Page 30 of Almost
Maybe this is the wrong thing to do, but I try the door handle to find it open. “Kiera?” I ask, poking my head in the door.If she didn’t want anyone coming in, she would have locked the door, right?Does that logic make sense, or does it only make sense to me because I desperately need to speak with Kiera? She said something about having study group earlier, but that feels like it was forever ago. Today has been too long of a day. I’m ready to climb into bed, and escape the world for a few hours.
I call her again, hearing the phone ring from where the living room is, and I make my way toward the room with my tail tucked between my legs. I feel horrible. Despite Chris trying to convince me I did the right thing by telling Kiera, I know my delivery could have been better.
I step through the doorway, and it takes my brain a moment to catch up and process what is in front of me. To her credit, there are textbooks on the coffee table, but that’s definitely not what they’re studying. Kiera is bent over the arm of the couch as her study buddy plows into her from behind. My jaw drops, and I immediately take a step back to flee before she can see me, but I bump into a table in the hallway that definitely didn’t use to be there.
Both of their eyes snap to look at me, and Kiera screams. “Oh my god! What the hell are you doing here!” she cries out, and I quickly turn around on my heel to leave.
What.
The.
Actual.
Fuck.
My mind is on a one track mission to get out of this house because I don’t trust what might come out of my mouth. This is definitely an instance where I need to take a few months to process this before I can speak on it. Kiera catches me right before I escape out the front door, tugging down the shirt she must have grabbed. “Thalia, please wait, it wasn’t what it looked like!”
Why does shit like this keep happening to me? Why couldn’t I have just left instead of trying the front door? I spin, my entire body trembling with rage. “No. I’m not getting in the middle of this. I really hope that it wasn’t because it looked to me like you were cheating on Sebastian.”
Her face turns bright red, and she pathetically tries to tug her shirt down again. I’ve already seen far more than I wanted to. “Don’t tell him. Please. You owe me.”
“Why do I owe you?” I demand, almost enjoying watching her shrink back. Nothing about this is enjoyable, though.
“Beca-because,” she stammers nervously. “It was a mistake. A one-time thing, I swear. I love Sebastian—you can’t tell him about this!”
I can’t help laughing because that’s her reasoning for why I shouldn’t tell him? Obviously she doesn’t love him if she can cheat on him so easily. “Ireallycan’t deal with thisright now, Kiera. I only came here to tell you that I was sorry for the way I told you everything earlier. I didn’t think I’d walk in on another guy screwing you. My advice if you choose to take it is take a fucking shower before your fiancé comes home. You reek of sex.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sebastian
THE STEADY DRIZZLE of rain from the sky is fitting for the occasion as if someone up there knew the mood today was meant to be somber.
Mimi passed last week, and I’m glad I was able to be with her. We knew the end was coming after she had a period of lucidity longer than a few hours. She had met Kiera before, but never as herself until a month ago.
Mimi told me Kiera seemed like a nice girl, and she was glad to see I had found someone. What I think she really meant was I wouldn’t be alone when she died.
Kiera and I had spoken previously about getting married, so I at least knew that if I asked her, I’d get a better answer than when I asked Thalia. So I asked Mimi if she thought she could see us together forever. Her answer was vague, telling me that only I could make that decision.
I haven’t stopped replaying the last thing Mimi said to me before she passed, though.
You deserve a great love, Bash.
I think it told me her real answer to my question, but I’m not ready to face the fact that Mimi could be wrong.
What exactly is classified as a great love? That’s what I believed I had with Thalia, and all it did was nearly destroy me. If that’s what a great love does to someone, I don’t want it. I’ll settle for a normal love with someone who wants me for who I am.
I close my eyes, feeling Kiera thread her fingers with mine, pulling me from my head. Her presence is welcome, but knowing Thalia is nearby is suffocating. I can’t ask Lia to leave because I know how much Mimi loved her and how much she loved Mimi. No matter how I feel about her, I won’t take today away from Thalia.
Adjusting my grip on the umbrella, I let out a shuddering breath as the officiant continues speaking about Mimi’s life. All of this still doesn’t feel real. I’m the last living Walker. My parents were both only children, Grandpa’s brother died in Vietnam, and Mimi didn’t have any siblings. I have always craved a large family, and I’m grateful that the Lewis’s have taken me in as one of their own, keeping me, even after my relationship with Thalia exploded, but it’s not the same. I’m not blood-related to them, and I’ve never let myself forget it.
Mimi’s being buried with her favorite kind of flowers: peonies. It was the only thing that made sense when I was asked how I wanted everything to be today. All she told me she wanted before passing was her desire to be buried next to my grandfather and my parents with flowers.
At some point, Kiera takes the umbrella away from me so I can hug Vera’s mom, Anna, who came to pay her respects. I haven’t seen Vera in years, not since she moved to California after graduating college. Our friendship never recovered, but last I heard, she was doing well.
Yet, it’s not until we’re on our way to the car with Owen and Blake that Thalia finally approaches me. Owen inhales sharply, his gaze bouncing between us as if trying to decide whether tointervene. He’s kept his promise he made from all those years ago when we were living in the same apartment to keep our friendship separate from my relationship with his sister. He’s a better friend than I deserve.
Thalia sniffles, her eyes rimmed red as she musters a broken smile at Owen, silently communicating with her brother. Whatever Owen sees in her face is enough for him to pull Blake along with him. I stay frozen in place, drinking in every detail of her.