Taivon: Book Three of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Twenty-One

“I'm so proud of you, bro,” Titus said to him, from the other end of the line. “You want me to call Ma and Dad?”

“Nah. I wanna do it.”

They both said good bye a few moments later, leaving Taivon with a sense of pride. His parents would be so proud that he was going to get married. None of his brothers were, so he'd be the first, and that just made him feel good.

From where she sat, wrapped up in his arms on the bench, Holly was humming. It was a light tune. Something fit for the beauty of today. He loved it when she hummed, or when she sang. Now, he could listen to her sing for the rest of his life.

Holly lifted her mouth invitingly, and he crushed her soft body to his chest. Leaning down, he planted a kiss on her lips, reveling in the feel of her soft mouth. She ran her hands up and down his shoulders, and Taivon kissed her deeper.

She'd said yes. He still couldn't believe it. He was engaged, to the love of his life, and he still couldn't believe it. Pulling back, he planted a kiss on her cheek, burying his face in her neck so she wouldn't see the tears.

“Taiv,” she sighed, into his ear. “It's beautiful. Perfect.”

He smiled. “I thought you'd like it.”

“I'm so...” Holly stopped and began to cry in his arms. “I'm just so...excited! When is it gonna be? How many people-”

“Holly,” he said. “Breathe. Okay?”

He waited for her to say something, but she didn't. Her hold on him was now loose, fingers no longer clutching at his back. He couldn't even hear her breathe.

“Holly?” Taivon shook her, tears pricking his eyes when she didn't move. “Holly!”

She wasn't doing anything. Her face was turned away, hair covering it as her body went limp in his arms. Even her chest was still. Anxiety gripped him, clogging his throat until he couldn't breathe anymore.

“Holly?” he whispered.

This time, she did respond. She turned her head and looked up at him, only it wasn't Holly. It was Alix. She looked scared, for him. Her hands came up to cup his face, and she forced his head down into her neck, silencing his cries.

“Taivon,” she whispered. “Sweetheart, wake up. Okay? Just wake up.”

It felt like he was being ripped out of water and deposited onto dry land. He came out with a gasp, his body shaking and racked with deep, dry coughs. Tears were pouring out of his eyes, but he didn't open them. All that came out were pained cries.

His chest squeezed, constricting and tightening until all he could do was curl in on himself and cry into the woman holding him. It hurt too much. All of this hurt too much. It was always the same dream, over and over again, night after night, ever since Holly had died.

And now, it'd just changed. Over the years, he'd gotten better at coping with seeing her die. He'd accepted it as a fact of life, something that he could never change. Until now. Now, it had changed, all because of Alix Romaro.

“A-Alix?” He could barely speak as the streams of tears kept running down his face.

“It's okay, Taiv. It's just a nightmare.”

Her voice sounded so concerned. No pity laced it, even as he sobbed himself into an almost comatose-like state. He liked that about her. Hell, he liked a ton of things about her, and he still didn't know the whole Alix yet.