24. Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Four
Griffin's Beach Ky
I t's been longer than Ky expected since he last stepped foot on the property he used to call home. He still hears Felicity telling him she can never forgive him, and it's surreal to know he paid off the mortgage to the family home he's banned from.
Felicity had her own secrets she kept, and as much as they hurt, he misses his wife. He screwed up, and so did she, but until she's willing to make it work again, there's nothing he can do. He can get past everything if she's willing to give it a shot.
"What are you doing here?" Felicity asks, swinging the door open and glaring at him before he has a chance to knock on the heavy door that he replaced a few years back after it'd been kicked in.
He sighs, trying to ignore the attraction he has towards his estranged wife. She's always been hot as hell when she's angry, and even in sleep pants, a tank top, and her hair piled up on the top of her head with no makeup on, she could give any other woman a run for their money. She's getting ready for bed, which is significantly earlier than she ever did when they were together. Maybe this is just the start of many things that have changed in only weeks.
"Can I come inside?"
"No."
"This isn't about us. I need to talk to you. There's something you need to know, and I don't want tell you out on the porch," Ky says.
Her head tilts to the side as her eyes narrow. "Is Gavin okay?"
Nodding, he looks at the porch. "It's someone else."
"If Lex is injured, I haven't gone near her since the night Jennings kicked my ass out of the clubhouse."
Hunny, based on the way she nearly killed you the last time you were in the same room together, she wouldn't be the one injured if you encountered her. "It's not Lex."
"You're scaring me, Ky."
"Please, Felicity? It won't take long, I promise. But you should know because she's your friend."
It takes a few moments of contemplation before she decides to move aside and let him walk inside. "If you start talking about us, you're out."
"I won't," he assures her.
His heart breaks the moment he sees the living room. Everything relating to him appears to be gone. Probably thrown out. Their wedding picture, the only one they have with Felicity's six-month pregnant belly no longer hangs on the wall. His recliner is gone, and it's all been moved around. Rearranged. A fresh start.
"Do you want something to drink? I was about to pour a glass of whiskey," Felicity asks from the kitchen.
Whiskey. She only drinks it when she can't sleep. "Sure, if you're having one. I won't make you drink alone."
She pulls out the glasses and pours the amber liquid into them, not bothering to add water or ice. She knows how he takes it.
"Thanks," he says and takes a seat at the kitchen table.
"What's going on?"
"You need to be at the clubhouse at four on Saturday. Lane and Zane are getting married."
Laughing, Felicity shakes her head and sits on the chair to his right. "I think I'll sit this one out. I'll send a gift. Lane will understand, I'm sure."
"You have to be there," he says. "You're her friend, and all three charters are showing up for it."
"Ky—"
"You'll never forgive yourself if you don't go. I know you."
Rolling her eyes, she leans back in the chair. "I was banished from the clubhouse, remember?"
"This is an exception. She's your friend, and we got some bad news at the gender reveal this afternoon for Psycho and Lacey. It's the reason Lane needs to get married in less than a week."
"Who's what, now?"
"That's right. It came after you'd... Never mind. Lacey's six or seven months pregnant, I think."
Her eyes stare in horror. "She's okay? The baby...?"
"Yeah, she's good. She glows. I've never seen her look happier or healthier. I know they're both scared to death after everything, and Colt said there have been a few panic visits, the most recent a few days ago at two in the morning. But everything's okay."
"What are they having?"
The pain in her eyes breaks his heart. She still loves them. If only she still loved him. "A girl."
"Oh, man," Felicity says with a chuckle. "That poor girl. No boy is ever going to want to date her. She's going to be single forever."
"Pretty much, yeah," he agrees with a chuckle. "I hope she looks like Lacey, not Psycho."
"I'm not going to the wedding, Ky."
His eyes fall to the table. "You have to go."
"Why?"
"Lane has cancer again."
When she stays quiet, he lifts his eyes and looks at her. She stares stunned with disbelief. "What?"
"That's the reason Lex and Colt moved back. Lane knew she was sick again, and she wanted to keep it quiet. Colt just found out last night, and before that, Lex was handling it all pretty much on her own."
"She's... It's rushed because she needs to have treatments?"
"No."
She blinks at him, and he waits for more questions. When they don't come, he decides it's best to just get down to it.
"There are rules to the wedding. First, no talk of cancer. Period. From talking to Lex, we're going to be pretty shocked when we see her. Second, only happy tears. It's a day of love and joy. Third, there can be no pity looks. She's going to have anyone looking at her like that kicked out."
"How can she ask that?"
"Because it's her wedding day. The fourth rule is Lex's rule, but I don't think you'll have any issue with it. We're supposed to let Zane be pissed at Lex. Unless he's about to hit her, we're to let whatever happens happen."
Shaking her head, Felicity sips her whiskey. She doesn't look at Ky, and he knows her mind is racing. "Why is Zane pissed at Lex? Besides the reason he's always pissed at her?"
"Lane made Lex her medical power of attorney. As Lex put it, Lane royally fucked her over with Zane."
"Of course she'd turn this on herself."
HIs hand slaps on the table, and some of his whiskey spills over the edge of the glass. "Stop it! You have no idea what Lex is going through. You're mad at her for something I did, and you're piling onto an already overburdened woman. Zane's pissed at Lex because it's Lex's job to let Lane die. And she's going to die, Felicity. Soon."
"What?"
"It sounds like a few weeks after the wedding is when we'll be gathering again for Lane's funeral. If we're lucky to have that long. That's the reason it has to be this Saturday. Zane was never the type to get married, but I'm guessing he couldn't say no to the woman he loves as she's dying. Zane sees Lex as the one killing the mother of his child instead of making sure Lane's wishes are respected."
Swallowing, she lets out a long breath. "Lane's really dying?"
"I guess she already tried treatments, but they didn't work. The only option she had left wasn't a real option, and she didn't want Margaret to watch her mother wither away for months like Zane had to with his mom."
Her jaw drops as she processes this. "No, she can't... We would have noticed... Right?"
"When was the last time you saw Lane? Because it sounds like no one has except for Lex."
"Why keep this a secret?"
"Because she didn't want to be the girl with cancer again. Not that we ever saw her that way before, but she asked Lex to keep it quiet. Not even Colt knew. I don't know the details, but Lex broke down yesterday. It also had to come out since they're asking everyone to come from all three charters. It's going to be hard to keep this a secret once we see her from the way it sounds."
Her shaking hand rubs her face before settling on her throat. "Weeks? She really only has weeks? They could be wrong, right?"
"That's what Lex said. You said she looked like hell, and you weren't wrong, but this is why. It's been really hard for her, especially with everything else going on in life right now. And, as you can about imagine, Zane really loves his little sister these days," he says with sarcasm.
They know better than some of the others just how terrible Zane's treated Lex. The only time he's ever been nice to her is when she first came back and helped Lane stay with Zane when she wanted to bolt. Lex said the magic words that kept his old lady with him, but not even that kept the love towards his sister for long. Ky worries he'll never get past this situation with Zane.
"Why make Lex her POA?"
"Because Lex is the only person who can stand up to Zane. He would act selfishly, which I can't really say I'd blame him, and Lane doesn't want that. Zane isn't strong enough to do what's needed, and he blames Lex for this. It's an impossible decision for her. Does she tell her dying sister-in-law no, or does she let her brother hate her for killing his wife? There's really no winning."
"She really didn't tell Colt?"
Ky shakes his head. "Nope. It's been killing him because he didn't know how to help her. He saw her stress, and he knew it was bad, but he was just as selfless as Lex is. I mean, they come back here, and there's obviously issues with you and her that make a lot more sense now that we know about the meeting. Then the situation with Lane. And Zane's being an ass to her, which I think is what probably broke her, if I had to guess. Not to mention the fact they've taken in two teenagers. Oh, and Psycho and Lacey are pregnant. I think she might also still be helping Dani in Summerville. It's been a lot, and there's not much she could do to make it better."
"Well, we both know how well she can keep a secret, don't we?"
"I know you're pissed at me, Felicity, but you have to let go of being pissed at Lex. It's my fault. All of this is my fault, and she's not doing so great. She's lost weight again, and she looks like a shell of herself. Sometimes, I catch her just staring off with this vacant look in her eyes, and even though she puts on a good show, we know better. The weight of the world finally crushed her last night."
"Ky—"
"She slapped the shit out of me after she pushed me across the room the first night you confronted her. Yelled at me because she's been telling me for years that I needed to come clean to you. Even though you pissed her off, she told me I was an asshole for it. Which I am. I know you think she was never your friend, but she was. She still is, if you can rise above all this shit."
Shaking her head, Felicity looks at her glass. "You might believe that, but I don't."
He downs his drink before setting the glass on the table. "That's your decision to make, but I think you really need to be at the wedding on Saturday. It's probably one of the last times we'll see Lane. Might as well be there for the happy memory."
Pushing the chair back, he stands and walks towards the door. He turns and looks at the living room again, his eyes staring where the wedding picture used to hang.
"I've been redecorating," Felicity says as she walks up beside him. "Trying to figure out what works and what doesn't."
"That kind of tells me what I already assumed," he says, his eyes never leaving the spot on the wall.
"It didn't feel right to have it up after everything."
"No matter what happens, I love you, Felicity. Always have, and I always will. You're the mother of my children, and I'm always here if you need anything. I made a mistake, and it sounds like you've made a few yourself, but I will never regret what we had. I loved our life and our family, and I didn't want to lose it. But no matter what, I wouldn't trade a second of our time together for anything."
Walking outside, he doesn't give her a chance to respond because he can't handle hearing her tell him she regrets their life together. It's painful enough to have to live without her every day, and he just hopes it's not really the end. Even though that's exactly what it feels like.