☕︎☕︎☕︎
It's the third week of February and let's just say this month has been a lot so far.
Roman and I's birthday is March seventh while my parents' death anniversary is March second. Grayson and Aaron have been busy planning a service in honour of their memory that's going to be held in Singapore. That means we're all flying back for a couple of days to attend.
The boys have asked us if we want to make a eulogy now since we never did one the first time around. Everyone decided not to except for Jaxson. He said that he'd like to speak this time. Grayson and Aaron will also speak.
We never celebrated Roman and I's birthday last year because of what had happened, but Grayson is adamant about at least cutting a cake this year considering it is our seventeenth birthday. Roman and I talked about it and agreed that it would be okay as long as things were kept small.
I'm almost surprised at how fast time has gone by. It feels like I only heard the news of their passing yesterday and I'm still trying to process it all. The thing is, I haven't allowed myself to think about it much. I don't know if I can handle the truth of the fact that I'm still hurting.
So to avoid it, I've been focusing more on normal activities like school and my relationship. King and I have been great. He's been busier because of football. He gets up at four every morning, practises, goes to school, then goes to after school practise, and then gets home around seven. He'll call or text in between whenever he gets time, but when he gets home, he gets busy with homework and his family. We usually call for about half an hour before he goes to bed at like eleven.
To make sure we get to see each other, we've decided to come up with date ideas for the weekends. This weekend I'm going to see his game against my own school which I'm a little nervous about. I know Roman's on the team and he's probably gonna target King, but I know King will handle it and that it's all just fun and games with them.
Sebastian is also on the football team and that is what terrifies me. King and him haven't interacted in a while and I would like to keep it that way, but I know Sebastian likes to test people's limits especially King's. I haven't voiced my concern to King yet, because I have faith in him to handle any situation that may occur. He has handled Sebastian well all these years so he doesn't need me telling him how to now.
"I'm getting this one," Raven says breaking my train of thought. We're currently at the bakery picking out cakes.
"That's perfect, Jaxson loves confetti cake," I tell her.
"Okay, yay!" she smiles excitedly.
"I'm gonna get this one," I point at the chocolate cake which is lightly frosted. I think frosting is a little too sweet so the less there is, the better I like the cake.
"King likes chocolate cake?"
"Yeah and I'm not picky, as long it's cake, I'll eat it," I smile letting out a small laugh.
"Exactly how it's supposed to be," Raven laughs. She tells the person behind the counter to get the two cakes ready for us with some writing. The baker freezes for a minute when Raven tells her what we want to be written on the cakes before she smiles amused and complies with our request.
She takes the cakes to the back as we pay and comes back with them with the writing on there. The cakes are closed within a box so no one can see the writing unless it is opened.
"Congratulations," she says and we smile back telling her thank you.
"Is King there yet?" Raven asks as we make our way out of the shop and to her car.
"Let me see," I word as I take out my phone and hold the cake with one. I go to his messages and I see that he messaged me a few times about how he's at my house having a conversation with Jaxson. They're both wondering what we're going to surprise them with.
"Yeah, he's there."
"Great," she says excitedly. She unlocks her car and we set the cakes down on the backseat next to the gift bags we got ready earlier. We quickly get inside and she drives back to my house.
"Finally," Jaxson huffs getting up from the couch. He walks over to Raven kissing her. King walks up to me giving me a kiss.
"Are these our presents?" King questions curiously looking at the items in our hands.
"Yes," I smile mischievously. He looks at me raising his eyebrows and leaning back slightly to take in my whole appearance.
"Both of you sit down," Raven instructs.
"Okay," Jaxson says. The boys turn around and we follow them to the couch. We set the cakes down on the table and hold the bags.
"Okay, so we really wanted to tell you guys together," Raven starts. "We never expected to go through this at the same time, but I'm happy that I get to go on this journey with my sister."
"Awe, me too," I smile back at her trying to hold back my laughter. It's a good thing I'm an actor otherwise I'd be dead on the floor laughing right now. "We're also glad that we're about to enter this journey with such mature and supportive men by our sides."
"Okay, you guys are scaring us," Jaxson words. His face a little pale from fear of what is about to happen.
"Okay, here," Raven says handing him the gift bag. I hand King his. Both of them look at each other nervously before opening up the bag. They take out the tissue paper reaching to the bottom and dig out a baby onesie labelled 'Best dad in the world'.
They put the bags to the side and then unfold the piece of clothing to find the front. Their expressions immediately fall into fear. Bewildered, their eyes go from the piece of clothing in their hands to us. Raven and I remain with an excited expression to keep up the act.
"Please tell me you did not get my sixteen-year-old sister pregnant," Jaxson breathes out not even looking at King. He crumples up the clothing in his hand and puts it in his lap. King gulps as his face reddens. His eyes begging me for help or even an answer.
"Me? You got Raven pregnant!" King defends knowing that I'm not about to help.
"Raven's not pregnant."
"Denial isn't going to change the fact," King retorts.
"Fuck you," Jaxon groans.
"I'm so dead," King mutters to himself. I watch him as he leans back and massages his forehead. He's staring at the ceiling in loss of hope I'm assuming. Jaxson looks just as nervous and starts bouncing his leg.
"Your dip shit ass better not be planning to escape this," Jaxson warns King.
"I'm not, I'm just thinking how I'm gonna raise a child."
"Fuck, we have to raise them?" Jaxson groans leaning back as well. "Bro, we're screwed. Aaron's gonna have a day with this one."
"Fuck, there's five of you. I forgot," King groans louder. He sighs heavily and at this point, I think one of them might as well start crying. Raven and I look at each other and agree that it has been enough.
"We also got you guys cake to celebrate," I make known.
"Oh shit," King looks at us still standing there. His face flushes probably from the fact that he forgot we were still here and that this affects us too.
"Fuck, baby," Jaxson breathes looking at us but referring just to Raven. They both look at each other nervously and then faintly smile at us. They lean over pulling the cakes closer to them and open up the box.
They freeze.
"Sike, I got my period..." King reads off his cake.
"It's a joke?" Jaxson asks looking up at Raven.
"Yeah," Raven smiles bobbing her head. "We're not pregnant!"
"Fuck yeah!" Jaxson yells standing up. Raven goes in to hug him, but he takes a step back, stopping her from getting closer. She whines like a child looking around at us for an answer to her boyfriend's behaviour. "Stay the fuck away from me woman. I'm never touching you again after the shit you just pulled."
"But, baby—"
"No no no," he interrupts. "No babies. Not for a while."
"Okay, but you can still touch me," Raven crosses her arms becoming impatient.
I watch as King gets up and kisses me. His expression a lot calmer now as he smiles genuinely.
"Don't ever scare me like that again especially when your brother is sitting right next to me," King warns.
"Don't worry, he keeps his gun in his room."
"He has a gun?"
"Yeah."
"Noted," King bobs his head and forces a smile.
"See! King isn't being a bitch about it," Raven points out.
"Then date King!"
"Jaxson!"
"I almost had a heart attack!"
"Well maybe just learn to wrap it up next time and don't leave room for accidents!"
"Babe," Jaxson sighs noticing Raven getting upset. He walks over to her curling his arms around her and pulling her close to him. Her arms still crossed, she moves her head back telling Jaxson she doesn't wanna be kissed. "I would love to raise children with you, but we both talked about it. We wanted to live a little more before settling down. You have so much you want to achieve and I don't want our baby stopping you from doing all that. I was just stressed now knowing that maybe I ruined shit for you."
"No matter when it happens, our baby will always be a blessing. I love you," Raven assures cupping Jaxon's face. They both share a kiss. King and I look at each other smiling at how quickly they made up.
"Now, let's eat some cake," I announce and everyone laughs.
"Did someone say cake?" Roman comes in from the main door. "What's the occasion?"
"They got their periods," Jaxson shares. Roman nods but then stops to process the words. His eyes squint and his face contorts in disgust.
"Um..."
"In other words, we're not pregnant," Raven clarifies.
"Makes more sense," Roman bobs his heads awkwardly smiling. "I'll pass."
"Whatever," I reply and we watch Roman go upstairs. Roman's been a lot quieter than before and I'm assuming it's because of our parent's death anniversary. That's also why our family has been more sympathetic towards one another. We haven't been teasing each other even when we know some of us are acting out of character. Everyone has a different way of grieving so we're just letting everyone be. Roman also has a lot on his plate with school and football.
Once we're done eating, King and I head up to my room. I sit down on my bed with my back on my headboard and King lays his head down on my lap. My hand runs through his hair massaging his head.
"You don't really talk about it," he starts.
"About what?"
"Your parents and their death."
"Not much to talk about," I reply.
"Roman seems to be taking it a bit hard."
"Yeah, he was a mamas boy," I answer.
"You still have the rose I gave you," he changes the subject after a few moments of silence. He probably realizes that I don't wanna talk about it by my vague replies.
I look at the box frame on my dresser. It's full of scattered dead white rose petals around the one red rose King picked out from his dad's garden. I filled it with resin so that the flowers wouldn't decay any further and it seems like the petals are floating.
"Yeah. The dead petals are from the first bouquet you gave me," I share.
"That's so cool," he words. "You know I wouldn't mind raising kids with you one day."
"I wouldn't mind either," I smile as I look down at him. His eyes closed, he takes in my soft touch.
I wanna say a lot more, but I can't seem to find the right words. Everything inside of me is a war of emotions that I don't wanna open up. Because if I open up to one, then they all open and I don't think I'll be able to handle it all. Good or bad, I'm just not in the state of mind to be able to survive the depth and chaos of my emotions. At least not at this very moment.
I lean down and kiss his temple. His lips stretch into a smile as his eyes remain closed.
"I love you," I whisper.
"I love you," he mumbles back tiredly. Slowly, his breathing becomes rhythmic as he falls asleep.
☕︎☕︎☕︎
It's game day. My brothers and I are here to watch Roman and King play at Weston High. Aaron is at a business dinner so he's the only one missing, but we're all sitting at the bottom of the bleachers closest to the field waiting for the game to start. Raven and Astrid are here too and I'm sitting next to Astrid and a random girl on my other side. The boys are sitting in the row above us.
Raven has been trying to explain the game to me and how it works, but it's been going over my head. All I know is that King is the quarterback for his team and that he's like the leader.
The point of the game is to get the ball on the other side and the team who does that the most gains the most points and is essentially the winner.
Other players can get the ball too, but they're mostly there to tackle players on the other teams so that their main players can get the ball across.
That's what I understood, but if that's wrong, my bad. Honestly, I don't care how the game works because someone will tell me who won and that's all that matters.
It's pretty hot today so I'm wearing a beige Nike tracksuit with white Nike forces. Raven was also gracious enough to do french braids on me so I'm looking pretty good if I say so for myself.
The announcer invites the teams in. First, it's my school and I spot Roman wearing his number seventeen jersey. I recognize Sebastian wearing twenty-three. Then it's King's team and I recognize King wearing number eleven. Ridge is also a player and he's wearing number sixteen.
I watch King look around and when his eyes land on me, he takes his helmet off and rushes over.
"Hi," I smile getting up and walking onto the field. He takes his mouth guard off.
"Hi," he smiles and we kiss. He is already much bigger than me, but the extra padding and equipment makes me seem like a baby next to him.
"Are you nervous?"
"A little," he admits with a shrug. He looks around the crowd and his expression changes slightly. I look back and notice Everleigh higher up on the bleachers staring directly at us.
I put my hand on his arm and he breaks out of his thoughts looking down at me. I smile at him.
"We're here for a good time, not a long time," I wink.
"Agreed," King smirks understanding that I want him to do what needs to be done. If Sebastian throws a hand first, King better hit that fucker back. I'm so over Sebastian and Everleigh having shit over our heads. I wish I could just tell everyone the truth.
King leans down and kisses me one last time before his coach yells for him.
"I'll see you after."
"Yes you will," I smile.
"Tell your brothers and the girls I said hi!"
"I will!" I yell back and he turns around running back to his team. I quickly pace back to the bleachers taking my seat. "King said hi to everyone."
The boys nod and the girls smile back at me.
"You guys look so good together," Raven compliments. "It's couple goals."
"We're all couple goals in someone's eyes," I reply.
"That's true," Astrid agrees. Everything quiets down as the players line up in their positions. My school starts with the ball in hand. Sebastian and Roman are both on the field along with King and Ridge.
Before I know it, the quarterback from our school calls a play and the ball is moving. I watch as the players run around tracking the ball as the quarterback throws it far to Sebastian.
Sebastian easily catches it, but King is close to him, so King easily tackles him down. The whistle blows and the players get up.
Sebastian aggressively throws the ball down and walks away as King stares at him. Everyone seems to notice the tension and watches quietly.
The game then continues and we make it to the last quarter with King's team in the lead with twenty-one to nineteen. Roman tackled King a few times, but I think it was just because King let him. I won't tell him that though because Roman needs something to be happy about right now.
King only tackled Roman once and it was pretty hard. Roman took it like a champ though. The best thing about watching the two tackle each other is their sportsmanship. No matter who tackled who, they always helped each other back up.
"What the fuck!" Raven yells standing up and breaking me out of my thoughts. I watch as everyone stands up noticing the fight on the field. Sebastian and King are going at it when other players join in. The referees try to calm them down, but no one listens. It's hard to see who's attacking who because all the players on the field are fighting.
"Grayson!" Astrid yells looking back at him. Grayson looks at us and then at the field before heading down. He's wearing his formal business clothes so we're hoping that he's intimidating enough to get the players to stop. Even if no one else listens, I know King and Roman will.
We watch Grayson rush down and he pushes the players apart one by one yelling at them. Eventually, everyone stops. Sebastian is still fighting against his own players that are trying to hold him back. King quietly observes the behaviour from a few feet away. He takes his helmet off and spits out blood.
I watch as Sebastian is going off on Grayson and the referees. Before it registers, I start making my way down to the players on the field. Everyone but Sebastian watches me as I approach. He's so busy bitching that his face is red under the bright lights.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I yell pushing Sebastian with my hands on his chest. He falters back in surprise and his eyes widen in shock as he finally stops talking.
"Reese—"
"No!" I yell at Grayson trying to grab my arm, but I take it out of his hold looking back at him. "Not today, Grayson."
His jaw clenches as he nods in compliance. I turn around to face Sebastian again. The whole field is quiet.
"Come on, keep going. You had a lot to say to everyone. What's got your tongue now?"
"Reese–"
"Actually, don't. I don't w-wanna hear what l-lies you have to say, but disrespect someone I c-care about again and watch what happens," I threaten, getting closer to him. Our faces inches away, "This ego trip has to come to an end before you end up doing something you can't take back. I love King and I love my brothers. All of which you have managed to disrespect in the span of five fucking minutes. You're not angry with them, you're angry with me. So tell me what's up."
I wait for him to respond. His green eyes look at me skeptically as sweat drips from his forehead and glistens under the lights.
"Come on," I push him again and he takes a step back. The players around us move back giving us space. He huffs but doesn't say anything. His jaw clenches telling me he's holding back. I continue pushing him and telling him to say something until he throws his helmet angrily to the ground and grabs my upper arms roughly.
My front pressed to his, he holds me close. I see the darkness in his eyes deepen and I clench my jaw trying to keep quiet. If I overreact, everyone on this field will be against Sebastian. As much as I dislike him, I won't let him suffer for his impulsive behaviour triggered by me. So I choose to keep calm no matter how much all this terrifies me and no matter how much his grip hurts.
"He doesn't love you," Sebastian grits. "You'll know soon."
"That's enough!" Grayson yells breaking us apart and throwing a right hook towards Sebastian. Sebastian grunts in pain leaning over to the side.
"What the fuck!" Sebastian yells standing back up. His arm winded back, he's ready to throw a punch. As he notices Grayson, his arm hovers in the air. The two men have a staredown, but Grayson is clearly more intimidating.
Grayson stands there calmly versus Sebastian who seems highly frustrated. Eventually, Sebastian drops his arm and the referees step back in. They escort Sebastian off the field to his coach and thank my brother for his help. The rest of the players go to their respective areas consulting with the coaches. Grayson and I walk back to the bleachers. He fixes his tie and I look at the bruises forming on his knuckles.
I clear my throat nervously knowing that Grayson really just hit Sebastian with full force. He usually doesn't lose his temper. I can only imagine how much it hurt Sebastian. He clearly hid the pain well though.
"I can already see it," I word trying to get rid of the tension.
"See what?"
"CEO and business leader of The Price Empire beats up high school football player: Is the well-tamed CEO losing his composure?"
"Lovely, can't wait to read what I didn't already know about myself," Grayson laughs shoving his hands in his pockets. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I smile faintly.
"Are you okay?" Raven stands up and hugs me.
"I'm good," I smile.
"Pull up your sleeves," Astrid instructs.
"Wow, okay mom," I laugh trying to hide my discomfort. Sebastian's grip was hard and I can already feel the soreness. I don't want to show them because it's only going to get them more riled. I gulp and pull up my sleeves knowing there is no other option. I'm just going to have to talk them down.
I roll up one side and notice the prints of his finger then roll up the second noticing a similar print. My heart drops at the sight. Cautiously, I look up at the others with a similar expression of anger and sympathy.
"The kids gonna die," Jaxson breathes as he cracks his knuckles. His eyes are focused on Sebastian across the field.
"Let it go, we were all angry," I tell them as I pull the sleeves back down. Feeling like someone is staring at me, I look up at Everleigh who has a smug look on her face. I throw her a glare before turning around to sit down.
The game continues for the remaining two minutes without Sebastian. He watches his team lose from the bench. When the timer sounds, everyone from Weston High stands up cheering for their team and so does my family and me.
King takes his helmet off and smiles walking towards me. Smiling, I get up and run to him. I jump up and he catches me as we kiss. My legs wrap around his waist and we hear a bunch of hollering and whistles. Our lips part and I look down at him, his hair is wet with sweat and his skin sparkles under the light. My nose wrinkles at the smell and I smile with him.
"Congratulations."
"You know with all the strength you have, we could definitely use you on our team," he flirts.
"You seem to be holding up quite well without me, but I'll consider it," I reply playing along. We both laugh. He lets me down when he notices my family approaching. His arm rests on my shoulders as I stand next to him pressed to his side. My brothers and the girls congratulate him on his win.
Roman and Ridge join us as well and we talk for a bit before the players go to take a shower. Grayson decided to treat the teams to a free dinner at the diner for anyone who wants to, so we head over thereafter.
Despite the earlier events, we all end up enjoying the rest of the night. All the other players even come up and thank Grayson for the dinner.
King was disappointed he couldn't introduce Kai to me since Kai had to leave before the game ended to run some errands for his mom. King really likes his new friend so I was looking forward to finally meeting him, but I guess it's just not meant to be yet.
☕︎☕︎☕︎
Death is inevitable. I read somewhere once where it said that when parents choose to have children, they are willingly signing a deal with death because once a child is born, it is only one day closer to dying.
Obviously, not everyone thinks like that, but it is definitely something worth thinking about.
Today is March second, the day of my parents' death a year ago. Roman and I's birthday is in five days on the seventh but that doesn't matter, all I can think about is my parents.
Our whole family along with Astrid, Raven and King flew to Singapore for a church service in honour of our parents. Many of our business associates came and all in all, it was a highly respectful and heartfelt service.
Grayson didn't cry while delivering his speech, but he was choking up near the end. Aaron was a mess giving his speech and Jaxson left my heart aching the most. He wrote a beautiful speech reflecting on some memories he had with them that even I was unaware of. He was so emotional and it made me even sadder because he usually isn't like that.
Not a single person could hold their tears back and that says a lot considering most of the people were indeed strangers or don't know us well.
"Everyone is asking about you inside," I hear King word from behind me. I'm currently sat on the bench in our backyard that faces a small lake we have. The water is quite dirty and it has some different species inhabiting it, but it's still beautiful to look at with small flower bushes surrounding it.
We're hosting a post-service lunch at our house and I was there for a bit before I got tired. Strangers were saying they were sorry for our loss when they don't even understand the pain or depth of our loss, they're simply doing it for the sake of it. Since I love acting, you'd think I'd never get tired of it but I do at times when it comes to acting to hide what I truly feel. I got tired of smiling and nodding and interacting with half-ass people who are just here because of formalities or to get the inside scoop.
There were so many paparazzi outside the church and it was annoying to say the least. Our security has even caught a few people trying to sneak into our house, but I'm sure that some people made it through the security too, not because they're good at sneaking in but because of their disguise. Half of these business associates will sell inside information on us just for a small payday. How else do you think half these people got here? Not by being honest, but by manipulation and games.
I'm happy our parents kept that away from us and taught us that the most valuable thing in life is trust, loyalty and family. Everything else is just the cherry on top. Not saying that we're better than those people and that my parents got so far with the company without having to implement the same strategies, but I can say that they got here without having to compromise their own morals. Most of the people inside have none and that's why they're here today.
King takes a seat next to me and I look at him dressed in an all-black suit that fits every inch of his body with perfection. His hair is gelled back making his eyes the main focus.
I lick my lips nervously and look back at the lake trying to avoid the inappropriate thoughts invading my mind. His hand grabs mine in my lap and he gently squeezes it.
"I miss them," I word. "Mom always knew what I needed or wanted without me having to say anything and dad always knew how to make me laugh. He was such a different man when it came to business versus his family. He knew how to behave accordingly and never let one suffer because of the other.
I know whatever happened with Silas hurt them a lot. It h-hurt my whole family, but they did everything they could to make sure I-I would be able to get through it. That our whole family would be able to get through it. I wish they w-were here today so they could see that it worked. That their daughter isn't a fuck up," I cry. "Seeing how much you get along with my brothers, I know that if they were here today, they'd be so proud of me, of us. You know?
Grayson and Jaxson are both happy in their relationships too. I wish they had the chance to see us grow and flourish, to one day see their grandchildren. They worked so hard to build this empire and couldn't even enjoy it for themselves. Till their last day, they kept working so hard and for what? This? It doesn't even feel like a home without them here. I want them back so bad, King. I want to hug my mom and I want my dad to tell me one of the worst jokes ever just so I can laugh and see the light in his eyes."
"I know," King coos. I lean my head on his chest as I cry. His head on my face, he wipes my tears with his thumb.
"I'm mad they left me. I'm mad they left me all alone with five idiots and my own trauma and pretty much said make it work. We never had a family. It was just my parents, my brothers and I. We never needed anything else either, but when I see how big your family is, I wonder that if we had that too, then maybe it'd be easier. But I don't have an answer to that because they made that choice so long ago. I just have to sit here and hope that it was the right one.
I don't feel as alone today as I did when they were still here at times and I feel guilty for saying that, but it's true. Things happen for a reason, right? So maybe this was all meant to be but it's still hard to accept that when there are evil people who continue to do evil things without any repercussions. I don't know what I'm really trying to say, but it hurts to not have them here. I'm back where it all started and it just hurts because I just locked all the memories and threw them somewhere far away. Not far enough though," I laugh lifting my arm to wipe my nose with the back of my hand.
King hands me his handkerchief and I thank him as I use it to blow my nose. I fold it up and hold it in my palm as I stare out at the lake. It's cloudy and dark today resembling my mood. When the cold wind blows, I shiver since I'm only wearing a small black dress with black heeled red bottoms.
"I would have loved to meet your parents," King starts staring out at nothing in particular. "They sound like amazing people and I know Grayson accepts me, so I'm hoping that if they were here, that it'd be the same with them. I didn't know them personally, but I don't have to either to know that they were probably some of the greatest people in the world. I can tell because they raised such beautiful children, especially you. You're such a strong, funny and sexy young woman that it makes me wonder how I was lucky enough to be able to call you mine. Not gonna lie, it's a little intimidating knowing your parents are watching from above. I don't ever wanna disappoint or hurt them in any way."
"I don't think you ever can," I look at him in awe as my eyes wet even more. "They'd be really happy with me today. I'm just gonna try to find peace in that and move on."
"You deserve peace alive as much as they do up there," King says kissing my forehead before pulling me into a hug.
"I'm happy to say this is the most at peace I've been in a very long time," I breathe as King rubs my back.
"It only gets better then," he assures, his chest rumbling underneath my ear as he speaks.
After staying outside and talking a bit more with fewer tears, we head inside. I greet some more guests before everyone starts to leave. Finally, we sit down to eat once everyone is gone.
After we sit in the living room where we bring out photo albums and show everyone our childhood pictures. All the boys and girls are drinking except for King and me so they're getting a lot more emotional.
We all take turns telling each other different stories. There are a few tears shed and Aaron even throws a bottle on the ground losing his temper in emotional frustration. He has a breakdown, but we help him through it and he calms down. He moved on from it well, but I guess it's hard to fully think about it again after so long.
"Enough being sad, let's dance," Raven says. "Everyone grab a partner."
King and I stand as Raven connects her phone to the built-in bluetooth in our house and plays the song Sure Thing by Miguel.
My arms wrap around King's shoulders while his arms wrap around my waist. Our fronts pressed against each other, I lay the side of my head on his chest as we sway to the music.
Grayson and Astrid are dancing with Grayson's head resting on her head and their arms around each other's waists. Raven is standing straight as Jaxon arches his back so that he can hide his face in her shoulder. Her arms rest on his back as his, are wrapped around her waist.
Landon, Roman and Aaron are slowly dancing huddled as a group and I can't help but let out a small laugh as tears drop from my eyes.
I'm not crying because I'm sad or at least I was sad, but I'm letting it pass through. It doesn't feel as heavy anymore as it did before. The thought of being here again weighed heavily, but since I'm here now, facing whatever I was scared of, it feels relieving. I'm letting the pain go. I'm letting the memories go and I'm replacing them with new ones that I won't be afraid to look back at.
I forgave Silas a long time ago for what he did and I somehow forgave myself too sometime within the year but I forgot that I also had to forgive other some people, my parents.
I was mad.
The day Roman told me our parents died.
I was sitting in my room fighting with Kairo over the phone. It was one of our petty fights based on nothing and I was stressed about it all day.
Roman knocked on the door and asked if he could come in. Back then, I realize that I really wanted to stay on the phone with Kairo, but I chose not to.
I told Kairo I'd call him back in the middle of our fight and hung up not listening to his response. I knew he'd be mad, but for some reason, I didn't care.
Roman had a serious look on his face and it wasn't that rare with everything that had happened only months prior. We sat down on the edge of my bed and he asked me if I had been on social media and I said no.
He then took my hand in his and looked me in the eyes. His crystal blue eyes were surrounded by redness, his eyes started to well up with tears. He hadn't said a single thing yet my heart twitched and I felt the pain coming in.
As soon as his mouth started moving, he told me our parents died in a car accident. There was a minute where I let all emotions pile up and push my heart so far down much that it just compressed itself until there was nothing to feel anymore.
I felt it for a minute and then I couldn't anymore. My eyes became blurry with tears and I couldn't breathe. I started to panic, shake and cry but Roman held me with a strong hold.
We sat there for hours that day. Landon stayed in his room. He clearly didn't want to be the one to tell me, but Grayson, Aaron and Jaxson were too busy with the police and dealing with everything at the company. Roman knew it had to be him and he said he waited because he never knew how to word it. In the end, he said he just winged it because he wanted me to know through family and not social media.
Grayson, Aaron and Jaxson didn't come home until the next day and they found us still in the same position. After some convincing, Roman finally went to his room to shower and I ended up cleaning up too.
We ordered take out for a few days and everything was quiet. No one really talked anymore and even though we always made sure to have dinner together, it was hard to look up and see the empty chairs or even our faces.
Kairo would come over at times, but I became distant and our fights kept going. After the funeral, nothing really changed, we all felt like walking corpses.
Grayson was the first one who got it together with Aaron following pursuit. They probably had to because they also had the company on their shoulders now and when it comes to business, it doesn't stop, no matter the occasion.
They mastered the business quickly and that probably forced them to deal with the emotional aspects of the loss much faster too. Once they conquered their feelings, they worked to bring the family together. They started talking more and fitting their character more so naturally, we started to do the same.
Even though I pushed the emotional aspect of their death down, I ended up becoming more myself too. I was mad when Grayson brought us to LA, but it has helped me become the person I've always wanted to be. It has also allowed me to meet King, Raven and Astrid which I'll forever be grateful for. Lastly, it has helped me cope with not just the death of my parents but also my own past.
Today, I can look at my flaws and not hate them. I have that same level of understanding for myself that I would want anyone else to have for me. Today, I stand here feeling free like a falling feather. I know that even if I land on the ground, it'll bring me more peace than it will pain because everything happens for a reason.
I have it in me to find peace within the chaos regardless of the situation.
I am strong.
And my experiences make me even stronger.
"I would have brought more shirts if I knew you were going to ruin them all with your tears," King teases. I lift my head and sniffle as I wipe my tears.
"It's a new thing I learned, apparently it removes stains really well," I say rubbing his shirt to play along with the joke.
"So I'm just your test subject?" he questions raising his eyebrow. We're still swaying to the music and everyone seems to be too focused on one another to pay attention to anyone else.
"No, you're the final product," I assure.
"Am I?"
"Am I?" I question curiously. I don't like sounding insecure, but I wonder sometimes if his feelings are as strong as mine. I know he said he wouldn't mind having kids with me, but I'm the type to question it till the day I die.
"There's no question about it," he assures.
"Are you happy with it?"
"Of course, Reese. I've never been happier," he smiles. "Are you okay?"
"I am. Since I'm dealing with everything, I thought I'd let my insecurities pass too. I hide them well, but I'm scared that maybe one day you'll wake up and you won't love me anymore," I admit. The song changes to Heather by Conan Gray and we continue dancing slowly together.
"Stop thinking about a day that will never come. There are a lot of other women out there, but there are also a lot of other men out there some of which are way better than either of us, but you know what makes us different? We choose each other. You choose me and I choose you. We continue to do that every day and I promise to you I will continue to do that until my last breath," he says looking straight into my eyes. His eyes dilate as he speaks and he becomes red as he continues. "Do you believe me?"
"I believe you," I nod.
"Good and I'll prove it to you every day."
"Okay," I smile biting my bottom lip. We dance for a bit before staring into each other's eyes with my hands resting on his shoulders. A nagging question comes to mind and I can't help but to voice it, "How many other girls have you been with?"
He processes the words and then smiles letting out a small laugh.
"In what sense?"
"In whatever sense you think I should know," I answer as the song changes to Let Me Know by Brent Faiyaz. King brings my arms down and holds my hands in his as he pushes me back and spins me around to add a bit of spice. I smile and we both laugh as he pulls me back to him. I crash into his chest as he places one hand on his shoulder and keeps the other in his. Our fronts are a few inches away this time so it's easier for me to look up at him.
"Uh... well," he thinks looking up. "I've kissed and made out with quite a few girls so I can't give you an exact number there. I've gotten head from quite a few girls too, but–" he raises his voice to emphasize but, "–I've only been in two serious relationships: this one and the other one you already know about. The last time I ever did anything with a girl was summer before senior year because I was at a party. Had sex with three girls: you, Everleigh and the third girl was just some random hook up and I didn't like it so never did that ever again. Oh, and I've only ever loved one girl with all my heart and... dïck if you will have it."
I snicker at the ending and he laughs before acting offended.
"What?" he asks.
"You're just funny," I tell him. "So, who is the girl?"
"Oh," he gasps. "I can't tell you otherwise you'll steal her away from me."
"She can't be that good."
"But she is and the best part is, she knows it but she likes to be humble," he jokes and I smirk before we both start laughing. I sober up when notice him staring at me with mesmerization.
"What?" I ask.
"Your laugh is contagious. It's the sweetest sound I've ever heard and I never get tired of it which is also partially why I love teasing you so much."
"Really?" I blush. "You know what my dad used to say?"
"What?" he questions curiously.
"After being diagnosed with dyslexia, my dad told me that a laugh a day keeps the fat away. I was a kid then and I took it literally. I made sure I would laugh at least a couple times a day regardless of the reason. After what happened with Silas, my dad reminded me of it again. It took me a while, but I think I've slowly gotten back to doing it. Can't you tell that's how I keep myself so fit? Like seriously, have you ever really seen me lift anything?"
"Nope."
"Exactly, it's all in the laugh."
"In your laugh, there is everything I need," he breathes and I can't help but laugh at how cheesy he is. His lips stretch into a smile displaying his pearly teeth. I must be as red as a tomato but he keeps staring so I tiptoe and kiss him with my hand rising to his neck. His lips soft fit perfectly with mine before we slowly part. "I love you."
"I love you," I smile back dropping down flat on my feet as we continue to sway to the music.
A/N:
I finished all my homework early this week so I've been writing a lot. And I keep thinking about how many chapters are left and depending on how long I keep them maybe around 6,000-7,000 words, there's probably like 2-3 chapters left and it's so weird to think about that because I love Reese so much and I can't imagine not writing from her perspective anymore like my baby has grown up and is leaving me.
This chapter was to show some growth for Reese which I think was necessary to show since she never talks about her parents. She really needed to get it out of her system so that she is able to truly grow and flourish in whatever she wants to do next. I also wanted to show more of innocent King and Reese since I think that's what makes them who they are. Their relationship might come off as "boring" at times since King is so compliant and Reese is patient too when it comes to each other, but I think that's what a healthy relationship looks like. I really want them to be a good example of what true love is and obviously, true love looks different for everyone, but this their version.
But it's still young love and they haven't really gone through much, so let's see if they have it in them to overcome one really big storm.