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I lean down and press my lips to his, crawling over his lap and rubbing myself over his thickness.
He chuckles into my mouth, biting down on my bottom lip. “Take it you’re happy.”
“Yes.” I press another soft kiss onto his lips. “So fucking happy.”
Bryant told me that Stacey had also found out that Max’s connection with me had to be much more than just him getting back at her for leaving him, which is what she thought the first time Max and I came to Bryant’s for dinner. Bryant convinced her to go along with it and to pretend like nothing was happening. At first, Stacey was there to sit at Bryant’s side when he knew he was going to run for presidency, but of course, that all changed the second I came back. I think over time, I will warm to her, but for now, I still don’t like her.
Bryant and I, our road to love wasn’t an easy one. It was hurdled with tricks, games, lies, and death. People who shouldn’t have, deceived both of us, but we got there in the end. To the end.
My lesson wasn’t easy to get to, but is simple enough to explain. If you feel crazy, make sure you check the people around you before self-diagnosing yourself with insanity. The people you invite into your life don’t always wipe their feet at the door before entering your mind. My father may have failed me, but my mother didn’t. All this time, she was my saving grace, and I eventually was hers.
Bonnie and Clyde ain’t got shit on us.
-Bryant
Christmas Day
“Bryant! Bring the food into the sitting room!” my mother orders from the lounge, sipping her glass of wine. Tinsel and Christmas lights decorate the entirety of my parents’ traditional plantation-style home as the smell of crispy roasted meat and fluffy crusted potatoes fill the space. I never would have thought in a million fucking years that our Christmas this year would be filled with all of the people who are in the room today. Isa, Harper, Mom, Dad, Devon, Jess, Jer, Ash, Stacey and her new flavor for the week, and Isabel.
Isa bought a psychiatric hospital in Connecticut close to our home and named it Sane. There was no way we could have Isabel in our home because of the severity of her symptoms, so we did the next best thing and bought a whole institute. One where we knew not just Isabel, but all of our patients would always be treated with respect and safety. We hired the best of the best in this business and redecorated it to look more like a home and less like an actual hospital. Stacey and Isa have turned into best fucking friends. I knew they would. They’re too similar in some ways to not find common ground. Now Harper calls her auntie and her and Jess fight over who is the favorite. Brianna just laughs at them all, knowing it’s probably really her.
Mom and Dad don’t know a thing that happened between all of us, and they don’t need to know. They found out about Isa’s father and what he did to her, but that’s about as far as the extent of their knowledge goes. James Taylor ran for presidency and won. I didn’t know him personally, but Isa is quite passionate about how much she can’t stand him. I think it has more to do with the fact that he reminds her of her father and less to do with him as a person. I didn’t give up on Isa. Not once. But you should never stop trying, even after you’ve won, because the person who lost to you won’t be far behind.
All of the family’s chatter dies out behind me because all I see is her.
Nothing but her.
The girl who took everything inside of me and replaced it with parts of herself. She bled for me, would die for me, and carry me to the fucking ends of the earth. The woman who drove me goddamn wild for the second half of my life, only to finally sit her stubborn ass down and allow me to take care of her.
My queen who wears her broken soul proudly, just so other women don’t have to feel like they need to conceal or fix theirs. She’s a fucking soldier. A product of resilience. It doesn’t matter if you knock her down, she’ll always come back up swinging, and you better fucking run when she does.
Isa is right. I will never tell her what Devon did to Max and Pearl. But as I bring my glass of whiskey to my lips, I smirk smugly with the knowledge that they will never be able to lay another finger on my family.
Isa smiles up at me as Harper bounces on her knee opening her presents. My mom has her phone, recording, Stacey is kissing her new lover, Jess is sitting eagerly, waiting for Harper to open her present, Jer is wearing a bright Christmas sweater that Isa bought him, Devon has his arm around Isa, and Isabel smiles off to the distance, her hair tied up in a clean top knot, her eyes bright and filled with love.
