by Eden O'Neill
After today, he’d begin his life.
*
That mindset traveled with me throughout the day, the freedom and ability to begin one’s life. I’d felt restricted and bound for so long by my own mental battles. They’d been powerful, and in the thick of it, I wasn’t sure if I’d come out the victor. It took coming here to this town to change things for me, and oddly enough, the love of a guy to only strengthen my own victory. Royal inspired me so much, how someone could go through so much pain to not only defeat his obstacles but rise above them. Mr. Prinze had been the most powerful member of the Court, the president I found out. There were some very high-ranking officials, but an emergency vote lifted the youngest president ever named in Court history up the ranks. Royal was now president of his prestigious Court, and what did that mean for the town?
Well, unity.
That could be seen at the graduation after-party, held at none other than Windsor House, and no one had been left out. Anyone and from every walk of life was allowed in, and the House was filled to the brim with Court boys, Kept girls, and the rest of the town. Those labels felt so weird now, so much had changed. Even those final weeks of school were totally blended, Court boys sitting with nerds and jocks hanging out with chess club geeks. People didn’t care about their labels. They were just being themselves, and how awesome that I could to be a part of that.
I thought about that as I mingled and chatted with some of my friends. I knew it might be a very long time before I ever saw them again. We were all going to go our separate ways after this, some college, some jobs, and other things. Today might be our last day, but all I could think was that my sister did all this. My sister brought us all together. What happened to her was truly horrific and something I may never get over. No, I wouldn’t ever get over it. The pain was deep, and though I may never truly heal, I couldn’t deny this moment and the warm thoughts that came with it. What happened to my sister brought an entire town together and provided a strength in me I never thought I knew.
“You hiding, ’Zona?”
I smiled before turning to find another friend, someone who’d greatly been affected by the darkness in this town too. Ramses’s dad had been one of those indicted amongst those with crimes against my sister. As it turned out, Principal Hastings went to his brother, the mayor, for help after the murder. He needed to know what to do and all of that came out at the trial. Mayor Mallick not only helped him, but was the one who went to Mr. Prinze for aid. Mayor Mallick knew Mr. Prinze would have interest because of Royal and the reason Paige was out there. He’d used that to rope Mr. Prinze in all this madness.
I think maybe the mayor knew things would implode the way they did, though. He’d been taking Ramses away, spending so much time with him. I was so happy Ramses even came out to party tonight. He opted out of the graduation entirely, keeping more to himself these days, and no one would blame him. He’d been through just as much as all of us.
My friend had found me out on the balcony, and I hugged him, the embrace so familiar. He was so warm, big and all-encompassing. In another life, we may have been together. He really was perfect, but I guess for someone else.
Ramses didn’t let go of me at first, but not because he didn’t try. I hadn’t let go of him, knowing he was going to go away soon. He had plans to go to college on the East Coast, as far away on one side of the country as he could.
“Jesus, ’Zona. You trying to meld your way into me?” He chuckled.
If I could. I’d miss him so much. At least Birdie, Shakira, Kiki, and I had the entire summer together. He was leaving like next week.
I let go, then wrestled in his wild curls. “I’ll just miss you is all.”
“I’ll miss you too.” He held on to my hips, his smile full, genuine. It was one of the things I loved about him. If he wasn’t happy, he didn’t bullshit. He tugged my hair. “You can always come out and see me, you know? I’ll pay for the ticket.”
“Mallick, how many times do I need to tell you to keep your hands off my girl?”
Ramses rolled his eyes, but did let go of me. He threw an arm around my shoulders. “‘Your girl’ can’t keep her hands off me, bro,” he said, squeezing me. “I guess I don’t blame her. I am pretty awesome.”
From the balcony doors, Royal rushed like a juggernaut in our direction, but honestly, he didn’t have the need. Jumping, I tackled Ramses myself, jabbing him over and over again in the side even if I didn’t put much force in it.
“Take. That. Back.” I laughed, now giving him a noogie which probably looked fucking hilarious considering his size versus mine. I messed up his hair and everything, and chuckling, he grabbed my hands.
“Get her off me, Prinze,” Ramses urged, but Royal simply stood there.
He braced his arms over his chest. He’d worn a suit under that graduation cap and gown, looking fine as hell. He grinned. “I mean, if she wants to keep putting her hands on you, who am I to stop her?”
Ramses frowned, wresting my arms behind my back. “Bastard.”
The humor left Royal’s green eyes, but I worked my arms out and got between the boys. I firmly believed they’d still kill each other even after all we’d been through, but gratefully, Royal’s boys backed me up.
“All right. All right. Party’s over,” LJ stated, joining us on the balcony. The tall blond cleaned up too, and though his suit wasn’t as fancy as Royal’s or even Ramses’s, he still looked good. All the Court boys did, Jax with his buzzed hair and Knight behind him. The flurry of boys crowded this small overlook that gave views of Windsor House’s gardens and man-made lake.
Knight leaned back against the banister. “I say let them fight. My money is on Mallick.”
Royal shot him a look. “What the fuck?”
Knight raised a shoulder, grinning. “What? The motherfucker’s squirrelly. Let’s see what he’s got.”
Royal lifted blond eyebrows before easing me away from Ramses. He took Ramses’s place in the end, being all possessive and caveman-like when he snaked his arm around my waist. “Need I remind you all I kicked the dude’s ass before?”
Ramses barked a laugh. “Hardly. I gave you that black eye, bro.”
“Want to try it again?” Royal growled, but came back when I jerked him.
I placed a hand on his chest. “No one is kicking anyone’s ass unless it’s Jax’s for that tie,” I said, pointing at Jax. Dude actually had Snoopy on it.
Jax smoothed his tie down. “Okay, I sense some discrimination here, so I’m just going to bow out of here.”
But the boys didn’t let him, all of them tackling him. Even Ramses. A dude circle mock-pounded on each other with me in the middle, but I didn’t bother stopping it this time. I got too much joy seeing those who used to be enemies come together again. If only Paige could see.
Eventually, they did break it up, and eventually, I got one of my best friends and my boyfriend at opposite corners. The party wasn’t nearly as lively after that but still fun. I stayed to the end, and even my dad and Aunt Celeste stayed for most of the graduation party too.
I got a hug from them both, Rosanna as well because she came. Dad made me promise to come home at a decent time because he had a graduation present for me when I got there. He decided not to sell the house after all, since things seemed better and Aunt Celeste was even making a permanent switch to come out and live with us. We’d all be under the same roof since I decided to stay there too while going to community college in the fall.
“Any idea what my dad’s gift might be?” I asked Royal later that night. We didn’t need to stay and clean up. Obviously, Windsor House had staff for that, but the pair of us did. I think it helped us both mellow down.
Royal trashed a red Solo cup, his lips twisted in a grin. “What makes you think I’d know anything about that?”
Approaching, I snaked my arms around his waist. I shrugged. “I don’t know, because I’ve been seeing you two whispering about something.”
Like seriously, all th
e damn time now. I even caught them watching sports together on Monday nights. WTF.
Dropping his trash, Royal brought big arms around me. “Well, it’s supposed to be a surprise.”
“And it’s clearly not now. So…”
He touched his mouth to mine, smiling. “It’s a ski trip. To my family’s cabin, which is why he brought me in on it. I’m loaning it to him for use. He invited me to go too.”
“Well, that was really nice of you.”
“It’s the least I could do, right? I mean, he might not have any daughters if it wasn’t for me.”
He said that very seriously, and that saddened me. He was still taking responsibility for things that weren’t his fault.
“You’re going to promise me something, okay?” I stated, lacing our fingers together. “You’re not going to punish yourself for things you have no control over anymore. It’s not healthy.”
And could be the very thing that may get in between us. He’d have no more room for anyone else, least of all me if he couldn’t handle his guilt.
Sitting down on a folding chair, Royal took me with him, staring up at me with those beautiful eyes. I’d never get over seeing myself in them, all that warmth, all that love. He hugged me tight. “I love you, Em. I love you always.”
Like everything else he said, I knew he meant that too.
I brought my arms around him. “I love you always.”
We’d need that, both of us. We’d have a long way to go for healing after all this, and when he was weak, I’d be strong and vice versa. We’d be each other’s rocks.
Silently, I thanked my sister for something else, letting him kiss me and sinking into it. I never would have found him if it wasn’t for her.
I just wished she could have been here to see it.
Epilogue
Two Years Later
Royal
“Why does it look like these floors aren’t vacuumed?”
December and I gazed up from the box of her stuff we’d been unpacking. How in fuck’s sake a girl had so much shit I had no idea, but I’d moved at least three suitcases of her stuff up three fucking flights of stairs.
God only knows how my girlfriend decided to pick a college dorm without a damn elevator.
That’d been her choice, though, and I went with it as with most things when it came to her. I’d really become nothing but a pushover, but I couldn’t help it. I enjoyed making her happy, but who was not happy was Mr. Lindquist who currently stressed the fuck out about the state of her dorm room floors. He currently paced over the hardwood, his hand in his pocket.
He tugged his phone out with a frown. “I’m going to make a call. This is unacceptable. How do they expect kids to get off to a good start if their rooms are filthy?”
I, particularly, wouldn’t consider one of the top schools in the state filthy, but to each his own.
And Em thought I was anal.
I just liked my stuff a certain way, and sighing, December got up from her new bed and wiggled her little ass over to her dad by the door. Reaching back into her suitcase to pull out more stuff, I tried to keep it from being obvious I was checking out the goods in front of her dad.
But oh, would I be hitting that later.
Especially after the little surprise I planned to tell her after her dad and aunt finally left us. Good luck ever getting a moment alone with my girlfriend when I came back into town. I’d been flying private jets for a little over a year now, working mostly for the government. The hardest part had been the clearances once I got out of flight school. I’d been flying since I was sixteen and had no problems with my certifications.
So much had changed, more time away from my girlfriend than I would’ve liked. I didn’t get to see her a lot since I’d been working so much, but all that was about to change…
That was if I could get her alone.
“Dad, it’s fine,” she stressed, pleading with Mr. Lindquist with that little pout thing she did. It never ceased to work its magic on me. She frowned hard. “I brought a vacuum. I can take care of it.”
Clearly unsatisfied with that, Mr. Lindquist started dialing, and beside him was December’s aunt Celeste. Together, niece and aunt rolled their eyes, and when Celeste passed me a wink, I knew she was about to do me a solid and get Mr. Lindquist the hell out of here. We’d talked about this, and she knew my plans for December’s surprise.
Celeste placed her hands on Mr. Lindquist’s shoulders, directing him out of the room. “Come on, Rowan. Let’s go talk to the administration. I’m sure they could help with the issue.”
Celeste had always been on my team, and it’d been her to actually get Mr. Lindquist to kind of like me over the years. She’d officially moved to Maywood Heights the summer of December’s and my graduation and had a nice place next door to Mr. Lindquist’s. December and I always seemed to find our way over there while she’d been attending community college. Her aunt Celeste loved to cook and stuff.
“Good idea,” Mr. Lindquist grumbled, huffing before bringing December over. Giving her a hug, he told her he’d straighten this out before leaving, and I’d never get over how close the two had gotten. Somewhere along the way with everything that happened with Paige, Mr. Lindquist had turned into the father Paige had always wished she had. I was happy at least December got to have that. We didn’t all have great dads, and I hadn’t seen mine since his ass went off to prison. That day he’d finally admitted to what he’d done to my best friend, he’d died, and as far as I was concerned, I was an orphan. I liked it that way, all I already had in my life more than enough.
Popping up, I grabbed December by the hips, making her squeal when I pulled her into me. We fell on her bed, and she was a sea of giggles, the sound nothing short of heaven to my ears. I could go to peaceful sleep with her voice and had so many times.
I twisted strands of hair so dark they nearly shined raven black, umber wisps I’d never get enough of touching.
“Reach into my pocket,” I told her, snuggling up on her, and she eyed me.
“What will I find if I do?” she asked, her lips humming against mine, and I chuckled. She wouldn’t find that, at least not now. Holding her close, I directed her to reach for the back one, and out of the pocket, she got a letter. I gave her some distance to read it, and I couldn’t explain the feeling I got as I watched her expression change. It shifted from surprise, to joy, and then sheer elation.
“Are you serious?” she asked, and I nodded at her, totally serious. Her lips parted. “But you’re flying… You love flying.”
I did, but I wanted to be closer to her. That was the beauty of having money, the one good thing from my dad. I could do anything I wanted with my life, getting my degree amongst them.
I slid my acceptance letter to this very school out of her hand. “I wouldn’t cramp your style being here?”
Perhaps she wanted more freedom, to have some time and enjoy school without the boyfriend hovering over her. I wouldn’t love that, but I’d respect it. I’d give her anything, and sliding her arms around my neck, she pressed her lips to mine.
“I’ve missed you so much,” she said, making that solid muscle in my chest start again. I thought it was dead for a long time, only fleeting beats of happiness here and there. It had gotten to the point where I only got it to work in the past when I’d been around Paige and the guys, and flying. But since Em came into my life, I couldn’t seem to make it not start beating.
“We get to go to college together? Really?” she asked me. She transferred here to start her junior year, and though I’d be coming in as a freshman, we would be going to school together. I planned to max out my course load each semester as well as take summer classes and could easily shave off a year as long as I worked hard. I had no problem doing that.
“We do,” I said, another surprise I planned to share with her soon. She thought she couldn’t bring her dog Hershey to college with her, the pup staying home with her dad. But not only had I already secured my own place, her
dad gave me permission to have Hershey come stay with me so she’d be closer to December. Of course, as long as December didn’t mind that. I hugged her. “And we can have more too if you want that.”
Her eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’m going to fucking marry you.” I grabbed her, making her giggle again. “And the where and when will be a lot easier if we’re in the same hemisphere.”
I’d flown all around the world for my job, had so many experiences already and in such little time. But one experience I really wanted was back home.
“Please, dear God, tell me that wasn’t your proposal,” she teased, and I shifted her on her back.
“Oh, you’ll get that later.” I mouthed the words against her neck, making her sigh. “Don’t you worry about that.”
In fact, the guys had flown in today just for it. Everyone but Knight since he actually already went to school at this university. The other two, Jax and LJ had been in other parts of the country pursuing their various educations, but when I’d asked them all to be here for a special proposal, they’d dropped everything they were doing. Knight, Jax, and LJ were no doubt stuffing their faces somewhere in the college cafeteria, on standby for our dinner tonight. I’d planned a big one and even gotten her dad’s permission with the caveat we wouldn’t actually tie the knot until she finished school. He was level-headed like that, and I’d have given him anything he wanted to have his daughter. I had a feeling though my girl may be the one in the end to fight that agreement once she found out about it. We’d see.
I had a lot of losses in my life, so many in fact, and if I wanted something, I refused to not take it. Life could be fleeting, the moments the same, but what wasn’t was my love for this girl and her sister. Between December and me, Paige would always live on. She’d always be there and never would be forgotten because of me, because of December. I didn’t do the forgetting thing anymore.
