But then I hear a crack of skin on skin, and Emerson lets out a grunt. I smirk, reaching my hand behind my back to high five Nico for doing what I was thinking.
Everyone rises from their chairs, turning to watch the cabin doors where Valor will walk from. Bishop is holding his breath, body trembling.
She emerges from the cabin, walking down the wooden steps gracefully to her father who is waiting with his arm extended and tears streaming down his face. They begin their slow descent down the middle of the row.
Then, as fate would have it, she looks up and their eyes meet. The shivers leave him. He is as calm as the lake behind us, just staring in tranquil admiration of the love of his life.
His eyes are inflamed as he tries to hold back the tears, but I watch two or three fall down his cheeks. It’s the only time I’ve ever seen him cry, and I once watched him take the blade of a skate to the chin. He was as tough as they come, but she made him compassionate.
Valor is red, the color of her hair red, blushing at all the attention and you can see that all she wants is to escape in Bishop’s arms. She’s twenty seconds from darting down this aisle to hide in his embrace.
She is his soft place to land, and he is her protector. He has always known she belonged to him, and she has always loved him. Somewhere between hockey and heartbreak, these two found love.
More than anything, it’s inspiring. That two beings could trust each other in that capacity. I can’t even sleep in a bed with someone. It makes my skin crawl, my skin itches considering it.
When they eventually reach us, Bishop stretches his hand to his bride to be and she takes it lightly, stepping up to face him. I feel like I’m interrupting a solitary moment as he lifts his right hand to grasp the one stray curl that hangs near the side of Valor’s pale face and tugs on it.
“Hey, Vallie girl,” he murmurs.
The nerves visibly lift from her and she has now entered a space that’s just those two. The rest of us have simply vanished.
If these two didn’t make it to forever, the rest of us could kick rocks.
“Hey, B,” she responds.
The ceremony goes off without a hitch, Dalia sleeps soundly in the arms of her grandmother wrapped in a fur blanket, Bishop and Valor cry through their vows, and soon after they are pronounced husband and wife. We are headed to the reception where Emerson can freely drink without Riggs biting his head off.
And he is trying to hit on Valor’s step sister, which from what I can see, is working. The kid is smooth like silk. He was honey to flies and women couldn’t say no to him.
First dances, cutting of the cake, more tears, and smiles. Love seems to be the theme of the night as the wedding continues without a hitch.
I am sitting away in the corner, observing everyone around me. I don’t want to say I’m bored, but I’m bored. Social settings aren't somewhere I thrive.
"Are you always brooding and mysterious? Or is it just to pick up ladies?"
I look over at Riggs, who sits down in the seat next to me, a champagne flute in her hands. My lips tilt into a sideways smirk.
"It's all for the women," I joke, leaning back in my seat, stretching back a little. I’d shrugged my coat off earlier.
"I'm starting to think you're more Zombie than human, Kai."
"I prefer a vampire."
She rolls her eyes, taking a drink of her beverage. She sighs, fiddling with her dress and I raise a suspect eyebrow.
"Is there something you want to say to me, Aurelia?"
She gives me a forced smile, like she’s nervous about what she’s about to say. This makes me anxious.
"No, I just wanted to chat. You look lonely. You need more human interaction."
"What part of my appearance says I want that?"
I look down at my heavily tattooed body, five millimeter gauged ears, and permanent scowl. Then back at her.
"I have this girl I work with—"
"Not happening," I insert, not letting her finish.
"Kai, she's—”
"She could be Helen of Troy, who by the way, brought the fall of two kingdoms and the despair of two brothers, the answer is still no. I don't do blind dates, and I don't need you getting me women, Riggs.”
"You are such a mule! We just want you to find someone. We don’t want you to end up alone for the rest of your life.”
"If only I were so lucky,” I remark as I take a drink of my champagne.
“Kai, we just don’t want you to be alone. Everyone else is getting married and having babies. You deserve that too.”
“I don’t see you barking up Emerson’s tree.”
She scoffs, “He is young. He still has some time before he is ready to settle down, when that time comes, we will set him straight too. Because that’s what family is for. It took me a while to realize that, but this is our family, and you happen to be a part of it.”
Family.
That term sounded so foreign to me. Even with Nina, I didn’t consider it a family. She just happened to be a great person, who took me in.
“Look, Aurelia. I appreciate the offer, I do, but I’m fine on my—”
A commotion starts near the exit of the dining hall.
"Emerson, you can't leave like this!"
I look over, curiously, seeing Nico and Bishop.
"What's going on?" I ask with pressed eyebrows and a bad feeling in my stomach. I make my way over, seeing Emerson.
Glassy eyes, flushed skin, messy hair. He has a determined glint in his stance. There is no stopping whatever it is that he wants to do. When drunk people set their mind to something there is no stopping it.
“What’s going on?” I ask again, but no one answers me. Emerson just continues to fight Bishop off trying to move Nico from in front of the door.
I reach out, gripping Emerson’s shoulder pulling him around to face me. I latch my hands onto the sides of his vest, shaking him forcefully.
“Emerson, what the hell is going on? Talk to me,” I sound out slowly.
I’m not sure if it’s tears or the alcohol, but there is a profound sadness in his eyes.
"My mom is headed to the hospital. She's sick, I've got to go. I have to get out of here.”
I sigh, rubbing my eyes, and then rub my hands down my face. This guy couldn’t catch a break. Wave after wave of bad luck, every time he tried to get up something knocked him flat on his ass.
"It's a twenty-eight hour drive back to Chicago. Let me help you, okay? I'll call and get us flights. But I need you to calm down, and sober up, do you hear me?"
His jaw twitches, like he wants to argue with me.
"I hear you," he grits out.
I glance over at Bishop and Nico.
"I'll call you guys when we land."
They nod as I guide Emerson out of the reception hall toward my car.
"I can't lose anyone else, Kai. I won't make it," he mumbles as he trudges behind me, wiping the tears that leak down his face away as quickly as they fall.
The saddest thing about it was, I actually believed him.
Five
You, Again
Charlotte
The steady beeping of the heart monitor made my head throb. I’d always consider myself an occasional smoker, maybe once every month. But right now, I needed a cigarette. I craved something that muffled my thoughts for a little bit.