SWNOVELS Chapter Tiny Dark Deeds: Epilogue
Sloane
“Ready. Set.” Wells paused, his grin cockier than hell. He loved these races. He winked at me from the start line. “Let’s get it.”
His fist dropped, and my sneakers shot me off the street, Ares’s too. Gone were the days he let me get ahead.
I didn’t need the help.
Sheer speed backing me, I pumped my arms, racing past Bru, Thatcher, Bow, and Dorian from the side lines. They all cheered from the side of the street, but the only one who had a knowing smile was my boyfriend. I’d happened to beat him in a race just this morning, my best time ever.
I was about to break that record now.
I didn’t know if Ares had let himself go in the days following graduation a few weeks ago or what, but I left him behind me, knowing I’d won this shit before I even passed the finish line. We had the line marked at the end of our parents’ street, and we were able to hold our races out here now that summer had hit. Add that to the fact the press were finally leaving us all alone and allowing us to live our lives, my twin brother and I got to finish our grudge match. I was going to beat him in a foot race before we headed off to college in the fall, and today would be the day.
I heard Ares growl right as I accomplished that very feat. I blazed past the finish line, easily a few strides ahead and immediately broke out into a dance.
“Oh, shit!” I chanted, dancing around him when he came to a stop. He had his hands on his knees, winded, but that didn’t stop me. I pressed hands to my chest. “Oh, shit. Did she just do that?”
Obviously, I was referring to myself, and I rubbed that win all up in his face as the rest of the group strode up to join us.
Grunting, Ares stood up. He tried to play it off he wasn’t completely gassed, but he had to gulp in a few breaths before looking at me. His eyes rolled. “Good job, little.”
It was better than good. I’d been training for this shit every morning since we’d graduated, a little obsessed, but I didn’t care. I wanted bragging rights and something to hold over his head.
I continued to dance around the same time my boyfriend got me around the waist. The dark prince was all grins when he picked me up, my legs looping around him.
“Fuck yeah, my girl did that,” he said, kissing me, and Ares’s eyes lifted higher.
“She had a good day,” he gritted, downplaying my win, and I smirked. Good day or not, I beat his ass.
I shot a finger at him. “I guess you were right about those genetics, bro.” It was so much easier to call him that now, normal. I smiled, hugging the dark prince. “And I did do that.”
“You did, baby.” Chuckling, Dorian braced my waist. He set me down while he proceeded to give me another congratulatory kiss, and I think Ares groaned for a different reason then.
As well as the others.
Dorian got swats at his head, and they were lucky his lips were preoccupied. I’d seen him get in street fights with his friends over less. Especially whenever Thatcher or Wells got flirty. They still liked to poke and tease me because they were horny fucks. I took it in good stride, knowing their personalities now. That was just their way, but whenever they did, they made sure to stop before Dorian came around. They’d gotten more than one punch to the gut for it.
These boys were characters, and though they loved each other, they checked each other too. If one was out of line or being stupid, they definitely called each other out, and I enjoyed their dynamic. I enjoyed seeing that strong bond and how much they did look out for each other.
I think Dorian and I only stopped kissing because I thought it was rude, and Bow was jumping to show me my race time.
“A new record,” she said, nudging me. She showed me the time on her phone, and my jaw dropped. “You killed this.”
“Seems she had more than a good day.” Dorian dropped his meaty arm across my shoulders, hugging me close, and Thatcher and Wells punched at Ares’s arms.
“Yeah, she kind of blew your shit out of the water, bro,” Thatcher stated, which got him a quick knock across the head by Ares, along with a more than heated shut the fuck up. Thatcher pouted, his hood up, his dark locks messy and tousled at the front. He messed with them more. “Dude, just speaking facts.”
Ares came for him again, but Thatcher chose to hide behind Wells, which was hilarious. One, because Wells lacked the surface area to be able to even do so with his leaner athletic build, and another, because Wells sidestepped every time he tried, Wells’s grin high. Giving up on him, Thatcher tried to hide behind Bru, but that was pointless too. At least when he’d been hiding behind Wells, he’d had the boy’s height. Wells was shorter than Thatcher, but Wells was still way taller than Bruno.
Bru raised his hands. “Uh-uh. Keep me out of this.”
Bruno sidestepped too with a chuckle, and eventually, Dorian shut it all down when he left me and broke his friends up.
“Calm down. Shit,” he told Ares, a hand on his chest. It was crazy the three of us were actually graduated now and were supposed to be the older ones. Dorian frowned. “Don’t be an ass. You lost, so just take it and move on.”
My twin brother’s expression could be described as nothing but sour when he bunched his arms over his chest. I came over, grinning. “Don’t be sour, big. Maybe you’ll get a win in next time.”
Reaching out, I tapped his face to be an asshole and definitely wasn’t stupid enough to stick around to see what he’d do about it.
I heard Bru said, “Here we go,” as I shot off, and Ares immediately raced off behind me. Ares spouted heated curses from his lips, but I ignored them when Dorian called after us.
“Use those legs, little fighter.” Dorian barked a laugh, the rest of the group yelling after us in the same fashion. I got lots of, “Run!” and I definitely wasn’t slowing down.
“You’re so fucking dead.” Ares charged after me, but he wasn’t fooling anyone. Laughter hit his voice as soon as we entered our house, and when I cut into the kitchen, someone immediately separated us.
“Hey. Hey. Hey,” Ramses said, getting Ares by the shirt just when he’d been about to grab me. Saved by the dad! Ramses directed a look at my twin. “What’s going on? Why are you chasing her?”
“She hit me,” Ares accused and was being so dramatic. He acted like I’d slapped him. He posted hands on his hips. “Legit slapped me. Right in my face.”
His eyes danced deviously behind the bullshit, but as Ramses’s attention was on me now, our dad didn’t see. I frowned. “He’s being overdramatic. I tapped him on the face lightly, and that was after he was being a big baby because I beat him in a foot race.”
This conversation was hilarious right now, our dad keeping the two of us away from each other while we both pleaded our cases over laughable bull crap. It felt so normal and reminded me of Bru and me growing up.
“A race?” Ramses’s brow lifted. He faced me. “You beat him in a race?”
“Uh, yeah. I really didn’t hit him. At least, not hard.” I shrugged, and Ramses nodded.
But only after he smiled.
He knew I’d been training to one day beat my ridiculously fast brother firsthand.
He’d been training with me in the mornings.
Of course, he couldn’t let that be known, my dad’s and my secret. I’d told him not to tell anyone about the training because I wanted to surprise Ares when I beat his ass.
Ramses’s smile wiped away before he faced my twin. He eyed him. “I’m sorry you lost but killing each other is definitely not the answer.”
Ares lifted a hand. “She hit me first, though.”
“And you’re going to let it go because you’re just the bigger person.” He put an arm around his son. “And the reason I get to tell my friends I have such a great kid.”
Ares’s frown was evident, but a smile pulled at it too.
Ramses wrestled his hair. “You’ll be okay. There’ll be other races.”
Ares pointed at me, the promise of that apparently ahead.
I laughed as he did let go what I’d done, leaving the kitchen. Laughing himself, Ramses watched Ares’s exit so he didn’t see me until I got him in a hug.
“Thanks, Dad,” I said, squeezing. He had definitely just let me get away with hitting Ares. Not to mention helping me in the mornings. I squeezed him harder. “And for the training.”
I was still blown away I got to hug my dad and have moments like this. Godfrey had been my father, but it wasn’t like these times with Ramses. Godfrey had never been one to express much emotion, even when he had been well.
Ramses was never guarded with his, hugging me back and instantly. He rubbed my arm. “No problem,” he returned, and I noticed he held that hug for a second before letting me go. Brielle did too sometimes when I hugged her, but I didn’t mind. There’d been a lot of hugs we didn’t get to have.
And we were making up for that.
There’d been a lot of hugging too at Ares’s and my graduation party, grandparents, friends. Ramses’s dad hadn’t been there, but Ramses had talked to our whole family after that prom night. If Ares and I wanted to see our grandpa, we could, and Ares and I had had more than one discussion about it. He wasn’t quite ready yet, but when he was, I’d be with him.
At least, the potential of that was out there.
I stayed in that hug a little longer too before letting my dad go. I told him I loved him as well before I left the room, and I’d never forget what he mentioned as he said it back.
“Never gets old hearing you say that, kid,” he stated, his eyes warm. “Never gets old.”
*
Legacy pizza night happened to be at the Mallick household tonight, which was great because that coincided with date night for Ramses and Brielle. They’d been doing that a lot less recently with Bru, Ares, and me being home for the summer. They wanted to spend time with us.
We actually all had a big trip to Greece coming up, a family trip Ramses and Brielle had gifted Ares and me for graduation. I still couldn’t believe this was my life sometimes. That I had two parents and a family of not just two brothers but four with Thatcher and Wells. The two were a couple of characters, but they definitely held a place in my heart. I had a little sister too with Bow, and our crew spent as much time together as we could. I ended up getting accepted at Pembroke University, which was an Ivy League not far from town. I’d been floored I’d gotten in with the year I’d had, but I’d managed it. Ramses had gone there so that helped, but I tried to do my part academically.
I had help.
Bru and Ares both were geniuses, and they’d helped me prepare, alongside the dark prince. He was modest about how smart he was too, and he’d also gotten into Pembroke University. Apparently, he was legacy there too, with others in his family having gone there.
I was looking forward to the fall semester, but things would change once again. I’d be headed to a new school, and even though I could come home and see my family (the school was only a couple hours away), things would be different again in my life.
I hoped they’d be good changes, and discussions surrounding college did come up during pizza night. The crew had all been raiding the kitchen for snacks before the pizza delivery when Wells strode into the room with a joint behind his ear. He had a letter in hand, and when Ares noticed it, he grabbed it.
“You in my shit?” Ares asked, slapping his friend’s chest with it. Wells lifted his hands.
“Chill, my guy. I was looking for your stash.” Wells pulled the joint from behind his ear as proof, and at this point, the whole room’s attention had shifted toward the conversation. Wells braced his arms. “I didn’t know you applied to Pembroke.”
“Because it was supposed to be a surprise,” Ares said, looking a bit sheepish when he noticed us all looking at him. Dorian reached for the letter, and when he read it, he smiled.
“You going to Pembroke?” he asked before returning his arm around me. He never went far. Dorian grinned. “I thought you were going to design school in New York or something.”
That’d been the plan, and though Pembroke had excellent options for Ares, they were nothing compared to the schools I knew he’d already gotten offers from. Our senior project had basically gotten him his pick of any school he wanted.
I took the letter, and Ares watched me scan it.
He shrugged. “I just figured with you and little going there…” He scratched his neck. “I don’t know. I just thought it’d be cool.”
“Aww. Wolf.” Thatcher dropped an arm around Ares, jostling him. “Buddy, I didn’t know you couldn’t stand to be away from all of us,” he said, obviously referring to the fact the university was so close to Maywood Heights. Thatcher, Wells, and Bru still had a year before they graduated too, and Bow wouldn’t be far behind. Thatcher grinned. “That’s so adorable. I didn’t know you’d miss me so much.”
Ares growled when he shoved Thatcher off him, and Wells threw popcorn at Thatcher, which, of course, made everyone else want to throw popcorn at Thatcher. Bru and Bow had their own bowls, and Dorian and I reached into them. We all threw popcorn at the Legacy boy while he flipped the bird at us.
The large man-boy wrestled kernels out of his hair, calling us all assholes, and he was right, but that was just Legacy. There were antics, but there were always good times.
Ares barked at Thatcher to let the college thing go, and I think he only did because he didn’t want to get any more snack foods tossed at him. In any sense, the doorbell rang, and the whole kitchen basically evacuated to assault the pizza guy. The only people who lingered back were Ares, Dorian, and me, but I think Dorian noticed I wanted to speak to my twin. I started to approach Ares with the letter, and Dorian nodded at me.
“I’m going to go make sure Thatcher leaves some pizza for the rest of us,” Dorian said, kissing my cheek with a full hand on my head. He always loved to manhandle me. He hit my ass before he left (another favorite of his), and Ares laughed.
“Yeah, I’m kind of starting to rethink my decision. Four years of the two of you doing that shit?” he groaned but was mocking about it, teasing when he nudged me. He sat on a barstool. “I was considering D as a roommate, but I might have to think of other arrangements because nah. Seriously, won’t be able to take y’all doing all that shit.”
Smirking, I leaned back against the counter. “Why didn’t you tell me you applied to Pembroke?”
“I applied to a lot of places,” he said, tilting his head, and I shook mine. He shrugged. “What? Pembroke’s a good school. Ivy League?”
“Yeah, but it’s nothing like the places you applied to in New York and got in.” I nudged him. “Is Thatcher right? You’ll just miss us so much you can’t bear to be without us?”
His eyes lifted, his smile small. “I don’t know about all that, but I know you and I haven’t gotten a lot of time together,” he said, surprising me. He nodded. “I guess I just figured these next four years would be a good time to make up for that. Get to know my sister. Really know her.”
“Aww. So, you will miss me?”
“Don’t make me regret this decision, little,” he sighed, and I laughed, definitely putting on a front here. I hadn’t said it, but I wouldn’t have argued if I’d found out he’d applied to Pembroke.
I wanted to get to know him too.
I hugged him, and just as hard as I had Ramses in this very kitchen. I hugged my mother in the same way, hugs like that I got to share more and more these days. It’d just been Bru and me when we’d got here, and there were so many more people to hug now, so many more to love.
“Love ya, big,” I said, and he chuckled, hugging me back.
“Love you too, little.” He said it begrudgingly, like it was a chore, but he was bullshitting. He had to have been. I mean, he’d uprooted his plans, and if that didn’t say something, I didn’t know what did.
Pizza night ended up being an evening of laughter and good times, great times. I got to watch a movie under the dark prince’s arm, my friends and family around us sprinkled on various couches/the floor. I’d lost count of all the people in my life I cared about.
Brielle: Love you, honey. Your dad and I will be out late. You might be asleep by the time we come home. We just wanted to let you know. Sending you love from us both.
Dorian’s hand brushed my arm when I got the text, the same words said to me every night whether I saw my parents or not. If they worked late, I got a love you, honey. If they were home, the same. It was usually the last thing I saw before I fell asleep.
Tonight, it was Dorian’s eyes, the glow of the television on his handsome face. The credits were rolling, and everyone else in the room was out, Wells and Bru on the floor, Ares on the couch. Thatcher had actually fallen asleep with a bowl of popcorn on his chair, his head back and earrings dangling. Bow was nestled up against my side, and I was with Dorian. He played with my hair, just looking at me.
“I love you,” he mouthed into the night, no teasing, not an ounce. He wet his lips before pressing our mouths together, tasting my tongue. If heaven was this, I’d take more of it. I’d die happy like this. He was my dark prince, but there was no darkness in my happily ever after. There was a boy who had both black and white wings.
But every day, he chose the light.