Page 63 of Four Times Forever

"Just rip off the bandaid, we'll deal with it together. I promise you, I'll prove to you that I'm not a liability..." I was saying.

"It's over," Eric gasped, releasing the breath he'd been holding.

"What?" I had a moment of distortion and I didn't know if it was caused by the leftover tremors of my anxiety or that ridiculous statement. "What's over?"

He took a deep breath, his pupils big and bold. "It's Tyler. He says it's over."

Another deep breath knocked him off his feet this time and he sank to the ground, kind of like where I was just now, except he wasn't freaking out.

He was still a blubbering mess.

A smile stretched wide across his face. Eyebrows pinched, I looked at the rest of the guys.

"I think he's lost it," Ethan echoed my thoughts.

"I haven't. Shut up." Eric looked up at us, trembling. "He's taken care of it."

"I'm confused. What's that supposed to mean? Taken care of what?" I asked.

"What do you think it means?" Eric shot back. "We're free."

Free. I repeated the word over and over in my head and waited for the effects to hit.

Freedom should hit differently.

Tyler and Eric wanted me to believe that after weeks of heartburn, going out of my mind, looking over our shoulders, and fleeing America less than twenty-four hours ago, it was over like that? In what fantasy world?

"Yeah, Eric. I'm sure he's dealt with it. Just like he assured us the bodies wouldn't be discovered until he was ready, I'm sure everything is fine and dandy now." I paced away.

I didn't have time to think about minding my words and not stepping on their toes when my mind was screaming at me that it wasn't okay to breathe yet.

"Stop being so pessimistic, negative Nancy." Eric narrowed his eyes.

I faked a smile against my constricting lungs. "Realistic, more like. Excuse me for not joining you in fairyland when our lives are at stake!"

Eric groaned and rolled his head. "Don't tell me you're going to keep fucking things up. Why can't you accept it when things are good?"

Massaging my chest, I turned away from him. I didn't have the energy to argue.

"He does have a point though," Matt said with a begrudging glance in my direction before cutting his eyes back to Eric.

"Matt, please don't ruin the moment by sticking up for your boyfriend," Eric mocked.

"Eric." Ethan stepped in. "It's not unreasonable for us to be concerned about Tyler's promise. Are you just so ready for it to be over that you're willing to accept this without questions?"

"What do you take me for? A shell head?" Eric retorted.

"A shell head?" Ethan twisted his face, splitting a glance and a smirk between Matt and me.

A smirk. It was small. But my heart skipped a beat at the potential it promised.

"Look, I spoke with him, okay. There are things he can't share with us, for our safety, but you didn't hear him. There was no messing around, no hesitation in his voice. Power..." He paused. "...oozed from him." Eric's brows pinched and he rubbed his two fingers together, searching for what he meant to express. He looked up at us with an assuredness in his eyes. "He sounded...different. There was a finality to his words." Eric nodded. "I believe him. We're free."

He rose to his feet and his face split into a grin.

Ethan, Matt, and I looked at each other. Am I the only one who thinks he looks and sounds crazy right now?

Eric's smile twitched, his eyes wide. "Look, he says it's different this time, right? He has it under control. Now, for fuck's sake, can we please celebrate?" He swallowed a gulp of air and released it. "Take a moment to breathe, get fucking wasted, celebrate with our lady, take Paris by fucking storm, please? I fucking need this. I don't want to waste another second thinking about this whole shitshow ever again."

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