He turns to me and holds me close in a hug, and every time I think he’s about to let go, he doesn’t.
“Sevan, you didn’t haveanythingto do with this, did you?” I ask as I’m buried near his hair.
He pulls back, looking me in the eye. “Of course not. But I wish I did. I’m not doing anything that serious ever again without telling you first.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
I feel him sigh in my arms, and it almost feels like a sob.
“I didn’t fix it,” he whispers, like he’s broken. “I couldn’t fix it on my own.”
My heart squeezes in my chest. He’s hugging me tight again, and I exhale, relief flooding me.
But I never expected Sevan to react like this. The most vulnerable I’ve ever seen him.
He really wanted to get revenge on Thorne.
When is the last time anyone other than my brother gave a shit about me like this?
Sev is rocked to his core, almost like he’s more shocked by Thorne’s death than I am.
“You already told me you’re done trying to fix everything around you,” I murmur at him.
“I know. God, Ifuckingknow. I’m sorry, Wes.”
Thorne probably did deserve worse, and maybe should have been in prison for life.
But I don’t give a fuck anymore.
I’m done pretending I have control over my past, no matter what form it takes.
“You have nothing to apologize for. I know I’ll never be able to get rid of all the ghosts my father left,” I tell him. “But I’m not going to live half of a life, anymore. I’m going to take what I’m given. And I'm going to move on. Ihaveto move on.”
“You’re right,” he says. “I hate it, but you are.”
Yes.
Thank God.
He’s still here. Still here with me.
I feel every beat of my heart against him.
“I’m just glad it’s over.”
“You’re allowed to be happy,” Sev says in a serious tone. “You should never feel guilty about that again.”
Sev actsstrange for the rest of the night.
Not strange in a suspicious way, but justdifferent, like he doesn’t want to step away from me. All of us go out to celebrate after the ceremony at a big, fancy restaurant in town, and Sev keeps a hand on me basicallyall the time, as if he’s afraid I might vanish into thin air otherwise.
He’s still in a suit from the ceremony, but many of the top buttons are open now, exposing the array of colorful tattoos at the top of his chest. Every time I look at him, I can hardly believe that man ismine.
And somehow, miraculously, he wants me, too.
After a long night of a few whiskeys that people purchase for him, he’s looser than usual, too. We pile into a car with Niko, who drives us back to Onyx House after sunset.
“Get over here,” Sev says to me the moment we’re back inside.