Page 31 of Almost
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” She glances over at Kiera, quietly adding the next part. “Alone?”
Kiera touches my shoulder to get my attention, quickly deciding for me. “Seb, I’m going to the car. Can I have the keys?”
I feel numb, pulling them from my pocket to pass them to Kiera without hesitation. She smiles kindly at Thalia, adjusting her grip on the umbrella, drawing Thalia’s attention to the ring on her finger.
Her tanned face pales, but I don’t have it in me to feel guilty today. I’ve been dating Kiera for two years, so it shouldn’t exactly be a surprise. I might not have meant for it to happen when it did, but it would have happened at some point. “It’s good to see you, Thalia,” Kiera says, and I watch silently as Thalia nods.
“Yeah, you too.”
I wait until Kiera’s out of earshot before saying anything. Thalia’s a wild card. I never know what’s going to come out of her mouth. It’s something I always liked about her, but I never thought it would also be the thing that ended us.
“Thank you for coming,” I say politely, shoving my hands in my pockets as the rain starts again.
“I wouldn’t miss it. You know what Mimi meant to me,” she says quietly, setting her shoulders back as if preparing for a fight. And why wouldn’t she? That’s what we do best.
I choose cruelty because a part of me needs to feel something other than the emptiness in my chest. If fighting with Thalia will produce some kind of reaction in me, then so be it. “It’s hard knowing what people mean to you, Thalia. I didn’t know if Mimi would be any different.” It’s a low fucking blow, and I want to take it back the moment it comes out of my mouth.
Thalia’s vivid green eyes widen in surprise. “You know, I’m going to let that one slide because I can’t imagine the pain you’re in right now, but I didn’t come here to fight with you.” She exhales sharply, and if anything, the fact she’s letting it go makes me feel worse. Thalia’s blonde hair is shorter than it was the last time I saw her, hanging just above her shoulders.
“Then what did you come here for?”
She purses her lips, looking me over before changing the topic. “How’s Zeus?”
“He’s doing well; I’m sure if you wanted to take him for a few days, it wouldn’t be a problem,” I try to offer cordially. Fighting isn’t worth it if she won’t fight back.
“Zeus isn’t just yours. I don’t need your permission to spend time with a dog that’s half mine,” Thalia says, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. That’s what pisses her off? Me saying she can have our dog for a few days instead of questioning what Mimi meant to her?
“Then maybe act like it. You can’t have a dog when you’re jetting around in a new country every week. They need stability,” I snap, letting my feelings of anger and resentment toward Thalia’s career bleed into the conversation. “I was trying to be nice. I don’t even know why I fucking bother with you anymore.”
Thalia scoffs again, shaking her head at me. “You fucking bother with me because you don’t have anyone but my family. I bet that’ll last long, though, based on the ring sparkling on Kiera’sfinger. I’m sure she’ll love spending time with my family after you’re married.”
Something sparks in me, and I chase that feeling, craving anything but the hollowness in my chest. “Fuck you,” I snarl, and Thalia narrows her eyes at me.
“No, fuck you! A funeral is a great place to announce an engagement, but I guess I’m supposed to say congratulations. I hope she’s not another almost in your life,” Thalia says cruelly, turning away from me to walk away as the rain begins to pour.
I hate that goddamn word, and she knows it. I hate how she of all people can make me feel alive, when all I’ve felt is this numbness that won’t go away. I want to hate her, but I don’t. Thalia doesn’t get to act this way, though, not when it’s her fault we’re not together.
I lurch forward to grab her arm, stopping Thalia in her tracks. “Why did you come today?” I demand, refusing to let Thalia run away from me this time.
We’re completely soaked now, and she visibly shivers, but I still don’t let her go. “Because I wanted to pay my respects and tell you how sorry I am about Mimi. I didn’t expect to see you flaunting the fact that you’re engaged to Kiera.”
“I wasn’t flaunting it. I got down on one knee and proposed to the woman I love. Instead of staring at me like she was fucking horrified by the prospect of spending the rest of her life with me, she cried and said yes before we fucked. If I were rubbing it in your face, I would have sent you a video,” I seethe, and Thalia’s mouth opens a little in shock.
That’s not at all how it happened, but I want to hurt her. I want her to regret throwing away the life we had started together. I want to make her hurt as much as I do.
“An engagement is something you talk about ahead of time before asking, Bash! I’m glad you found someone who will give youwhat you want. If that’s all you wanted then we were never going to work.”
Except we could have.
That thought lingers between the two of us, and I drop her wrist as if I’ve been burned by Thalia. “I should be thanking you for saying no. Asking you to marry me was the biggest mistake of my life because you are the worst thing that almost happened to me.”
Thalia’s open palm connects with my cheek, snapping my head to the side. “Fuck you, Sebastian Walker. Today was about Mimi. Just because you can’t deal with how much it hurts, doesn’t mean you can say that to me. She’d be ashamed if she could see you right now.”
She walks away from me in the pouring rain as I stagger back to where Mimi’s casket is being lowered into the ground with the rest of my family, collapsing to my knees. I cry until the numbness returns, thinking perhaps it would be better to feel nothing at all.
~
“Hey, man, long time no see,” I greet, sitting down next to Chris as he sips a beer. He called me on my way back to town, and said he wanted to catch up. Kiera wasn’t home when I dropped off Zeus to feed him, but we’ll talk later. There’s a lot to discuss and I’m sure she’ll have questions.