A Light In The Darkness [Completed]

Some Brotherly Advice

Two weeks dragged by, and Solveigh was almost too busy with wedding preparations to think about the situation. Almost. Every time she stopped for a moment her conscience would begin to whisper in the back of her mind. That whisper became a scream each time she was with Elias and, honestly, she was kind of avoiding him. He seemed to accept her excuse of being busy, but Sol knew it wouldn't fly too much longer. She was running out of time.

It was now the night before Jace and Aimee's wedding, and Sol still hadn't spoken to Elias. She was sitting with her family, who were animatedly talking about the next day, but her mind kept wandering. Sol was so happy for her brother, and she knew it was her own fault that she couldn't put her whole heart into enjoying the big day.

Honestly, she was exhausted, mentally, emotionally, and physically. After staying long enough to allay any suspicions, Sol excused herself, saying she needed to get her beauty sleep. With a quiet sigh, she sank down on the floor and leaned against her bed. A moment later Persephone came and rested her head on Sol's lap.

Sol sighed again and scratched behind her ears. "You're lucky, you know," she told the dog. "You don't have to deal with all this emotion junk. You just live your life."

Persephone just whimpered and wriggled farther into Sol's lap. Closing her eyes, Sol leaned her head back and sighed once again. "What a mess..."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

The sound of her brother's voice made Sol jump, which made Persephone grunt in protest. "You trying to give me a heart attack?"

Jacen laughed as he sat down next to Sol. "Sorry, Sunny. You usually hear me coming."

"I was lost in thought."

"So I noticed." Jacen gave the dog a friendly pat. "In fact, you've seemed out of sorts for a while now. Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing," Sol replied, turning away from his voice. "Besides, I don't want to ruin your day with my stupid problems."

"Hey..." Jacen put a hand on her shoulder. "If my little sister is having a problem, it's not stupid. As for ruining my day, it would ruin it if I had to go up there tomorrow knowing you were in trouble."

Sol gave a sad laugh. "Thank you, Jace, but I'm not in trouble. At least, not in any trouble that isn't my own making."

"That's not making me feel much better."

Sol was quiet for a moment. Finally, she turned in her brother's direction. "You're not going to let this drop, are you?"

"I am not."

Sol snorted. "You're annoying."

She could practically hear the grin in her brother's voice as he said, "Maybe, but this is about you, not me."

It took Sol a little while to get started, but eventually she got the whole story out. Jace listened patiently the whole time, only interrupting her for added clarification. When she finally finished, he grunted thoughtfully."

"Well...," he said at last. "I agree with Cat. Every relationship should be based on honesty. That's the only way you can truly trust someone. And even if you're the best liar in the world, that's not much of a basis for peace of mind."

"Yeah..." The word came out as more of a sigh. "I know. It doesn't make it easier, though."

"No, it doesn't." Jacen replied quietly. "But I will add this... I really believe you and Trey had... have... something special, and I would hate to see that just disappear. I don't claim to know everything because God knows I don't, but I feel like you guys were made for each other."

"You do?" Sol asked in a quiet voice.

"I do." The bed squeaked as Jace shifted his weight. "I like Elias, I really do. I think he's a really great guy, but I can see the difference in you when you're with him compared to when you were with Trey. I still plan on giving Bauer a black eye for making you cry, but I can tell how happy he made you."

Sol laughed softly. "He did. I don't why, though. Half the time he was a pain in the butt."

Jacen gave her a playful punch on the shoulder. "Hey, love is weird."

"You can say that again."

For a long time neither one of them spoke. Finally, Sol took a deep breath and exhaled. "Okay... No more hesitation. I'm going to talk to Elias tomorrow."

Jacen put his arm around her shoulders. "That's the Sunny I know. I know you can do it."

"Thanks, Jace," Sol said. "You're the best big brother ever. Hands down."

"Anytime."