Chapter 62 #2
“Thank you both for coming,” I say as a genuine warmth blooms into my chest, the lingering nerves finally melting away.
I glance past his shoulder, my eyes naturally drifting back toward the bright and chaotic oasis of the pool area to check on my world.
Right on cue, a dark silhouette comes into view as Zeke launches himself into the air, tucking his knees tight to his chest, and executes a completely unhinged cannonball.
A tidal wave erupts, intentionally drenching Marisol and Lex who were drinking poolside.
Zeke surfaces a second later, throwing his head back and laughing as Lex yells something I’m sure is threatening in Russian.
Near the outdoor bar, Ellie and Haley are holding martini glasses, their hips swaying as they dance like absolute fools to the music with Caleb and Knox.
And further out on the lawn with Rez, Cade is entirely out of his element. He cuts across the grass tracking a high-arc pass from one of the Briggs brothers I can’t identify from here.
A soft chuckle draws my attention back to the fire pit.
Luciana is watching the same exact scene. Her lips are curved into an amused, yet slightly bewildered smile as she watches Cal try to flip August in the deep end. She leans her head gently on Dad’s shoulder.
“You really weren’t kidding when you said chaos, Bella.”
“I told you,” I say, grinning.
Luciana hands my dad her wine glass and pushes herself up from the cushions. “Excuse me for a moment,” she whispers before heading off toward the house.
“You seem happy,” I say, watching Dad stare after his wife as she disappears further up the garden path.
His eyes meet mine. “How can I not be?”
I smile.
“How about you?” he asks.
“What about me?”
“How are you doing, Bella?
I blink. “I’m okay.”
One dark brow lifts.
“I mean it.” I laugh quietly. “I’m better than I was.”
“But?”
My smile fades as I stare into the dancing flames.
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “Some days I wake up and everything almost feels normal again.” I pick at the label on my beer bottle. “Then other days I remember he was my uncle before…” My throat tightens. “All of that.”
Dad doesn’t interrupt me.
“I hate that I still remember the good parts.”
He reaches over, squeezing my hand gently. “What did Dr. Monroe say?”
I huff out a breath. “That I’m perfectly normal.”
“I could’ve told you that.”
I snort. “He said that people don’t just get over something like this that fast and to give myself some grace.
” My eyes burn. “But my brain keeps remembering him as Jack teaching me to ride a bike, building me my dollhouse, and sneaking me cotton candy at Razorback games when Daddy wasn’t looking.
” I shake my head. “But then bam! Luca and all the shit from Eden slam into my head and knocks me on my ass.”
“Give yourself time.” Dad nods slowly, leaning back. “Those memories don’t cancel each other out.”
“I just wish I could stop thinking about any of it. Especially the good ones,” I admit, scrunching my nose. “They make me feel guilty for even thinking of a time when we were happy.”
“They make you human.”
I look down at my hands, letting his words settle in my chest. He’s right. And maybe that humanity is finally winning, because for the last week, the shadows in the corner of my mind have stayed just that—shadows.
Luca. Jack. Whoever he was is gone.
His emerald eyes, the scar he’d never talk about, and the smell of his roses have finally stopped hijacking my brain. Monroe said it’d take time for my nervous system to realize that the threat was dead, but lately, the air inside my own head feels clearer.
“The good part about all of this.” My eyes drift back toward the pool where Zeke is laughing while Lex tries to shove him underwater. “I think helping him has helped me heal a little faster.”
“Your brother?”
I nod. “I’ve spent so much time worrying about whether he’s eating enough, sleeping, hell if he’s even smiling…” A small laugh escapes me. “Monroe says I’ve basically adopted him.”
Dad chuckles.
“I mean, technically what he said,” I continue, “is that after weeks of surviving someone who took away all my choices, helping Zeke gives my brain something it can actually do.”
“It gives you back a purpose,” Dad says.
“I guess.”
“You couldn’t save yourself in Eden,” he says gently. “But now every day you get to help save your brother.”
I look back toward the pool where Marisol is now trying to help Lex dunk Zeke and failing. A smile tugs at my lips.
“He also said healing isn’t just forgetting.” I swallow. “It’s slowly letting other people take up the space that the trauma used to.”
“He isn’t wrong.”
A loud, booming “OH MY GOD!” suddenly echoes throughout the gardens, splintering the quiet peace of the fire pit. A chorus of wild cheering instantly explodes from the pool area.
Before I even have a chance to get up and run toward the sound, Lex and Cade are already sprinting across the lawn straight to me.
“Sweetheart!” Cade beams as they slide into the garden space. The bright glow of his phone screen illuminates the absolute, sheer joy written across his face.
I scramble to my feet. “What? What happened?”
Cade lifts his phone, his hand shaking slightly as another breathtaking and radiant smile takes over his face.
“I got the interview!”