Always and Forever

by Jerry Cole

  “The fuck,” he hissed as he looked around.

  “I think she’s alone. Maybe you should talk to her,” I suggested as he scowled at his former friend. Keller glanced over to see his mom by the giraffe enclosure and sighed.

  “I’ll be back.” Keller kissed my cheek and strode to the area where Bonnie was standing. I saw the relief wash over her eyes, and then the pain crossed them as he asked her a question and looked around. They took a seat on the bench nearby, and I smiled as I took a sip of my soda.

  “Where’s Keller?” Jill asked as she headed back over.

  “Talking to Bonnie,” I replied quietly as her eyes widened. I gestured toward them, and she sat in a chair to watch for a moment.

  “They were close in school. I think I fed her dinner more times than her mom did. It was nice to see Keller with such a close friend even though I knew that was it. I loved him for who he is, and I always will.” Jill looked down at the ground. “I knew that his relationship with Dom was toxic. They were so off and on for their time together, and Keller was on a roller coaster. It put Bonnie in a bad place because she was close with both.”

  “He knows it isn’t her fault. It just hurts for him.” I gazed at her as she nodded. “I think they’ll work something out.”

  “I’d like that. I want my boy to visit me more though I know how happy he is in Colorado. Evelyn loves him to pieces, and he loves you and vice versa.” She wrapped an arm around my waist. “You and your sister are good people.”

  “Thank you. So are you.” We sat together at the table and made small talk about the sights at the zoo. Mallory joined us and inquired about Keller. I gestured toward him and Bonnie talking, and her eyes widened as she reached for her cup.

  “How old is her baby?” Jill asked, and I sensed that she was dying to find out herself.

  “I think she said she was three, and she’s also pregnant with another.” I smiled as her face lit up.

  “I remember when she married her husband over three years ago. He’s not from the area, but I know she keeps in touch with most of her friends. I wonder if Keller will become one of those.

  “That’s up to him,” I gently reminded Jill as Mallory gave me a wide-eyed gaze.

  “I know, Micah. I’m leaving it to him. I’m just glad they’re talking.” I looked over to see Jill smiling and shaking her head. “Look at you protecting my boy.”

  “Always,” I said lightly as the girls laughed at me. Keller and Bonnie talked for a while until we heard a child crying. Bonnie pushed the stroller toward us and grinned at Jill. She stopped the stroller by our table and gave her daughter a banana and a water bottle.

  Jill hugged her when she was done, and Bonnie introduced Luna. I saw the love in her eyes as she greeted the toddler, who was sitting in her mom’s lap. Keller sat beside me, taking my hand as he watched his mom interact with their former good friend. I knew it didn’t mean that everything was perfect again, but I hoped he’d find some peace.

  We had to leave for the airport and return the car before the flight. Keller handled that while we unloaded our bags, chatting with Jill as she stood on the curb with us. Keller returned, and she hugged him, assuring us that Jim was on his way to pick her up. She cried as she said goodbye to all of us, and it turned Mallory into a weeping mess. Jill promised that she’d visit us soon, and we told Jim goodbye before heading in to get through security.

  We made it on the flight and dropped into the first-class seats wearily. I had one beside Keller, and Mallory was across from us. We closed our eyes until take off when Keller gripped my hand.

  “I feel like there was so much crammed into a couple of days,” I murmured as I squeezed his hand.

  “There was. We need to recoup from it. Let’s take tomorrow off,” Mallory said as I looked over at her. She was moments away from sleep.

  “That sounds perfect,” Keller agreed, and we fell silent as we evened out in the air. It was a short flight, but we dozed the entire time. When we landed, we groggily made our way to get the luggage. My mom picked us up, and we told her all about the trip as we headed home. She told us to get some rest and let her know when we were free for dinner as she stopped outside of the houses.

  “We’ll call you.” Mallory hugged her last before we all headed to bed. We made sure she was inside before taking our luggage into the house and dropping the bags on the floor. We took a hot shower and collapsed into bed without any alarms to wake us up.

  We made love in the morning, taking the time to doze some more in bed when we finished. I loved this time with Keller and appreciated being home again. When we were fully awake, we decided to make breakfast and called Mallory to tell her to come over if she was hungry.

  She walked in as we were plating the food, groggy and grumbling. “Nobody forced you over here,” I told her as she pulled her hair into a messy bun.

  “I slept. I'm just still tired. Lance called this morning and woke me up.” Mallory yawned.

  “Lance? What does he want?” Keller asked as he handed her some coffee. We made three plates of food and sat down to eat as she took a sip of the steaming liquid.

  “I guess to come crawling back. He left a message.” She blinked down at her plate, and I shot Keller a look.

  “I can call him back for you if you want,” I offered, and she stared at me.

  “He’ll know I’m not interested. I’m with Talon now. He probably knows that he’s on tour.” Mallory shrugged and picked up a piece of bacon. “I swear I’m over it.”

  We started to eat, and she focused on her food. We called my family and arranged dinner for the following night before Keller and I went to visit his family. They were well and thrilled to see us, hugging us before sitting down to hear all about the trip. Evelyn glowed when Keller told her that Jill wanted to come and visit.

  We made our way home later that afternoon, taking advantage of the empty house for some time in bed. “I love your sister, but it’s nice to have our place again.” Keller murmured into my chest as he snuggled closer.

  “It is,” I agreed, letting my eyes drop closed. We needed to work in the morning and get back on a schedule. We were waking up in the late afternoon when there was a knock on the door. “Who knocks before calling?” I muttered as I turned to reach for my vibrating phone. “It’s Mal.” We both got up and dressed in shorts before going to the door.

  Mallory was pacing and faced us when Keller answered the door. “Lance called. I finally found out what he wanted.”

  “What?” I asked as she pushed her way inside. We looked at each other, and she headed right to the coffee maker to start a pot.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Keller

  I walked forward and watched as Mallory dumped coffee grounds into the filter and then water. “Are you going to tell us?” Micah asked as I reached for his hand.

  “Well, he’s not with Moira anymore. They never were together but hooked up a few times.” She hit the button to brew the coffee and turned to face us. “That night was as a result of his being drunk and realizing that we were getting serious. He got scared.”

  “Okay. Why do you sound fine with that?” I pressed, and she sighed.

  “I am over it and with Talon now. He came to me as more of a friend since we could always talk. Moira…she was in a car accident, and she’s in a coma.” My mouth dropped open, and she nodded grimly.

  “Holy shit. Is she going to be okay?” Micah asked, and she shrugged slowly.

  “It’s too soon to tell.” She glanced at the coffee pot and sighed. “Lance is upset about a friend that got hurt, and what’s more, he feels guilty.” She drew her lip between her teeth. “Moira was pregnant when the wreck happened. It was his, but they weren’t sure how they felt about it yet.”

  “She isn’t anymore? Pregnant?” I asked, and she nodded. “That’s a lot.” I thought back to how I blocked her, wondering if she reached out to me at all in the time apart. A part of me felt bad, but I needed to support Mallory. She was Micah’s si
ster, and Moira played a large role in hurting her.

  “It is. I don’t feel angry anymore, and he’s devastated. The band is a mess, and everything is in the air. He lost a child, but he hadn’t settled on any feelings about it. He’s torn, and I don’t want to be there too much.”

  Micah noticed that the coffee was ready and moved to pour three cups. We moved to the couch, and she sipped it slowly. “You don’t want him back?” I asked, and she looked at me with wide eyes.

  “No. Never. I just see how he handles stress with female friends. I don’t want to get stuck in that. He wants to come over and talk. We were just on the phone so far.” Mallory shuddered, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s just so sad and awkward all at once.”

  “He can’t change the outcome of anything. I’m sure he knows that. He has his band and other friends to talk to things about, right?” Micah asked, and she nodded.

  “The band isn’t his biggest fan right now. He fought with Moira about the baby before the wreck. She was driving alone on the freeway and probably upset.” Mallory looked at both of us. “He admitted everything to them after it happened, and they’re processing.”

  “I know we’d stick with each other in my band. They can let this simmer and talk when they’re ready.” Micah palmed his cup as he stared at his sister. “I know you’re the one to be there for people when they need you but have some boundaries with this. Talon is a good guy.” Mallory raised a brow at him.

  “I know. I know.”

  “Do you approve of a guy in my life?” Mallory asked, and he chuckled.

  “I’m trying to accept that you’re going to date,” Micah admitted, and I chuckled. “I would not risk anything with Talon to save Lance.”

  “I like the version of my brother in love.” Mallory smiled, and he blushed. “You’re so sweet and almost logical.”

  “Holy shit. Logical?” Micah looked at her in disgust.

  “She has a point.” I shrugged and sipped my coffee. “That was an intelligent comment.”

  “I asked him not to call me. I need time to process this.” She looked at us both. “I kind of want to work a bit and get back into real life. Is that bad?”

  “No. We just finished vacation. It is a great idea,” I assured her as Mallory nodded. Our laptops were still at the table, and I gazed at them as the others followed my gaze.

  “Breakfast?” Micah asked, and we all nodded. We finished our coffee and made omelets and sausages before taking it to the table. Booting up our computers, we ate the food as Mallory picked something on the TV for background noise. She set her phone beside her, staring at it for a moment. “Want me to put it away?”

  “Talon gets a hold of me when he can, so no. I asked Lance to leave me alone.” She stabbed the sausage and chewed slowly.

  We all got back into the usual routine easily once we started working. We were caught up enough on work to not fall behind while on vacation but had projects to start.

  We went to Irene’s for dinner later, enjoying a couple of roast chickens and vegetables. We showed everyone the pictures and told them about our trip. His mom was looking forward to meeting my mom and Jim, asking if they might come for the holidays.

  “I will talk to her about that. I know she wants to see Evelyn and the girls.” I sipped my water and leaned back. I had too much food for dinner and needed a nap.

  “Good. She’s lovely.” Irene looked at her kids. “You got along with her?”

  “We did. This little family is getting bigger.” Mallory grinned, and Rick gazed at his wife.

  “I’ll need to buy a bigger table, won’t I?” His words made her beam at him.

  “We tried to warn you,” Micah told him as Rick dramatically rolled his eyes.

  We moved to the living room as Mallory washed dishes with Irene, chatting about things here. There was a big fire downtown that caused a fatal wreck for two drivers, and it was big news. Rick dealt with it in his commute, and being the good man that he was, stopped to help as much as possible. The deceased mother and daughter would forever remain in his mind. He showed that just talking about it. That’s what I liked about him.

  We were leaving when Mallory’s phone buzzed in the driveway. She glanced down at it, shoving it back into her jeans. We were in the car and pulling on to the main road when she cleared her throat. “They pulled Moira from life support. She’s gone.”

  “Shit,” I breathed in the passenger seat. She was a friend at one time.

  “The band community will stand together for this. I’ll bet there’s already something planned.” Micah turned left to get to our homes.

  “Was that Lance?” I asked, and she confirmed that it was.

  We got home, and she asked if she could come to our house. She didn’t want to sleep alone and suspected that her phone would be blowing up all night. Micah’s already chimed a few times, and we were all in for a long night.

  We slept as much as possible with Mallory taking the guest room and discussed it over work the following morning. There was going to be a concert featuring local bands to raise money for her funeral since Moira was barely making ends meet. Her family had several kids and not a lot of money. She was well-liked, despite her faults and deserved to go out in style.

  The concert was the following weekend at a large indoor theater. Ten bands were playing, and tickets sold out fast. A few local places were donating food, drinks, and other things to take care of the crowd. It was a big deal and fell together seamlessly, so it seemed.

  Moira’s band was present to watch and mingle with the crowd. Talon came back for the weekend with his band to support them and entered holding Mallory’s hand. Lance glanced over and frowned before looking down at the ground.

  “Get over it. She has a better man,” Micah grumbled beside me as I glanced over.

  “Dude. He’s hurting.” I slipped an arm around him, and he chuckled.

  “He hurt Mallory first. Just saying.” We made our way to the entrance to the stage, and Micah turned to face me. “I love you.”

  “I love you.” He pecked my lips and headed back to talk to everyone, and I glanced around. There was a bar to the left and several food trucks, and I scanned them slowly.

  “Hungry?” Mallory chirped beside me. I looked at her, and she gestured toward the same door where I just kissed Micah. “Talon went back to get ready.”

  “What’s good?” I asked her as I looked back at the food.

  “The grilled cheese for a main dish and garlic fries for the side. The funnel cakes rock, too.” I laughed and looked at her.

  “Where do you put it all?”

  “I don’t always eat like that. I work too much to do so, and I walk. I guess I have a good metabolism. So does my brother.” I blushed, and she smiled. “You’ve noticed.”

  “Just a little.” We headed over to the row of trucks and placed our orders, waiting in the crowd of people. “Good crowd.”

  “It is, but the music scene is tight here. We help each other out. I mean, they do. I connect myself with Micah too much sometimes.” Mallory laughed and shook her head.

  “You’ve lived it along with him. You’re dating a guitarist and have before.” I reminded her as she shrugged.

  “We have always loved music as a family. It’s just something I need.” She glanced around and smiled. “This makes me love it more.”

  We got our food and found a table at the edge of the field. I took a bite of the sandwich and nodded. “You’re right. This is amazing.”

  “Told you.” We ate and checked out the growing crowd before throwing the trash away. I walked into the historic building, and we took seats to watch the concert. Moira’s band sat at the front, all looking somber.

  “Do you think they’ll stay together and get a new singer?” I asked as she looked over.

  “I don’t know. They were going somewhere, so maybe. That can be an awkward thing.” Mallory frowned, and I sensed that she was thinking about Linger Longer. Would they continue of something h
appened to Micah?

  The idea made ice wash through my veins. I leaned forward to catch my breath, and she touched my shoulder. I heard her ask if I was okay as I pressed my hands to my face.

  “Keller. What’s wrong?” Mallory asked as the scary side of love hit me in the gut.

  “Nothing. I was just thinking about something.” I breathed in, longing for fresh air as I leaned back.

  “I think I know what it was. I was thinking of it as well.” I looked at her, and she looked pale. “What if?”

  “I can’t think about it,” I told her, gripping her hand.

  The music was great when the show started, but I couldn’t help but think about the reason we were all here. The tickets sold out, and a lot of money earned, most of which went to Moira’s family. There was going to be a large public funeral with a smaller wake followed by a private family burial. This would fund all of that.

  We took breaks in between the bands and sat down when Linger Longer played last. I watched as Micah took the stage and asked everyone how they were doing. He had intrigue and charisma in spades, and I licked my lips.

  This was my man.

  “Asshole. What does he even think he’s doing?” Mallory muttered as I gazed at her.

  “Micah?”

  “No. His ex. Look at that.” Mallory shook her head as I glanced over to see Trey standing with a group of friends with his hungry eyes on my boyfriend. Something raged inside of me, then I reminded myself that I was with Micah. I settled back and let my eyes drift back to the man singing, who was looking sexy as hell. I moved in my seat, and Mallory stood, pulling me up to the crowd in front of the stage. We danced and I met Micah's smile as he reached out to touch me. We were that close.

  The night improved from there. We danced through the entire set, and Micah thanked the crowd for their support for Moira. Everyone cheered, and I felt the adrenaline rush through me before looking at Moira’s family. They were crying, and I frowned as I watched for a moment. I never wanted to be in their position.