Status: Working on rewriting this story. I may post it, I may not. I'll see how it goes.

Who Needs the World

One

Zack couldn’t believe his ears or his eyes when the man who killed his fiancé was sentenced; vehicular homicide with five years in prison. That wasn’t enough for Zack. He wanted more. More for having Katie taken away from him and having to raise his little daughter alone.

That was a month and a half ago. Still, nothing soothed his broken heart. He was alone and a changed man, not for the better. He didn’t want to do anything anymore, but his friends understood perfectly well that his love was lost and it would be a miracle if Zack ever did go out and have fun again.

Each friend took turns in going to hang out with him and be with Ashlynn. Everyone loved her, there was no doubt. Leana and Jimmy were over more often than no for they were made Ashlynn’s God parents.

He sat on the couch, leaned back with Ashlynn laying flushed against his chest with her little pink blanket laying over her back. Zack hummed quietly, keeping her asleep with the gentle rumble of his chest, soothing her into dream land.

How Zack wished that Katie was with him to experience her growing up into a beautiful woman with the world in her pocket.

***

Zack had left Ash with Leana and Jimmy for the day so he could go out for fresh air. He didn’t like leaving her alone, but his friends insisted on him getting out of the stuffy house, even if it meant going down to the end of the street and back home. He decided to take a drive down to Main Street and look in the shops to kill some time.

Families strolled by, enjoying the sunny Saturday afternoon. Just looking at their happy smiled made Zack’s heart ache because he couldn’t take Ashlynn and Katie out at the same time.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and headed towards the pier. The ocean air smelled almost sweet and calmed his nerves. Waved crashed against the sand below, creating a perfect oceanic sound that could lull anyone into a deep sleep on a warm night. He felt almost at peace before his eyes landed on a pair of tropical blues the beginning of the walk down the pier.

A woman around Zack’s age sat with a small boy on her lap, no more than two years old with orange cream sherbet covering his plump, rosy lips and dribbled down his chin.

“Jake, you make such a mess,” the woman giggled, one that brought a smile to Zack’s lips.

Her eyes captivated him, but it was her angelic voice that reeled him in.