Page 29 of Forget Me Not (The Shifters of Timberfall #1)
Bastien
The following two weeks went by in a blur. Bas had been texting back and forth with Syve every day, they met up for mid-day runs on their lunch breaks, and when their schedules did not align, they met up after work and frolicked in the woods until the sun set.
Del tagged along for a few of the runs, after which Syve could not stop gushing about how she was right about Del’s horse form.
Cyrus had attempted to join for one, only to promptly make a crude remark about Syve’s tattoo while she stripped behind her tree.
Bastien, unaware of any tattoos, immediately revoked Cyrus’ invitation .
Syve had been a little disappointed when Bastien informed her they would be running alone since Cyrus had an urgent family matter to tend to. She had been looking forward to seeing a bear up close.
Bastien shuffled into the kitchen early on graduation day, surprising his mother who was slumped at the counter, blotting tears with a tissue.
“ Mijo , you need a bell!” Soriah scoffed, cursing in Spanish as she shifted her arm awkwardly in front of her.
“So I’ve been told.” He closed the gap and slung his arms around her. “Why are you up so early, Mama?”
From where his chin rested atop her head, he noticed something sticking out from under the flowy sleeve of her blouse and deftly swiped it before she could stop him.
It was a photograph from Dez and his graduation.
The twins in their matching cap and gowns and little three-year-old Del held up in the middle, one arm slung around each brother.
Bas sighed softly and kissed Soriah on the forehead.
“I should go make sure your sister is awake.” She sniffled, patting Bastien’s hand where it rested on her shoulder, then slipped off the bar stool and out of the kitchen.
Bas hoped, for his sister’s sake, their mother would be able to at least pretend to be happy for her, that they would be able to take a picture together for Del to take with her to college, and that the day would not end in another fight over her leaving .
A few hours later, Bastien had managed to wrangle a very excited Delanira and a very morose Soriah into Cyrus’ Range Rover.
He sent off a quick text to Syve letting her know they were on their way to the school, apologizing in advance for his mother’s sour mood in hopes she would not take it personally.
Cy let Bas and Del out in the front of the school, promising to meet them inside with Soriah after finding parking.
Hoping Cy could say something to alter his mother’s mood, Bas nodded, closed the door to the car, and led Del into the building where his sister immediately abandoned him in favor of her friends.
“We’re going to head in and get to our seats early!” the teen called over her shoulder as she was swept away among a crowd of her peers. Bastien sighed, one hand slipping into his pocket, the other rubbing at his beard.
“I didn’t think pets were allowed in the building.”
With a dramatic roll of his neck, Bas’ eyes landed on Syve and Aimi walking through the main doors.
Chuckling, he quipped, “Only on Saturdays.”
He spoke to Aimi, but his eyes never left Syve.
She was wearing a simple lavender sundress that looked like it was made just for her.
It likely was; she probably made it herself.
Thick straps topped with little bows showed off her freckled shoulders, a heart shaped bodice hugged her chest and waist until it met the skirt that flowed down to her knees.
While he was cataloging the cute, little white heels she had paired with the outfit, she cleared her throat, forcing him to drag his eyes back up to her face.
Syve quirked a brow and grinned, “Bas.”
“Bambi,” he rumbled, shocking himself with the amount of gravel embedded in his words. “I’m glad you could make it.”
“Right.” Aimi clapped. “If you guys are going to eye-fuck each other can you at least tell me where we’re sitting first so I can go?”
Syve swatted at her while Bas willed the heat he felt rising all over his body to cool.
“There isn’t really assigned seating, so it doesn’t matter. If you guys want to go find a spot you can. I’ll come find you when my mom catches up.”
“We’re going to find the best seats, dead center—best view in the house! I don’t care if there’s already someone sitting there either, I’m not afraid to push them out of the way!” She grabbed Syve’s hand and started toward the open door to the auditorium.
“Actually,” Syve said, stopping short and pulling her hand free. “Give me a minute? I’ll catch up with you.”
Aimi glanced between Bas and Syve with a devious smirk, raised her brows up and down, and then with a salute, backed through the doorway and down the hall.
“Everything okay?” he asked her .
“Yeah, I just wanted to give you a heads up that she doesn’t know Cy is going to be here.” She winced. Right on cue, Cyrus walked in, ushering Soriah ahead of him.
“Well don’t you look like a ray of fucking sunshine after a week of rain,” Cyrus praised, flinching when Soriah swatted his arm, calling him a fool and chiding him for cursing in a school.
“Hi, Cy.” Syve rolled her eyes playfully. “Hi Mama,” she added, turning to Soriah.
Something about her calling his mother that made his chest feel tight in a not-exactly-uncomfortable kind of way.
“ Mija , it’s always so good to see you! You know you should come inside and eat after you go off running with my son, it’s not fair that he’s keeping you all to himself.” Soriah swooped in to hug her.
Bastien left the women to catch up, leading Cyrus to the side and speaking low, “Aimi doesn’t know you’re here. Can you please, for Del’s sake, behave ?”
As it turned out, the ‘espresso baptism’ had not been the only altercation between Cyrus and Aimi—the former seemed incapable of leaving the latter alone.
“Aw, come on, pup, you know me! I’m always on my best behavior.”
Bastien scrubbed a hand down his face. “That’s exactly why I’m asking you to be good. Just today, just for Del.”
Cyrus heaved an exasperated sigh, rolling his eyes dramatically .
“Fine, fun sucker. I’ll be a good boy.” He threw his hands up in defeat then turned and retreated into the auditorium.
When Bastien turned back around he found his mother and Syve hugging, tears sneaking down both of their faces. What the hell?
“Syve? Mama?”
“Worry about yourself, Mijo .” Soriah waved a hand in the air dismissing him. “Where did that trouble making osito go?”
Gesturing with his head toward the door, Bas said, “He went in to find Aimi, Syve’s friend. You remember me telling you about her?”
Soriah’s eyes went wide.
“I should go in and make sure he doesn’t do something to get us kicked out.”
She swiped her hands across her cheeks once and dashed through the door with more grace than anyone would ever assign to a woman her age, though Bastien knew better.
Turning back to Syve, he took in her face. The only evidence of her emotional encounter was one stray tear still sitting at her jaw line. Without thinking he reached up and brushed it away with his thumb.
“Are you okay? What happened?”
“It was nothing, really. You mentioned your mom was in a mood, so I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help. I don’t think either of us realized how much we had in common before.
..I just told her something Aimi said to me once, that’s all.
” She didn’t give him a chance to ask any more questions before she grabbed his hand, interlacing their fingers as she started walking.
“We better go catch up; it’ll be starting soon. ”
Bas looked at their intertwined hands and smiled as he followed her into the auditorium.
When it was her turn, Delanira walked confidently across the stage to shake the principal’s hand and accept her diploma.
Before she made her way off the stage, she stopped, looked right up to where they were all standing, and blew a kiss.
Bastien could not think of a single moment in his entire life where he had been prouder of his baby sister.
Directly after, the new graduates filed into the gymnasium for a celebration, where they would be surrounded with games, raffles, fountain drinks, and junk food until the sun came up.
After hugging Syve goodbye, Bastien’s mother went with Cyrus to bring the car around, leaving the two of them a minute alone.
The longer the night had worn on, the more solemn Syve had become and Bastien was concerned. At the risk of being annoying, he asked for the third time, “Bambi? Are you sure you’re okay?”
She sighed covering her face with her hands.
“I’m sorry, Bastien. I feel selfish. This is supposed to be Del’s big day and I’m over here making it about me. This was just a lot harder for me than I thought it would be. ”
He stepped closer, pulled her hands from her face and ducked down to be eye level with her.
“You are the least selfish person I have ever met, Syve.”
She laughed, then sniffled, blinking back tears.
“Thanks.” She took a steadying breath. “It probably doesn’t help that Noah’s birthday is next week—” Her voice broke, cutting the sentence short. She stared at the ceiling, her throat bobbing as she swallowed hard.
“I can’t even imagine how challenging today must have been, Bambi. I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about that when I invited you—”
“No, it’s okay, I really wanted to be here for Del, and for you.” She sniffled again.
“What do you need right now?” He released one of her hands, cupping her cheek as he straightened, bringing them chest to chest.
“Will you come with me next week? To see him? You’ve been there with me a lot…” She tried to look away but he didn’t let her.
“Of course, Bambi. I’ll be there.” She slipped her face from his hand and burrowed it into the front of his shirt, snaking her arms around his waist in a crippling hug. He forgot how to breathe, but only hesitated half a second before he was hugging her back.
“Thank you, Bastien,” she whispered—just before a car horn blared relentlessly, Cyrus hollering along with it.