Coming Home

[Eve Mallory]

Eve had always felt extremely awkward, not the beautiful creature that her mother was, and would always remain in her childhood memories. So for her father to say that she looked like her mother was startling to say the least.

"Do I papa? Really?" she asked, unsure of what answer she would want to hear. She hated being the cause of her father's misery, which is why she stayed away as often as she did but she couldn't help but feel responsible as well for not coming home often enough.

[William Mallory]

William nodded slowly. Really, she looked so much like her mother had at that age that it was disorienting. Evelyn had been his childhood sweetheart; he couldn't recall a time before he loved her. It seemed as if he'd been born loving her. When she died, a large piece of him had gone with her.

"Looking at you takes me back 20 years," he said softly.

[Eve Mallory]

Tentatively she nodded, then made a gesture. She hadn't made them in so long mostly because he was far too inconsolable to reach, but she lowered her eyes and reached her hand out for his, not looking at him incase he wouldn't take her hand, "I miss her too..." she said quietly.

[William Mallory]

This time, he actually took her hand in his and squeezed it lightly. Although it might have seemed to Eve that he was disconnected from her, it wasn't entirely true. His heart ached for her, having to grow up without a mother and practically without a father as well. He often wished he could be there for her, that he could be a better father, but most of the time, he simply didn't have it in him. It took too much energy just to get out of bed most days.

The way he saw it, the world was cold and cruel. It made people fall in love, and then it ripped that love away from them. Although they said it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, William disagreed. Sometimes he truly wished that he had never loved Evelyn, never known her. Maybe then it wouldn't be so hard to carry through each day.

The tea kettle whistled, and William turned off the stove, then poured each of them a cup of tea.

"Please sit, Eve," he said, trying to focus on her. "Tell me what's going on in your life."

[Eve Mallory]

She should have been more wary than she was, but all that she could manage was hopeful. She began to babble. Talking about inconsequential things, and rather consequential things all with the same tone. Happy to finally be sharing something with her father, even if he was in all likelihood tuning out, or was probably overwhelmed.

With that last thought she got quiet, " And...there's not much else to say." she said a bit sheepish.

[William Mallory]

He tried very hard to focus on her. He wanted to listen, to understand, to know what he had been missing in his daughter's life. But it was so hard. He managed to drift in and out, sometimes just staring blankly at her as she spoke. He managed to make out a few things that seemed important. She talked about the Jordan boys quite a lot, especially Josh. And she also frequently mentioned someone named Viv, who seemed to be involved with Lance.

He wanted to ask her more about Josh, to find out whether or not his little girl was in a relationship. He should have told her about the birds and the bees and about dating and kissing. But he had no idea how to even begin doing anything like that. So he simply said, "That's nice, dear. I'm glad that you're happy."

Was she even happy? Somehow he'd missed that part of her speech. But she seemed well enough, so he shrugged. "More tea?"

[Eve Mallory]

Eve had the vague impression that he hadn't heard much of what she was saying and she tried not to be hurt or disappointed. She gave him a beautiful smile and nodded accepting more tea, but allowed herself to remain quiet. She had nothing else to say really though had he asked her she would make any excuse to talk to him.

[William Mallory]

He had missed out on so much in her life. He should have been the one she went to ask for advice or talk about the good things in her life. He should know all of her friends, her hopes, her dreams… But he didn’t know any of it. She was a stranger who looked like his Evelyn but was different in so many ways. It hurt, which was actually a bit of a surprise to him. He had thought himself completely numb for so long that the idea that he could still feel pain was almost liberating.

“Tell me more,” he said, reaching out his hand to her. “How are the Jordans?”

[Eve Mallory]

She blinked. This was strange, he seemed so different, and yet she had been gone for quite a while. "They're good..." she began, and suddenly it was all pouring out, everything about the Jordan's and her life at school. She talked about Viv and the boys, she talked about the tournament and how she was excited to be going to the dance. She said that she and Josh were going together and perhaps blushed a bit at that, but all in all she was just happy to talk.

[William Mallory]

William listened as well as he could. He still had trouble concentrating, and he drifted in and out once or twice. Still, he caught the drift of what she was saying. This girl Viv was interested in Lance, and Eve... his little Eve... was going to the dance with Josh. She talked most about Josh, it seemed, and he actually noticed how her cheeks flushed pink whenever she brought him up.

William was shocked to realize that his little Eve, his baby girl, had a crush on Josh. He probably should have expected it... Eve and Josh had known each other for most of their lives. Of course, Eve had known Lance just as long, but it seemed that Lance was more interested in the other girl, Viv.

But it is never easy for a man to realize that his daughter was growing up; that she liked boys and boys liked her. Was Josh her boyfriend? It didn't seem that way, but he could also tell by the way she was talking that she wanted him to be. This was a terrifying concept for William, as he realized that Eve was now a young woman... and he had missed her childhood. He had spent so much time mourning for his wife that he had missed watching his daughter grow.

"You and Josh, eh?" he said, looking at her with his eyes clear. "Maybe I should have a chat with him? Find out his intentions?"

[Eve Mallory]

"Oh papa..." she laughed shaking her head, "It's Josh..." she said as if that explained everything. Besides he had only asked her to the dance out of friendship she knew he didn't really like her in that way. She could only hope, and even then it was a far off distant hope, and even then she was so young, she didn't understand her crush on Josh at all, all she knew was that she wanted to be around him as much as she could.

[William Mallory]

But William saw things differently. He could still remember being a young man, falling in love with his best friend. Evelyn had been his best friend, just as Josh was Eve's best friend. It seemed perfect, like they had always been meant for each other. Like fate.

But the realization was frightening to William, and the calmness he had felt a moment before turned into a crippling panic. His heart began to pound, and he felt like he was breaking out in a cold sweat. History was repeating itself.

He had been friends with Evelyn for years before he loved her. They had been as close as two people could be long before he touched his lips to hers. But once he did, everything had happened so quickly. Only a few years later, she was gone, and he had been left grief-stricken with a newborn to care for.

He did not want history to repeat itself. He couldn't lose Eve, too.

He was starting to shake, and when he spoke, his voice was unnaturally high. "Yes, but I know what teenage boys think about," he said. "I used to be one. I don't think you should see Josh anymore."

[Eve Mallory]

Eve swallowed,"Daddy...that's absurd." she said a great deal more calm then her father. She had been so excited seeing the clearness in her father's eyes that she hadn't noticed when the panic set in again. Finally she saw it clearly but his words were more terrifying than that look in her father's eyes. Not see Josh anymore? Why not ask her to stop breathing? That at least she might have been able to accomplish.

[William Mallory]

Maybe he couldn't lock her up in a box and protect her from the world, but he wanted to. She was all he had left. He might have neglected her and failed to notice her in the past, but he was seeing her now. What he saw terrified him. He had wasted all those years that he could have spent getting to know his daughter. Now she was growing up, and soon she'd be going on with her own life. He'd only just realized what he was missing and soon he would lose her.

"Just... promise me you won't leave me," he said, reaching almost frantically for her hand. "I know I haven't been the best father to you.... but I don't want to lose you."

[Eve Mallory]

Somewhere beneath layers and layers of psychosis that she had yet to go through she would realize how angry she was with her father for all those years of abandonment. Somewhere inside of her she wanted to run away and never look back, how could he have left her alone the way he did? Somewhere inside her she wanted to tell her father "too late"

But she didn't because the little girl inside of her still wanted her daddy, and in truth it wasn't too late, her father was a good man, he was just in too much pain. She reached for him, "You'll never lose me papa. I'll never leave you." it was slightly irational the words that came from her mouth. Eventually she would leave, eventually she would have a husband and kids and she would have her own family, but for now that time was far away.

[William Mallory]

It was wrong to make her promise that. Deep inside he knew it, but he couldn't help himself. He was still empty and hollow from the loss of her mother, and while he might have pushed her away, neglected her, because he felt he had nothing left to give her, he had forgotten all that she might have had to give him. He saw it now, and maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe he could fix things. Or maybe he'd wake up tomorrow feeling just like he'd felt every other day, and he'd forget the resolve he felt in this moment. He had no right to make her promise anything when he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep the promises himself.

"Tell me more," he said. "About your friends, your classes... anything."

He didn't care what she said, as long as she kept talking.

(Do you want to move things along and start a new thread? This one's so OLD...)

[Eve Mallory]

So she sat with him. She made them both tea and talked for hours and hours about Viv and Lance and ...Josh. She told him of all their adventures, about school, she told him that she was featured in an art competition and won. She told him about the dance and how nervous she had been. She told him everything she could think of and for a few minutes they were alone in the world, just Eve and her Daddy, it was them against the world and nothing could intrude on that.

(OOC: Yeah let's start something new.)