Page 124 of Vain

“Shit, she’s right.” Kellen sighs.

“Is there any news on Greyson?”

“He’s still in surgery,” I tell her.

She nods. “When can I go home?”

“The police will want to talk to you first if you’re up for it. But then I don’t foresee it being a problem. They know where to find you.”

I shake my head. “No. I want to go home…to Tempest. There’s nothing here for me anymore.”

Suzie’s face softens. “I’ll see what I can do.” She leaves and everyone stays silent, not knowing what to say or do.

“I have boxes packed, ready to go. I… can’t go back there,” she chokes.

“We’ll take care of it as soon as the police give us the okay to enter,” Blake replies.

She nods, leaning into me further. “Marley has a brother. Timmy. I need to call him. Tell him what happened. See if he wants any of his things.”

“I’ll do it,” Kellen offers.

“Okay. And I, um…I don’t want to overstep, but I’d like to pay for his, Daniel’s, and Cliff’s funerals, too. I need to arrange my mom’s…” She breaks down again.

“Alright, that’s enough for now. We got this,” Felix tells her.

She looks around and nods. “Thank you.”

The press devoured the story, but for once, they showed respect to the woman who had already lost far too much.

Daniel and Cliff’s funerals were first. We sat in the back so we wouldn’t draw attention to ourselves. The next was her mom’s. Only a handful of people came, which somehow made it seem even more tragic.

And then finally, it was time to say goodbye to Marley. This was the one we’d been dreading. All the guys flew back out for it, and even my parents came to offer their support, as did all the cast and crew of Tilly’s movie.

It was beautiful in that way only death can be and when I laid a rose on Marley’s coffin, I said a prayer of thanks to the hero who saved my woman’s life.

Tilly held it together, even when she spoke about what a fantastic man he was. She shared the million memories she had made with him, which had the group both laughing and sobbing. Tilly didn’t break, though. Not until Timmy walked over to her with his friend, both of them carrying a white wooden chest between them.

They place the chest on the ground at her feet. Timmy steps forward and reaches for Tilly’s hand. She doesn’t flinch, but she reaches out for me with her free hand, which I take.

“He loved you so damn much. I wanted you to know that.”

“I know. He showed me in a million different ways.”

“Good,” he says, taking a deep breath. “He’s been making these for you since you were a toddler. He said you were demanding and always came up with wacky combos, but they always turned out the best.”

She tilts her head in confusion as Tommy bends down and pops open the chest, pulling out one of the books from inside. He opens it up and spins it around. Tilly gasps, her hands covering her mouth, as she takes in the photo of a very young Tilly standing on a stool at the kitchen island next to Marley, baking. There’s a recipe printed on the side of the page at the top in thick black writing, it simply saysBanoffles.

She flicks the page, and there is another photo and recipe, this one forDo Me Dark and Dirty, which makes her laugh and sob at the same time. She closes the book and looks up at Timmy. “This is the best gift anyone has ever given me. Thank you.”

“They were always meant to be yours. Take care of yourself, Matilda. You know he’ll be watching over you to make sure you do just that.”

He walks away as I pull her into my arms and hold her tight as she lets it all pour out. Eventually the tears stop falling and her breathing returns to normal.

“I thought there might be one more funeral,” she murmurs.

I thought so too. For a while, it didn’t look as if Greyson would make it. When he shot himself, he hit his liver and intestine, causing a lot of damage. But ultimately the surgeons managed to save him. Life can be unfair like that sometimes.

“If he’d died, I would have come to his funeral. I’d have paid for it too. I’d have mourned the man I loved to the moon and back. But I want nothing to do with the man awaiting trial. He’s not my Greyson anymore.”