I blinked rapidly, trying to figure out who he could’ve meant. Ruined his life… "The one who Turned you?” I clarified.
He nodded with his gaze glued to the empty sand. “Quillan Laire.” His voice broke at the end, spurring me forward. My heart clenched in my chest at the sound of his pain.
I dropped to my knees beside Bryan and put my arm around him. “Are you okay?”
The sound of the ocean was my only response until a soft sob escaped his lips. “I’ve wanted him dead for so long. Now I don’t know how to feel about myself. What do I do now? How do I go forward?”
Wrapping my arms around him, I pressed my side against his back and tried to push my strength into him, as silly as that sounded. “You’ll take it a day at a time. At least that’s what they say you’re supposed to do.”
“I was so angry for so long. I never wanted to leave Mystic Hollow. But when I told my parents what had happened, they freaked. They kicked me out and told me never to come back. Said I was delusional and a curse on the family. It never mattered what I said or what I showed them, they refused to believe me.” He hung his head and my heart broke for him.
“Oh, Bryan,” I whispered. “I wish you’d told me.”
I ached for all the time we'd missed together because of his narrow minded family. I mean to be fair it's not like they knew anything about this world, but still, if Bryan had been showing them, proving to them that he was a vampire why wouldn't they believe him?
Was it really that easy to cut ties with one of your children? I knew they didn't have the best relationship, but that still surprised me.
“I didn’t trust myself. I had to reach out to another vampire, one that I happened to meet by chance. He helped me figure out my life. How to live in the sun, going to college, and how to eat food so that I didn’t crave blood all the time. It took years to get to where I am now. New vampires can be volatile.”
“The sun?” I asked. “I just thought the whole sun thing was a myth.” We’d been out in the sun several times.
He shook his head. “You’ll notice I always wear a hat.”
“You always did before, though,” I said with a chuckle, remembering his backward ball caps and occasional beanie that used to hide the mass of untamed hair he had underneath. He was balding now, but it suited him more than the unruly nature his hair had before.
“True, but I tend to wear long sleeves and pants. We can be in the sun, but it’s like we’re ten times more likely to burn than any human.”
“I’m glad you found someone to help you.” I shifted to sit beside him and take his hand. “And I’m really glad you’ve come back, even if it did take all these years.”
His expression changed to guilt. “I didn’t want to come back. My parents are still here, and the way they treated me…” He sighed. “I really think it’s scarred me.” Picking up a clump of sand, he let it trickle through his free hand absently. “But a part of me knew I’d never heal if I didn’t face things here. Plus, after Cliff's funeral I decided to take over his firm so I knew I needed to figure everything out.”
When his gaze lifted and he met mine, my heart squeezed like a too-small girdle was on it. “And you never left me. I never stopped thinking about you. There hasn’t been anyone else.”
My jaw dropped, independently, on its own. Even I’d, after all my years of pining, slept with other people and had a few boyfriends. “You’ve never had sex with another woman?” I asked with a gasp.
Bryan furrowed his brow and burst out laughing. “Of course I’ve had sex. I’ve never loved anyone else. Even though I tried. I wanted to make it work with others. I had girlfriends. I even moved in with a woman once. But I kept comparing her with you and the way you made me feel. It wasn’t fair to her, so I ended it swiftly.”
I joined his laughter at our misunderstanding. “Man, if you’d saved yourself for me all these years, I would’ve been so honored.”
He snorted. “Did you save yourself for me?”
I sat up straight, as if indignant. “Of course…”
Bryan’s eyes widened. There was a faint note of panic in his eyes that was visible even in the moonlight.
“Not,” I concluded.
Our laughter lifted his spirits. He was in pain over the death of someone he hated, that was how big his heart was. It was one of the reasons I'd always loved him.
We both laid back on the beach, looking up at the stars, the crime scene no longer in our direct sight. The grief beaten back by laughter, at least for a minute.
“I’m glad you’re back,” I whispered. My words were lost to the surf, but I knew he could hear me.
He reached out and took my hand, our sandy fingers intertwining as he squeezed. There was a moment, just a second, where it felt like he wanted to say something, only I wasn't sure what.
We had been honest with each other since we reconnected and I didn't want to lose that honesty, especially not after seeing what lies and denial did to my best friends' relationships. Lies and denial had poisoned Emma's relationship with Rick for years before they finally parted, and the same with Beth, with Deva though it was more denial than lies.
No one wanted something they'd invested years in to be over with and feel like a waste of time. I refused to let that happen with Bryan. We were going to keep the honesty, even if it was painful at times. I'd rather know the truth than be left in the dark.
