the setup

01

the sun was warm today which was more than unlikely since it was the middle of winter in new york, but sasha wasn't complaining. yes, today was a sad, sad day, but she couldn't help but wonder if her sister was the light that was shining down on her today.

she was turning onto the freeway as she did hundreds of times before. sasha was what everyone referred to as a tame driver. she was always humming to her music and barely ever got road rage. she checked her mirrors before switching lanes when she felt the heavy collision of a car hitting hers.

she groaned in pain as she held her neck before pulling off to the side of the road. she didn't know whether it was the fact that today was the saddest day of her life or that she was genuinely hurt, but she cried.

sasha had not let herself cry since she lost her scholarship in university four years ago. she was four years, tear free, but today she broke that streak. she rested her head on the steering wheel, taking a deep breath when she heard a knock on the window.

"i am so sorry!" she heard through the glass window. she rolled her eyes, rolling down the window. she evaluated the man in front of her. he wore a navy blue suit with a black tie and had his hair slicked back into a bun with a tan trench coat draping towards the floor. he had a pair of sunglasses in his hand as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "please, don't sue me!"

"sue you?" she asked with another eye roll. she hated these wallstreet businessmen who felt like they were top dog just because they played dirty. every man who worked in the trading industry dressed and acted exactly like the man standing in front of her, expect for her best friend since birth; roman reigns.

"you don't know who i am?" he asked with a shocked expression. he was always getting recognized from his ads in the Times and his face on benches. he was a real estate lawyer, the best in the city.

"why would i?" she scoffed. her peaceful morning on a sad day was officially ruined. "look, i've got places to be, i promise, i don't care enough to sue you." she said before pulling off of the side of the road and back on her way.

it took her longer than she had anticipated to reach the church, she was never late. roman waited at the door to greet her, like she knew he would.

"dude, what happened to your car?"

"some douche hit me." she said as she pulled her purse over her shoulder. roman's face grew in worry. "don't get sentimental on me, i'm fine." he sighed, giving her a nod and a pit grew in her stomach.

she was being mean. on all days too, sure it was her sister's funeral, but she was roman's sister too. sasha's parents adopted roman when he was only a year old. sasha is one year younger than him while ryland is three years older than him.

was years older than him. she held out her hand for him to take and they walked inside with their heads slightly down to the floor. they weren't ashamed or anything, more scared.

sasha swore to herself, she would not look at her sister's lifeless body because that's not what ryland would want her to see.

ever.

it was a closed casket, thank god. sasha and roman said side by side while she laid her head on his shoulder. they were the only two left. their parents had died earlier this year and now right before christmas, ryland took her own life.

a tear hit sasha's forehead and only then did she realize how much this entire situation was probably effecting her brother. she turned and embraced him in a hug as the reverend said a prayer, beginning the ceremony.

"where's charlotte?"

"she's at home, she couldn't do this." he said and sasha nodded. she took both his hands, starring up into his red puffy eyes.

"we'll get through this," she said sternly and he nodded as more tears left his blue eyes. "together." she said giving his hands a squeeze. roman always had a big heart and when he loved, he loved hard, so he was taking this harder than she could even fathom. he leaned into her shoulder and she held her brother up because she was never going to let him go through this alone.

"i love you, okay?" he muffled into her shoulder as she rubbed his back in circles. she nodded as her eyes grew wet themselves.

"i love you too, ro." she said as the church yard grew quieter and quieter. the two of them stood in the ironically happy green field, crying. sasha never wanted to go through this ever again. she would never leave his side and she knew he wouldn't either.

"let's get you home." he said, pulling away from her taking a deep breath. she nodded and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"i can get home alone, you know?"

"are you sure you can reach the petals?" he teased making her poke his ribs, he yelped making her laugh. just like that, she started to believe that things could possibly get better.

"i'll race you!" she said grabbing her heels and darting off towards the car. roman cursed, running after to her. "i love you, ryland!" she yelled before opening the car door.

"i'll miss you." she mumbled under her breath before they took off towards her house.

a/n new story and i am SO excited for you all to see what i have in store for this one ajajsj