The King Legacy – Generation Two, Chapter Eighteen: Only Human

November 1st. The eve of Scarlett’s birthday, Alfie and Kim were taking her out for a fancy dinner at Vacello’s Bistro tomorrow and with Harmony at her friend’s house and Wyatt fast asleep, she was enjoying spending time stood at her easel. She’d never been an amazing painter, but it was one of the things she found the most relaxing. However, she found herself stuck. Maybe she’d carry this on tomorrow. It was meant to be a portrait of her parents, but she couldn’t get it just right.

Scarlett had gotten into the terrible habit of falling asleep fully clothes on top of her covers, it was never intentional – but it was often after a bottle of Rioja. However, a ringing sound snapped Scarlett out of her stupor.

“Who the hell?” She muttered as she clambered off the bed and realised that the ringing sound was in fact; the doorbell.

It was past midnight, and Scarlett was wary of opening the door to somebody she wasn’t expecting, especially with Wyatt asleep upstairs. However, her mystery guest wasn’t threatening at all.

“Jonny?! What the hell are you doing here, it’s so late!” Scarlett gasped, opening the door to her colleague and friend.

“Who cares! It’s your birthday!” Jonny laughed, pulling Scarlett into a tight hug.

“Oh, I guess it is haha, but still Jonny you shouldn’t have -”

“Oh Scarlett shut up! Nobody wants to spend their thirtieth alone do they? I did, and I know it sucks.”

Scarlett smiled. There was no other feeling in the world than knowing that somebody cares, and cares enough to come and visit your house at midnight for even the smallest of reasons.

It was only a flying visit, and Jonny was there to watch and celebrate Scarlett’s transition into adulthood, but as Scarlett celebrated with him – she realised just what she had been missing in her life. Companionship. That was the feeling that a bottle of wine had often been replacing.

“Oh Jonny, thanks so much for this – you don’t know what it means.”

“Oh, honestly, Scarlett it’s nothing – you’d do the same for me.”

Scarlett smiled, but felt her cheeks flush red – would she have done?

It was now 2:30am, and Jonny could read Scarlett’s subconscious hints that she wanted him to leave. She was lead on her sofa, yawning and rubbing her eyes. Jonny thought that she looked beautiful. Innocent and fragile, and so so beautiful.

As Jonny stood at the door, he kissed Scarlett’s cheek.

“We should do this again, maybe, errm, perhaps… sometime?” Jonny smiled at Scarlett.

“Sure, Jonny. It’s always nice… to spend time with such a great friend.”

Jonny’s heart sank.

Friend.

Why had he thought any different? Scarlett was this sexy, mysterious girl who had been popular in high school and had managed to ride of the back of that popularity ever since. He was Jonny. Overweight, underperforming and a loser in general. It was one of his traits.

He wouldn’t let it get him down though. Scarlett was a good friend if nothing else, and besides – she’d let him copy her homework last week. If that wasn’t friendship, he didn’t know what was.

“And so that’s it, the evil man was gone forever – and the Princess was returned to her Mummy and Daddy.”

“Again, Mummy?!”

Scarlett laughed through a heavy sigh, she was knackered.

“No, honey. Come on you must have heard this story a million times already.”

“But it’s my favourite, and it’s Harmony’s favourite too.”

“Well I guess you’ll have to wait until tomorrow, huh? Get to sleep honey, you’ve got school in the morning and then Uncle Jonny is coming over for dinner.”

“Yay! I love Uncle Jonny. I wish he was my daddy.” Wyatt beamed, turning over and nestling down under his cover.

Scarlett’s smile drooped slightly, that familiar feeling of guilt swept over her once more. She walked over to the bookshelf, patted the front cover of the leather-bound book and placed it back.

The Baby in the Snow.

By C. Frio

The next six months seem to slip by so fast that Scarlett felt like she was on a merry-go-round, and she wished that she could get off and savour the sights. In mid-April, Donte and Willow returned with the news that they had married secretly in Vegas. Shocked, Scarlett expressed her upset to Willow that she and Alfie hadn’t been in attendance, but Willow protested that it was what the pair wanted.

“Honestly, Scar, it was just what we wanted. Just us two.”

Scarlett took Willow’s hand and gave it a tight squeeze, she and Donte were staying in Donte’s aunt’s old house on the other side of town, but apparently it was only a flying visit as Willow had to get back to DC in order to help begin her new job on the campaign team for a Vice Presidential candidate. As Scarlett’s eyes wandered the room, she noticed Willow’s passport lying on the table.

“Watkins?! You’ve taken his name?”

“Yeah! Why not?! Willow Watkins, I like it!”

“It’s just, you know me and Mum, we kept our names.”

“You were Scarlett Black from what I recall.”

“Well, let’s just hope you’re Willow Watkins for longer than I was Scarlett Black.” Scarlett smiled, her sister always had an answer for everything.

“Well you made it to your honeymoon so I guess you’re halfway there, honey.”

Willow laughed, and the pair descended into fits of giggles. It was only when Willow had to sit down, clutching her stomach that Scarlett raised an eyebrow.

“Will, you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, honestly, I’m…”

“No. No freakin’ way…”

“What?”

Scarlett stared at her sister, she wondered why she had been wearing that ugly top.

“You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

“No… where the hell you get that idea from?!” Willow swerved.

“Liar.” Scarlett said.

“Oh, crap. Is it that obvious?”

“Babe, I’d never be seen dead in that top – I’m guessing it’s the only thing that fits?

“Shit. Don’t get me wrong me and Donte, we’re so happy. It’s just a little, sooner than planned. And work doesn’t know either…”

“You can’t hide it forever, Willow! How far along are you?”

“About seven months?”

“Christ,” Scarlett said, eyeing up Willow’s neat little bump, “you’re lucky I looked like a bloated whale when I was having Wyatt.”

“Well, anything you need – you know I’m here. And you know that the house is always gonna be yours as well, right? If you ever need it – I mean, your flat in DC isn’t the best place for a baby.”

A few days later, Scarlett, Alfie and Willow were sat by Scarlett’s pool – soaking up the beginnings of the summer sun and suggesting horrendous baby names for Willow. Talk soon turned serious however, and Willow revealed that the baby was a boy. She told Scarlett that she had thought about Connor, but felt it too weird knowing that this would be the first grandson Connor and Pippa would never meet.

A week after Donte and Willow returned to DC, Scarlett found herself stood in the kitchen of her cousin Mayra’s townhouse. An impromptu invitation had meant that Scarlett had been rushing around town all day in order to find herself a fancy dress outfit for Mayra’s husband; Christopher’s 60th birthday party. Mayra was nearly ten years older than Scarlett, and being in her early forties – the age gap between her and Christopher had began to show it’s signs of strain. Scarlett stood downstairs awkwardly with their youngest son; Roman as she heard the pair bickering upstairs.

Alfie, Kim and the kids had already made their excuses and left – whilst Scarlett’s Uncle Jared was feeling too ill to attend, and her other cousin Charlie. Well, Mayra had never really been accepting of her delinquent half-brother, even if sometimes he did remind Scarlett fondly of her Aunt Zelda. This meant that Scarlett found herself comforting a teary Christopher in his bathroom.

“Look, Chris. It’ll pass, I’m sure. I think Mayra’s just going through a really hard time at the moment. What with Star preparing to go to university and Rashawn and Roman giving you so much grief.”

“Oh please, Scarlett. Stop trying to act like you’re mother of the year all of a sudden.”

Christopher’s words hit Scarlett like a speeding bullet.

“I’m sorry?” Scarlett said, putting on her best fake smile. She didn’t really know Christopher that well, she had only come to this ridiculous party out of courtesy.

“Don’t give me advice on how to be with my wife and kids. I don’t see you with a husband, and your Wyatt is always running riot in school according to Roman!”

“Don’t you dare talk about my son like that, Christopher – I’m only trying to help!”

“Well, maybe if he had a bit of fatherly influence he might not have to act out so much for attention.”

Scarlett knew what she was doing before she could think. Her hand cracked Christopher’s left cheek with such force that it was left red and stinging for what seemed like an eternity.

Scarlett realised just how ridiculous she looked. Alone, in the pouring rain, with her own tears merging with the rain droplets on her face, in a pink babygrow and full bunny facepaint. She took out her phone and rang the first person she could think of.

“Can you come and pick me up? I need you.”

The sight of Jonny is his stupid floral shirt made Scarlett warm up almost instantly. Not your conventional knight in shining armour, but right now she didn’t care – she just wanted somebody to trust, somebody who would tell her that she wasn’t a terrible mother, someone that she wouldn’t feel inferior towards.

“You sounded so upset on the phone, I hope I got here in time. Are your hurt? What happened?” Jonny whispered as he pulled a crying Scarlett into a hug.

“Oh god, I feel so stupid now. It was just my cousin-in-law saying some shitty things about me. Shit, I feel like an idiot. Shit, I should stop swearing I’m embarrassing myself.” Flustered, Scarlett attempted to wipe the facepaint that was now running off her face and onto Jonny’s shoulder.

“Don’t apologise, Scar. It’s not like I was doing anything important.”

“He was going on about Wyatt, and how he doesn’t know his father and I just… I just flipped.”

“It’s fine, honey, come on… you’re only human.”

Scarlett became aware that the pair had now been stood embracing in the rain for longer than was probably socially acceptable. However, Scarlett found herself not wanting to let go. Jonny was a good friend, her best friend, but as she stood there, his big arms wrapped around her, she found herself wanting to bury her head into his shoulder and shut the world out. If only for a short amount of time.

Surely she wasn’t… no?

Jonny felt wonderful. It had been so long since he had felt such warmth in his arms, but he couldn’t help but feel he was taking advantage of Scarlett. Although, she had called him – desperate to see him and for him to comfort her. But Jonny had to keep reminding himself that she was way out of his league. This was real life, not some Hollywood movie – good guys didn’t always get the happy endings they probably deserved and Jonny was certain that his simple dreams of being loved, and having a family had been dashed. He was approaching his mid-thirties now, time to be realistic.

However, his whole philosophy on life seemed to change with one simple sentence. A sentence he didn’t expect at all. Nothing too meaningful, but one that carried just enough meaning to make Jonny hope, and hope was the most important feeling of all.

“Fancy going for some dinner?”

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A/N: That chapter turned out to be a lot longer than expected, but I felt like I should stop when the story felt like it not due to length.

I hope people aren’t finding it too slow! Also, with Willow’s marriage and pregnancy – if I still had control over her, she would definitely have had the career first waaaaay before she and Donte married or had kids, but StoryProgression took over and she married and pregnant pretty much instantaneously – perhaps it’s just fate?

Next chapter will be here soon guys, hope you’re enjoying 🙂