Forever Yours

Chapter 26: Marcus Mitchell

I had been feeling sick to my stomach for the past week. Evan and I couldn't get much done at work thinking about it. Darrius and Caleb's wedding has been put on standby and Caleb's overwhelming anxiety has tenfold to the point that he missed a week of classes. Chris and Harry decided to take a week off work and everyone except me, has been staying with them until everything blows over.

Tonight, I was going over there to spend time with everyone. The guys had invited the others and they were all oblivious to what was going on. Kevin agreed to come too before I broke down and told him. Now, I didn't know if he still wanted to.

"I don't know if I know the answer to this but," I softly spoke, "do you still want to come tonight?"

"Of course!" He didn't even think about it, "I don't know what is going down tomorrow. I don't want to regret not seeing you guys before it happens."

I wanted to say something but his fear was justified. Quite honestly...I was afraid too. I had caused everything and if I made it worse by trusting Deonte, I was for sure not going to be able to live with myself. I just smiled at his sly hint of his own fear and we got ready to go.

**

Upon arrival, I was met with loud early 2000s music playing. The house smelled just like Evan's homemade lasagna and garlic bread. The other guys were already here, enjoying their time. We walked into the house being greeted by seeing Tre and Gerald doing the chicken noodle soup dance as the rest of the guys tried to even remember. Harry and Caleb were just looking before another song came on and Darrius yelled out, "I want to dance with my husband."

My brother pulled his fiancée off the couch as Justin Timberlake's Until the End of Time played. My heart swelled as everyone groaned comically at their sweet moment and Tre said, "Can y'all wait until your wedding for all that mushy stuff?"

Caleb's stiffens but Darrius quickly kisses him and they continued to sway. Ever since he was told about the plan, Caleb couldn't stop worrying about my brother. He just wanted him to get out of the plan safe and instead of worrying about what I would do, I was also worried about how he would take it. However, Darrius has been phenomenal at keeping him sane because anytime he showed a hint of uncertainty, he was always there to give him kisses and show his love.

Kevin leaves my side to go sit on the couch with Johnny as I walked back towards the kitchen. Gabe was "helping" Chris setup the table by trying to get to the cake placed in the middle. Chris waved at me after pulling him off the seat after probably doing it multiple times today. I could only imagine Chris as a dad with his own kid as Gabe laughed in his arms.

Everything was pretty normal. If the guys knew why they were actually all invited here, this whole house would be in chaos. I'm glad that for one night, everything wasn't surrounded by a dark shadow. I finally made it to the kitchen to see Evan, hovered over the sink crying. I quickly walk up to him and saw that he was only chopping onions.

"Oh, hey baby," he sniffs, careful not to wipe his eyes, "Oh my God these things will be the death of me."

"I thought you were really over here ballin'" I hugged him, "I thought you were done cooking though?"

"For tonight yeah but this for Leo. He asked me to make him something for tomorrow night. He has a date."

"What are you making?"

"Basic spaghetti with a little Evan twist," he shimmied in my arms, "But I'm missing a few things."

"I thought Chris and Harry always kept their fridge stocked," I stated surprised.

"We do hater," I heard Chris say holding on to a kicking Gabe, "Your son, is working the nerve right now but did you check the second fridge?"

"Yeah but I still couldn't find some things. Plus, your seasoning rack needs updating."