Aria

“We are gathered here to pay tribute to Lorain Vale, beloved mother…”

The wind smells like wet earth and wilted roses.

I stand at the edge of the grave in the small cemetery just outside Blackridge, my boots sinking into mud that clings like this town always has.

Five years.

Five years since I left and swore I’d never come back.

I kept that promise until today.

The pastor finishes his speech—something about peace and God’s mysterious plans.

Interesting that he failed to mention the blood and gore associated with this particular plan.

I don’t remember half of the standard speech. My ears ring with the kind of silence that only comes when something inside you has broken beyond repair.

An entire life, and this is what my mother’s life has come to. A cheap wooden casket surrounded by people who couldn’t care to check in on her or lend her a hand when life kicked the shit out of us, but make sure to snuggle loud enough to hear.

“Oh, Lorain,” Mrs. Gunderson cries.

“Shut up,” I mutter under my breath.

“A little louder, and maybe she’ll hear you,” Liam says quietly beside me.

I don’t look at him.

My older brother stands tall and rigid at my side, dressed in black, jaw clenched so tight I can hear his teeth grind. He left long before I did. Left Mom and me behind like we were inconvenient baggage. One day, he was teaching me how to ride a bike, jogging behind me and yelling, “Don’t look back, Aria!” and the next, he was running with Theo and his merry band of trouble.

Theo. Barric. Ronan. Kade.

These men don’t walk around unnoticed. It wasn’t just their massive size. It was the way they walked, the way the air seemed to tighten in their presence.

It didn’t matter that they weren’t related. There was something so similar in the essence they carried, like they were above it all. Apart.

I never understood why Mom let him go without a fight.

Why she gave up on our family, the one she always taught us to put before everything else.

Why Liam exchanged us like used car.

They stand behind us, silent sentinels informing upon my space with their broad shoulders blocking the gray sky.

Like they belong here.

I bristle the more I think about it.

My emotions rise until it feels like I’m drowning in the abandonment of the last eight years.

I don’t turn around, but I feel them. Theo’s calculating gaze. Barric’s heavy presence. Kade’s restless energy.

And Ronan.

Ronan’s stare burns between my shoulder blades.

Annoyance spikes through me. What right do they have to stand there like family? They weren’t there when my father died, or when Mom worked double shifts to keep the lights on. They didn’t hold her when she cried at night for Liam.

When she gave me no choice but to leave.

All they’ve ever done is bring suffering to my family.

The funeral ends quickly. People murmur condolences. Mrs. Hargrove squeezes my hand. Old man, Dalton nods solemnly.

I guess that’s one good thing about the gossip mill of a small town, there isn’t much they don’t know, so you rarely have to explain yourself.

Soon, it’s just us.

Liam clears his throat. “You should go get some rest.”

I finally look at him.

Five years have changed him. He’s bigger—wider shoulders, thicker arms stretching the sleeves of his black shirt. His face is harder. Sharper.

The dark hair he kept long is cropped short at his ears and longer on top.

He grew into a man without me.

There’s something guarded in his eyes, something I can’t recognize behind the blue-grey color we share.

He looks like a stranger wearing my brother’s skin.

“I’m fine,” I say flatly.

“You drove all night to get here.”

“Thanks for reminding me.” I turn back to the simple tombstone.

His voice comes out like a rasp. “Is it that hard for you to look at me?”

I turn to him, holding his stare with the same blankness in his own eyes. “There. Does my attention assuage your guilt? It is enough for you.”

His jaw ticks. “That’s not the point.”

I fold my arms over my chest. “Then what is the point, Liam? What’s the point of this?”

His voice lowers. “You don’t have to do everything alone.”

A humorless laugh escapes me. “That’s rich. Since when are you the expert on sticking around?”

Behind us, I feel tension snap tight.

“Aria,” Liam warns.

“No, really.” I turn to him fully now, anger warming my cold fingers. “You should leave. It’s not like you’re used to staying anyway. Crawl back to your friends and your creepy little mansion. We both know that’s where you want to be. I’ll be fine.”

The words land. I see it in his eyes—a flicker of hurt before it shutters.

Ronan steps forward as if he’s trying to protect my brother from me. Of course he does.

“That’s not fair,” he says, voice deep and edged. “You don’t know what he—”

I spin on him. “Stay out of it. This is none of your business.”

His eyes flash. A glint of yellow that momentarily makes me blink.

It has to be a reflection. The light hitting his eyes and bouncing off in a strange, harrowing way.

“Aria,” Theo cuts in smoothly from behind Ronan. His tone is calm but carries weight. “Emotions are high. Let’s not make this worse.”

I glare at all of them. “This is between my brother and me. He is a grown ass man and can speak for himself.”

Barric crosses his massive arms but says nothing. Kade looks like he’d rather be anywhere else.

Liam exhales slowly. “Enough.”

The word cracks like a whip. The others step back immediately.

That tells me more than I want to know.

How close they are.

It makes me feel less than nothing.

He turns to me again, softer this time. “Where are you staying?”

I open my mouth to snap something cruel, but I stop myself. I need information. I need access to the house. I need to know what really happened.

Their mother’s house is currently restricted because of the police investigation.

I swallow.

It’s fine, I can be cordial until I can high tail it out of this town.

“The house is sealed off,” I say. “Police investigation. I can’t stay there.”

His eyes darken. “They still have it taped?”

“Yes. The lawyer is meeting with me on Monday to discuss her last wishes.”

He nods once. “So where will you be at?”

“I got a room at the motel off Route 16.”

“The Pine Crest?” Kade blurts.

I shoot him a look. He shuts up.

“Yes. The Pine Crest.”

Silence hangs heavy.

I’m suddenly very aware of how tired I am. How angry. How raw.

“Look, I’ma head out. If you want to talk,” I say, forcing control into my voice, “meet me tomorrow morning. Alone.”

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