Heartbreak

[Grakul Gellantara]

The sunlight loomed from behind heavily shaped clouds. A skyline crowded with trees and houses lay in dormant silence. Silence broken by a scream. A woman howled with anguish. The sound was traumatic.
Grakul held Lily's small hand, leading her through the house and out into the open air of the morning. He whispered warm words of comfort in her ear, promising that everything was going to be alright, that her mother was safe. But in truth, everything was not okay; Larissa was in the process of losing her second child by her husband. Grakul could hear the screams, the shouts, the sound of Andrew shepherding Larissa to the fireplace, followed by a loud whoosh of the Floo Network in use. Then there was silence. Larissa would be at St Mungo's now. Andrew was there for her.
Grakul promised Lily that everything was fine. But it wasn't..

 

[Larissa Sedgwick]

Larissa hunched up, pulling her knees tight into her chest as she lay on her side, fat tears rolling down her gaunt face. She couldn't believe it was happening. It wasn't right. "Please.." she breathed weakly, her eyes looking to her husband for reassurance. "Please, no." But he simply took her hand and held it tightly, apologising. "No," she sobbed, "no, no, no.." She didn't want Andrew to hold her hand. She didn't want Andrew fullstop. She wanted Grakul. She wanted to cry into his arms, to be told everything was going to be okay, that this was just another bad dream. But Grakul had stayed with frightened little Lily. And so Larissa bawled. She clutched Andrew's hand and she bawled her heart dry.

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The couch creaked as Larissa sat heavily upon it, her eyes not really meeting anyone's gaze. Andrew offered to make tea, his head snapping upright at the noise of the front door closing and Lily and Grakul returning home from the park. "Daddy, daddy!" Lily beamed, bouncing around wildly. Andrew smiled down at her, drawing her from the living room and into the kitchen. "Come on," he said cheerfully, "let's make your mother and grandfather some tea."
Larissa pulled herself up into a ball on the sofa. She just couldn't get comfortable. Not any more. And her mind was elsewhere. So much so that she scarcely noticed who was where.

 

[Grakul Gellantara]

Grakul guided Lily back through the front door, hushing her boisterous excitement. "Remember, your mother is not feeling too well just now," he walked her as far as the living room doorway before her father lead her into the kitchen, nodding to Grakul as they passed in the hallway. Larissa was, undoubtedly, no better. She had been this way since that tragic day. Knowing this, Grakul made his way through the open door and to the sofa where Larissa sat. He joined her, silently outstretching his arm and closing it around her frail form. He held her close and she did not reject him. Then the tears fell. Grakul felt them soak his sleeve.
"Come on," he sighed sadly, "I'm here now. It's going to be alright. You're safe, Larissa. My Larissa."

 

[Larissa Sedgwick]

Larissa raised her head, just enough to meet her once-step-father's eye-line. They looked at each other for a very long time. She was seeking comfort in those orbs. She wanted it to be alright. She wanted to believe she was safe, but the things that she had done with her life told her otherwise. Still, she could humour him for a moment and just pretend that everything was okay and all was well with the world.
Lily was shouting in the other room. Something about baking a 'cheer up' cake for her mother. Larissa managed a small smile. Grakul noticed. "She's got a good heart, that girl of mine," she commented, embracing the hug a little tighter for a moment and relishing in the warmth. It soothed the aches within.

 

[Grakul Gellantara]

Grakul watched Larissa's eyes staring back into his. He forgot himself for a moment. Her eyes were an eternal blue with the emotion she was feeling. He stroked a stray hair from her face. "She has her mother's heart," Grakul responded tentatively. "And her mother's bravery."
They sat in silence for a while, Grakul's hand weaving through Larissa's soft blonde hair as she nuzzled into his shoulder. The older she got, the more she resembled her mother.
The kitchen door was a crack open, and Grakul glanced over Larissa's head to see what Andrew and his daughter were up to; they had switched on the radio and were dancing happily to the latest tunes. Grakul turned back to the girl who was once his step-daughter. She had never felt like a daughter to him, but more a very good friend who he care deeply for. And perhaps that was why he did not feel strange in her company, in how he felt about her. How he really looked upon her. And my, was she beautiful.

 

[Larissa Sedgwick]

Larissa remained faintly aware of her husband and daughter playing merrily together in the other room. She was pleased at her daughter's optimism during dark times. It gave her hope for the future. But now, Larissa was gradually noticing something else going on: Through her sadness she had sighted Grakul watching her. Really watching her. Observing her every move. And then she did something very stupid and surprising to the both of them.
She kissed him.
Not in the way that she had ever kissed Grakul before, not a quick peck on the cheek and a chuckle before dancing off. Her eyes had closed, her head had tilted to one side, and her lips had met his. And the kiss lasted. Just for a moment it lasted. She pulled away, looking apologetically up at Grakul, her grief having gotten the better of her.
"I.. I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry."

 

[Grakul Gellantara]

Grakul smiled at Larissa as he clocked her looking differently at him. And then she took him by surprise. Her mouth was pressed closely against his in a manner he would never have expected in a million years. At first, he remained still, feeling her planting the kiss upon him and pulling away in shock. Now it was his turn to surprise her.
Grakul leaned forwards, whispering softly. "Don't be." He brought his lips gently to touch upon hers.
A small blonde figure danced eagerly into the room, and Grakul sprung back guiltily. He and Larissa, hearts thudding, both parted and turned their attention on the child. "Lily!" Grakul beamed, his pulse a mile a minute. "Have you been dancing? What's this I hear about a cake?" He stood eagerly, beckoning the child he looked upon more as a daughter, to show him what she had been up to in the kitchen. As he left the room, Grakul glanced hopefully back at Larissa. What had they done?

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