Arranged love

GRAVE

I wrap my arms around her, pulling her into me. I inhale her scent and let out a long breath. She pulls away first and gestures to my car. “I thought you would like to drive it.” And then hands me the keys.

Taking them from her, I walk over to the car and open up the passenger door for her. She thanks me and slides inside. I close the door and make my way to the driver’s side.

“I hope you weren’t disappointed that Titan wasn’t the one who picked you up,” she says softly, looking down at her hands knotted in her lap.

“April.” I reach over and cup her face, lifting her chin so she has to look over at me. Those ice blue eyes that I see every time I close mine, stare at me. They’re swimming in unshed tears. I’m not sure if they’re tears of joy, sadness, or regret. I hate that I can’t read her right now.

I move in closer to her, leaning over the center console. Her breath hitches when her eyes drop to my lips. I go to kiss her when her cell starts to ring. I pull away and start up the car as she answers it.

“Hello?” she answers, her voice shaking. She clears her throat and tries again as I pull out of the parking lot. “Hello?”

I sit back in the seat, letting my shoulders relax. I didn’t expect her to be the one standing outside of Harbor Heights, but she was the one I wanted.

“Yeah, we’re on our way,” she speaks.

My left hand grips the steering wheel while my hold tightens on the gear shift.

“Okay, I’ll let him know.” She hangs up. “That was Titan. He has your suit at the church.”

A silence falls over the car and I want to ask her a million questions at once. I want to kiss her for hours. Hold her for days and love her until I die. I have to earn that privilege. I have to show her what she means to me.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

“I …” She gets cut off as her phone goes off again. “I’m so sorry.” She sighs, picking it up.

“Don’t be sorry,” I tell her, giving her a quick side-eye.

“It’s Jasmine, the girls …”

“It’s a big day for Emilee,” I say with a nod. “I’m sure they’re wondering where you are.” I’m not sure if they know that she was going to pick me up or not. But I can only imagine they’re either drunk or on their way to it. Starting the celebration early. The wedding is in two hours. “We can talk afterward.” I don’t have to be back until eight tonight. And I only plan on dedicating a few hours of my day to this wedding of the year. The rest will be with her.

_______________

The moment we arrived at the chapel, we got separated. She went to go get dressed and have her hair done. I was shoved down a long hall and into a room where a tux was hanging in a garment bag that had my name on it.

I’m sitting in the corner high-back chair tying my shoes when the door opens. I look up to see Titan enter. “Hey.” I stand.

He immediately opens his arms and walks over to me, pulling me in for a man hug with a slap on the back. When he pulls back, he keeps his hands on my shoulders. “You look great.” He smiles at me.

“You sound surprised,” I joke.

He pulls away and runs a hand down his freshly shaven face. “It could have gone either way.”

I laugh because we both know that’s true. I was either going to rot in that place or decide that I needed to change who I was and what I wanted out of life. April is the new me. The future that I want. What I never even knew could possibly exist.

His face goes serious and he lets out a long breath. “Seriously, Grave. You look great.” His eyes roam over my face. “Decided to leave the piercings out?”

I nod. “Yeah.”

He grips my face. “Makes you look like a baby.”

The guys always joked that I had a baby face. We both begin to laugh, and the door opens. I immediately stop and clear my throat when I see my brother enter.

Titan looks over at him. “Once you’re done, meet me at the altar,” he tells me.

I nod. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

He turns and exits, not saying another word. Bones closes the door once he’s gone and faces me. He doesn’t say anything. He just stands there with his arms crossed over his chest and his usual scowl on his face.

I bow my head, fixing my suit jacket, unable to meet his eyes. “You can save the big brother speech. You can’t tell me anything that I don’t already know.” I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed of the things I’ve done.

He remains silent.

I keep my eyes down and start to walk to the door, ready to get this over with, but at the last minute he grabs my upper arm and brings me to a stop. My eyes snap up to look at him. “Bones …”

“You’re wrong,” he says. “There’s something that I can tell you that you don’t already know.”

My first thought is April. She’s found someone else. Five weeks without someone is a long time. She’s moved on. Found someone to treat her the way she deserves.

He places both of his hands on either side of my face, pulling me closer to him. I watch his hard blue eyes soften and I hold my breath, preparing for the worst.

“You know, we both lost a mother,” he starts, and a knot instantly forms in my throat. “But you know what else I lost?” I don’t answer. “A brother. A best friend.” I swallow. “I lost you the day that we buried Mom. And I’ve been losing you every day since to your addiction.”

He’s right. I’ve pushed everyone away, even April. And I need to be a man and take responsibility of my mistakes. “I’m sorry,” I choke out.

“No.” He grips my shoulders tighter. “I’m sorry I let you down. But I won’t do it again.”

I sniff and he pulls me in for a hug.

“I’m so proud of you,” he whispers. “And Mom would be proud of you.”

My throat tightens at his words.

“I …” He clears his throat. “I didn’t realize until this morning that I was your biggest problem …”

I pull away quickly, frowning. “No.”

“I let you go too far.”

I sigh. “You couldn’t have stopped me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” he argues. “I realize I failed you in the worst way a brother could fail. But I promise you, Kyle. I will not fail you again. Do you understand me?”

I nod once, my throat tightening, unable to form a word.

“I love you,” he says.

I can’t even remember the last time my brother said those words to me. After Mom passed, the words just weren’t spoken in our house. I didn’t realize how much I missed them.

“I love you, Kyle. And that woman out there.” He pauses and my chest tightens. Here it comes. The blow that’s gonna bring me to my knees. “That woman carrying your child loves you too. And it took her to make me see that together, we can overcome anything.”

I let out a shaky breath. “I was afraid you were going to tell me her boyfriend was here, and you were going to kill him for me.”

He pulls away laughing. “She’s not going anywhere. For some reason she wants to stick around. Could be because you knocked her up.”

My mouth falls open. “Did Dillan Reed, a. k. a. Bones, just make a joke?”

He shrugs. “You’re not the only Reed who can make people laugh.”

“There are hundreds of people who will disagree with you.”

And just like that, I feel a weight lifted off my shoulders. A cloud that no longer hovers over me. I feel twenty pounds lighter. Forgiveness and love are more powerful than any drug you can take.

I’ve always had a death wish, but for once I have something to live for.