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“I love you, both of you,” Oliver whispers as his breathing becomes shallower.
“We love you too,” I sob, running a hand over his head whilst his eyes flutter and slowly lose focus as the car screeches to a stop.
The door opens as someone screams for help. Daniel and Neil get Oliver out of the car whilst shouting commands, and the doctors and nurses surround him with a trolley. I watch my brother’s body being wheeled into the hospital and crumble to the floor, knowing we are too late.
He’s already gone.
Epilogue
Daniel
I walk away from the bed where Gabriella is sleeping. Today was Oliver’s funeral, and I gave him the best send-off I could. Gabriella wanted him buried with their mum, so I made it happen. I’ve already told her she can pick any headstone she wants. I want them to have the best; they deserve it.
Being as quiet as possible, I walk out of our bedroom and head into my office down the hall. I moved Gabriella in here with me the day after Oliver's death. She will now have twenty-four-hour security, as I never want to risk someone taking her again. Gabriella went into a state of shock for a couple of days, and I really thought she was going to walk away, but by some miracle, she is still here.
As soon as I enter the office, I head to the bar and pour myself a large drink before knocking it back and pouring another. I turn to the desk and see the chair Oliver has sat in so many times listening to me, being the one to help me bounce ideas around until we come up with the best solution. I held it together for a week and a half, pushing all my pain and grief back to ensure my princess had everything she needed and that I was there for her completely. But now the funeral is over, and I’m on my own. I look at the chair, and the void created the night Oliver was taken from us opens further, and I finally crack.
I yell as I throw the glass in my hand against the wall before crumbling to the floor. Leaning back against the bar, I hold my head in my hands as I realise, I will never be able to ask him for advice again; I won’t be able to tease or fight with him because he’s gone and isn’t coming back.
The barrier I built around myself when we got him to the hospital that fateful night crumbles as the grief consumes me. My whole body shakes and feels like it is breaking as I cry for the first time since I was a kid. I feel every sob as it leaves my chest, which flays me from the inside out.
My best friend.
My brother.
Gone.
I tried to do the right thing by Gabriella and held it together as I looked after her. She sat on my lap at the hospital as she cried into my chest, both soaked in her brother’s blood. The nurses brought us scrubs to change into. Before changing into mine, I’d helped my princess into hers and told the nurses to incinerate our clothes. I know Neil had already been in touch with our contact at the police station, who will take over the investigation and ensure everyone knows that Oliver Lawson died of a gunshot wound from a drive-by shooter after pushing me out of the way. Let him be remembered as the hero he is. Was. Hewas.
I jump when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I lean out of their reach to see Gabriella looking at me. Her eyes are red and raw from her own grief. She doesn’t say anything. She sits next to me and wraps her arms around my shoulders, pulling me against her as she holds me. It all becomes too much, and I break all over again; whilst clinging to her as if she is the only thing that can stop me from falling completely apart. In truth, she is.
I don’t know how long we sit silently, crying and grieving together. Both of us lost a brother that night. I know I should be comforting her, but as I try to pull myself together, the harder it is. She whispers that she has me at some point, and I fall further into my grief. Other than Oliver, no one has ever had my back before. What the fuck did I do to deserve the Lawsons coming into my life? I never felt like I deserved their love; now, I feel it even less.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper as I lean against Gabriella’s chest, listening to her heart, knowing it will feel as broken as mine.
“What for?” she whispers, running her hand over my head.
“It should have been me. He should still be here. You have lost everything because of me.”
Gabriella moves; I know it’s so she can look me in the eye when she tells me how right I am. I don’t deserve her, and I know she will be gone forever soon.
Instead, she straddles my lap and takes my face in her hands.
“Daniel Nathaniel Sullivan, you stop it right now. You are not to blame; Oli knew what he was doing when he pushed you out of the way. He would have never stood by and let you get shot. He loved you as much as you loved him.”
“But you wouldn’t be in so much pain now. You would have at least one member of your family left.”
“I would be in just as much pain without you, Danny. I would miss and grieve for you just as much as I am for him. You are my family; you always have been and always will be. Even when you get sick of me and want nothing more than to be rid of me, I will still be here.” She leans forward and presses her lips to mine. I taste the salt from the combination of our tears in her kiss. “I grieved for you once before; I couldn’t do it again,” she whispers against my lips.
“I’m never leaving you again, princess. I plan to ensure you are never alone a day in your life.” I stand, lifting Gabriella with me as I carry her over to my desk and place her on the edge before opening one of the drawers.
“Before everything descended into complete chaos that day, I had called Oliver in here to ask him something.” I pull out the ring box and look up at Gabriella. I cup her face and look into her eyes.
“In a more heated discussion than I would have liked, I told him I wanted to marry you. I told him I would do everything in my power to give you the life you deserve and always protect you. When he said, he gave it to me unconditionally and completely in the car.” I swallow the lump in my throat as the tears burn my eyes. I take a deep breath and fight against the tears as I open the box and show the ring inside to Gabriella. “He was giving us his blessing.” I place a finger under Gabriella’s chin and apply pressure lifting her eyes back to mine. “I’m not asking you now; I don’t want you to think I’m trying to ignore your pain. But I want you to know that one day soon, I’m going to replace that ring with this one and make you mine forever.”
Gabriella’s eyes lock with mine as I watch a tear slip from them.
“Ask me what I want,” she whispers. My chest tightens for a completely different reason than it did a moment ago.
