Tony POV
A few weeks went by. Braxton had wrapped up her teaching season, so she was home for the whole summer. I was proud of the effort she was making, eating more and more every day, and her mood had been lifted. She seemed happy again, like we were just kids again. It was good to have her back.
I woke up to the sun trying to peer into my blinds. Groaning, I peeled my comforter off of myself and trudged downstairs. Vic was sitting at the kitchen table, writing furiously into a note book. An empty coffee cup was to his right, and balled up pieces of paper turning into a mountain to his left. You could spend a week in Paris with the bags under his eyes.
"Need a refill?" I asked, picking up the cup.
"Yes, please. Thanks, Turtle," he muttered, not breaking his gaze from the notebook.
"How long have you been up?" I questioned. It was only 8 in the morning.
He sat back in the chair and threw his head back. "Didnt go to bed," he sighed. "I started to work on The Divine Zero for the new album, when I heard Braxton screaming in her sleep again. I went and calmed her down and I watched her fall asleep and I just had this idea for a song come to me. Can't sleep till I get it just right."
My eyes widened, mad at myself for not hearing her. "Is she okay?! What was it about? Why didn't you wake me?!" I shrieked, pacing around the kitchen.
"Hey man, stop." Vic sighed, shaking his head. "It's gonna take her some time, Tone. You know all that she went through and what it made her feel. She's been doing better, just give her some time."
I nodded and sighed, and returned to my task of making coffee. I poured the two coffees and set them down on the table, snatching the notebook from Vic's hands. The page was filled with scribbles, but the lyrics that were there were good.
She looks up to me and whispers "I won't be here in a year."
That one struck a cord with me. I set the book down and marched upstairs, walking more quietly as I approached the door to Braxton's bedroom.
Once I reached the door, I knocked softly before creaking it open. She was still sound asleep, breathing softly in and out. Softly smiling, I made my way to the bed, quietly slipping in beside her. I carefully moved her beneath the white sheets and positioned her into my arms. She stirred slightly, nuzzling into my embrace.
The coffee I had drank clearly did not do its job. I'd drifted back to sleep, and dreamt of the night I gave her the turtle necklace. I was so in love with her back then, and having her here in my arms, those feelings I had suppressed all these years came rushing back. She was still sleeping in my arms, and I leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I love you," I whispered to her sleeping body.
She must have been awake, that or I was hearing things. "I love you too," she breathed.
Braxton POV
Of course over the years, Tony and I had said we loved each other countless times. We were best friends, we were inseparable. But neither of us had said it since we reconnected. Until now.
Maybe it was because it had been so long since one of us said it to the other; out loud. It seemed to mean more this time. More than our friendship. I so badly wanted to over think it. Those three little words hold so much meaning when there's a different narrative behind it. I wasn't ready for another relationship. Although I had known Tony my whole life, the thought of being with him, in that way, seemed so foreign, so intimidating.
I nuzzled back into his arms and tried to go back to sleep. My head lay on his chest, his heartbeat getting louder and louder in my head with each passing second. I wanted so badly for it to feel the way it did when we were kids. When we were innocent little kids, cuddling in his bed, on his mother's couch, in Vic and Mike's parents basement. But I had done it. I had over thought the whole situation and was losing control of my breathing.
I peered up and Tony, who was passed right out. I tried to chuckle quietly; he was always a pretty heavy sleeper. I slid out of his embrace, and tiptoed my way out of the bedroom, silently closing the door behind me.
I made my way down to the kitchen for some coffee, only to find Vic passed out at the table. His arms were sprawled all over the tabletop, a pen still in his hand, and a notebook laid open covered in his chicken scratch. His hat was on backwards, a mess of dark curls sticking out every which way under it. I giggled and walked over to the coffee pot, selecting a blue and pink Waynes World mug and filling it up.
I took a sip and set the mug back down on the island and walked back over to Vic, snoring away. I gently picked up the notebook and began reading what he had written down. Song for Isabelle was scrawled across the top. I scanned the page and my heart sank. Setting the book back down quietly, I paced quickly over to the mud room where my purse was. I started to feel overwhelmed, but not in a panicky way. I was angry. I was upset. And I was about to do something I hadn't done in weeks.
Rummaging through my purse, I finally found what I was looking for. I walked back through the kitchen, grabbed my cup of coffee and made my way out the patio doors. I walked around for a moment, trying to get out of sight of not only the kitchen window, but the bedroom window as well. Once I was finally out of sight, I sat down on the edge of the wrap around porch and lit a cigarette. I inhaled and smiled. My anger seemed to slowly melt away. I enjoyed myself for a moment, before my thoughts returned to the song Vic had wrote. Did he tell everyone it was me who had said that? Could I even trust any of these guys?
I sat deep in thought for a while, the sun beaming on my face. I closed my eyes and basked in the light, until I was interrupted my a familiar voice.
"Didn't know you were still a smoker, Braxton."
