Secrets (a Wesley Stromberg story)

Chapter 21

"Mary, hey it's 2 pm." Wesleys voice whispers into my ear and the whiff of cinnamon grazes past my nose. The black covers are still over me and now a blue blanket is on top of it. He must have added it earlier.

"Okay." I whisper. He places a soft kiss on my cheek before leaving me alone in his room. I stayed at Wesleys house after finding out about his mom because going home was out of the picture last night. I cried into his arms until I eventually fell asleep next to him, which could have been anywhere from 8 pm to 1 am.

4 years. 4 years Drew has lied to me. 4 years ago, he stood behind our father and watched him kill someone. My brother and dad are the murderers of the guy that i loves mother. How can he even look at me? How can Wesley or Keaton see my face without being absolutely disgusted? One thing Wesley kept repeating to me last night was that it wasn't my fault and that I have nothing to do with it. But it doesn't help.

"For my mother." I remember Wesley saying that night in the diner parking lot. I brushed it off after Drew lied to me, thinking I was going crazy just hearing things. Turns out Drew was the one telling me crazy things.

Everything slowly started to peace together as I laid in Wes's bed, staring up at the white popcorn like ceiling. Keaton was always so quiet because of what happened and he doesn't talk to many people because he will notice things in people that remind him of her and it will send him in a down spiral. That's what Wesley told me. But I figured out Wes on my own.

He hides his emotions. He hides them far deep down inside of him by being so mean to people. He sees himself as being responsible for his mothers death in some way, shape, or form and to hide that, he acts cold and heartless. He hasn't had any serious relationship because he's afraid to show how he really feels on the inside to other people. Now, why I'm the person that changed that, I don't know. I'm still trying to figure that out because in theory, I would be the girl that he would hate the most. But, laying here in his bed, that theory proves wrong.

After about 30 minutes, I make myself get out of the bed and throw on a red Mayday Parade sweatshirt sitting on his desk. It goes down to my knees so I don't bother changing my shorts into pants. I turn my phone on to see 8 missed calls from Drew and 5 from my mom. I haven't even started to think about what all my mom knows.

I look into my phones camera really fast to find my eyes bloodshot red from so many tears and dark bags underneath my eyes before heading downstairs.

Wes and Keaton are sitting at the small round table in their kitchen when I get down there, Keaton slowly eating a bowl of oatmeal and Wes with a clearly untouched sandwich in front of him. They both look up when I patter into the kitchen and Wes shoots straight up out of his chair.

"Do you want anything to eat?" He rushes to my side but I just shake my head and sit down in the chair he just left.

"Hey Keats." I give him a small smile and he gives a small one back from across the circle.

"Mom use to call me that." He takes his empty bowl of oatmeal to the sink and Wes comes to stand behind my chair.

"Keaton, I-"

"Shh." He cuts me off after putting his bowl into the dishwasher and takes Wes's place behind me, bending down to give me a hug from behind.

"I'm so sorry." I say in a barely audible voice. He gives me a quick tight squeeze before going upstairs.

"You sure you don't wanna eat anything?" Wesleys says as he sits in Keaton's previous chair.

"I'm fine." He reaches his arms over the wooden table to grab my hands and he kisses each knuckle individually.

"I." Middle finger. "Love." Ring finger. "You." Pinky. I close my eyes when he finishes and I take my hands away from his. A tear falls silently down my cheek and onto the sweatshirt.

"Did I say something wrong?" He whispers.

"Not wrong. Just not normal." I laugh a little because this situation usually goes differently. The boy says he loves you, and you jump into his arms and say that you love him back and then you have a passionate kiss. But most of those situations didn't have murder tied in there somewhere.

"I just." Shaky breathe intake. "I just don't see how you could love me."

"Mary, I told you this, none of its your fault. You know this." I lay my head on his hands that are still in front of me and he kisses the crown of my head.

"Do you love-"

"Of course I love you Wesley. I admitted this to myself a while ago. I fell in love with you the day you got into my car."

"Even though I acted like a complete dick to you?" I looked up at him and smiled.

"Yes, even then." He moves a stray hair from my face and I let my cheek rest into his palm.

"That was a stupid thing to do."

"Very." We just stare into each others eyes for a minute while he softly brushes away the water marks from my face.

"Wesley?" I ask him and his gaze doesn't move from my eyes.

"Mary?" I know I need to do this soon so I should just get it over now.

"I want to talk to your dad." He sucks in a big sharp breath at the same time that I hear heavy steps come into the kitchen.

"Well, looks like you're in luck." A voice deeper than Keaton's and Wes's put together appears from behind me.