Page 104 of Fate Forever and Always

I stared out onto the dance floor where Nick was now dancing with Aubrey’s mom. Her mom saw me staring and pretended to grab his ass, so I dragged my hand across my neck in a cutting motion. I was joking, of course. I didn’t plan on saying anything to him. I just wanted to sit with him. I tried my best to look forward and watch the man of my dreams smiling and laughing. Elijah’s voice cut me off.

“You really love him, huh?”

I looked over at him and could tell he was still two sheets to the wind. Luckily, he was a nice drunk for the most part. His eyes looked sad.

“Are you okay?” I asked. I completely ignored his question, but I knew he didn’t need an answer.

“I will be. I just need to get my shit together.”

I gave him a surprised look.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing. I just thought I was going to have to say it.” I smiled, trying to ease the tension.

“Thanks, friend,” he said sarcastically.

I nudged his arm with mine. “You know if you need help, all you have to do is ask, right? We are all here for you.”

I looked around the room to find Brielle who was dancing with Link, then looked back at Elijah, motioning over toward Brie with a nod. “Especially that one over there.”

He looked me in the eye this time. “Brielle? She basically hates me now. She pretty much wrote me off when I told her I didn’t need rehab. She told me to get it together or never talk to her again.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

He was quiet for a moment and smirked, looking down at his feet. “I looked up a few rehabs before the party.”

My eyebrows went up in surprise. That is definitely not what I thought was going to come out of his mouth.

“It’s kind of funny. I have heard that line a thousand times, and I’ve always chosen to just not talk to whoever said it. My entire family, for example. But with her…I just…I don’t think I can choose not to talk to her. It’s different. It’s like the thought of not seeing or talking to her is more important than getting rid of this pain with alcohol. No one has ever cared enough to offer me help and kindness like she has.”

He looked over at me; I thought for validation, but I was speechless at his rawness. He was about to say something else, but Nick interrupted us.

“Can I steal my girl for a minute?”

“Steal away, my guy,” Elijah stated.

I leaned in to kiss Elijah’s cheek before getting up. “She cares about you more than you think.”

Before I could pull away completely, Elijah grabbed my wrist. “This stays between us, okay?”

I made the zipper motion across my lips before smiling and walking away to dance with my man again.

Nick twirled me around, pulling me in with his arm around my hip with my back to him. He whispered in my ear. “Do I need to fight Elijah?

I turned in his arm and kissed him. “Calm it down, caveman. I only have eyes for you.”

“You better.”

I couldn’t help but look over to Elijah while I was dancing. I know he would make the right decision for himself, but it really hurt to see him hurting like that. We had been getting a little closer with each other since Brielle, Nick, him and I were all in the bridal party. We had a group chat, and we basically bullshit or throw ideas for wedding stuff out. It helped me learn a lot more about him.

“What’s on your mind, Sweets?” Nick's voice pulled me from my thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“What are you thinking about? You just went to another world for a second.”

“I’m fine.” I smiled at him, “I'm just thinking about how lucky we are to have the friends we do. I am grateful for every single one of them.”

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