“I’m not angry at you Keomi, I wasn’t there, I don’t know the pain that was caused by all that was said…or left unsaid. But I do know that I won’t keep this a secret from River, he deserves this.” I concluded, “He deserves consolation, he deserves areasonat least.”
“You’re right,” Keomi spoke, her bottom lip trembling and tears collecting in her eyes. “Tell him. Give him a reason, even if it may not be right, even if it’s only a half-truth. He deserves to know.”
“I will.” I nodded but just as I was about to turn on my heel, Fabian grabbed my hand once more. His eyes turned teary as well. “What?”
“Please. If you tell him, please tell him that I— that I’m sorry.” Fabian suggested and I nodded.
“You must be.” I acknowledged. “I would be.”
“If you know anything, then know this. Know that what happened to Jace, It haunts us all, lingers in our walls and whispers cruelties in our sleep. Know that if you feel bad, then we have feltawful always. That we were young, and thought we knew everything. Only to grow up and realise that we know nothing at all.” Keomi expressed. “We don’t want to lose you, you brought such light into our lives.”
“If you stray away from us because of this, we will understand, even if it’s for a very long time. But please know that we will hope that you come back, the door is always open. We meant everything we said, we may not be certain of much but we are all sure that we will always be your friends even if you may not want to be ours any more.” Fabian narrated.
And then I left.
A day or two later
It was New Year’s Eve and I was perched on the balcony wearing nothing but a pearl necklace around my neck. River had been painting me for almost an hour and I was getting bored. Don't get me wrong, I adored being his muse and it still gave me butterflies but I wanted to do something different that day, something fun. Then I remembered that I had my exhibit that afternoon and had to go to the bank to deposit the cash prize. I was happy about that, mostly because I wanted to distract myself for a few hours while I figured out how or if I should even tell him the truth about everything with Fabian. It would break him to find out that not only did his friends keep this secret from him but that there was a chance that Jace would still be here if Fabian hadn’t threatened him.
He was only just recovering you see, his sleep schedule was finally back on track and he was getting at least six hours of sleep every night. I would never tell him but it hurt me to watch him all those previous restless nights, having him fall asleep and wake up two hours later wasn't just draining for him but for me too. Because watching someone you love more than anything struggle with something that should be as simple as sleep takes a toll on you too. Only after he burned those paintings and letters from Jace did things start to get better, now I don't know exactly what that meant to him but it was almost like he was finally allowing himself to move on. And I didn't want to be the one to tell him the truth. That there was a missing piece to the puzzle that might help him.
"River." I sighed finally moving after so long,
"Yeah?" He replied softly and I pulled him towards me and he handed me the nightgown I was wearing so I could slip back into it.
"We have the exhibit today," I told him and he quirked an eyebrow in question,
"Yeah and?" He asked and we walked back inside.
He sat down on the couch and I propped myself onto him with my legs on either side of him, he placed his careful hands on my waist.
"Let's go early," I suggested hopefully and he gazed back at the balcony to where his incomplete painting was,
"I don't know?" He shrugged,
"Come on please!" I urged and I moved my hips slightly but he placed a hand on my thigh to stop me from moving, blood rushed to his cheeks and I couldn't help but giggle,
"I don't think you want to do that." He pointed out and I realised what I was doing, I grinned guiltily,
"I'm sorry!" I apologised and he laughed,
"Don't worry about it." He teased, he was so easy to get all worked up.
I slipped out of my nightgown once more and made my way into the shower. I'd taken my braids out and it felt nice to feel the hot water soak through my hair and down my neck. I smoothed my face mask onto my skin and rubbed in slow circles, I turned behind me and saw River make his way in too. I smiled and he took hold of my loofah and squeezed shower gel onto it and proceeded to lather my back with soap. He wrapped his arms around me and did the same with the front of my body too. He placed a soft kiss onto my neck and I turned around to kiss his lips instead as the aroma of lavender filled the bathroom.
"I don't think I'll ever get tired of being yours, I can't wait to do this every day with you." He spoke into our kiss, and I smiled against his lips,
"I remember I once dreamed of hearing you say those words," I recalled as his tongue swiped over my own, I'd gotten so accustomed to his taste, warm and familiar, "This really is a dream."
"Then I never want to wake from it." He declared as I melted completely into his touch.
Afterwards, I blew my hair out with a hairdryer and tied it into a small bun, and laid my edges neatly. All while River watched me intently sitting on the edge of the sink, I laughed at the way he seemed completely mesmerised by the simplest of things that I did. River insisted on picking out my clothes today because he wanted our outfits to match, he always had such amazing style I thought he could've been a fashion major. He was wearing a plain Calvin Klein t-shirt and denim jacket with a silver chain around his neck and I put on a pair of black jeans and one of River's band t-shirts of a band I had no idea even existed.
I looked in the mirror as he stood beside me and it was impossible to deny that we looked really good together, I’d never noticed it before. Hell, if I saw us I would want to be us too. We got in the car and drove to the Amelie Art Gallery, and I had no idea just how official and elegant everything was going to be. There was a literal red carpet leading up to the doorway and all the cars parked in the driveway were expensive, it was clear that they were hosting an elite audience.
"Monsieur Kennedy, we haven't seen you here in a while!" One of the ladies getting out of her car greeted, she was wearing a stunning red dress to match her ginger curls and had the most enchanting green eyes. "Which piece of yours did you enter, I haven't seen it on the list of entries?"
"Evelyn." River greeted and she smiled, as another woman made her way over, just as stunning and she was middle eastern and had long dark hair that spun all the way to her waist, she leaned in and kissed Evelyn's lips, "Unfortunately I'm just a guest today, I'm accompanying the real star of the exhibit."
