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Now he was gone. We would never hold him again. Maddie would never see her beautiful little Noah ever again.
Sam appeared before us, handing us each a perfect white rose. He took his own to the grave side and dropped it in. Nico went next, dropping his own in.
“Protect and love him for us, brother,” Cam said as he looked to the sky, then dropped his in next.
Hunt and I, who were either side of Maddie, wrapped our arms around her as we moved forwards together.
“Sleep tight, little buddy,” Hunter said emotionally as he dropped his in.
I glanced up and saw the plaque Hunter had ordered to be added to Everett’s headstone. Maddie had chosen the words that were engraved into the chrome plate.
Noah Phillips
August 12th, 2023
Some people only dream of Angels,
We held one in our arms.
Night night, baby boy.
You are loved, always.
Tears filled my eyes once again and I was powerless to stop them this time. I swiped at them with the back of my hand, then dropped my rose in next. I wanted to say something, but I was too choked up to do so.
“I love you, Noah, so much,” Maddie told him as she dropped her rose in, then she stumbled back and Hunter and I had to hurry to steady her before she went down.
Hunter pulled her into his front and hugged her tightly as she sobbed broken heartedly. I crowded in behind her and rubbed a hand up and down her back as Nico and Cam came to our side. I could see Sam and Garth walking away and guessed they were giving us some time together.
“He’s going to be okay, Maddie. Everett will take good care of him,” Cam tried to soothe her.
“I know,” she sniffled as she turned her head against Hunter’s chest, to look at us. “I just miss him. He should be here with me…with us.”
“We know, baby,” Hunter sighed. “We miss him too. He was so perfect and there was so much we wanted to do with him and teach him.”
“You guys would be amazing dads,” Maddie sniffled as she forced a smile through her tears.
“We have Willow, and we’ll never forget Noah. He will always be a part of our family, Maddie. I was thinking maybe we could light a candle for him and Everett every time we have a birthday, or celebrate a holiday. That way they would know that we’re thinking of them and making them a part of the celebrations,” Nico suggested.
“I like that idea,” Maddie agreed. “D-do you think we could light one tonight? So they both know I’m thinking of them?”
“Of course we can, sunshine,” I agreed as I leaned in to kiss the top of her head.
“Shall we go back to the hotel?” Hunter asked. Maddie looked back to the grave, then to me.
“Can you give me just a sec? I need to talk to Ev.”
“Sure thing, baby. We’ll wait near the cars.” Hunter kissed her chastely, then backed away, watching her closely to make sure she was steady on her feet again.
The four of us walked away side by side, all of us fighting hard not to look back and check on the woman we loved. We wanted to give her some privacy to talk with Ev, but it was so hard to walk away from her when we knew all she was going through.
“She’ll be okay, guys,” Nico spoke up. “She’s been through hell and she needs some time, but she’s strong and I know eventually, she will be okay.”
“She has to be, because without her, none of us can ever be okay again,” Cam sighed. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and pulled him to my side. I knew today had been hard for him too. It was the first time he had returned to Ev’s grave since the burial.
“How are you doing, man?” I asked.
“I’m okay. I think it was good to come back here, even though the reason we’re here is so fucking unfair and sad. It was good to be able to see his grave and tell him I love him. I felt able to face him knowing I’m not giving up now. I’m not letting him down anymore, now that I’m trying to move forward.”
