Chapter Fourteen
Dre
R ex tries to hide his unease from me, but I can feel his body growing tense beneath me as soon as I ask him to tell me about Wreck and Shadow.
I don’t know why he’s acting this way; it seems so out of character to me after everything I’ve seen from him so far, but I have a feeling that whatever led to my brother and Shadow finally figuring out they’re in love isn’t a joyful and happy story.
I have a feeling it’s a crazy one, probably filled with some sort of drama that leads to their happy ending.
There’s no way those two would have pulled their heads out of their asses without something major happening.
They’ve been oblivious for far too long for them to have just figured their shit out.
If it was going to happen that way, it would have happened years ago when the way they felt about each other became as clear as day to everyone else.
“We should probably sit more comfortably for this. It isn’t a short and sweet story, unfortunately.
It’s a wild ride filled with pain, betrayal, and lies.
Don’t get me wrong, the outcome is beyond fantastic for your brother and Shadow, but they certainly had the time of it getting to where they are now. ”
As much as I’d much rather stay where I am in Rex’s lap, I slide off him and move to take a seat at the top of the bed.
My back resting against the headboard with my legs straight out in front of me.
Rex doesn’t move to join me until I start patting the empty spot next to me.
He takes his seat, but instead of looking at me like I expect him to, he tips his head back and stares up at the ceiling.
I don’t say anything as he begins to talk.
I just listen as he explains what he knows.
I’ll admit, even though I was expecting something crazy, I could never have guessed what Rex tells me.
Listening to him explain about how Shadow entered a secret relationship with this woman, Megan, while Wreck was away searching for me and how he continued to keep it quiet even after Wreck returned to Devil’s Point leaves me in a serious state of shock.
I know for a fact those two have never kept anything from each other before, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why Shadow would do that in this instance. It makes absolutely no sense to me.
As Rex continues to explain, I move from shock to pure anger.
I’m not a violent person. It’s not me, but as I listen to him tell me about how Megan, a woman he’s been friends with since childhood, lied and manipulated him into hurting my brother because she wanted him out of the way.
All because she wanted Shadow all to herself, I have a serious urge to go and hunt her down and inflict some damage.
I can hear the pain in Rex’s voice as he explains what he did to Wreck.
The guilt he feels over harming an innocent person is like a living, breathing entity.
It surrounds him. I wish more than anything that I could take what he’s feeling away.
This guilt he’s carrying over the part he played in Megan’s scheme isn’t his to be carrying.
There’s only one guilty party in this story, and it’s fucking Megan.
I hope she’s in a hole somewhere rotting for what she did to Wreck, Shadow, and Rex.
None of them deserved to be part of her fucked-up games.
There’s no other way to describe what she did; no sane fucking person would ever dream of doing what she did.
Even though I hate what Megan did to them all, I suppose something good did come out of it all.
Shadow and Wreck figured their shit out.
That in itself is a fucking miracle with how clueless the pair of them were.
I bet she never thought that would be the way her little scheme ended.
I can’t help but internally chuckle at that thought.
From what Rex is telling me, it seems like almost losing Wreck was a serious wake-up call for Shadow.
I can’t even imagine what he must have been going through when Wreck went missing.
He must have been close to losing his mind.
I hate the way they ended up figuring out they are meant to be together, but I’m glad they are finally with each other.
They’re two people who are fucking made for each other, and I’ll fight anyone who tries to tell me otherwise.
Not that I’d do very well in a fight, but still.
It’s a hill I’m more than willing to die on.
You’ve got to be blind and dumb if you can’t see the love they feel for each other.
I’m even more excited to go home and see them together now.
As soon as Rex finishes telling me what happened, he stands from the bed and starts making his way out of the room.
His shoulders are slumped, and he looks so beat down.
I can’t fucking stand it. I don’t even think before I act.
I’m off the bed and heading straight towards him in the blink of an eye.
Before he reaches the doorway to exit the room, I’m next to him, grabbing his arm and pulling him to a stop.
I turn him to face me and release a gasp at the look of devastation on his face.
I may be smaller than him, but that doesn’t stop me from pulling him towards me and wrapping my arms around him in the tightest hug possible.
He’s tense for a few moments before I feel his body start to relax against me. Even though I can feel him relaxing, I don’t let him go. I’m not taking the chance that he’ll try to leave again.
“Why are you trying to leave?” I ask.
“I figured it was for the best; now you know what I did. I hurt your brother. There’s no way you’d want to spend more time with me after learning that. You probably hate me now.”
“Silly man. I don’t hate you. I don’t even blame you for what you did. You were betrayed and used, Rex. You didn’t know she was lying to you. There’s only one person I blame for what happened, and that’s Megan.”
“What?” He asks, shocked. He pulls back from our embrace so he can look at me.
“Rex I understand you feel guilty for what happened. It’s understandable.
It really is, but it’s also misplaced. You didn’t set out to hurt an innocent.
You trusted someone you considered a friend.
You need to let go of the guilt before it eats you alive.
Don’t let her actions destroy you. You’re a good man who made a mistake by trusting the wrong person.
Please don’t let that define you. The world needs men like you, and if you let this keep festering, the world is going to lose one of its protectors. That would be devastating.”
Rex stares at me, eyes wide and mouth agape.
It’s clear to me that my words have shocked the hell out of him.
I chuckle at the look on his face. I can’t help it.
He looks so different from the take-charge man that I met earlier.
Keeping one arm still loosely around him, I bring the other up to close his mouth and cradle his face in my palm.
“I understand it’s not going to be easy for you to let the guilt go and forgive yourself, but if you’ll let me, I’ll spend every day reminding you that you’re not to blame. You’re one of the best men I’ve ever met, Rex Knightlye.”
His eyes drift closed at my words, and a single tear flows down his face.
“I don’t know what I did to meet someone as amazing as you, but I’m thankful for it. Thank you for saying all that. Maybe one day I’ll believe it.”
“You will. Time heals all wounds, Rex.”