Page 63 of The Broken Queen
Five seconds where the old Presley came out, ran her fingers through my hair, and brushed her thumbs over my eyelids. She whispered, “My sky fell, Gio. You were always supposed to hold it up.”
Sorrow and guilt swelled within me, making me rasp brokenly, “I’m sorry, Elvis. So fucking sorry.”
My mouth slowly met hers in a gentle kiss, something as careful and perfect as the stars we used to find. But she pulled back secondslater, completely leaving the bed. She disappeared inside her bathroom, and then the lock clicked into place.
One step forward, and five huge steps back.
I lay back, dragging my arm over my face and letting out a sigh. There had to be some way to get through to her without waiting months for her to get past her grief. I wanted my Elvis back. The one who lived for my smile, all the sunlight I gave, and all the joy I had to offer. I wanted her back. I knew she was in there; I just had to find a way to bring her out.
The sky was bright blue,with the sun shining in a happy glow. The air was frigid, but that didn’t matter. It was March, which meant Presley’s birthday was right around the corner, and it was the perfect time for me to execute my plan.
It took some effort and an entire week to arrange it, but it was finally time. The week had been silent and tense, and full of awkward moments.
Moments where Presley would cry, or storm off toward the shooting range and begin firing off endless rounds. Each night, she’d request to be tucked into my arms, but she only ever wanted a sexual connection. At least that’s what she’d say, but the very fact that she craved my touch in the form of being held told me she was succumbing to something deeper.
That’s what made up the other awkwardness. Kingston was in and out of the house, but each time he chose to stay in the barn, Presley would find a way to punish him by being cozy and romantic with me. It was all bullshit that I knew she didn’t mean, but I drank it up anyway. Anything that let me have her in any capacity was worth it for me. Even if that meant we’d fuck loud enough to get Kingston’s attention, and she’d occasionally demand I take her in the barn, so he'd walk in and find us.
It should have bothered me. On some level, what she was doingwas shitty, but I also knew this was her form of payback to us both, and it was the most effective way to hurt us. She was only giving us the part of her that we deemed valuable.
Any emotions she’d keep back. She was using me to hurt Kingston, and if he was willing, she’d use him to hurt me.
He hadn’t touched her since that day the three of us were together. She hadn’t asked for him, but during dinner or when we’d watch movies in the living room at night, I noticed how frequently she’d look over at the window that faced the barn. Not having him in the house bothered her a great deal, and I was choosing to ignore it because I finally had her to myself.
Which made this moment worth it. The one where I knew things were going to begin changing.
Waving my arms, I helped the driver of the truck navigate the trailer to the barn. I had moved all of Kingston’s shit up to the loft this morning and renovated the pens so they had hay, and were ready for our new visitors.
“Okay, right there!” I yelled as the brake lights lit up. The truck stopped, and the man exited the truck, moving toward the rear of the trailer.
“What the fuck is this?” I heard my brother ask from behind me. I turned around, seeing him lean against the side of the barn with his arms crossed. He wore a baseball hat today, and it took me back to when we were kids. He hadn’t worn one in years.
“Okay, where do you want the first one?” The rancher walked toward me, holding the rope for one of the highland cows.
“Just in here.” I guided him while Kingston groaned in frustration behind me.
“Gio, you didn’t.”
I helped the rancher settle two more of the cows inside the barn before I paid him. The rancher ensured I had the right food and the proper setup so the cows would be cared for properly. It took almost an hour before the man drove away. I figured my brotherwould have left by then, but the second I turned back toward the side of the barn, he was still there.
“This was a stupid decision, Gio.”
I walked past him, heading toward the side pasture gate. “She’s going to love it.”
“No, she’s not,” he argued.
The cows had begun shifting around in their stalls when my brother took off his hat and began cursing in Spanish.
“Gio!” he yelled and pointed toward the cows. “What the fuck?!”
“She loves cows. It’s going to help bring her out of her funk, I know it will,” I argued back.
“She hates us. Why don’t you get that? She hates us, and she’s grieving. You have to let both of those things happen. You can’t rush them or stop them.”
He was wrong. We could stop it if we just put some effort into it.
“You aren’t even trying to get her back, so what the fuck would you know about it?”
His dark hair shifted in the wind as he laughed. “She does not want to be won back. You’re not getting it. We broke her, Gio.”
