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She is ours.
We are hers.
“The rest is just for legal purposes.”
“Is that why you all changed your names? That doesn’t change anything legally. You know that, right?” I don’t know what’s funnier, her concern that we may not have known that, the groans from Luca or Declan, or the amused chuckles from Noah and Ryder. Some of us found our solution a lot funnier than others did.
It’s not even surprising it’s Ry who gives her a cheeky grin. “Did you know when you file for your marriage certificate and change your name, there’s no rules about what name you take?”
Her eyes dart from him to Declan rolling his eyes, to Noah blushing, Luca’s blank expression, and finally landing on my own classic dopey grin.
“No,” she drawls, shaking her head, laughter bubbling up.
“Oh yeah, baby!” I release her and startle Noah when I yank him to me and smack a kiss against his cheek. “Mrs. Everhart, allow me to introduce you to Mr. Everhart,” I start pointing to myself, “and Mr. Everhart,” I finish, patting Noah’s cheek where I kissed him. “And of course, our other lovely couple, Mr. and Mr. Everhart,” I add as an afterthought, pointing to Declan and Luca.
Even the two hardasses crack a smile as Scar doubles over in her laughter, her whole body shaking as the sound fills the room. She’s not the only one either. No one knew Noah and I and Luca and Dec also filed marriage licenses. We couldn’t all marry her, but there are definite perks to being legally married. While in most situations, we don’t care very much for legal avenues, it’s always best to have all of our bases covered.
Ryder has been the smuggest bastard ever since it was decided he would get to marry Scar and the rest of us were marrying each other. Luck has never been on my side.
Joe snorts from behind Scar. “This makes how you saved Noah from that waitress all the funnier.”
“Thank you!” I exclaim. I didn’t get enough appreciation for saving my husband.
“Congratulations, girlie,” he says, kissing Scar’s forehead as she finally calms down, wiping tears from her eyes. “I’m proud of you,” he whispers and her eyes shine with a different type of moisture.
Chapter Twenty-Six Charles
She’s different.
Even more so than what I first realized at our reunion. Maybe reunion isn’t quite the right word seeing as how she drugged and kidnapped me.
I hide my smile in my glass as the guys throw me dirty looks when Scar isn’t looking. I guess she isn’t the only one who has changed if I’m over here laughing at not only my kidnapping, but also the murder in the eyes of some very intimidating people. The kind of people that really would follow through with the threats their expressions are promising. I’ve faced death enough times to know who is and isn’t capable of following through. No doubts about the men Scar has surrounded herself with.
She’s still the most formidable of them all. Though, she is oblivious to their obvious turmoil. For someone so aware of everything going on around her and frighteningly intelligent, she sure can be clueless. It seems some things never change even if it seems like everything has. There are still traces of the girl she left behind in that burning building.
Even in high school, every subject came infuriatingly easy to her. New and complex ideas or theories simply clicked in her mind. Facts, dates, and material came to her naturally and memorization was never something she had to practice in order to perfect. As much as she shined academically, it was nothing compared to her people skills. The way she could read people. She would always notice when two people were fighting, who had a secret, who needed a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on. Yet, she never realized how many lusted after her, how many of our friends prayed for her downfall. Even the ones she had held out a helping hand to. Maybe especially them. It made it all the harder to watch her hit rock bottom and feel truly alone for the first time.
The room now is filled to the brim with people who would never abandon her, never pull the rug out from under her, would never hurt her. She finally built a family around herself deserving of the selfless, infinite amount of love she’s able to freely give.
A shoulder bumping against mine draws me from my reverie.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” Scar’s blinding smile is impossible not to respond in kind to. Think of the devil and she may appear.
“You’re gonna get mad if I tell you,” I warn her.
Her brows draw together, but a light dances in her eyes. I’ve seen many sides of Scar since we reconnected. Angry, scared, distrusting, vulnerable, erratic, manic, happy, bloodthirsty, violent, strong. But each day she shows me something new. Something I didn’t think could still be possible, except I think they’re new for everyone here, not just me.
All her shattered pieces are finally coming together in a beautiful kaleidoscope of healing. There will always be cracks, different colors that melt together and illustrate her journey full of pain, heartbreak, blood, joy, love, and revenge, but who said being whole was the goal of healing? Her mosaic of chaos is far more beautiful than the unmarred porcelain glass she once was.
Each of the men that set their hate-filled eyes on me the moment her shoulder brushed mine, have helped her put the shattered pieces of her past back together to create something totally new that still somehow holds the soul of the girl who has been my best friend for my whole life. Even when she didn’t know it. Especially then. It’s easy to say you would die for someone, but until you’re faced with that choice, it’s impossible to realize just how far you’re willing to go for another person.
There’s no other person in the world I would do what I did for her back then. The only other two lights in my life have already been snuffed out. A blonde ponytail swings as giggles fill the room and Scar’s daughter darts through the adults, avoiding the boys as they chase her. Maybe there is another person now.
“I was thinking about how much you’ve changed,” I admit, answering her question.
Her expression says ‘you don’t say’ without even a twitch of her lips. I roll my eyes. That wasn’t the part she isn’t going to like. “And how much you haven’t,” I finish.
She huffs and crosses her arms in front of her chest. “A year ago, I would have been offended had you said that.”
