A Brand New Ending

Chapter 54

Braeden



"Aaand we need this," Donovan says, placing even more bottles of alcohol in the cart.

"She's not even old enough to drink," I explain.

He just shrugs. "More for me then. Plus what kind of friend would I be if I didn't contribute to the delinquency of a minor?"

I roll my eyes as the obscene amount of shit that starts to pile in the cart.

"OK that's enough," I scold him like a child and start heading to the checkout line.

I make him load the shit onto the conveyor belt. I watch the screen as the numbers jump.

"Jesus Christ," I mutter under my breath, handing the card out to the cashier.

There are a few minutes of silence.

"Braeden Harris?" I hear a voice ask.

I look back up, the cashier looking down at my card and then back at me.

"Yeah?" I ask confused.

I look over at name tag. Dylan.

"Holy shit," I blurt out.

He comes out from around his station and we instantly wrap our arms around each other, not giving a f*ck what anyone else thinks.

"How the hell are you?" I ask as I pull back.

"Good man, living the f*cking dream." He laughs.

"I can see that."

I hear a throat clear beside me, drawing me back to reality.

"Dylan, this is my friend Donovan," I say.

They both shake hands.

"He was my brother's best friend," I explain, even saying that has a twinge of pain behind it.

He hesitates before speaking again.

"I'm sorry we lost touch after the accident," he explains. I shrug.

"It's alright," I respond. "I heard you went to live with your dad shortly after."

"Yeah, just had to get out of town, ya know?"

I nod. "But now I'm back!" He smiles.

"Well, it's great to f*cking see you," I say as I start to bag my groceries. Dylan walks back around and finishes the transaction.

"Someone's having a party," he says, scanning over the groceries.

"Yeah," I respond. "Hey, you should come. Were just having a small birthday party for my girlfriend, the more the merrier."

"Young Harris is whipped huh?" he says turning to Donovan.

"He's so p-ssy whipped it's ridiculous," he answers.

"First of all, a*sholes, we're all the same age, and second, I am not p-ssy whipped, I am in love."

They both "oooh" and "awww" together.

"You both are uninvited," I joke as I grab the bags laughing.

"Good to see ya, man," Dylan says as he holds his hand out to me.

"Same here. I'm serious man," I say grabbing a piece of paper and jotting down my number. "You should definitely come."

"Alright, I'll try and make it."

"Sounds good," I say before heading to the door.

When we make it back to the apartment, I am completely winded, the bags of the alcohol weighing a lot.

"This is all your shit, why aren't you carrying it?" I whine.

"I got the decorations," he shows me.

I start to take things out of the bags, setting them on the counter.

"You got three bottles of vodka," I announce.

"I don't see a problem in that," Donovan responds.

I work to put all the food together, Donovan spending his time cracking open the case of beer while his fat ass channel surfs. Looking outside I can see that the sun is beginning to set. Donovan eventually comes up to the counter, looking over the food.

"You're going to make a wonderful wife one day."

"Bite me," I respond. "Listen, I'm going to go pick her up and I want you to take all this to the roof. Do not eat any of it."

He goes to eat a piece of bread and I smack his hand away.

"Yes, mom," he says as he picks up the trays.

"Everyone should be here within the next 20 minutes. I will be back with Phoenix at eight o'clock sharp."

"Gotcha," he responds.

I leave the apartment and hail a cab on the curb, thankful that one comes quickly. Sliding myself into the back seat I start to become nervous. The ride over to my father's is short and I am conscious of the time.

"Can you wait here for a moment?" I ask the cab driver as I leave it.

He just nods and leaves the car running. Pushing open the front door I scan the room, look for her.

"Seraph?" I call out.

I hear movement upstairs so I walk towards it and bound up the stairs. Within moments our bodies collide, my arms immediately coming around her back, holding onto her tight. After a minute we pull back. I look into her eyes, the look from last night gone.

"Hi."

"Hi," she responds. "I missed you."

She presses her lips to mine and its forceful, the taste of her mouth intoxicating. Once she stops I smile down at her.

"We need to go," I announce.

"Where are we going?" she asks. "You just got here."

I smile and grab something from my pocket, letting the fabric dangle in front of our face.

"Do you trust me, Seraph?"

~

When we get back to my building I help Phoenix from the car. Handing some cash to the cab driver I turn back around, placing my hands on each side of her hips. I push her forward, maneuvering her to the back of the building. When we reach the stairs I release her and stand in front of her, my body facing hers.

"I'm afraid there are steps," I explain.

She fumbles the first few, but soon gets a rhythm and we are on the rooftop in no time. When we reach it I do a once over, making sure that everything seems to be in order.

"Braeden?" Phoenix says when she doesn't hear or feel me.

"I'm right here," I say, standing in front of her.

I lean in, placing my lips on hers, our kiss becoming more intimate than I expected, especially in front of a crowd. Low giggles reach my ears.

"I love you, Seraph," I start. "And happy birthday."

Reaching around I untie her blindfold quickly and a loud "surprise!" rings out through the night air. Phoenix's eyes grow wide and a nervous smile spreads across her face. She leans forwards and curls into me, her face hiding in my shoulder. A panic sets into me, hoping I didn't make a bad decision.

"Seraph?" I ask leaning back, hoping to see her face.

When I do my heart drops.

"Are you crying?"

She looks up at me, her eyes wet. And then she smiles again, it the most glorious thing I have ever seen.

"I didn't even know it was my birthday."