May 15, 2040 – Sadie’s Wake
The voices around Jordan Williams felt like static, meaningless sound waves that washed over him without sinking in. “I’m so sorry for your loss,” they would say. He nodded in acknowledgment, but the words didn’t register. They couldn’t. Loss wasn’t a big enough word for this. For her.
Sadie Monroe… She wasn’t just a memory or a chapter in his past. She was everything. She had been his partner, his rock, and even in their separation, she was family. The mother of his children. The one person who had seen every side of him and still found reasons to smile. Sadie was the light that filled his life, even after her absence. She taught him what it meant to love someone completely, and what it meant to lose them. Now, she was gone. Completely, painfully gone. There would be no more late-night texts about the kids, no more shared laughs at co-parenting fails, no more Sadie.
Beside him, Jezebel stood quietly, her hand in his. Her touch was an anchor, tethering him to the present when all he wanted to do was drift back into the past. Back to a time when Sadie’s laugh still filled the room, when her voice could silence his doubts, and when her eyes looked at him like he could do no wrong. His own eyes, red and swollen from hours of crying, still brimmed with tears that refused to fall. They lingered there, threatening to spill over again, but he fought them back. He had to hold it together. For his family. For his kids.
Jordan exhaled slowly, his gaze sweeping the room. Justin stood by the stairs, his face composed, but his eyes betrayed the storm beneath the surface. Kyra sat with one of her cousins, her usual energy replaced with a quiet sadness. But Annie—he didn’t see her anywhere. That realization pulled him from the fog.
“I’m going to go look for Annie,” Jordan said softly to Jezebel, his voice barely audible above the murmurs of the room. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, filled with love and appreciation for his wife. He truly couldn’t do any of this without her. “I haven’t seen her in a while. She shouldn’t be alone.”
Jezebel nodded, her expression a mixture of understanding and concern. “Go. I’ll keep an eye on Justin and Kyra.”
He kissed her forehead briefly. “Thank you… for being here. For holding all of this together.”
As he stepped away, he glanced toward the doorway, feeling the weight of every step. They had left the triplets with babysitters, knowing this wasn’t a space for them. He was grateful for that decision now—he couldn’t imagine juggling this grief while caring for infants. Not when his heart felt like it was breaking into a thousand pieces with every second.
Jordan couldn’t stop smiling. The sunlight filtered through the trees, casting a warm glow over the small gathering of friends and family. But none of it mattered—not the decorations they’d painstakingly chosen, not the subtle hum of the string quartet in the background. The only thing that existed in that moment was her—Sadie Monroe, soon to be Sadie Williams, standing before him in her wedding dress. She looked like a dream, her veil catching the sunlight and casting a soft glow around her like an angel.
He could feel the eyes of their guests on him, but Jordan couldn’t bring himself to look away from Sadie. She was his entire world, and she was walking toward him with a smile that could have lit up the darkest room. His heart pounded in his chest as she reached him, her hands trembling slightly as they met his.
The pastor’s voice broke through the haze. “I believe the bride and groom have their own vows prepared?”
Jordan nodded quickly, his lips curving into a nervous smile as a few soft chuckles rippled through the crowd. Taking a steadying breath, he reached out, his thumbs brushing over the backs of Sadie’s hands. “I, uh… I’ve been trying to write these vows for weeks… hell, for months…,” he began, his voice trembling slightly. “And no matter what I came up with, nothing felt good enough. Because how do you put into words what it means to love someone like you?”
Sadie’s lips trembled, her eyes already glistening with tears. Jordan paused, a lump forming in his throat as he tried to find his voice again.
“You are my light, my compass, my safe place,” he continued, his tone softening. “And I promise you, Sadie, I will always be here. Through every high and every low. Through every laugh and every tear. I will love you fiercely, and I will never stop trying to be the man you deserve.”
He paused, swallowing hard against the flood of emotions threatening to overwhelm him. Then, a playful smile broke through the intensity of the moment. “And I promise to always make sure the kids do their homework. Even if it’s math, and we both know I’ll have to Google half the answers.”
The laughter that rippled through the crowd was soft and warm, easing some of the tension he felt. Sadie let out a watery laugh, her smile breaking through the tears that had begun to stream down her cheeks.
Jordan shifted slightly, leaning closer as if the rest of the world had disappeared, and it was just the two of them. “I love you, Sadie. Always. And I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life proving it to you.”
For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of the wind rustling through the trees and the quiet sniffles of their guests. Sadie squeezed his hands, her lips trembling as she whispered, “I love you too.”
As the pastor turned to her for her vows, Jordan couldn’t help but steal one last glance at her. This wasn’t just a promise for today or tomorrow—it was a promise for forever.
Each step up the staircase felt heavier than the last, as if the weight of his memories was pressing down on him, threatening to crush him. Every creak of the wood echoed with flashes of Sadie—the way she laughed when he stumbled over his vows, the light in her eyes as she walked toward him on their wedding day, the warmth of her hand in his. With every memory, the ache in his chest grew sharper, a reminder of everything he had lost. By the time he reached the top, his legs felt like lead, and the only thing pulling him forward was the hope that finding Annie might anchor him before the pain drowned him completely.
Flashback 2 – Her First Headlining Concert
The backstage area buzzed with energy—technicians checking sound levels, assistants rushing around with clipboards, and the faint hum of the crowd just beyond the heavy velvet curtains. But in Sadie’s dressing room, the world felt smaller, quieter, except for the sound of her pacing. She moved back and forth across the room, her hands shaking slightly as she wrung them together. Her first headlining tour. The culmination of years of hard work and countless late nights. Tonight was hers, and yet, in this moment, it felt like the weight of it all was too much.
Jordan was lounging on the couch, his arms spread casually across the back, watching her with a mix of awe and amusement. He’d seen her like this before—nervous energy buzzing just beneath the surface, her mind running a mile a minute—but he also knew something else about Sadie Monroe. She always pulled through.
“You’re going to wear a hole in the carpet, babe,” he teased, his lips quirking into a grin as her sharp glare snapped toward him. The expression softened almost immediately, though, her lips curling into a small smile despite herself.
“I’m freaking out, Jordan,” Sadie admitted, her voice trembling slightly. She stopped pacing, turning to him with wide, glassy eyes. “What if I mess up? What if they hate it? What if—”
Jordan was on his feet in an instant, crossing the room in just a few long strides. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. Her head rested against his chest as his hand stroked her hair gently. “Hey. Breathe,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You’re Sadie Williams. You’ve got this.”
She looked up at him, her brown eyes filled with doubt as they searched his for reassurance. “But what if I—”
“Mess up?” he interrupted, a grin spreading across his face.
“Then you keep going. Because that’s what you do. That’s what makes you amazing, Sadie. You turn mistakes into magic.”
Sadie let out a soft laugh, the sound easing some of the tension in the room. “You’re so cheesy.”
“Maybe. But I’m also right,” Jordan countered, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. He tilted her chin up slightly, his thumb grazing her jaw.
“I’m going to be out there, watching you, cheering louder than anyone. Through thick and thin, remember? I’m here. Always.”
Her smile widened, and for a moment, the nerves seemed to fade. “I love you, Jordan Williams.”
“And I love you, Sadie Monroe,” he said, leaning in to press a soft kiss to her lips. “Now, go show them why you’re a star.”
Moments later, Jordan stood just offstage, his phone clutched in one hand as he prepared to record every second of her performance. The roar of the crowd surged as the lights dimmed, the sound reverberating through his chest like thunder. He could see Sadie now, silhouetted by the bright white spotlight as she stepped onto the stage. The energy in the room shifted, an almost electric current running through the air as her presence filled the arena.
The opening notes of her song “Smoke and Fire” began to play, and Jordan’s heart swelled with pride. He couldn’t stop smiling, his voice already hoarse from yelling before she’d even sung a single word.
“THAT’S MY WIFE!” he bellowed, earning amused glances from some of the stagehands nearby. He didn’t care. If anyone deserved to know how proud he was, it was Sadie—and the thousands of people in the audience were just a bonus.
Her voice cut through the noise like velvet, smooth and powerful.
“Oh, oh, our love is running into a burning building…”
As the song unfolded, her voice growing in strength and emotion, Jordan couldn’t help but sway slightly to the rhythm. He sang along under his breath, his eyes never leaving her. He recorded every moment, knowing he’d want to relive this night over and over again. But more than that, he wanted to capture her—this version of Sadie, glowing with confidence and talent, her smile lighting up the stage.
When she reached the bridge of the song, her voice soaring to the crescendo, Jordan let out another deafening cheer. “YOU’RE KILLING IT! THAT’S MY GIRL!” he shouted, waving his arms like an overexcited teenager.
By the time the song ended, the applause was deafening. Sadie stood in the center of the stage, her chest rising and falling with each breath as she looked out at the crowd. For a brief moment, her eyes found his, and she smiled—a real, radiant smile that Jordan would remember for the rest of his life.
He saw her running back to him and he held her – tightly against him before pulling her for a kiss.
“I told you,” he whispered to himself, his voice barely audible over the roar of the audience. “You’re a star, Sadie…. Now go back out there. You have an entire set to do, gorgeous.”
Jordan found Annie in her room, sitting on the floor with her knees pulled to her chest. She wasn’t crying—not visibly, at least—but the stillness around her felt heavy, suffocating. The silence in the room was louder than any sob could have been. She was just there, staring at the floor as if it might somehow give her the answers she needed. His fiery, independent Annie, now swallowed by a quiet that he wasn’t used to seeing from her.
He hesitated at the doorway for a moment, his chest tightening at the sight of her. Then, quietly, he stepped inside and lowered himself to sit beside her, his back against the wall. He didn’t say anything at first, letting the silence sit between them like an uninvited guest.
Finally, his voice broke the stillness, soft but steady. “Annie,” he began, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. She didn’t look at him, but he didn’t need her to. “It’s okay to feel this. To be sad. To feel like the whole world is upside down right now.”
He leaned back against the wall, his head tipping up as he let out a slow, measured breath. “You’ve been through so much—more than anyone should ever have to. And I wish more than anything that I could make it better, that I could take all of this away for you.”
There was a pause, his voice breaking slightly as he continued. “But what I can do… is be here. Right here. Always. You don’t have to carry this alone, Annie. You don’t have to do this without her, or without me.”
Jordan shifted closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. It wasn’t a solution, not even close, but it was something. His embrace was firm yet gentle, a silent promise that he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Whatever you’re feeling—anger, sadness, confusion, all of it—it’s okay. You don’t have to hide it, baby. Not from me.”
He held her there, giving her the space to process, to breathe, to just exist without expectation. In this moment, he didn’t try to fix anything or force words of comfort. Instead, he offered the only thing he could: his presence, unwavering and unconditional.
@novella 
I had this half written for so long i guess it was time to finish it…
@Littlefeets - Jez mentioned for a second
