AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Grace
Nix was gone.
Gavriel was gone.
Sunshine was gone.
Blaise, Callum, and Ryker were gone.
But Alessandro was still here.
I felt molded to the bed, like I had been lying here for so long I was now one with the mattress. Grief and sadness were a part of me now. My heavy limbs couldn't move. My heavy heart couldn't beat.
"We need to leave soon, Grace. You have to get out of bed," he whispered softly while stroking my hair. I didn't understand his tenderness. Wasn't he sad like me? Wasn't he broken?
"What if he comes back?" I croaked. "He could still come back. If we leave, he won't find us. We can't—"
"He's not coming back, Grace," Alessandro said while rubbing my shoulder. He was too honest for my taste. I wanted to cling to false hope. A single tear rushed down my cheek. I felt a complex sense of hopelessness. I didn't want to leave the bed. I was swallowed by the idea of never moving again.
It's true what they say, you don't realize what you have until it's gone.
I had a brother. Someone who saved me. Someone who continuously protected me. Gavriel Moretti wasn't hardwired to love, and yet he hacked his way into my heart and gave pieces of himself to me. He didn't have to, but he did.
And now he was gone.
"Why did he leave?" I asked. Why did anyone leave? Why did people die? It wasn't fucking fair.
"I'm sure it's some martyr bullshit. He's hurting, Grace. Hurt people do really stupid things."
I rolled over to face Alessandro. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked exhausted. "You should go after him," I whispered. "I'll stay here."
"I'm not leaving you, Little One," he whispered before pushing a stray strand of hair out of my eyes. "Nix made his decision. You once told me that everyone leaves you. I refuse to do that. I'm never going to leave."
A fresh wave of pain washed over me. "But you love Nix," I croaked. "It's okay. I understand—"
"I also love you," Alessandro pressed. "You're my best friend."
"You're staying because you feel obligated to," my insecurities roared. The doubts were like a sharp blade I gripped tightly and on purpose.
"I stopped feeling obligated a long time ago," he admitted. It had to be a lie, didn't it? I was doubting everything today.
"But it's Nix."
Alessandro wrapped his arms around me and cradled me to his chest. I sobbed against his firm muscles. I gripped his shirt and wiped my snot on him. My breakdown wasn't pretty. I felt like I could have spent a month in his arms. I melted there. I felt like a selfish crater on his heart. But still, he held me. He chose me. He supported me.
Alessandro stayed. He stayed.
I thought this journey would lead to the love of my life, but instead, it brought me to my best friend.
A knock on the door clawed me free from my torment. "Nix?" I asked. Alessandro went stiff. He cautiously set me aside and grabbed the gun from the nightstand before making his way to the door.
"If it's a Ringleader, I want you to run, Grace. Run and never look back." I wouldn't be running. Alessandro and I were in this together. To the very end. Running seemed to just prolong the inevitable, anyway.
I got out of bed. My breathing was heavy. My heart raced. But what if it was Nix?
Alessandro looked through the peephole of the door and let out a curse. "Motherfucker."
"What?" I asked. Every bone in my body shook with adrenaline. I felt a spike in anxiety wash over me. I was ready to run.
