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fandomweekly2022-12-09 08:52 am
iluvroadrunner6) wrote in fandomweekly2022-12-09 08:52 am
Entry tags:
[#156] It Took So Long to Leave (Original)
Theme Prompt: #156—Leap of Faith
Title: It Took So Long to Leave
Fandom: Original
Rating/Warnings: PG-13
Bonus: Yes.
Word Count: 560
Summary: Jill tries to decide where to go next.
There’s a version of the world where things work out differently.
It’s a version where Matt stays her best friend, and things don’t escalate. Where he doesn’t become as controlling as he does and they stay in love. Where Jill doesn’t feel the need to jump every time he enters the room or be hyperaware of his every movement. There’s a world somewhere where he doesn’t become a monster.
Sometimes, Jill still wishes for that world to exist, even though she knows it never will.
* * * * *
There’s another world where she takes the better option.
Where she doesn’t give in to Matt’s demands that she return to her life and stay in Scotland. She wakes up every morning on the highlands to a warm bed and a friendly dog. James makes her coffee and breakfast in the morning, and she’s happy, even if she’s far away. She knows in her gut that Scotland has always been home, and she never should have left it.
It’s likely why when things with Matt go south, she pulls up an old number that she hopes is still active, staring at it repeatedly. It’s also why the next time Matt goes to work, she hits send and puts the phone to her ear, wanting him to pick up but hoping for the voicemail.
One ring, two rings, three rings…
“Hello?”
“Hey. It’s me.”
* * * * *
There’s also a world where she chooses neither. Where she wakes up one morning and realizes that neither of them is her happy ending and forges ahead on her own to find that one, the one that would have always been perfect, regardless. She could romanticize her and James all she wants, but she knows they had their problems.
She could drown in the what-ifs forever, really, but in the end she can only deal with what she has now.
It’s winter, so the sun is already dipping behind the trees at four in the afternoon, and she knows she needs to be out of here before Matt gets home from work. If she has to confront him, she’ll never leave, because he’ll convince her of all the reasons she has to stay, including safety and security.
Her bags sit by the door, and she stares at them, endlessly conflicted. When the knock sounds on the door, she knows she’s finally going to decide. Take that leap of faith. Gritting her teeth, she makes her way to the door and opens it, staring at the man on the other side.
“You came.”
He looks older than the last time she saw him, a little graying in the temples, a little wrinkled around the eyes, but otherwise he’s mostly the same. Steady and constant, that’s James.
“You called,” he replies, in his simple Scottish brogue.
“Thank you.”
“Are you ready?” He glances at the bags next to the door, but she knows that’s not what he’s asking. He’s asking if she’s ready to blow up her marriage, to jump out of what’s unknown and measurable into the unknown. But with James in the lead, it’s not as unknown as you would think.
She nods, reaching for the handles of her suitcases, and she crosses the threshold and leaps. All she can do is hope that in the end, she’s doing the right thing.
Title: It Took So Long to Leave
Fandom: Original
Rating/Warnings: PG-13
Bonus: Yes.
Word Count: 560
Summary: Jill tries to decide where to go next.
There’s a version of the world where things work out differently.
It’s a version where Matt stays her best friend, and things don’t escalate. Where he doesn’t become as controlling as he does and they stay in love. Where Jill doesn’t feel the need to jump every time he enters the room or be hyperaware of his every movement. There’s a world somewhere where he doesn’t become a monster.
Sometimes, Jill still wishes for that world to exist, even though she knows it never will.
There’s another world where she takes the better option.
Where she doesn’t give in to Matt’s demands that she return to her life and stay in Scotland. She wakes up every morning on the highlands to a warm bed and a friendly dog. James makes her coffee and breakfast in the morning, and she’s happy, even if she’s far away. She knows in her gut that Scotland has always been home, and she never should have left it.
It’s likely why when things with Matt go south, she pulls up an old number that she hopes is still active, staring at it repeatedly. It’s also why the next time Matt goes to work, she hits send and puts the phone to her ear, wanting him to pick up but hoping for the voicemail.
One ring, two rings, three rings…
“Hello?”
“Hey. It’s me.”
There’s also a world where she chooses neither. Where she wakes up one morning and realizes that neither of them is her happy ending and forges ahead on her own to find that one, the one that would have always been perfect, regardless. She could romanticize her and James all she wants, but she knows they had their problems.
She could drown in the what-ifs forever, really, but in the end she can only deal with what she has now.
It’s winter, so the sun is already dipping behind the trees at four in the afternoon, and she knows she needs to be out of here before Matt gets home from work. If she has to confront him, she’ll never leave, because he’ll convince her of all the reasons she has to stay, including safety and security.
Her bags sit by the door, and she stares at them, endlessly conflicted. When the knock sounds on the door, she knows she’s finally going to decide. Take that leap of faith. Gritting her teeth, she makes her way to the door and opens it, staring at the man on the other side.
“You came.”
He looks older than the last time she saw him, a little graying in the temples, a little wrinkled around the eyes, but otherwise he’s mostly the same. Steady and constant, that’s James.
“You called,” he replies, in his simple Scottish brogue.
“Thank you.”
“Are you ready?” He glances at the bags next to the door, but she knows that’s not what he’s asking. He’s asking if she’s ready to blow up her marriage, to jump out of what’s unknown and measurable into the unknown. But with James in the lead, it’s not as unknown as you would think.
She nods, reaching for the handles of her suitcases, and she crosses the threshold and leaps. All she can do is hope that in the end, she’s doing the right thing.