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Yeah. Which brings me to my point.
“People tend to want closure with their parents. Because parents are supposed to take care of you, make sure you have everything to thrive, and protect you no matter what. They hate those who hurt you more than you do. But more importantly? They surround you with love and acceptance, creating a safe environment, and children never doubt their parents’ love. It’s solid.” I shrug. “That’s how it's supposed to be. It’s not always like that.” I kick a rock into the lake with a loud splash. “I don’t need closure. She’s never been a mother to me in any way. Sometimes even abandoning your child is showing him or her love. In her case, though, she was just selfish.”
“Well, that’s good to hear. “ Florian takes out a cigarette, ready to ignite his lighter, but he freezes when I continue talking, needing to get it all off my chest so I can move on.
I refuse to give Wayne, Pamela, and my fucked-up past any more power.
“I don’t need closure from her because she never acted like my parent. You did.” Our gazes clash, and a myriad of emotions flashes in his emerald eyes as he listens to me while everything seems to stand still around us. “Twenty-five years ago, you took my hand right under that tree.” I point at the oak tree where we used to splay our blankets once upon a time. “And you never let go.” He swallows hard, clenching the cigarette in his fist. “I have an empire, I have a family, and I have a woman I love because you decided to be my best friend on that fateful day, Florian.” I exhale a heavy breath. “My childhood was hell, and I would have never made it through it if it wasn’t for you. You loved me. You fed me. You held my hand and pulled me out of the darkness every single time.” I laugh despite the tightness in my chest. “I was a dick to you on many occasions, trying to push you away because the thought of you doing that to me was devastating. But you never did.” My voice turns into a whisper. “You never did, Florian.” A beat passes. “Thank you for being the best friend a person could ask for.”
“Stop it,” he says, his voice gruff while his body tenses. “Don’t thank me for that, Octavius. Our friendship is not a hardship that I endured.” He taps on his chest. “I should thank you for being the great friend who accepts me the way I am. No one else does.”
Isla is the love of my life. Loving her is a miracle and a gift from the gods, as imagining my existence without her is torture. However, I would have never had the opportunity to experience all these emotions if it wasn’t for Florian.
My platonic soulmate, my best friend, my brother.
“So that’s why I brought you here.” I place my hand on his and clasp it, squeezing it as thunder echoes in the air, making me grin. “The time has come for me to hold your hand. I won’t let go. I won’t ever choose a neutral position in any conflicts that involve you. I am and always will be on your side, brother.” I motion with my head to the car. “My family is on your side as well. That includes the whole MacAlister clan.”
“Fuck,” he mutters. His eyes water, and he looks away, probably needing a minute to gather his emotions. “This is not what we do.”
Yes, we can kill for each other, but we never speak about our true emotions. Maybe we should start.
“Whatever you do, I’ll be right there with you.” I raise our joined hands. “It’s all of us or none of us.” I repeat the words we say as the dark four, and even though Santiago and Remi aren’t here right now…this statement is still true.
Angry or not…we’re bonded, and we will always choose each other over anyone else.
Either way, my friendship with Florian is unbreakable.
We stare at one another for a moment. He pulls me toward him, and we hug each other. I squeeze him hard because his hugs have cured my sadness over the years. “I love you, man,” he whispers. “Thank you for being on my side.”
“I love you too.”
We stand like this for a while in the place that started our friendship, and looking up at the sky, I grin.
Sometimes fate gives you hardships and shitty parents, and there is no making up with them. They are toxic to your peace, and the only thing you can do to move on…is to let go of what could have been and accept what happened.
We can’t move forward if we’re stuck in the past.
Maybe there is no happy ending when it comes to my parents, and the pain will never go away as it lives within me, but destiny gave me Isla, Braiden, Florian, and the dark four. My sister and her family.
And that’s more than some get in a lifetime.
Once upon a time, a little boy thought no one would ever love him and that he’d be forever alone, for how could anyone love him if his parents refused to do so?
What he didn’t know back then was this.
Along the way, if you’re lucky enough, you can build your own family with people who choose to love you.
And finding these people…
It’s one hell of a gift that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
EPILOGUE
“Once there was a brave and honorable warrior.
Whose life consisted of darkness and survival.
Until her.
