My boyfriend's dad. ✅ [Wattys 2023!]

31. The end.

I lifted my head when Eleonor grabbed my chin and ran a piece of gauze with antiseptic through my lower lip with some force to remove the dry blood that was still there, although his trembling hands made me look up more.

Her light green eyes were watery, her sclera deep red, the tip of her nose and her cheeks were rosy, plus sticky from all the tears that had fallen down them previously.

She inhaled a little heavy and hard, as if she was sniffing and trying to bring up the water that was also dripping from her nose from crying.

I couldn't imagine the pain she must be feeling right now after witnessing what happened in the front yard.

"I'm sorry..." I murmured in a voice so broken I didn't know how it came out of my knotted throat.

"These things happen, my dear." She murmured. "It's okay." I shook my head, grabbing her hand to stop what she was doing.

"I've broken your family..." I mumbled again with that knot getting thicker.

"Kay..." She began, letting go of that little gauze to grab my hands. "Our family was already broken and we just pretended not to because of Blake." I shook my head and she nodded, contradicting me. "Yes, darling, you can't know better than me." I was silent, thinking.

"If we hadn't kept it from him for so long..." I couldn't finish my sentence as two tears fell from my eyes and she wiped them away with her thumbs, cupping my cheeks.

"My dear, if it hadn't been now, it would have been later. It was destined to happen because the bonds of fate are that raw and cruel. No one chooses who they fall in love with, my daughter." She spoke in that motherly tone.

"But everything could have been different if..." She was the one who shook her head and hissed softly at me again.

"If that? Blake was going to react like that anyway, no matter when you guys tell him." She was right about that. "Everything will work out eventually. Let life course, okay?" I nodded slowly, weak and without confidence.

She turned half her body to soak the gauze again with some more antiseptic in the small first aid kit that was next to her on the couch and then ran it back down my lower lip.

I looked over her shoulder to try to focus on other things;

Brian was sitting on the same sofa, but behind her. He had his head on the backrest, one hand clutching his shirt in one fist and the other forearm held against his face as if he were shielding his eyes from the ceiling light.

He already had his wounds healed from before, since he had came in the house first and long before us, so Eleonor took care of healing him.

I looked past Brian. Ian was standing with his hands on the kitchen island, leaning forward and head down, with his back to the three of us.

Since we came in the house about ten minutes ago and he himself had told Eleonor to heal me first, even though he needed it more than I did, he had remained like that, silent, thoughtful and not looking at anyone but the counter.

Sometimes he seemed to deep sigh or sob. I didn't know very well, I only saw his back have slight tremors as he held on tightly, with some anger, to the edge of the counter.

"Go with him." Eleonor told me, making me look at her. "He needs you." I was silent.

"You think?" She nodded, fully convinced.

"Of course, Kay. He needs you more than ever. Go, come on." She nodded to me and I nodded slowly. "Here. Take this with you." She handed me the first aid kit.

I got up with trembling legs, still with some adrenaline and nerves running through my body. My hands were also trembling and I held on tight to that little white box with a red cross on it.