Page 88 of The Air You Breathe

I looked away for a moment because I didn’t want to add to their emotional load. They were both taking on way too much, they didn't need my anxiety on top of that.

“Mhuirnín.” He rested his forehead against mine. “You don’t need to lie, we need to know if you are ok, or just how you are feeling.”

“I’m fine,” I said, against his lips before I kissed him, hoping he would drop it. “But who is Claire?”

“Paolo’s sister, come on, let's get you fed.” Evan pulled me away, leading me to a much larger dock than the one Dev and I had had on our date.

A blanket was laid out with the food on top and a few other blankets folded off to the side. I didn’t realize he had set everything up. The stress from earlier slowly melted into the background as I smiled.

“Wow, you guys pulled out all the stops.” I sat down on the blanket, and it was warm, making me want to lay down on it and roll myself up like a burrito. “This blanket feels so good!”

They chuckled.

“My father had a ton of camping stuff, and he had a few battery-operated heated blankets.” Evan laid another blanket on my lap. I was in heaven, but my heart threatened to burst when he laid out two camellias on my lap. Each was a different color, making me want to cry.

“Holy shit, this is amazing,” I said, as Dev passed out our food, giving me a moment so I could get my shit together. We enjoyed our sandwiches and soups as the sun set, in silence, which worried me even more. When we finished our food, Evan sat behind me while Dev laid on my legs as I ran my fingers through his hair. Dev mumbled that he should have popped Paolo when he had the chance.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that Darcy,” Evan said, turning my head towards him. “It won’t happen again.”

“Evan, it was bound to happen,” I said, trying to ease the guilt I knew he was feeling.

“Paolo saw an opportunity, but it backfired,” Dev added, looking up at us. “They won't hurt you, Darcy. I promise.”

Their promises made me tear up again. I picked up the two camellias as my first tear fell, landing on Dev. He sat up slowly, placing his hands underneath mine.

“I’ve always wondered why you grew quiet that day I gave you these flowers,” he said softly, with just a hint of raspiness. “Then, Evan told me it was your middle name and I knew it had to be fate. I was always meant to be yours.”

“I freaked out because what were the odds you would give me a flower that isn’t native here, is my middle name, and stands for love and devotion.” My voice cracked at the end.

“It’s fate,” Evan stated, putting his hands underneath Dev’s. “It was never just about me and you, Darcy. You always needed both of us, our love and devotion, to complete you.” He pushed our hands together, so that I was cupping both flowers together with their hands underneath mine. “We will always be there to hold you, and to give you everything you need to feel whole.”

“You’re all that matters, Darcy,” Dev said, before leaning forward to kiss me.

“The air we breathe,” Evan whispered, making me shiver from their words, but also from the thought that we might not make it to forever.

34

EVAN

The fact that Darcy had to leave so early in the morning was a fucking travesty. She always slept in the middle of us, but when she left, Dev and I always managed to gravitate toward each other. One morning, I even woke up to his arm and leg thrown over me.

It was a little weird, but I just lifted them off of me and went to the bathroom without mentioning it. This morning was different after Darcy had left. I had been so stressed out that when I woke up again and we had our backs to each other, I felt comforted instead of a little freaked out.

It had been a few days since we saw Clark, and he had given us so much information that I had to sit on it for a day to figure out the best way to take down Lucio. I wish I had the balls to do this earlier because I might have saved my friend from dying at the hands of his father.

I stayed still for a moment, remembering I wasn’t doing this alone. Dev and I talked about what we were going to do endlessly, including Darcy as much as possible. Saul had been privy to most of the information we had but I was paranoid. I hadn’t told him everything, just in case he was still working for Lucio.

“I can hear you thinking man, it will be fine,” Dev said, with sleep still in his voice, he didn’t pull away from me either.

“I was just thinking, I wish we had done this sooner, maybe we could have saved him,” I said laying on my back.

“There are a lot of shoulda, coulda, and wouldas, but I think at the end of the day, Lucio would have killed one of us.” Dev leaned back too.

“You’re right,” I said, I always felt like I was disposable and the easiest way to get rid of me would be to just shoot me in the head. “The only thing that matters is we keep Darcy safe no matter what.”

“If he takes her away from us, Evan, I don’t care what I have to do. I’m putting a bullet in his head and following her.” His voice had so much conviction in it, I wouldn’t doubt he would do just that.

“A bullet would be too easy. A vat of crocodiles or maybe he should suffer the same fate as Geraldo,” I said, conjuring up all the different ways he could die.

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