We remain cuddled on the ground until my limbs begin to regain feeling, my toes wiggling and fingers flicking. At long last, I’m able to lift my arms enough to wind them around her body and place a kiss in her hair. Voices sound in the background but I block them out, not ready to face the onslaught of grief waiting for me. A few random drops of rain land on various parts of my exposed skin to signal the coming downpour, my flesh pleading for the cool reprieve. The heavens open to release a wave of water, washing away the evil that claimed this patch of land.
Meg lifts her head, her pale eyes regarding me before rising completely. A figure I used to call brother steps in beside her, bending down to lift me despite the snarl on his face. “I still hate you,” he mumbles, carrying me with long strides and easing me across a leathery back seat. Leaning over me, he then lifts my head and shoulders with more care than I deserve, his hazel eyes glowering as Meg slides beneath me and her beautiful face comes back into view. I open my mouth a few times, words failing me, but one thought comes to mind, a name I can no longer ignore.
“Rachel.” Meg strokes my cheek as I manage to shift onto my side slightly, facing away from her as I begin to cry. My tears soak the material covering her thighs, her fingers gently stroking my hair and I slowly curl up my legs in full fetal mode.
“I’m so sorry Wyatt,” she leans over to breathe into my ear and places a kiss to my swollen temple. I lean back into her warmth, clinging onto the comfort only Meg can provide me. Despite the sinking ache in my chest, I have an underlying feeling I will be okay. Rachel reached a part of me I’d stopped trying to fix and gave me the one thing I’d been searching for all of these years - to feel wanted. Her sincere intentions and kind hugs, the automatic smiles and motherly nature.
She saved and fixed me without even trying, and that’s the beauty of it. I realise now I’ve been wasting all my energy being angry, making myself the outsider when all I needed was to let someone in to see the best parts of me. Which is exactly why I’m going to cling onto Meg and show her the future we will have. Life has given me a second chance and I’m sure as shit not going to waste this one. I’ll do whatever it takes to prove myself, to give her a life free from heartache and suffering like she deserves. I’ll be her everything like she is mine.
“I never- “I shift onto my back, swallowing down a lump my throat. “I never thought I’d find someone like you, so I didn’t bother looking. And when I found you, I gave you a hundred reasons to push me away. But you see me like no one else can and I’ll love you until my breath for that.” Her eyes glisten in contrast to the smile lighting up her face.
“I love you Wyatt. The devilish, the deceitful and the dangerous, I want it all.” My grin is stupidly wide, my heart expanding in my chest and threatening to burst. I don’t know how I’ve become lucky enough for this angel to love all of the damaged parts of me, but I do know with her by my side, I will be better.
I try to sit upwards, needing Meg to help me despite the world of pain attacking my body, but not even the fires of hell could keep me from getting closer to her. Shuffling into her side, I lean my head on her shoulder as she traces ticklishly light patterns up and down my forearm. Beyond the windscreen, a woman is standing alone in the downpour of rain facing the destruction that was, until very recently, Perelli’s mansion. Her dark hair is drenched, her size and shape so similar to Rachel’s I almost thought it was her, but Rachel’s hair is shorter and hips slightly wider.
I grip Meg’s hand for reassurance, needing her to ground me as grief swirls around my chest. Tilting my chin in her fingers, she presses her lips against mine so softly, but my mind is reeling nonetheless. Someone who has lost so much shouldn’t feel this blessed, but she gives me a reason. A reason to move forward and start a life worth living. Through the depths of agony and darkness, our love will reignite the dying embers of my heart and burn away all traces of the man I was until I am worthy of her. My rescuer, my salvation, my Meg.
Epilogue - Avery
Dax uses his powerful calves to leap with all the grace of a pouncing cheetah, gliding through the air to net the ball in the basket. A moment of silence ripples through the packed stadium just before the claxon blares and declares the Waversea Weavers the winners. Axel and I shoot up from the wooden bench on the edge of the court together, screaming and hugging as we jump around excitedly. I know how much he wanted to play alongside his brothers, but doctor’s orders were to take this semester off. Luckily for him, this was the last game before the holidays and his team have smashed it on his behalf.
Hunting for the blonde Afro amongst the crowd of people rushing towards their victors, I find him grinning at me and run into his arms. His lips find mine in an instant and his large hands lift me easily, warmth coiling in my centre as adrenaline shifts into something much
