We Are Butterflies

Are we not all butterflies?

The question repeated itself over and over and over again in her head. Like the drone of melodic elevator music, something you could hear but your brain refuses to completely pay attention to. The question was there on loop, the only line on a massive record that turned round and round with no end.

When she was a very little girl she had sat in front of the mirror in her bedroom. Her Pyjamas were old and worn a few buttons were missing at the bottom of her top so it didn’t close all the way and the smooth skin of her belly was slightly exposed as she sat there. The bottoms of her pants were frayed slightly at the back from a time when they were too big and had dragged behind her on the floor. Now they were too small, exposing the thin, knobby bones of her ankles when she stood.

Staring at herself, she tried to ignore the sounds of banging and breaking outside her room. It was as though her world outside of this room was crumbling and all she could do was wait until it calmed enough for her to go out and assess the ruin.

Reaching her small hand out, she touched her finger to the glass, tracing the outline of her face. She ignored the wafting scent of whiskey and regret that seemed to always be present in their small townhouse, and tried for a moment to imagine the scent of fresh plants and blooming flowers as she inches along the length of a branch, so high up nothing could touch her.

She was still a caterpillar.

Her parents too, were caterpillars.

That thought had been a comforting embrace to her. If they were still caterpillars, that meant that eventually they would become butterflies. When they were butterflies, they would be better.

As chaos raged outside her room, she climbed into bed and closed her eyes, dreaming of the day they would all become butterflies.

Her childhood was held steady by the promise of a world filled with butterflies.

As a woman, she had abandoned the dream that everyone transformed into this beautiful thing. Leaving what was ugly about them behind in a cocoon as they became all they could be.

Sometimes she still thought of people as caterpillars though.

Meredith was an arrogant caterpillar. She was colourful, and beautiful but she was venomous and refused to believe there was anything better than what she was. Rachel seemed to be the same as her. Jake was also a caterpillar.

If there was someone in her life that she could believe without any doubt was a butterfly, it was Vincent. He seemed to be the best version of himself. He was as beautiful as he could possibly be, she couldn’t imagine growing into something more wonderful.

She only wished she felt like she was even close to becoming a butterfly.

She was twenty-nine years old. She had just broken up with a guy who had been the only serious relationship she had in her life. She had practically fled from Toronto to live in New York so she could spend time with the only person who seemed like they wanted anything to do with her; Vincent King.

Walking through the middle of Central Park, she watched all the people hurry along. Walking over to the grass, she lied down on her back and looked up at the sky, her arm folded under her head.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she let her mind slip away from her, floating up towards the clouds above.

There was a bit of a chill in the air, one that most people would have thought was refreshing after the scorching afternoon they had. The smell of promise floated through the air, it made goosebumps cover her flesh with happy anticipation.

It was going to rain soon.

Sparrow smiled, looking around the grassy field of the school yard. It was just after nine o’clock, so it had been hours since any of the kids that went here were in this school yard. Sitting down on the grass, she leaned back, supporting her weight on her arms as she waited.

“Sparrow.”

Turning to look behind her, she watched as Harrison walked towards her. His stride was slow, his eyes glued to her.

Puberty was changing them both, she noted. Harrison’s shoulders had broadened, his chest had seemed more toned, just like his arms that she could see now coming out of the sleeves of his t-shirt. His thighs seemed to fill out the legs of his slim cut jeans.

Dropping down to sit next to her, he threw his arm over her shoulder and pulled her into him. “Have you been waiting long?”

Leaning into him, she burrowed her cheek into his chest and let out a long sigh. “Not long at all.”

They sat there for a long while in silence, just enjoying one another’s company. Harrison’s body heat seemed to combat the chill in the air. Tilting her head up, she looked up at the greying sky. “It’s going to rain. Do you want to head home?”

Slowly shaking his head, he let out another sigh. “No, let’s stay awhile.”

Meredith was visiting them again. The tension in their apartment was almost unbearable. The forced smiles and division between everyone was beginning to take their toll on them.

Vincent was using himself as a shield to protect Sparrow from Meredith’s talons, Meredith was trying to pull Harrison away from Sparrow and Vincent and Harrison was just trying to keep the peace. The stress was mounting and adding that to the puberty the both of them were already going through made her feel like she was close to pulling her hair out.

“This is nice.” She wrapped her arm around his waist.

Thunder boomed overhead. The sky lit up for a moment before darkening again. Before anything else could be said the sky opened up and thick drops of rain fell down onto them.

Within just a few moments, they were both soaked through.

Laughing, Harrison pulled her to her feet. “I guess we should start heading home.”

On her feet, she held onto his forearms. Looking up at him, she watched as the thick drops of rain soaked through his hair and poured down his face, settling on his chin and the tip of his nose for just a second before raining off his face.

Reaching up, she wiped at his face. She couldn’t help a giggle from rising from her chest as the rain caused her hair to cling to her face in clumps.

Taking her hands from his face, he held them in his own for a second before slowly turning her around. Harrison started humming out loud, moving Sparrow around, dancing with her as the rain poured heavy around them. She swayed against him as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against him.

The dirt had turned to mud under their feet and she could feet the soles of her sneakers losing their grip as they moved together. As her foot slipped, her knees buckled and Harrison’s arms around her held her steady as they laughed.

Sparrow turned around, slipping slightly, holding onto Harrison tightly. He pushed some of the hair back from her forehead as he held her steady.

She slipped again, and when he tried to steady her, they both slid in the mud for a moment before collapsing in a heap on the mud soaked grass.

Laughing, Sparrow looked up at Harrison who was holding himself up over top of her.

Their eyes locked for a moment as Harrison swallowed hard.

Her stomach was like the thin net used to catch butterflies, and it was full. She could feel them flapping around, trying to escape their confines, break free of the net that held them all trapped. The rain water was cold, so was the mud beneath her yet she felt like she was burning up.

Swallowing past the tightness welling in her throat, she tried to pull her eyes away, suggest they go in, dry off, cozy up on the couch with a hot cup of cocoa. Yet she couldn’t get her mouth to work. Her saliva was suddenly like glue, sealing up her throat, preventing her from doing little else but squeeze her tight breaths through.

Opening her mouth to talk, she closed it as Harrison traced her jawline slowly.

Dropping his head, he took her mouth in hers.

It was all a frenzy. Her sensations were being overloaded. She could feel the cool air, the constant drops of water soaking through her clothes, beating on her face and her arms, soaking through the fabric of her sneakers. She could smell the grass as it absorbed all the moisture letting out a fragrance she marveled in. The heat from Harrison was like a hungry fire burning in the hearth on a winter’s day. And his lips…

She felt dizzy from his lips.

 

A Week

When she had first heard the sound, it had been deafening. As the clock in the corner of the room slowly ticked, the sound of time passing became as loud of cannon fire in her ears, the long continuous beep faded into the background.

Blinking slowly, she felt herself step away from her heart. She couldn’t keep it, not any longer. She couldn’t live through the pain that resonated there, that grew and grew until it filled her heart to the point of breaking.

 So she stepped away, leaving it there, lonely and beating.

As she turned away from the doctor that was still talking to her, she picked her bag up from the chair by the door. She could feel the stiff edge of the Bristol board shoving up into her armpit. She didn’t have to open her bag to see the Lost Dog poster inside. She saw that poster when she closed her eyes; it was the same poster she had been handing out for weeks.

She walked through the halls of the hospital like a zombie. She moved out of instinct alone, yet somehow, she managed to emerge outside into the sun.

Turning her face up, she felt the sun kiss her cheeks ever so gently before it disappeared all together. Dark clouds covered the sun up in an instant, a small drop of water dropping onto her cheek before she pulled her hood over her head and shoved her hands into her pockets.

Thunder boomed as the sky cracked open. Thick drops of rain fell, soaking her in an instant as she walked back to her car.

Headlights lit up for a moment as the car unlocked and she slowly got in. Despite the rain outside soaking through her cotton hoodie, she was in no hurry. Sliding into the driver’s seat, she sat there for a moment before putting the key into the ignition.

Her red car whined for a moment before starting; a sure sign that it would need to be looked at sooner, rather than later. It was a new whine, one she hadn’t heard before.

With the day she was having, that sound made perfect sense. She didn’t furrow her brow, she didn’t purse her lips, she simply accepted it as she put her car in drive and pulled out of her parking space. As she pulled out of the parking lot, she looked at the yellow slip of paper tucked under her windshield wiper.

Driving through the streets, she made her way home.

She drove past a dozen of posters taped to the light poles that lined the streets. Bright yellow, green, and pink boards with the same poster on it that was slowly being blurred as the rain seeped through the tape and made the color run together.

The garage door opened as her car approached it. She pulled in, turning her head slightly as she heard the sound of glass breaking and fiberglass splintering. Eyes blank, she looked at her passenger side mirror hanging from wires.

Grabbing her bag, she got out of her car. She didn’t bother to lock it as the garage door closed behind her. Walking through the door, she stepped into the hallway off the kitchen. Dropping her bag on the chair, she ignored all the posters sliding out onto the floor as the bag slumped over and hit the button on her answering machine.

As she slowly stripped, making her way to her bathroom, the messages droned on in the background. She didn’t know why she had pressed the button, urging those messages to play when she had absolutely no intention of listening to any of them.

Perhaps she had left her mind back at the hospital with her heart.

Completely naked, she walked into her bathroom and started the shower. Stepping in, she immediately sat in the tub, letting the water from her shower rain over her as she brought her knees up to her chest.

The sound of her messages still droned in the background.

Her skin ached. The water was so hot, it felt like a hundred small pins poking into her as she sat there, but she made no move to adjust the temperature. Closing her eyes, she rested her cheek on her knee and let it torture her slowly.

We really need you to come back to the hospital. I know you are going through a difficult time now, but there is some paperwork that needs to be attended to before-

Absentmindedly, she ran her hands down her legs. She could feel the sharp stubble growing in there.

Frowning, she grabbed her razor and a bar of soap.

Rubbing the soap slowly along her legs, she let it foam up before running the razor up her leg. Her mind was blank, without a single thought floating around in it. Instead, her eyes just followed the bubble trail down her shin as she pulled the razor up to the base of her knee.

As she shook the razor in the water pooling around her, her eyes caught on the pink water passing her to get to the drain. Her eyes nonchalantly rose, catching the small cut on her leg.

 No flinch, no wince, no pain.

Here in the shower, as the scalding water poured over her, she was completely numb.

Numb to everything out there in the world.

Numb to all the feelings that flooded her abandoned heart, the thoughts that clouded her absent mind.

Staring at the cut, she watched, as it seemed dark red for a single moment before the water washed it away. Then it would be red again, only to once again be washed away, almost before she could catch sight of it.

We’re so sorry… The messages of her machine droned on, the sound of the shower streaming against her face making them sound like they were coming from so far away.

Looking at the blades of the razor, she pulled the heavy plastic frame away from them. It took some tugging, the blades cutting into her thumbs as she tried to break the blades free.

She didn’t need to ignore the sting of the blades slicing into her thumbs. She couldn’t even feel them.

When the razor finally broke apart in her hands, she heard one blade bang against the tiles of her shower floor as the other two were held in her hands.

They seemed so small.

Holding the blades in between her fingers, she slowly dug them into the flesh of her arms. She could feel the pressure as the blade broke through the skin. She trailed them up her arms before letting the blades join the other on the shower floor.

Lying down, she pulled her knees to her chest. As she closed her eyes, she could still hear the long beep from the hospital room, the sound of the tape being pulled, wrapped around light pole after light pole as she stared at the latest picture of her dog. Her messages droned on as the water ran red under her.

If you could just call me… Just… call me. Please. I’m afraid of what you might do… after everything that’s happened this week.

30 Days- 4. Day One: Yosemite Valley

The smell of bacon, waffles and fresh coffee floated through the air. It drifted under my blankets and danced around under my nose. Rolling over with a moan, I reached out beside me. My hands grasped around on the empty bed.

Exhaling slowly, I rolled over and poked my head out from under the blankets. My eyes watched the digital numbers on my clock as they slowly changed. I turned it off when the numbers read 4:00am long before the  alarm was scheduled to sound. Throwing my feet to the floor, I got up and slowly walked down the hall. My fingers ran through the mess of my curly pixie cut as I trudged over to the kitchen.

Ruby looked over her shoulder at me with a glowing smile. She was wearing a pair of my jeans and a plaid button down, her red hair pulled back in a messy bun on top of her head, shoes already on. “Amazing, you’re up.” Walking over, she put a plate on the table and smiled at me before bringing over a mug of coffee.

Turning, I looked at the two backpacks by the front door of my apartment. “What’s all that?”

“We’ll talk while we eat to save time.” Sitting across from me, she poured syrup all over her waffles and bacon before sipping her coffee. Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled something out and put it on the table between us.

Picking up the envelope, I pulled out the tickets inside. “Fresno, California.” I looked at the tickets for a few moments. “Why are we going to Fresno?”

“We’re not. We’re just passing through. We are going to Yosemite Valley.”

“Yosemite Valley.” I remembered the scenic place from the screen saver I had for five months.

“We leave for the airport in less than an hour.” Shoveling a couple of pieces of bacon into her mouth, she looked at me. Her face was light, like yesterday hadn’t happened. “I am assuming you don’t mind missing work, since you were planning on being dead today.”

Pursing my lips, I shook my head. “Nope.”

“Amazing. So eat up, you can squeeze in a shower before we head out.”

We ate in silence, although every time I looked over at her, she had a comforting smile on her face. Getting up, I put my plate in the dishwasher and walked past her out of the kitchen. “Ruby, why are we going to Yosemite Valley?”

“Sometimes when you are surrounded by darkness, the only thing to do is search out some light.”

—–

Standing with my toes in the water, I looked up at the beautiful mountains that seemed to surround us. It was like a dream, or a painting the way the water reflected the trees and mountains. I breathed in the fresh air; letting it fill me up completely as I closed my eyes and let my head fall slowly back.

Ruby took my hand in her own, linking her fingers through mine as she stood beside me.

We didn’t say anything; we just stood there in silence.

I was no fool; I knew what Ruby was trying to do. She was trying to give me a reason to live. I was not defiant; I was not so set on ending my life that I wouldn’t let any happiness in. I would take all the happiness I could get.

I would follow Ruby around the world if that were what she wanted. As much as she wanted me to live, I still wanted a little bit of her to rub off on me. I wanted to find the light she kept going on about.

I lived my life drowning in a darkness that overwhelmed me, it sunk deep down into my skin, and filling me with a pain I couldn’t describe but felt with every breath I took. All these years, I wanted someone to reach down, to pull me out of the darkness and into the world. Maybe this was when it would happen.

As much as I needed to die, I also wanted to find a reason to live.

That was why I gave her 30 days. That was why I was here, in Yosemite Valley.

“You know, there are two types of people. There are the kind of people who are surrounded by darkness, walking through tar their whole life. And there are those who are flooded with light, rainbows paving their way. Sometimes both can seem overwhelming. What you need is to find your opposite, balance yourself out to make it all seem bearable.”

Looking out at the beautiful world around me, I felt the darkness ebb slightly away. Suddenly I felt light surround the darkness around me, trying to fight its way in. It was slight, but it was there. Strong and forceful.

There were years of darkness to get through, I wasn’t confident it would work. The company made it worth the journey of trying to figure it all out.

Smiling at her, I nodded. “So, Yosemite Valley.”

“Yosemite Valley. Can’t you feel the light here?”

Nodding, I tightened my grip on her hand. “Yes. I actually can.”

Too Important To Love

In three days, she was going to be seventeen.

Birthdays had never really meant much to her. When she was younger, it had seemed sad. Her mother and father were masquerade as perfect parents with these happy faces painted on as they took her out to dinner to celebrate what she knew now for sure was one of their biggest mistakes.

Her.

It wasn’t a depressing thought she used to keep herself down, she was fine with it. Her parents had been full of lust and too young to know that was all it was. He was oblivious to just how sick she was and how mentally unfit she was to belong to anyone. Her mother just wanted to belong to someone, regardless of the consequence.

Since she had moved in with Vincent and Harrison, she had learned they made a huge deal out of birthdays. There were surprises, and a ridiculous amount of gifts and money being spent and they would block whole weeks out of their calendar to celebrate one another.

It was sweet, in a way. She would enjoy it more if she got to participate in their celebrations without them doing the same for her.

Harrison hopped onto the couch, putting his head in her lap as they watched TV. “So, have you been thinking about what you want for your birthday?” He asked her, trying his best to seem nonchalant.

Vincent had been away on a business trip. Whenever he had to go away, he usually hired someone to watch over them, but since Vincent had turned sixteen, he had trusted them to be alone in the apartment and had the doorman and security check in periodically.

He was expected to return the evening of the day before her birthday.

“Nothing.” She said absent-mindedly, watching the romance movie that was on TV.

Groaning, he rolled over on his side to watch. “Why do you watch this nonsense?”

“They are pretty predictable.” She nodded. “But who doesn’t want to believe you can find love no matter the situation?”

Harrison looked up at her. “You don’t even go on dates. How are you supposed to find love?”

Sparrow lifted her shoulders. “What’s the point of dating? According to your mother we are already betrothed.” She joked.

“If our lives were a romance movie, we would already be in love with on another. We just haven’t realized it yet.” He smiled up at her. “Do you love me, Sparrow?”

Running her hand slowly down his cheek, she looked into his eyes. “I do. Forever and always I do, but I didn’t realize it until this very moment. Kiss me!” She pursed her lips and made smoothing noises at him.

He pushed her face away. “Stop!” He laughed, rolling off the couch.

Sparrow laughed hysterically when he rolled into the coffee table, shaking all the contents on top of it and spilling her soda.

“Ouch!” He moaned, pushing himself up to his knees. Looking up at her, he frowned, rubbing at the side of his head. “Do you see what you did?”

“Hey, I didn’t do anything but confess my love and affection for you. I didn’t think you were going to be such a baby about it.” She playfully rustled his hair.

Moving his head out of reach, he got to his feet and sat beside her. “I am not a baby.”

She snorted at him. “Whatever you say, Harry.”

“So there is no one you are crushing on right now?” He asked her once he settled back on the couch.

Sparrow shook her head. “No one that interests me. You know, you are one to make fun, but you don’t really date anyone either.”

Thinking about it, Harrison frowned. “Yeah, no one really interests me either.” He was quiet for a while, sitting with her as they watched the movie.

Reaching out, he took her hand and held onto it in his lap as they watched.

It was comfortable, and Sparrow slid down to enjoy the movie and the company.

“You should only have relationships with people you don’t really care about.” Harrison said finally. “People you aren’t afraid to lose.”

Her brow creased.

“When you fall in love with someone you are actually afraid to lose, when it all doesn’t work out, you end up losing the most important person in your life. That is why we would never work, I love you more than I’ve ever loved anything, and if anything ever happened between us and we broke up, I would want to shut you out so completely. I’d end up losing the only person I had ever truly let into my heart.”

He didn’t look at her then, and she was glad for it because her eyes started to fog over. Harrison was the most important person in her life besides Vincent. He was the person who showed her she could be loved.

There was so much truth to his words. She was the same way. She shut down when she was hurt, closing herself off from the rest of the world.

Falling in love with Harrison would be losing him.

Squeezing his hand, she cleared her throat. “So I guess it’s a good thing we don’t plan to fall in love.”

 

Judging Character

“Jesus, that was awkward.” Sparrow let out the breath she had been holding in. She felt as though she had dived into the depths without an oxygen tank, only to have to struggle to the surface, unsure of whether or not she would get there in time.

A waitress with wide hips walked up with a smile on her lips. She placed the stack of pancakes between them and filled their two mugs with coffee before winking at them and walking away.

Vincent sat back, cupping his black coffee between his hands. He watched as Sparrow shovelled four pancakes onto her plate and then smeared butter over the steaming pile. The aroma was intoxicating, but he was more interested in the company and conversation than the food.  “I was hoping to spare you. I hadn’t seen him in a number of months and was sure he would still be in Paris with Meredith. She is opening a new gallery and I couldn’t imagine her letting him out of her talons while she is so stressed.”

The thought of a stressed Meredith strutting around barking orders at people caused a chill to run down her spine. “Jesus.” She repeated.

There was something in the way Vincent’s eyes watched. If he were looking at a client, his eyes were powerful. They exuded confidence and demanded respect. When he looked at his son, there was question. His eyes shone with the curiosity of someone seeing something for the first time. When he looked at Meredith they were practically seething. She often wondered what his eyes looked like when he first saw her, when he used to love her.

When Vincent looked at her, they seemed to glimmer with millions of unspoken words. His eyes became the clearest night sky lit with billions of stars reflecting off clear waters.

She often thought about his eyes when she missed him. On a low day, she would wonder if those eyes would make a difference to her day.

His eyes stole a glance at her from across the table as he added a little cream to his coffee. As he stirred it slowly, he began the conversation that was trying to claw it’s way out of his mouth. “Rachel,”

Rolling her eyes Sparrow moaned and threw her hands up dramatically. “Vincent… no.”

“Come now, humor me.” He stared at her, letting few moments pass before trying again. “When you first came to live with us, and I was going through old cases I would often ask your opinion. You were such a wonderful judge of character.” Placing his mug on the table, he rested his open palms on each side of it. “So?”

“Are you just going to keep asking me until I answer you?” She chewed on her pancakes before shifting her weight on the vinyl bench of her booth.

The corner of his lips curved up. “Time doesn’t always change things.”

Raising her brow, she couldn’t help but smile back at him. If there was one thing she was sure nothing would ever change, it was how stubborn Vincent was. “Maybe it’s changed my judge of character.” She teased him.

The corner of his eyes wrinkled as he sipped at his coffee. He was doing that thing where he only smiled with his eyes. That was one of her favourite things about him.

Sighing, Sparrow put down her fork and knife and leaned back. She rolled her head around on her neck to ease some of the tension before waving her hands out before her. “Jesus, alright, alright. I don’t know what you expect from me, I only met this woman for a few minutes and I have no idea about their history together.”

“But you have already formed an opinion of her, haven’t you?” He urged.

This whole situation was odd to her. Vincent and Harrison always had the perfect relationship. If Vincent didn’t like the relationship between Harrison and a girl he had chosen, he would tell him and usually Harrison would be swayed by his father’s opinion. It seemed like the world they had together was a house of cards, and it had all come tumbling down when she had walked away from it all.

The friendship she had thought would be everlasting between Harry and her had all but disappeared, like waking from a dream. Her father figure, Vincent, had been pushed away to make everything easier for her, and the dynamic between Harrison and Vincent seemed as broken as the one between her and Harrison.

She couldn’t help but crease her brow as she looked at Vincent. Folding her hands on the table in front of her as she looked at him, she decided to weigh in on the overall situation before zoning in on Rachel specifically. “Well, it would seem that she is someone more suited to what Meredith wants, then for what Harrison or even you would want. She had a very expensive purse on her arm, her nails were freshly done, as was her hair, all her clothes seemed to be bought from high end boutiques. I would guess she is someone Meredith hooked Harrison up with from some type of snooty club.”

Vincent nodded.

“Now you said you and Harrison don’t keep in touch anymore. That wouldn’t be your choice so I am guessing he never left Paris when he fled…” She stopped, not wanting to touch base on their relationship and how it all fell apart. Clearing her throat, she continued, “But you seemed to know her well enough when you saw her there. He called you.” Her eyes narrowed. “With doubts.”

“This is exactly why I asked you for your opinion of her.” He stated. “He called me about three months ago and told me about how serious their relationship seemed to be growing, with Meredith’s urgings of course. The two of you are no longer teenagers, and she wants Harrison married and with children sooner rather than later. He called me to discuss… reservations.”

“Because he feels she is interested more in the King status than in the relationship itself.” It wasn’t a question.

“Precisely.” His eyes searched her face. “If you were to guess why she would be so interested in marrying Harrison after merely six or so months, what would be your reason for it?”

Normally she would say money, but it was clear by looking at the woman that Rachel already had that. However there was something so desperate about her when she had marched in, something so broken about the way she had looked at Sparrow, assuming they were having an affair. The King name was something a lot of women sought, and there was only one.

Harrison.

She didn’t have very long to figure the woman out, but she would be lying to Vincent if she told him she didn’t have an opinion. Throwing her head back, she wished they weren’t talking about all of this, but she knew she owed him her opinion if that was what he wanted from her.

“I don’t know much about her to judge on her motives, but I know enough about Harrison to know he isn’t happy. He doesn’t love her.”

Frowning, Vincent nodded. “That was my thoughts too. As I’ve said, I’ve had little chance to discuss his relationship with him. Meredith keeps him too close.”

That too was disconcerting. She would have to touch base on that later.

Reaching over, Vincent covered Sparrow’s hand with his own. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Being such a great judge of character.”

Meredith’s Proposition

Sparrow held out a hanger and looked at the confusing thing hanging from it. As far as she could tell it was either some kind of dress or some large scarf. Glimpsing at the price tag, her brows shot up. Whatever it was, it was made from baby panthers or something, because that was the only way the price made any sense.

Carefully, she placed the hanger back in the rack as though she were diffusing a bomb.

“Can I help you find anything?” A slim and angular looking woman walked up to her. She had a pitch black bob haircut with bangs and every single strand of hair was in place. She looked like a piece of art in her black turtleneck dress and the nose like a raven’s beak.

Never had she felt more out-of-place. Clearing her throat, Sparrow shook her head. “Um, no thank you. I am just waiting for someone.” She gestured to the dressing room.

The woman’s eyes widened slightly. “Mrs. King?” She asked.

If someone had told her this morning while she was eating her cereal that she would be talked into going shopping, she would have laughed in disbelief. If that same person had told her they would end up splitting up and she would be stuck spending the day with Meredith while the boys shopped elsewhere, she would have died.

Forcing a smile, she nodded. “Yes.”

As the woman grinned at her, she slowly made her way closer to the dressing room feeling it was safer to pretend not to hear Meredith talking to her as she changed than to chat with the woman who was now looking at her as though she were a meal.

“How is everything going in there, Meredith?” She asked, hoping she would be told she was almost done.

“This place used to have so much more to offer.” She sighed, shoving another article of clothing out from behind the curtain. The saleswoman quickly scurried over to take it and disappeared. “Did you see anything you like?”

The question completely appalled Sparrow. “Oh no. I would never buy anything here.”

Poking her head out, she looked at Sparrow. “And why is that?”

“It’s very expensive here.” Sparrow figured to go with that, not wanting to offend Meredith’s tastes.

Throwing back her head, Meredith laughed and went back to trying things on. “Vincent can afford the prices.” She told her.

Sparrows brow creased. “I’m sure he could, but I am not Vincent.”

“Yes, but Vincent has legally adopted you… after your mother…” she paused. “Therefore you can afford it.”

Her heart beat hard in her chest for a moment at the mention of her mother. The time after her passing had been so confusing. Everything was changing and changing quickly. She could only vaguely recall the conversation she had with Vincent a week later. How he had explained her mother had written a letter when she had first gone into the hospital to let people know what she wanted to happen to Sparrow should anything happen during treatment. Her father had come forward and met with Vincent. She had been expected to make a decision.

Her father, or Vincent.

At the time, she had felt like a burden either way and told Vincent to do whatever he wanted. She had expected him to wipe his hands of her then, finally free of the obligation.

Instead he had fought her father for custody… and won. Later, he legally adopted her.

She knew her adoption meant her father hadn’t fought that hard. He had probably accepted some amount of money to leave her be, sign away his rights. She didn’t realize it was exactly what she had wanted until it was already done.

Her father had left her at a time when her life was hardest, to go back to him now would mean she forgave him. And she couldn’t. Not when she had struggled so hard to keep her mom from sinking, not when she had failed at that and lost her mother in the end.

Vincent had been her Saving Grace.

“I couldn’t shop with Vincent money. He has already done so much for me, I would never take advantage like that.”

Poking her head out again, Meredith raised her eyebrow. “You know, if you came to me with Paris, you wouldn’t want for anything. I have always wanted a daughter to spoil, and there are so many luxuries that go to waste having a son.” Sighing, she pulled her head back in the curtains. “You should come back with me, at least try it for a couple of weeks and see how you like it.”

Sparrow frowned. “You want me to come to Paris with you?” She was confused. Her relationship with Meredith had always been rocky. At first she had thought Sparrow was a toy, a plaything Vincent had gotten to trick Harrison into staying in Toronto. Then she had accepted her but resented her, making sure to put her in her place whenever she thought possible. Then she had silently wished her the worst, her eyes would burn into her but she never said anything, knowing full well Harrison wouldn’t speak to her if she didn’t behave herself.

Now she was offering to bring her to Paris so she could spoil her? Buy her things with equally ridiculous price tags hanging off them.

Something was going on.

“You don’t have to worry about being alone. I’m sure if you ever did decide to come along to Paris with me, Harrison would come along. He has made you that promise to take care of you, and it seems he refuses to sway.”

And there it was. Meredith’s new plan to get Harrison back. Suddenly the suggestion to break off, gals and guys, so we could find things we needed. Girls could get bras and guys could get… rid of the girls or something.

“I never asked Harrison to take care of me. I never asked either of them to do anything for me.” She dropped her face in her hands and tried to rub the feeling of being annoyed from her forehead.

Meredith stepped out of the dressing room and pulled Sparrow to her feet. “I know the two of you are still young, but we could definitely begin getting the two of you ready. We all know you’ll be married one day.” She wrapped my arm around her own. “If you asked him, or if I hinted you were interested, it would definitely be something he would do.”

Marry Harrison?

Nudging me slightly as we left the store, she waved at Vincent and Harrison when we saw them on the other side of the street. “Think about it dear. Honestly, could you ask for a better husband than my Harrison?”

A Sparrow In A Snare

Vincent had been following in his father’s footsteps. He had been doing his best to ensure he was always stepping towards being a better man. As such, he had taken on a handful of pro-bono cases.

Since he had moved to Toronto to start an architecture company, he had opened himself up for legal advice no longer being able to practice law on this side of the Atlantic. Although architecture had always intrigued him, it lacked the interaction he craved. He still wanted to be able to reach out and change someone’s life for the better.

Free of charge, he had agreed to see a woman about giving up her parental rights to the city in order to get treatment. The specifics of the case hadn’t been thoroughly read. He had been up trying to convince Harrison that Toronto would be better for him than Yorkshire.

Meredith had refused to make the move, but had agreed to have Harrison accompany him for a month. He was hoping in the end, it would be Harrison that told Meredith he wanted to stay.

Walking up to the townhouse in the community housing, he opened the screen door and knocked. There was some coughing inside before the door swung open.

The woman who opened the door was pretty but looked like she had lived the kind of life that had completely worn her down. She had purple circles under both her eyes, her cheeks were hollowed, and she was overly thin. Pushing her long chestnut hair back over her shoulders, she gave him an empty smile. “Hello.”

“Hi, I am Vincent King. I spoke to you on the phone about-”

“The lawyer.” She interrupted.

Nodding, he waited for her to open the door to him. He stepped inside the dimly lit townhouse and waited for him to gesture him over to the leather sofa. He sat down, waiting for her to sit down next to him before he opened his briefcase and pulled out her file. “Alright Mrs. Wilde. I was informed that you will be signing yourself into an institute to get some help for…” He paused, looking for her condition.

“Bi-polar.” She told him. “It has been getting a lot worse since my husband left about two weeks ago. I’ve been down more than up…” She trailed off. “It’s a weird confusion. I have been living with it for so long, holding it at bay, building walls so that the world would see me as normal. All the while, every smile made a crack in it. Weakening it. Then Michael left and… everything came crashing down.”

He was sympathetic, but that didn’t change his stance on anything. “You do realize if you sign your daughter over to the city, there is a chance you may not be declared fit enough to get her back later on.” He had already told himself he was going to try to sway her against her decision. Once her daughter ended up in foster care, she could be lost, unable to be given back to her mother due to her mental illness. “Aside from that, should her father return, he could easily obtain custody and keep you from seeing her in the future.” He could never imagine giving Harrison up, not even to his own mother.

Mrs. Wilde shook her head. “She’s not safe here with me.”

“Isn’t there a friend or family member you could leave her with?”

“No. Just Michael, and I have no idea where he is.” She clasped her hands together in her lap.

A small girl walked in the back door and through the kitchen. She paused before walking into the living room, looking from her mother to Vincent and back before placing her school bag on the floor and smiling at him. “Hi. You must be the lawyer.”

He was shocked that she knew who he was. Standing, he walked over and gave the little girl his hand. She must have been the same age as Harrison, yet she seemed so much smaller, so much more frail. “My name is Vincent King. You must be Sparrow.”

Smiling up at him, she nodded. Reaching into her back pack, she walked over to her mom and handed her a sandwich before walking up the stairs and towards what he could only assume was her bedroom.

His heart ached.

Turning back to Mrs. Wilde, he sat down. “I just can’t imagine seeing her being signed over to the city, having her end up in a group or a foster home.” Before he knew what he was saying, he was giving her his card. “Look, I am a good, honest man. I have a son of my own around her age. I could look after her for you while you are away, and then when you get out, you can come and get her. No questions asked.” Meredith was going to kill him. “Please think about it. It would be so much better for her than signing her away.”

As he climbed back in the car, he was unable to turn the key in the engine. He wanted nothing more than for his phone to ring and for Mrs. Wilde to tell him she had thought about it and he was right and he could take her Sparrow for her, keep her safe.

That poor girl. Abandoned by her father, being left by her mother so soon after. It was so much to lose in such a small amount of time and he wanted to be there, to comfort her when she felt the world falling out from under her.