Chapter 4: Revelation
Hiccup POV:
“Astrid?” I breathed, a smile stretching across my face. Her eyes widened, her mouth falling open in a silent gasp.
Gods, she was beautiful. Her hair, long and stunning, cascaded past her mid-back, styled with intricate twists on either side and a braid woven through the length of it. Her face had softened, rounding with a gentle fullness, and her eyes still held that vibrant, ocean blue depth. She was breathtaking.
Then I saw her—a little girl with brown hair and eyes mirroring Astrid’s ocean blue. Two braids framed her face, and soft bangs brushed her forehead. She was dressed similarly to Astrid, though she wore sturdy brown boots instead of heels. A cutie.
“Mommy, I want to go eat with Daddy!” the little girl exclaimed.
“Just wait, Freya,” Astrid soothed, her voice laced with patience.
WAIT—that’s her daughter? My jaw dropped, and Astrid noticed, rolling her eyes with a familiar exasperation.
“What are you doing here, Hiccup?” she challenged, her tone sharp. I was still lost in admiring her beauty, the shock of her daughter’s existence hitting me full force.
“HICCUP!” She snapped me out of my daze. “Um, I graduated college so I came back here because…I missed you, and I wanted to pursue my job here,” I explained, hoping she wouldn’t be furious.
“Seriously? Well, only one out of two of those things will be happening,” she growled, turning to walk away. I reached out and gripped her wrist. “Astrid, can we please just talk?”
She looked genuinely shocked.
“Mommy, I want to eat!” Her daughter begged, and I recalled her name was Freya. “Sweetie, Mommy is having a conversation,” Astrid told her, and Freya sighed dramatically.
I returned my gaze to Astrid, and she met my eyes, her expression unreadable.
“You left, Hiccup! You left me standing on the canopy of my house after saying you were leaving! Do you know how that felt? To have your perfect boyfriend leave you on the night you were supposed to cherish for the rest of your life? It hurt. My heart was ripped out of my soul, and no one could help me! I spiraled into depression, and my world became unbearable, Hiccup! And it was all because the love of my life had left!” Her voice trembled with raw pain.
“I didn’t want to bring you into my problems! And it hurt me too to leave you, Astrid…and I’m sorry I put you through that,” I sighed, my voice laced with remorse.
“Yea well, it’s too late now! And if you have problems, that’s why you tell the people that care about you so they can help you!” She snapped, her voice edged with resentment.
“I know, Astrid, and I realized that over the years. It was a horrible and foolish thing for me to do,” I sighed, lowering my gaze.
Just as I was about to speak, a man approached us. “Babe? I didn’t know where you were,” he said, then his eyes landed on me. “Who’s this?”
“This is an old friend, Hiccup,” Astrid said, extending her hand to him. I shook it, offering a polite smile. “Nice to meet you!”
He had brown hair and hazel eyes, dressed in an American Eagle shirt and nice jeans paired with Nike tennis shoes. His smile was bright and perfect.
“Astrid, I’ll let you catch up with your friend. Freya wants to eat,” he said, scooping his daughter up into his arms.
“Blake, I’ll be there in a bit,” Astrid said, exchanging a quick kiss with him—a gesture carefully devoid of affection, which did a lot. He smiled and carried Freya back to the table.
“Shall we sit?” I offered, and she nodded, but sighed deeply. After five years, I was finally going to talk to Astrid.