clιnт вarтon | ǝʎǝʞʍɐɥ (hawkdad) wrote in welcomethreads, @ 2015-05-10 17:31:00 |
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Clint honestly had no idea what to feel.
It wasn't that he was upset that Laura had showed up. Well, he was upset, but only that she had been ripped away from their life back home and two of their kids. But he wasn't upset that she was here, now, with him. He wasn't an asshole, after all, and Laura was his wife. He loved her more than anything. And being here, without her, had been hard. More than hard. It had been hell. Laura had been his rock for years. She'd been home. They had over ten years of marriage and she was, without a doubt, the most important person in his life.
But now he was dating Canton and he didn't exactly want to walk away from that. He liked Canton. A lot. Honestly, he loved him, as terrible as that sounded. And even though they had both gone into this with the expectation that it would end if Laura or Canton's fiance ever showed up, now that that eventuality had come about, the idea of it hurt. Still, he knew it was the right thing to do. The thing he had to do. What alternative was there? Leave Laura to be with Canton? He'd sooner throw himself off a building. Carry on behind her back? He wasn't and would never be that kind of man. He'd made a vow to his wife. And even though he'd broken it when he thought he might never see her again, that didn't excuse not honoring it when he had her right there.
Still, what was he supposed to do? Go back to being friends with Canton? Pretend they'd never been more? And how was he supposed to explain any of this to Laura? Hi, honey. I've missed you. I love you. Let me tell you about my boyfriend. The whole situation was a ridiculous mess. But he couldn't and wouldn't lie to Laura. He just had to figure out the right way to tell her.
Walking into Granny's, he froze at the sight of his wife his breath catching. She was just as beautiful as she'd always been and he had to stop and just stare at her for a long moment before he could make his legs work. God, he really had missed her. He just wanted to go to her and kiss her, or hold her in his arms, but he didn't think he had that right yet. It would be dishonest, and no matter what, he had never lied to her, classified topics excepted and those didn't really count. Instead, he just made his way over and tried to remember to breathe. "Hey," he said softly when he reached the booth where she was sitting with the baby. Nathaniel, he reminded himself. He sat down and gave her a hesitant smile. "You really are a sight for sore eyes." He paused for a second, looking down at his hands. Then, before he could stop it. "I've...uh...I've been seeing someone."