Another Lifetime

Chapter 31

DeAnna Kastell

"What are you drawing now?" X asked me. He was sitting at his desk working his way through last week's homework whilst I was lying on the bed. I'd just finished a project for Victor I'd started before I got called to testify and I was ahead on my homework right now because crushing through work was helping me keep my mind off the threat to the love of my life.

"You," I said and continued to draw him. I was drawing him in court, the day of his sentencing. He'd looked so emotionless and blank when the judge handed him his sentence that dad.  It was like he'd already accepted his fate and I guess he had that realisation the moment he was arrested for a crime that wasn't linked to Kings and had a witness who wasn't in the gang or could bought off. He had accepted it in the moment those cuffs were slapped on him after I called the cops that night.

"The trial starts next week," X said and I did not want to have this conversation. "Is Harry coming with you?" He asked me, obviously pissed that his best friend could come to court to support me but he couldn't because it could risk the conviction and Aron needed to go away for ever.

"Yeah, he's on fake fiancé duty again," I said and put my pencil down. "Can we not have this conversation?" I asked him, really trying to put this off because if we talked about it then it meant there was a possibility of it coming true.

"We need to Dea," he told me and turned to face me. "We need to talk about happens if they find out I'm the source," he said and I couldn't do this. I couldn't have a conversation where we had to discuss what I'd do if they killed him because chances were I'd relapse worse that I'd ever relapsed before and I didn't want him to be worrying about that in this already incredibly stressful situation.

"I just got you back X, I'm not going to lose you again," I told him seriously, "they won't figure it out, they're really not that smart," I added and they really weren't. Without Aran, they'd almost instantly fall apart because the only other member of Kings with any intelligence or ability to run an operation that large was X and now he's out so they'd have nothing after Aron went away.

"Yeah but if they do," X said and I got up from the bed. I couldn't even consider this option and I couldn't believe he was either.

"But they won't, X, they won't and you'll run out your parole and I'll graduate and set up my own gallery and we'll get married," I told him and I wasn't leaving any room for him to get shot in our perfect life. There would be no guns or bullets anywhere in our future.

"I love you, DeAnna Martina Castello de Rosa- Iglesias, more than anything," he told me and I knew that already.

"I know and I love you too, Xavier Griffin Kingsley," I said and fiddled with my ring.

"Come here," he said and I did. He pulled me into a hug so I was sitting on his lap. "We're going to make it out of this, and have our perfect life together," he assured me and we were going to get it. "Have you got your trial outfits all sorted?" He asked me.

"Yes, they're very straight laced and suburban," I assured him, and he pushed my hair out of my face. "I look ridiculous," I added and I really did. I didn't feel like me when I wore them, like I was in another disguise.

"So is Harry coming with you, right?" He asked me again. I think it made him feel better that even if he couldn't be there with me, someone he trusted was there to watch my back and my front.

"Yeah, it helps sell the whole fiancé thing," I told him, "but soon Aron will be in prison, Kings will have completely shattered and my fake fiancé can go back to being one of my closest friends," I said and my hand slipped, drawing a deep dark line of graphite over X's face, "shit," I muttered and tried to erase it but it just wasn't happening.