54. Everest
T he last twenty-four hours have been hell on earth.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to be home, to see my family, to spend time with Archer, but everything about it just feels so out of place.
Aurora is sitting across from me, too far away, and has barely looked my way all night.
We agreed to try our best to act normal, to go back to how things always were between us while we’re here, but that’s easier said than done.
I’ve always been attuned to her, aware of her every move, but now I feel like she is a part of my very soul, and that part has been ripped from my chest.
Every smile, every laugh, every hitch of her breath, is like a fucking beacon in my peripheral, as I try to listen to Archer talk about training.
He and Daemon are sitting on my side of the table, while Aurora is sitting on the other side with our parents.
We enjoyed a nice dinner, cooked by my dad, and now we’re all sitting out on the patio drinking wine, talking about what we’ve been up to.
My parents drilled us about classes and practice, asked Aurora if she has been volunteering anywhere in Fairfield, and if there have been any more instances since what happened to Aurora’s door.
Archer wasn’t happy to find out he’d been left out of the loop on that one, and despite what happened, Aurora and I both smiled, and reassured our mom that everything was fine.
Now he is filling us all in about life on the team, and an art exhibition that Daemon has coming up.
It’s nice to see him so content. However, his happiness tastes sour on my tongue as I flick my eyes across the table, wondering if Aurora and I will ever have that.
Last night we both slept in our respective rooms, and I had to lock our doors and drink until I blacked out, to stop myself from seeking her out.
We’ve slept together almost every night for months now, so not being able to while we’re here is harder than I thought.
Mix that with not even being able to touch her, taste her, fucking make it known that she’s mine, well, I feel like I’m slowly dying.
The conversation continues to flow, my gaze wandering to the other side of the table every few seconds, before my parents' attention comes back to me, to address the elephant in the room.
“How is Harden doing?” My mom finally asks, and I swear I feel Aurora flinch from across the table, as I force my face into a blank mask that my best friend would be proud of.
“He’s fine,” I reply blandly, taking a sip of my wine, and I see Daemon shift uncomfortably on the other side of Archer.
“I still can’t believe what happened to Gemma, he must be beside himself with grief, she was always talking about him.” Her words have anger churning inside of me, as Aurora forces her stare into her lap.
“Or maybe he’s relieved she is no longer breathing down his neck,” I snap back, making my sister’s stare widen in a panic.
“Everest!” My mother scolds, her hand flying to her chest. “That’s an awful thing to say, Gemma Haze was a good woman.”
The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. “Or maybe she was a fucking predator, and you didn’t know her as well as you thought you did!”
“Everest!” Aurora gasps, as silence blankets the table, and I curse out a sigh as I knock back the rest of my wine, forcing myself to calm down.
“I’m just saying, you never know what goes on behind closed doors, and I’d appreciate that, if in my presence, and especially Harden’s, you don’t fucking talk about her ever again.
” Once again my words silence everyone, and I know I shouldn’t have said it, that I should have let Harden keep his secrets, but I just couldn’t fucking sit here and listen to her being praised like that.
When I meet my mom’s stare again, she is completely shell-shocked, yet still I see a look in her eye, as if she is recalling some memories that maybe now make sense in a different light.
Her hands are shaking as she slams her glass back down to the table.
“Excuse me, I need to…” she trails off, as she pushes back from the table, rushing inside before any of us can say another word.
My dad looks completely solemn, as he smiles sadly at me. “Don’t worry, son, I’ll take care of it.” I’m not quite sure what he means, but he finishes his drink and slowly follows after my mom.
Aurora is glaring at me in contempt, before she sighs, and excuses herself to go to bed.
I try to go next, but Archer curses me out for the bomb I just dropped, so I get stuck drinking a freshly opened bottle of whiskey with him, as I tell him the truth about Gemma Haze.
Daemon stays with us only long enough to hear the story, and Archer doesn’t call him out when he abruptly stands and heads inside.
I feel bad for making him relive some of his own trauma no doubt, but it feels nice to escape the knowing stare he has been firing my way all night.
It was a mixture of warning and understanding, and I’m not sure which one pissed me off more.
Once it starts to rain, Archer and I move upstairs to my room, where he drops his phone and bottle of whiskey on my bedside table, and makes himself at home on my bed. He’s still talking, and as much as I love my brother, my thoughts are with the girl on the other side of the wall.
“I will never fathom how much evil exists in this world,” he sighs, tipping back some of the amber liquid, and I offer him a grunt in response.
“You’d tell me right? If something bad happened to you or Aurora?
” His pleading questions have my eyes moving to meet him, and the guilt for not telling him about Jason eats away at me, as I nod.
We pass the bottle back and forth for a while, before my dad eventually appears in my doorway with a reassuring smile. “It’s really good to have both you boys home.”
I sit up quickly. “Is mom okay?” I ask, that guilt inside of me burning even brighter.
“She will be, son, don’t worry,” he replies, leaning against the doorframe as my brother sighs.
“I should go to bed, I’m sure mom will wake us up early tomorrow, to help get everything ready.” Archer reaches over and ruffles my hair with a smile, before pushing off my bed and heading toward the door. “Night, David,” he says to my dad as he passes, and my dad claps him on the back.
“Night, Arch.” We both watch him leave, before my dad turns back to me, assessing me closely.
“What?” I ask, feeling scrutinized beneath his stare, and he just shrugs with a smile.
“I don’t know, you just seem different.” His statement has me frowning in confusion.
“Different how?” I panic slightly as I question him, wondering if I didn’t hide my internal spiral as well as I thought I did.
“Happy.” The one word response has me pausing, still looking at his smiling face.
“I’m always happy,” I scoff, tipping back more of the whiskey, and his eyes dance in amusement.
“Ever, I love you son, but you’ve never been happy.
You hide it well, sure, but there has always been a part of you consumed by sadness that I think was left there the day you were born.
” He doesn’t have to add the reason why, neither of us have ever forgotten, that the day I was born was also the day my mother died.
“I’ve always tried my best with you, but it was there every time I looked at you, and now…
” he trails off, swiping his hands down his face, as he pushes off the door.
“Now what?” I ask, almost holding my breath for the answer.
“Now, it’s like after a lifetime of trying, you’re finally content.
” I swallow thickly at his unexpected words, and it’s on the tip on my tongue to tell him why.
To blurt out the fact that it’s because I’m in love, but then I remind myself that it will never be met with the same love and affection as it was for my brother.
So instead I keep it simple. “I am content, dad, I’m doing well in my classes and hockey is going great.” I swear he can see the lie written all over my face, but all he does is nod.
“That’s great, son, I’m happy for you.” He moves toward me and pulls me in for a one-armed hug, before pulling back.
“And if Harden ever wants to talk, tell him I’m here.
” I nod with a flat smile, before he starts to retreat.
“Now go to sleep, because Archer was right, your mom has big plans for you boys tomorrow.” He winks before shutting the door behind him, and I can’t help but flop back down onto the bed with a sigh.
I swallow a few more swills of whiskey, before pushing off the bed and stripping off my clothes, until I am only in my boxers. I make quick work of going to the bathroom and brushing my teeth, forcing myself to not go into Aurora’s room, before I slink back to bed.
I’ve barely slumped myself against the headboard when the bathroom door opens again, Aurora silently slipping inside, before closing the door behind her.
Her eyes instantly meet mine, and I can’t help but drop my stare down her body, as she slowly moves toward me.
She’s wearing one of my shirts, something that shouldn’t have my dick thickening, but I can’t fucking help myself when it comes to her.
“You shouldn’t be here, princess,” I muse, as she reaches the bottom of my bed and slowly climbs on top of it, crawling her way toward me. “And you definitely shouldn’t be looking at me like that,” I add in a whisper, my hands trailing up her bare thighs as she positions herself in my lap.
“I was getting lonely without you,” she purrs, her tone thick with lust, one that is only heightened inside of my chest when I slide my hands beneath her shirt, only to find she isn’t wearing any underwear.