Page 77 of Love You From Afar

“He had just turned sixteen and was so excited about finally having his driver’s license. Elliot and I were never best friends growing up, but we were civil. I had no reason to not trust him, and believe it or not, I wanted to see him happy. So, when he came to my room and asked to borrow my truck to go hang out with his friends, I let him. It felt like an older brother thing to do. I’ll never forget watching his face light up as I handed the keys over. I had hoped that since we were getting older, we would begin to grow closer. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth.”

He sighs, pausing to run a hand through his messy hair.

“Elliot arrived home later that night. He walked straight into my room and thanked me before handing back the keys. I remember his words sounding a little slurred, but it was late and he looked exhausted. The next night, I’m driving from football practice when I get pulled over for having a taillight out. The officer was about to let me off with a warning when something caught his eye in the back seat. I had nothing to hide, so when I let him search my truck, he ended up finding two open liquor bottles and a pile of empty beer cans. I was used to throwing everything in the bed of my truck, so I didn’t think to check the backseat after I let Elliot drive it. I was charged with a Class C misdemeanor for possession of alcohol in a motor vehicle and lost my scholarship the very next week. That’s when I knew it was over for me. There was no way my parents could afford to send me to college without a scholarship. The one time I trusted Elliot, I lost everything I had ever worked for.” He shakes his head, tugging his lip between his teeth.

Oh my God.

“Everett,” I breathe, shaking my head in utter disbelief. “I… I’m speechless. I can’t believe he would do something like that.”

“Yeah,” he scoffs. “Well, now you know.”

“Wait,” I say through pinched brows. “Elliot never admitted the alcohol was his? He never came clean about it?”

“Never,” Everett exhales. “He’ll deny it until he’s blue in the face. My parents don’t believe him either, but every time they question him about it, he lies through his teeth. But the saddest part of it all is that I would have forgiven him.I wanted to forgive him.We were teenagers when that happened. You do stupid shit when you’re young, and I understand that. Even though it felt like the end of my world at the time, everything ended up working out for me. I wanted to put it behind us, but the fact that he can’t grow the fuck up and own up to bullshit is what I can’t get past.”

“Everett…” I rasp, trying to piece together the bomb he just dropped. “Has… has he ever tried to talk to you about it?”

“No,” Everett scoffs, letting out a sarcastic chuckle. “Of course, not. Because he only cares about himself. I’ve watched him use so many people and then toss them to the curb once he got what he needed.”

A beat of silence passes before Everett continues.

“The last time we were civil with each other was a few years ago. I was in the process of building a home for one of my most trusted clients, and my brother happened to be their lender. He would call me daily to talk about the project and for once, he wasn't being an asshole. He genuinely acted like he cared. I thought maybe we had turned a leaf in our relationship, until I finished building the house and he screwed my clients over. He ended up grossly overcharging them and because he was my brother, they never worked with me again. Once again, he never apologized or admitted that he did anything wrong. That’s when I lost all respect for him, when I decided I was completely done with his bullshit.”

The sound of rustling trees fills the silence as I sit with my thoughts. If Elliot could treat his own brother that way, how many others has he screwed over with no remorse? Everett tried to warn me. He tried to tell me without crossing any boundaries, and I was too prideful to see what was right in front of me.

“I’m so sorry, Everett,” I whisper.

“You have nothing to be sorry for—”

“I’m sorry for not listening to you,” I cut him off, meeting his stare.

“Sky,” he rasps, his expression softening as he cups my jaw.

“No, you tried to tell me so many times,” I retort, shaking my head. “I’ll never forget what you said to me on the cruise. You were so angry that he left me to go and work. You called me the sexiest woman on the ship before saying that he would wake up one day and realize what he lost.And you were right. Even then, you knew the kind of person he was and tried to warn me.”

Everett’s brows pinch together, his eyes flickering between mine. “You remember all of that?” he says in a hushed tone, his thumb gently stroking my cheek.

“I remember everything about that night,” I whisper.

“Me too,” he rasps, dipping his head to place a soft kiss to my lips. “Me too,” he repeats as he pulls away, his chest rising and falling with steady breaths.

“I can sit here all night and tell you story after story about why I have a rocky relationship with Elliot, but at the end of the day, he’s given me the best thing I could ever ask for.”

“And what is that?” I reply breathlessly, hanging onto his every word.

“You,” he rasps. “I will forever be indebted to Elliot because he led me to you. And that makes all of the bullshit worth it. If everything does happen for a reason, thenyouare my reason. At the end of the day, the joke’s on him, because he gave me you. For the rest of his life, he’ll get to watch me worship the ground you walk on. After everything, I have you. The best thing toeverhappen to me.”

My lips tremble as hot tears stream down my cheeks. I reach for Everett, cupping his ruggedly handsome face in my palms. I brush my thumbs against the coarse stubble on his cheeks before threading my fingers through his hair. His gaze mirrors mine, two sets of blue eyes staring back at the keeper of their soul.

“The past three years haven’t been easy,” I admit, my voice shaky. “They’ve been anything but easy. There were so many days that I wanted to leave him, Everett. There were so many moments when I knew that I deserved more. There were so many days when I wanted to run to you, but I was scared. I smiled through the hard days, even when they felt like walking through hell. But I want you to know that I would do it all again. I would relive every single miserable moment if that meant I would end up here,with you. You are my reason too, Everett. My inevitable force.”

I don’t have a chance to blink before Everett tangles his hands in my hair and crashes his mouth to mine. He parts my lips with his tongue, our kiss a secret language for only us to understand.

TWENTY-TWO

Skylar

Instead of finding an empty bed, I wake up the next morning to a naked Everett, sleeping soundly beside me. He’s lying on his back with an arm slung over his face, his golden skin gleaming in the morning light. The white sheets hang just below his waist, exposing the dark happy trail and delicious V that leads straight to what I want. I prop my head up on my hand, just watching him sleep, wondering how a human could be so beautiful. I’m way too sore to have sex this morning, but I want him. I need him in any way that I can have him.

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