AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My heart sputtered, my lips parting and breath stolen again as Rhett’s lips captured mine.
“Is this weirding you out?”
“A little,” I replied honestly.
“Please sit with me?”
I knew it would be rude to refuse, so I nodded and sat down next to him, awkwardly facing his mother’s grave.
“I always do this,” he said, smiling shyly but handsomely. “Talk to her, I mean.”
“Rhett…” I sighed, not even fully knowing what to say or where to start. “Why did you bring me here?”
“So we can talk. When life takes a huge shit on me, this is where I go to clear my head. I just sit here and vent about anything and everything. It’s my safe haven.”
I still wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I just nodded again.
“Talk to me, sweetheart.” He scooted closer to me and grabbed my hand, squeezing it. “Please.”
“I don’t know what to say, Rhett, how to feel, nothing. Jace… He wasn’t supposed to tell you about Xavier. I told him I’d handle everything when I was ready.”
“I understand,” he whispered gently. “But hey, you do know that none of this is your fault, right? Nobody blames you. This is all onhim.”
“So, what now?” I asked, gaining the courage to look into his sad, pretty eyes. “We-we’re step-siblings, Rhett. What does that mean for—”
“My feelings for you haven’t changed. I know this situation is morbidly fucked, but I still love you. I still want you.This.Us.We all do. Nothing has to change if you don’t want it to.”
“And Phantom and Isaac? Did Xavier adopt them too?”
Rhett shook his head at me. “No. Just me. Father offered to adopt them but they refused.”
I blinked, stunned at the information. “Why?”
“To be honest, I really don’t know. I guess that’s something you’ll have to ask them. If I had to take a wild guess though, I’d say it's because of what they went through when they were kids.”
I nodded to that. In some ways I supposed that made sense.
“My life was completely different from theirs. My dad, my real dad, died a few months before I was born, so I never got the chance to meet him. My mother raised me all on her own until she met Xavier. I was five when he came into the picture. A year or so after that, Mom started getting sick and was soon diagnosed with breast cancer. She spent months in and out of chemo, but it only did more harm than good.” He released my hand long enough to wipe away the tears pooling under his eyes. “She died at the hospital, in her sleep.”
My face fell, my heart aching for him. “I’m so sorry, Rhett.”
Hearing all of this had me fighting not to burst into tears all over again. All of us—me, Ginger, Rhett, Isaac, Phantom, and Jace—have suffered through so much pain. Endured so many horrors. Why did life have to be so goddamn cruel to us? What the fuck did we do to deserve any of this shit?
“It’s okay,” he promised, popping a soft kiss to the side of my head before winding his arm around my sore waist. “It was a long time ago and I’ve made my peace with it. Nobody lives forever. That’s why it’s so important to cherish the time you have with the people you love. The next day isn’t destined for anyone, not even us.”
It grew quiet for a small moment.
“What happened to you,” he spoke again in an insanely soft whisper, my body shaking as I fought back the unwanted, festering waterworks. “Words can’t describe how angry and heartbroken I am. Everything you’re feeling, just let it out, baby.Cry. Scream if you have to. No matter what, I fuckingloveyou, Samara. I’llneverleave your side.Fucking never.”
I lost it then and completely broke, sobbing harder than I ever have before and screaming at the top of my fucking lungs, loud enough for it to echo across the atmosphere and send birds flying out of the trees and across the sky. Rhett held me tighter, kissing my tears away as they fell down my bruised face. I didn’t stop until my voice cracked and my lungs were begging me to draw in air.
“I love you.” Rhett repeated those three words as he pressed his forehead to mine and gave me Eskimo kisses with his nose. “Forever. Please tell me you feel the same.”
“I do love you.”
My admission had him blinking up at me, joy dancing between his soaked pupils.
“I love all of you. But I-I’m scared, Rhett. Damien... He—”
