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“Thanks for being the best brother I could have asked for,” I say.
He pulls me into a hug. “Don’t kid, we both know Zeke was the better brother.”
I nod as we both start crying again. Zeke should be here. He should have survived. Instead, he’s gone. And we are all that is left.
“Go kick your real brother’s ass.”
“Half-brother. And Felix, Milo, and Pietro may all be related to me by blood, but you and Zeke are my true brothers.”
“I know.”
Langston reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small item. He holds it in the palm of his hand.
“What’s that?”
“You don’t recognize it? I went to a lot of trouble to get it back.”
I stare at the soot-covered item. It looks black more than silver, even though it’s clear Langston tried to polish it at one point. Without a professional cleaning, it’s black—which seems fitting.
I take the ring out of his hand. My mother’s ring. The ring I gave Kai when I fake married her.
“Where did you get this?” I ask.
“Felix.”
I’m speechless. Staring down at the soot-covered ring, I have so many feelings. This ring should still be on Kai’s finger. I should have proposed for real. I should have married her.
Instead, it’s just one more reminder of what I lost—one more momento to carry with me when I kill Felix. I take off the scrunchie I'm wearing and attach the ring to it.
It has part of Zeke, Kai, and now Langston. Pieces of all us now.
“Thank you.”
“It’s my fault Felix came back. I trusted him when I shouldn’t have. Kill the bastard and fix my mistake.”
It wasn’t his mistake, but I know without therapy and time to heal, Langston won’t feel differently. So I don’t argue with him. I put the scrunchie back on my wrist.
“I will.”
6
Kai
Liesel is a bitch.
Delete, delete, delete…
Liesel is a whore.
No! Scratch out.
Why is it so hard for me to write a nice note about Liesel? She helped me—kept my secret. She was kind to me when she didn’t have to be. But somehow every time I try to write a goodbye to her, it includes something mean.
Liesel loved Enzo—even with her dying breath. She would have tried to steal him back from me. I know that. And I think a part of me resents her for keeping Enzo from me for even a second. We had such a short time together. And a tiny reason Enzo and I had less time together was because of Liesel.
I hate her.
But the tears fall down from my eyes onto the page, and it's obvious I’
