy choice for her. Because she had known with everything in her that she would have spoken to him soon. That he would have gotten her little note and sat down at the nearest flat surface to write out a response. Maybe something that was filled with worry. Possibly even filled with hurt. But she would have written back and then… then everything would have been explained. Everything would have been okay. They wouldn’t have spent what felt like forever separated, they would have had a long-distance relationship that involved letters and phone calls.