Page 77 of Breaking Bristol
“You can,” I whispered.
“Matthew…”
I lifted the dog tag with my brother’s name etched and touched the newly added dent. “This bullet should have killed me.” Those tears spilled over, and her lashes brushed her cheeks. “Mikey was watching over me, and now I want him to watch over you and our baby.”
Her eyes flew to me on a gasp. “I’m pregnant?”
“You will be.” I tucked the chain under her clothes and kissed her soft, long, and slow, then rested my forehead on hers. “Soon.”
She smiled, so fucking beautiful. Her arms came around my waist and she just held on like she couldn’t let me go.
“You better name your son after me, Matty.”
I smiled at the sound of Mikey’s voice and did a sweep of the room like he’d materialized from the heavens. He was nowhere to be found even though I recently learned he never really left me.
“One condition,” Bristol mumbled against my shirt.
“What’s that?”
She tilted her head back, and I gazed down into the other half of my soul, then announced, “We’re naming him Mikey.”
My shoulders shook, but my throat got tight, and the backs of my eyes itched. “What if it’s a girl?”
“Mikey’s cute for a girl.”
“Yeah, it is,” I agreed thickly.
“No, it’s not. It’s a boy name,” my brother argued. “Do not name your daughter Mikey.”
My mouth split into a huge smile, and I tipped Bristol’s chin with my finger. “Please give me a baby girl.”
EPILOGUE
Bristol
Six months later.
The view from my window was spectacular. I’d never seen such beautiful trees, such bright green grass and colorful flowers. A fountain in the pond on the right side had a bridge across it. I couldn’t wait to take pictures there.
White chairs were lined up in pristine order, and light-pink tulle was draped across the backs of them and on the gazebo in which Matthew and I would say our vows.
Family and friends began to fill their seats, and for the hundredth time today, my eyes filled with the happiest of tears. I never thought this day would come, and now that it was here, it was better than anything I could have ever dreamed.
A quick knock on the door sounded, and then, “Can I come in?”
“Yes.” I turned my head, and when Scotty saw me, he put his hand on his chest and stared. “What?”
“You’re beautiful, Bristol.”
“You clean up nice, too.” He was wearing a gray suit with a white shirt and a pink tie that accented the super cool red tint in his hair.
He came closer and touched my cheek. “Happy?”
“Unbelievably.”
“Good.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels. “I have something for you from Beck, and I know what it’s gonna do to you, so I don’t want to give it to you now because you’ll need to have your makeup redone. But he wants you to have it.”
Just that made my eyes glisten. “What is it?”