"I don't really know how my mom died..." Serena began with a shaky breath. "I thought she died from a car accident... But my dad lied about that to me... I found out just before I met you all."
"Serena... Oh my god... I'm so sorry. That's not okay." Venus turned to face Serena, her brows knit tightly together.
"It's fine. I probably won't ever know now that... now that..." Serena's face fell, and tears flowed from her eyes. Her cheeks puffed and blushed, and quiet sobs came from deep in her throat.
"Hey, hey, hey... it'll be okay. I'm gonna help you find out what happened. I promise." Venus threw her arms around Serena and tugged her close. Her arms wrapped tightly around Serena's shoulders, her own shoulder becoming a bed for hot tears. "Tell me all that you remember, but only if you're ready. I don't want to force you."
"Thank you... Give me a minute..." The woman stuttered out in between sobs. She clutched her hands to her chest and leaned into Venus. Her heart felt empty. The last piece she had left in this world was taken from her. He had been her rock, ear, comfort, and home to come back to. If a boy broke her heart, he was waiting for his princess. If she tripped and scraped her knee, he had been her doctor. Now, those roles would need to be filled by something, or someone else.
Thud.
The two snapped their heads toward the door, frozen.
"I'm gonna go see what it is..." Venus whispered in Serena's hair. Serena nodded fervently.
Venus slowly swung her legs off the tall bed and dropped to the floor without so much as a sound. She moved quietly toward the door. As she turned the knob, the loud sound of scampering feet became fainter and fainter. She threw open the door to find a small box on the floor, the lid partially off.
Venus picked it up and brought it back, rummaging through the contents as she walked.
"My husband and son brought us something." She smiled gently as she hopped onto the bed, her legs dangled off the sides.
"Aww. What did they bring us?" Serena cooed as she wiped her eyes and sniffed. She leaned closer to the box.
The box held a small package of tissues, a movie, and some chocolate candies. At the bottom of the box was a hand-drawn card that said, "To Mommy" on the front in big, crayon letters. Venus pulled out the card and held it up.
"Dear Mommy," she read aloud and chuckled. "And mommy's friend. Daddy thought we should give you something fun to do. Enjoy the candies! Love Regus. P.S. Those are from my secret stash." Venus set the letter back down and smiled. "Always the thoughtful one, just like his father." Her face flushed slightly as she set the book and note down on the bed.
"That was so cute. You are so lucky to have them both." Serena chuckled as she took a candy and bit into the soft caramel chocolate.
"I am, truly." Venus sighed. Her eyes lit with a small fire and her nose scrunched slightly as she smiled.
The two women sat and ate their chocolate. Venus told stories of her son's harrowing adventures around the woods and nearby fields. How he protected her from a few squirrels and his uncle. Serena laughed at Atlas's failure in evading the six-year-old.
The two quickly burned through the child's secret stash of candies and the conversation lulled.
"So... Did you want to talk about what happened with your parents? Or something else, now that my son jumped in... Whatever you are ready for, I don't want to push you." Venus said as she packed up the wrappers.
"Why don't you put in the movie and if you don't mind, I'll tell you later."
"Okay, that sounds good."
Venus popped in the movie and the intro began, plunging the room into the warm and majestic music. As the movie played, Serena relaxed further into the blankets and her thoughts. Even though the movie was an old one that she had seen a thousand times, she was not about to spoil anything. Venus was sitting on the edge of the bed, feet crossed and leaning toward the screen, intensely dedicated to the main character and his fight for his goal.
Serena chuckled at the sight, but couldn't help but be reminded of the nights with her parents, watching movies as Venus was. Tears formed again at the edges of her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. The salty taste nipped at the corners of her lips.
"Thank you. I needed this." Serena whispered.
"What?" Venus said, still focused on the screen.
"Nothing..." Serena smiled. "I just... haven't had anything like this in a while. It's nice. You guys are all nice. How we met was... a bit unnerving, but you guys have treated me as your family. Thank you." Serena gave a soft smile and as her eyes squeezed shut, more tears spilled down her puffy face.
Venus turned from the movie and hugged Serena tightly.
"But Serena, Love, you are family."
Soft sobs erupted from Serena's throat at the words. Salty, hot tears fell from her face onto the sheets. The two completely ignored the protagonist as he rose from his near defeat and finished his race with a smile.
"Thank you, Venus. That means more to me than you can ever imagine."
"You're welcome..."
The women broke from their hug after a quick squeeze and began clearing up their sides of the room. Soon, both were in bed and ready for a night of sleep. Venus's soft breathing filled the hot room as Serena lay there, staring at the ceiling.
She tossed and turned. Counted sheep and practiced steadying her breathing. But sleep illuded her; drifting further and further with each tick of the clock beside her. Serena threw off the covers and dropped quietly to the floor. She tip-toed quietly toward the door, turned the nob, and left the humid room.
She made her way down the stairs and toward the pack house front door. For the first time in a week, she was able to enter the outdoors and breathe in the fresh summer night air. Stars speckled the night sky and faintly, the colored display of Aurora Borealis shown far off in the distance.
Serena stepped into the soft grass and was soon swept off into the nearby woods and toward a lush meadow. Her feet drawn to the appearance of freedom. She explored the night sky as she walked, following the pull toward a slow-moving river at the edge of the woods and meadow. She stood, feet planted in the soft flowered grass, and scanned the moving current lit by the stars. The starlight reflected off the water and the moon's reflection flickered in the movement of the water.
Fireflies dotted and flashed the moonlit field and water's edge. Flashing their lights in hopes to find their mate and friend. The soft churning of the water almost drowned out the chirps of crickets and frogs.
Dark movement from the corner of her eye brought her gaze up to the tree line across the stream. A large figure was moving slowly toward the water. Each step was deliberate and focused. The figure stepped closer to the water and soon was on the riverbank. With one step into the water, the face of the figure could be seen. The sweeping, black pile of curls swayed gently with the slight breeze, and the piercing red eyes focused solely on hers. The strong jawline and the high cheekbones appeared chiseled in the limited and soft moonlight.
Serena took a step and then another, toward Atlas. Almost as though an invisible rope was pulling her toward the man. The ice-cold water swirled between her toes as she met rushing water. The sand shifted as she sank a little deeper. The two continued toward each other, ignoring the light display in the sky and the current of the water. Soon, Serena was thigh-deep into the cold water, the edges of her borrowed pajama shorts wet. Atlas, knee-deep, gazed lazily down at her messy pile of curls and moonlit face. He slowly reached out and gently ran his fingers through her hair, making the curls fall on her shoulders and back. His eyes followed his hand in every movement. He trailed his long fingers through her hair, his skin grazing her exposed collar bone. With the light contact, sparks ignited and bloomed into a flame that melted into the surrounding skin. He moved back to her soft hair and began twirling it in his fingers. He shifted his heavy gaze toward Serena's soft features.
"You'd better have a really good reason for being out of bed..." He said, his voice thick and gravelly. His hand fell to his side.
Serena gulped, carefully looking up into his firey red eyes sheepishly.