Forever and ever 2. The adventure starts now.

Part 140.

Tom's pov~

Not just the absence of sound, the void of connection.
A week later, I flew back, having done my job in Cape Town, and failed. Now it was time to face my family, with a body that told stories and a fear that couldn't be described in words.

Harry was the first to embrace me when I showed up at his door.

"Bollocks, look at you, big brother," he squeezed me tight, not too tight to hurt my ribs, but tight enough to make sure I was safe now. It seemed like it only took a few punches for his anger towards me to dissipate.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he released me from the hug, still holding my shoulders firmly in his palms to scrutinize my face.

Meanwhile, I had just lost my job, got beaten up, and found out my wife was cheating on me.

"Absolutely," I lied, throwing him a crooked smile.

"Just like I know you," my brother believed my feeble dishonesty. He ushered me inside, tossing my bag into one of his hallway corners before offering me a beer in the kitchen, as if I hadn't already had two today and a damn alcohol problem. But one more couldn't hurt, could it?

"Thanks," I accepted it, and we sat in his garden since it was starting to warm up in London again. May was always doing everyone good.
"Where's your wify?" I questioned, turning around to see if Harry's girlfriend, Ciara, was anywhere in the house, but she seemed to have disappeared.

"My 'girlfriend' is at the flower market with our mom," he clarified, using the overarching term for Ciara. They had been together for so long that it wouldn't have surprised me to finally hear the term "fiancée."

"The flower market?"

"Yeah, apparently it's a thing, and apparently some people really enjoy strolling around it," Our mom included. I nodded, taking a sip of the cold drink.

"When's the big day?"

"What do you mean?"

"When are you going to ask her to marry you?"

I rarely saw my brothers blush, but when it came to their girlfriends, it only took them a few seconds to revert back to a teenager freshly in love.

"Well..." he fumbled with the beer label. "This summer..." he admitted. And summer was just around the corner.

"Damn, really?" That meant Harry had to go through a long preparation phase just to gather the courage. On the other hand, I almost suspected Ciara would soon bail if my dickheaded brother didn't take the next step soon.

"The damn ring has been sitting in my drawer for months now, but I still haven't found the courage to ask her. How do I even do something like that?" Even though he laughed, I knew he doubted himself. I knew my brother too well to let that go unnoticed.

"Seriously? You get down on one knee and-"
"Not that you piece of shit... I mean everything else. Where do I do it? What do we do afterward? What if she says no?"

"Simple. At her favorite place, fuck, and cry."
"Cry? That's yours solution." He furrowed his brow. "And fuck?! Is that what you did?" I opened my mouth to talk when "-nope- I don't even want to know." Harry shook his head. Taking another sip from his bottle.

"Just don't overthink it. Ciara has been waiting for your proposal for months now. If anything, she'll just be disappointed that it took so long," I explained, and Harry nodded in understanding.

"You're probably right." Damn yes I was.

Silence returned between us as the birds chirped in the trees.