The mention of his name sobered everyone quickly.
“We need to go,” Malachi interrupted.
“Wait,” Lucia called, “we need pictures. We need to remember this moment.”
Malachi held back a laugh, “You want to capture the day Bec quits?”
“Malachi James, this is a big day for her,” Lucia chastised. “It’s the day she is choosing herself and what’s good. We have to memorialize it.”
I smiled and kissed her lightly on the cheek, “How about we take pictures when I’m back?”
"Home," she corrected and smiled back, “This is your home now. Forever. Rome chose you, and so did we.”
I held back my tears, realizing I finally had the family I had always wanted. But the cost was the love of my life.
Malachi motioned towards the door, and I nodded and followed him out to the waiting car. It was a long commute to the office, but it gave me a chance to sort through my thoughts and feelings.
“Last day, huh?” Andi remarked from her spot next to me.
She insisted on coming with me on my last day. I felt guilty since she was now essentially out of a job too, but she didn’t seem overly upset. She was planning on traveling abroad for a few years and had been spending her free time planning the trip. It was about time she got a break from this crazy world. Witnessing Rome’s death had broken something in her. She was distracted and sloppy in the few tasks I gave her. I couldn’t blame her, though. I wouldn’t have recovered.
Malachi glanced back from his spot in the passenger seat next to the driver. He did that a lot… always checking on me. I smiled at him with what I hoped was a reassuring smile, but who knew at this point, and then I turned back to Andi.
“Yeah, it’s time I step away.”
She nodded as if she understood. “Rome’s in a better place now.”
I know the words were meant to be comforting, but they cut deep.
Malachi laughed in the front, saving me from having to answer. “A better place, huh? He would disagree. Rome insisted he was heading straight to hell.”
Andi’s eyes grew wide in shock and what looked to be dismay, "Absolutely not!” She argued, “He is kind, caring, and loving.”
“He was,” Malachi agreed. “He also fucked his way across half the world.”
I laughed, “Not only did he plan on going straight to hell, but he was looking forward to it. He thought it would be more fun down there than with the ‘goody-two-shoes’ at the pearly gates.”
Malachi laughed, the first real laugh I had heard. “He really was a man of many, weird words.”
Andi looked between the two of us as if we had lost our minds. Maybe we had. “Why in the world would you talk about him that way?”
My laughter died down, and I sighed as I leaned back into the leather of the seat. “Because it’s how he would talk about it. The man had one hell of a foul mouth.”
“Hewasa dirty talker,” Malachi supplied with a smirk.
“How in the world do you know that?” I asked, curious.
Malachi chuckled, “The amount of times Rome got drunk and hit on me was concerning. Some of the shit that came out of his mouth made even me blush.”
“Malachi James, did you have a thing for my boyfriend?” I joked.
Andi scoffed at the comment, but I chose to ignore her. We were all dealing with our grief in our own ways.
He shrugged, “There was a stretch of time we were in a desert with no one else to talk to, and he seemed rather appealing.” Malachi laughed as he thought back. “Then I got back to civilization and realized I was delusional. Plus, he was all talk with most people.”
“What do you mean?” Andi interjected.
“He flirted with anything that had legs,” Malachi explained. “I’m not sure he knew how to have a normal interaction with someone. It was never real, simply how he communicated… well, until Bec.”
