Dreamless in Early Graves (Vic Fuentes / Kellic) ✔️

Chapter 23: The House

I'm so so so sorry that I haven't updated anything in forever. life is hectic. but I'm back! next chapter will be the final one.

<>+++++++++++++++<>

"Hey babe. . ." Kellin greeted me, leaning over the counter and giving me a soft kiss on the lips. A smile instantly took over my face. "Are you ready?" He then asked.

I nodded slowly. "As ready as I'll ever be." I said, half admitting that I kinda wasn't.

Almost a year had passed since the day that Ana's lawyer stopped by my apartment to tell me that everything that once belonged to Ana was being handed down to me. Almost a year it's been since I've had her money, her belongings, and her house in my possession. . . but I hadn't touched any of it in that entire time. I only used some of the money so Kellin could keep the school where he gave ballet classes to kids.

I hadn't stepped foot into her house. Not once. It just didn't feel right.

But today Kellin was going to drag me there. It had actually been my decision –he had been so patient with me— but still, I didn't want to go there without him by my side.

It had taken me forever to get over Ana. Or at least. . . I knew I wasn't over her; I had just managed to live with the fact that she was gone and never coming back. And Kellin had been there every step of the way to support me.

We grew close quite quickly, and gradually I found myself falling in love with him.

It was strange, at first. . . I didn't expect to fall in love again, not so soon, if ever at all. But I did.

For the first while, I felt so guilty. The guilt was overwhelming at times. And it ranged from feeling guilty towards Ana about loving someone else, and feeling guilty towards Kellin about still loving Ana. It was a constant war in my head. . . and my heart. But Kellin always assured me that there was no need to feel guilty at all.

Kellin never complained when I talked about Ana. He always listened. I think he even enjoyed hearing stories about her. They used to be pretty close after all. He had plenty of stories to tell, as well. And I found myself smiling and laughing at them.

Completely lost in the thought of Ana, I hadn't even noticed that we had already arrived at her house. The pale, raven haired man –formerly Ana's dance partner and friend, now my boyfriend— was waiting patiently for me to exit the car. And when I finally did, he smiled.

I took a deep breath, snatched the key from my pocket, and approached the front door. In a quick flash, my mind imagined that she'd be on the other side of that door, greeting me with her glass of grapefruit juice in hand. But I quickly dismissed that naïve wishful thinking as my shaky hand inserted the key into the lock.

She's gone, Vic. . . this is all that's left of her.

I exhaled slowly as the door unlocked and slowly swung open, the cold doorknob slipping from my fingers.

"Hey. . . it's okay." Kellin whispered reassuringly, obviously having caught on to my uneasy mood. He carefully placed a hand on my back and waited for me to enter first. And it took me a moment, but I did.

The house was still in the exact same shape that it was when I was last here. . . apart from the layers upon layers of dust that had settled overtime. At least it was somewhat reassuring to know that no one else had been here.

Kellin's hand rested carefully on my shoulder. "Are you all right?" He asked me softly.

I moved my hand up to rest on top of his and nodded, trying to put on my best smile as I looked at him. He returned the smile, but his was laced with obvious sympathy. "Yeah. . . let's take a look around." I suggested quietly.