Kelly stared at the phone for a long while before grabbing it off the coffee table and throwing it in her purse.

“Too little, too late, bro,” she muttered to herself.

“Mom, why do you hate Uncle Leon?” Kelly’s daughter prompted.

Kelly whirled around to face the young girl. “I don’t hate him,” she spoke hastily. “I’m just…”

Kelly paused, trying to find the right words to describe how she truly felt.

“I’m just angry. That’s all, pumpkin,” was what she settled on.

“You stay mad for a long time! I hope I don’t make you mad,” the little girl stated, shrugging her shoulders.

Kelly stopped to think about that statement. Had she been too harsh on him? Had she refused to forgive him even when she probably should have? She didn’t know, but she wasn’t ready to forget all the hell her childhood brought her nor how little he’d helped her.

“Kelly!”

The holler from her husband reminded her of her current task.

“Pumpkin, go pack a bag, we’re going to visit Gramma and Grampa this weekend,” Kelly snapped back into ‘Mom-Mode.’

Her daughter jumped off the couch and sprinted towards her room, clearly excited by the prospect of seeing her grandparents.

Kelly ran out to the driveway where her husband was packing their car. “She’s packing up her bags now, we’ll be out soon,” she said.

“Perfect, I’m almost done here, then we can head to my parents. You’re sure you really want to go there, right?” he asked with slight trepidation.

“I’m sure, love. They aren’t in this god forsaken country. I’d feel safer anywhere that isn’t Caledorn at the moment,” she replied. She hadn’t had a good relationship with her in-laws, but she was willing to take them on if it meant she’d be keeping her family safe.

He nodded, knowing her train of thought without needing to be told. “And what about Leon?” he asked quietly.

“He’ll figure it out. I don’t care to bother myself with his survival,” her voice clipped.

“Fair enough, love,” he responded with a chaste kiss to her forehead.

“I’m going to check the news for any updates while we finish up packing. Are you going to call Lauren?” Kelly asked with no malice in her voice.

Lauren was her husband’s ex. They had a child together, so it was only right that he reached out to them. Kelly would never stop him from doing so, even if she hated Lauren.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Yeah… I’ll call them.”

“Good.”

She kissed him on the cheek and trotted back into the house.

Kelly and her family had yet to see the devastation that the war had truly brought. They were on the eastern side of Caledorn and had seen no violence aside from in news reports. One might say, they’d been lucky.

Kelly clicked the T.V on, conveniently it was still on the news station. She sat on the couch waiting for her daughter to finish packing as she watched recent updates.

She almost dropped the remote when she saw the current story. It was the Caledorn president, addressing the nation.

“It is with great sorrow that I greet you all today. I had hoped it’d be a joyous occasion in which I spoke of treaties. But, alas, Remdia has refused to cease fire. They are intent on this war, and it is because of that I address you today.”

The stoic man on the T.V took a moment to compose himself before he continued.

"We are asking everyone currently in Caledorn to evacuate. The surrounding countries on the eastern border are taking all refugees.”

He stopped again before looking directly at the camera.

“However, we will be asking all able-bodied men to stay and fight.”

Kelly stared at the screen. The president, her president, kept speaking, but she didn’t hear any of it. She’d just been told her husband was going to be asked to fight in this war.

She stood up on wobbly legs and carried herself in a daze to her husband. She entered her garage and he looked up at her. He saw her struggling to stand on her own and rushed to her side.

“Kelly, love? What’s wrong?” his words were frantic as he searched her face.

“You…” she hesitated, struggling to find the words. “You… have to fight.”

As soon as she spoke the words she twisted out of his arms and vomited all over the floor. Her entire dinner was splattered across the garage floor. She couldn’t stop her body from revolting as realization settled into her bones.

She’d have to leave her husband behind. He’d be asked to fight.

An image of him dying, even if it was her imagination, forced her to keel over once more, gasping for air between violent upheavals.

Her husband came up behind her and slowly started rubbing soothing circles on her back.

“Kelly, we’ll be okay. No matter what happens, we’ll figure it out,” he stated calmly.

“Hide in the trunk,” Kelly said with manic desperation. “When we get to the border, hide in the trunk.”

“Kelly. No,” he stated calmly.

She started to respond but he interrupted her.

“What kind of man would I be if I didn’t protect my family when I had the chance. You and our pumpkin would grow to hate me for being a coward. If this is what our country is calling for, I shall answer.”

He spoke with such calmness that his words alone started to convince her. She felt herself drowning in his eyes, overcome with pride and love for the man before her.

She hated the idea of leaving him behind, but there was a conviction in his eyes that she knew she couldn’t dismiss.

“If… if you die, I will kill you myself,” she spoke softly.

“I know, love, I know,” he chuckled at her.

“I love you,” Kelly whispered. If nothing else, she needed to make sure he knew that. Nothing else mattered. They’d figure the rest out at the border, until then, he needed to know she loved him.

“And I love you,” he spoke just as quietly. “Forever.”

“Til death do us part,” she wept in a hushed tone.

He cradled her in his arms, uncaring about the various remnants of vomit that were littered across her shirt. He loved her through it all.

She clutched him tighter, holding on to potentially the last moment of peace they would see in their lives.

Eventually they pulled away.

“I’m going to call Lauren,” her husband said.

She nodded in approval. Watching him reach for his phone. He looked at the screen for a few moments before dialing.

“Hey, Joe!” He spoke to his teenage son, feigning happiness. Kelly could see he was scared. She was too.

Kelly smiled weakly and entered her house to give him privacy and call Leon.