Headlines (Prime Time #3) - Ella Frank Page 0,54
he needed to talk. I bit down into my lip and gave a clipped nod, then turned and headed for the door.
“Sean?”
I stopped and turned to see Boudreaux watching me with worried eyes.
“Fix this, yeah?”
“I’ll do everything I can,” I promised, and then disappeared out the door.
GRACELAND CEMETERY WAS a beautiful historic garden cemetery located in the north side community of Uptown, with winding paths and botanical gardens. The tranquility of the large reflecting lake gave a sense of comfort to an otherwise somber place.
The three of us had chosen to have our parents buried here because this was where our grandparents had been laid to rest. I made my way to the large oak tree where we’d said goodbye, and when I found Bailey standing there with his head down and a bouquet of roses in his hand, my stomach tightened.
I closed my eyes and looked at the clear skies above, and for the first time in a long time, I sent out a prayer to my mom—if she was watching, if she was listening, that she help me out here. Help me get through to her middle son before he ended up losing one of the people he loved most.
I crossed the freshly cut lawn, through several rows of headstones, until I came to a stop a couple steps back from where Bailey stood. I was about to announce myself when he turned his head to the side and got in first.
“I know you’re there, Sean.”
Damn that big mouth Boudreaux.
Seeing how there was no need to hang back any longer, I slipped my hands in my pockets and made my way forward.
For a moment we just stood there. Two brothers paying their respects to their parents in the quiet morning of a summer’s day. It’d been too long since I’d come out here to visit, finding it easier to deal with their loss if I wasn’t face to face with the headstones that proved it. But standing here now gave me a sense of peace that I hadn’t expected to feel.
“You were always her favorite, you know.” Bailey’s voice was soft and steady as he stared at the grassy plots that stretched out in front of us.
I frowned and shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
“It’s true. She always held you up as the example—”
“Of what not to do.”
“No, of the one who was independent. Sean is…Sean. That’s what she always used to say.” Bailey let out a soft chuckle as he looked at me, a sad smile playing at the corners of his lips. “She didn’t mean that in a bad way. She used to always say that you could look after yourself. That you were smart and strong and marched to the beat of your own drum. That you didn’t care what anyone else said, and she was right.”
Bailey’s words couldn’t have shocked me more. I’d always gone through life believing I was somewhat of a disappointment to my mom. The delinquent of her three boys. The one who was always getting into some kind of trouble.
“She was wrong.”
The words were out of my mouth before I even knew I was going to say them.
“I couldn’t look after myself. I wasn’t smart or strong. I ran away from my feelings and problems instead of learning how to deal with them, and for the longest time I believed I was better off alone. That that was what I deserved. Until Xander.”
I swallowed, trying to think of what to say to explain to Bailey all that I was feeling. But my words seemed to have up and vanished, right along with my ability to talk. Luckily for me, Bailey asked the one question I had a definitive answer to.
“Do you love him?” Bailey’s voice was so soft that I almost missed the question. But when he turned to look at me, fighting back tears, I knew I hadn’t misheard.
This was it. It was time to lay it all out there and let the chips fall where they may. It was time to be brave and strong. “I do.”
Bailey worried his bottom lip with his teeth. “See? You are smart.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“I do.” His voice wavered as he averted his gaze, and then he reached up to wipe away a tear. “I’ve made a mess of this, haven’t I?”
The pain in Bailey’s voice broke my heart, as I stood there and watched his emotions unravel before me.
“I didn’t mean to. It just…” He brought a hand to