Up In Flames (BWWM)

Chapter Ten

“It was a lovely service.”

If he had to hear one more fûcking person tell him about what a beautiful eulogy he gave or how much she would’ve loved the flowers Daniel is going to scream. From the looks of it his brother isn’t far from it, holding his children’s hands as they cry quietly together.

Daniel wasn’t sure why he had gotten the mysterious text from Aria to meet her that day but he for damn sure wasn’t expecting to see his brother there also. When she didn’t show up on time they joked about her “parent trapping” them to break the ice. It wasn’t until the owner of the Deli turned on the news that they knew why she hadn’t arrived. Battered and bruised, hit by oncoming traffic, and then burned alive from a gas leak. To think of his beloved that way still made his heart squeeze.

He can’t help but think of the last time he saw her. So full of life and joy. He had taken her and the kids to an indoor skating rink. She fell over and over, swearing at him for making her try the damned activity but she never stopped smiling. They stole kisses when no one was looking, feeling like a pair of teenaged lovers.

To think that weeks later he would be watching her be lowered into the ground was impossible, but it happened. His love was gone, the one person who made waking up worth it. He caught a stray tear before it fell, trying to keep up appearances. Fire burned in his chest, that’s all he ever did. He kept up appearances for years as he pinned away for the woman of his dreams in secret, letting his prick of a brother use and abuse her all because ‘it wasn’t his place.’ He allowed her to run to him when she needed comfort, love, a concerned voice rather than an angry one. He was the one who loved her and deserved to be with her, deserved all of her time and love and devotion, not him. The more he thinks about it the angrier he gets, making him decide right then and there that appearances can fûck off.   

Storming over to his brother he nudges the man talking to him out of the way before drawing back and landing a right jab to his brother’s nose. David holds his nose and screams out, his vision blurry, too blurry to see the left hook his brother throws at his stomach next.

“Daddy!” his daughter screams out.

In that moment David gathers his wits. He may not be the best fighter in the world but he’ll be damned if he gets his ass whooped by his own twin in front of his children. Daniel flies in his direction looking to tackle him to which David lands a swift kick to Dan’s gut, making him fly back into the table of refreshments behind him. Without thinking he runs over and gets on top of him landing a punch for every transgression he’s ever committed.

One for sleeping with his wife, another for continuing the affair, another for betraying his trust, soon he loses count or reason for the punches other than the pure release he feels from finally hitting something. He doesn’t even mind when his brother regains control and sends punches his way, he just wants to feel something again.

How could he go from joking with his brother about Aria playing a trick on them to them finding out she’s dead from the news. He called her phone over and over only to get sent to voicemail each time. Thinking of the last time they saw each other she finally told him she loved him. Not with words but with her body. She made love to him slow and steady, not the rough passionate sex they’re used to. He doubts if she even realized what she did herself.  

His brother’s swings slow and his body shudders with loud sobs. It’s in that moment he realizes what this moment was. These were the actions of a man, a much better one than him, who’s filled with grief over the woman he loved. A woman who may not have belonged to him by law but by body and soul she was his and he was hers. Tears start to flow from his own eyes at the realization that Aria belonged to them both in so many ways. She was everything to them both and now they have no one but each other.

In that moment David does something he hasn’t done in years, he hugs his brother. He hugs him and his brother hugs him back as they cry together, loud, uninhibited, unregretful sobs. Four little hands clasp around the brothers and they open their eyes to see the twins holding them, joining in on the crying with silent tears.

Daniel looks at his brother with new eyes and for the first time he sees the true sadness there.

“We’ll get through this brother,” he says, placing his forehead against the one identical to his own.

Bloodied and disheveled the brothers help each other up, smirking lightly at the strange looks the guests of the wake give them, for the first time not giving a damn about appearances. Each brother takes the hand of one of the twins and they walk out together.

*

With Aria gone it has been hard work raising the twins but Dave and Dan have never left each other’s side. Moving into a house together they’ve been raising Gracie and Bentley. Since their fight at the wake they’ve been closer than ever. The fight was more than that. For them it was a way to let all barriers down, a way to get everything out in the open and start fresh, no animosity, no anger, just brotherly love. They both feel as if they have their best friend back and most of all their brother, their twin. Nothing is stronger than their bond and they’re raising the twins to feel the same way about one another.

It does get hard when they miss her or when Gracie and Bentley do but they pull out the old family albums and reminisce on better times until they feel better.  Dave and Dan can both honestly say they’ll never find another love like Aria but they don’t want to. They’re perfectly content with her memory for now. They’ve allowed the memory and their love for the woman that drove them apart, bring them back together. And for now, that’s enough.

THE END

*********

What’s up good people!!!

I know this ending may be shocking/upsetting to some but in my slump to figure out an ending this is the only one that made me happy. I normally don't/won't explain my endings but I'll make an exception here.

I wanted to end Arias story in a place where she had finally come to terms with the fact that she loved them both, it's a fact that she's been fighting through both books and it's something I wanted to be resolved. Although having her die would affect her children, at the end of the day they still ended up getting a family unit and they would grow up seeing something they would need to rely on in the future, a strong bond between twins.

As far as why I killed Aria off it was a no-brainer to me.  Neither Dan nor Dave would've let her go and she wasn't going to let them go either. I let her have her fun with both guys for fans of each (Dave's my fav this book tbh) but she couldn't keep that up forever, that's no way to make a life. It had to end and when it did there would be three unsatisfied people. One of the brothers would lose the other and because of that Aria would in a sense lose them both.

I hope yall aren't too mad at me for knocking her off but IMO it had to be done.

This will be the last book in this series. But not the last you’ve heard of me of course! I’m aiming to have Awake finished within the month or at the latest February and then you can head on over to my book Revenge!

I never thought I would write a sequel to Our Little Secret and it surprised me that people wanted it. I’m so thankful to everyone who has read both books or one or any of my other stories. My success so far on Wattpad blows my mind every single day and I wouldn’t have any of it without my lovely readers! So THANK YOU!!!

Until Next Time,

WBN