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"Unless you're Kaleb, in which case he'll always have a bit of growing up left to do," Colby added, eliciting a giggle from me.
"I love that part about him." I knew that Kaleb had demons in his past. I knew he wanted to tell me, but I wasn't sure how. I noticed how every time his mother called, he ignored the call or stepped into another room. The shouts and clipped words that could be heard from him couldn't be ignored. They were entirely out of character for my sarcastic and sometimes goofy man.
The call last night had put me on edge, but Kaleb said we'd talk more about it after the final move.
I was already stressed enough.
Or at least that's what they told me.
"Ready to go,kroshka?" Andrei called from the doorway.
"Yeah," I replied, my throat suddenly thick with unshed tears.
I let myself look around the bare living room one more time before following Colby and Andrei out of the townhouse.
As I shut the door, I realized that the saying was true.
When one door closes, another one opens.
It just so happens that my new door is the one I've always dreamed of.
Epilogue
KALEB
Iglanced down at my phone as the text notification chimed.
Andrei: Just leaving. Be back home in fifteen.
A sigh escaped my lips as I ran a hand over my smooth head. The phone call from my mother last night was bothering me more than I wanted it to. Somehow, her words always found a way to dig beneath my skin, infecting me with her own brand of poison she designed especially for me.
"We have some matters to discuss. Why don't you bring your new girlfriend over, and we can have a nice dinner first?"
There were no matters we needed to discuss. I barely tolerated her in my life, let alone have any sort of business with her.
But the bigger question swirling through my mind was, how did she know about Lottie?
The only ones who knew were the people we worked with. They were our family, much more than the woman who had given birth to me.
I wanted her nowhere near the love of my life. I wouldn’t let that cancer taint the light I’d finally found.
I curled my hand around my phone, closed my eyes, and counted slowly to ten.
I wished I was with Lottie right now, but there was a last-minute meeting I had to attend. I knew I should have just blown it off.
With a sigh, I unlocked my phone and typed out a quick response to Andrei.
Me: Dinner will be waiting for you. Ordered Casa Mia.
A GIF of a bear rubbing its tummy from Lottie had me smiling. Pizza was her favorite, and I wanted to make sure she had something special tonight. Moving in with us and closing the chapter of her life where she lived in her townhouse was rough on her.
I wanted to make her smile. Take away all her worries. Make it so she never had to have grief or strife darkening her brilliant light.
If only I could stop my own darkness from doing that...
Andrei thought he was the darkest of us all, but little did they know the skeletons I had hidden in my closet.
The End
