“Your favorite tattoo, Austin… I got it done a month after I became a Martinez. I dropped out of school and started dealing drugs. I saw the world through his eyes. And I fucking hated it. I walked into the parlor already knowing what I wanted. I had it all drawn out. The pin up girl, Austin, it’s me. I have an angel and devil on my shoulders. My uncle and my mom,” she bawled.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I immediately pulled her into my arms, holding her as tight as I could. Trying to keep her heart from breaking into pieces right in front of me.
“Shhh…” I murmured. “Shhh… You will never be alone again. You won’t ever be scared again. I’m here, baby, and I’m not going anywhere. We’re best friends, remember?” I added, trying to lighten the mood.
She shook her head, pulling away from me. Looking deep in my eyes.
“You have enough best friends, Austin. I witnessed your relationships today. So don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“Briggs, I—”
“How long, Austin?”
I frowned, not understanding what she was implying.
She didn’t falter.
“How long have you been in love with your best friend? How long have you been in love with Alex?”
<>Briggs<>
“Is that why? Is she why you left Oak Island? What am I, the rebound girl?” I asked, needing to know.
“No, baby. You’re the only fucking girl for me.”
“Don’t lie to me again. That's bullshit.”
“I'm not lying to you. I don’t have anything here for me. I never did. That's the reason why I left. My relationship with my parents… with my dad, with the boys… it’s… I love them, don't get me wrong. I would be there for them at the drop of a dime. Even Lucas, and he fucking hates me. I left because I almost killed Alex in a car accident. I drove drunk and raced a friend through the fucking woods. We hit a tree, Briggs. I was in a coma for a week. Alex was in a coma for a few days too. You've seen my scars. I had to have brain surgery. I suffered several broken bones and was in physical therapy for months. Shit went downhill fast after that. Especially my friendship with the boys.”
I took in every word he was saying. Finally hearing his truths, his sad story.
“My parents want me to be something I’m not. They always have. They have never accepted me for who I wanted to be, and it’s a big part of why it took me so long to figure out who that person was. I’ve always felt like I wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t smart enough, I just wasn’t enough. Alex and I have always been the closest. I think it’s because we’re really similar in the sense that we have always just wanted to be one of the good ol’ boys. She didn’t even start wearing girl clothes till she was almost eleven. Thinking she was one of us since the day she could fucking crawl. She’s always been there for me. No matter what. She was there. Somewhere along the way I confused that relationship, and I thought I loved her. I thought she was the one. Up until I met you… I still thought that.”
He kissed the tip of my nose, hugging me closer to his body.
“And you’re right, she’s part of the reason I left. Lucas and Alex are meant to be together. I’ve always known that. I think a huge part of me just wanted a connection with someone. To feel loved and accepted. I never had that before you. From the second I laid eyes on you, I wanted to know every last thing about you. Everything I thought I felt for Alex didn’t even come close to what I feel for you. The night we met, the night I had my first conversation with the girl who had purple hair and tattoos, I realized how wrong I was, how I had misinterpreted my feelings for Alex.
“You know why, Daisy? Because the day you walked into my life I started living again. You gave me a reason to start living again instead of just surviving.”
I smiled.
And it felt like forever since I had last done it. He grabbed my expression in the air and placed it near his heart. Grabbing the sides of my face, looking deep into my eyes.
“I love you. Daisy Mitchell. Briggs Martinez. I’m so fucking in love with you.”
I bit my lip, my eyes filling with tears again.
“You will never be alone again.”
I nodded, fresh tears falling down my face. He kissed them all, wiping them away with his lips. Then he kissed me again.
“I fucking love you,” he repeated against my mouth.
He picked me up off the chair, grabbing me by my ass. I wrapped my legs around his waist. We kissed fervently as he carried me to the bed. Gently placing me on top of the mattress, with his body lying on top of mine. He took his time savoring me, making slow, passionate love to me all night long.
There wasn’t an inch of my skin that he didn’t touch, kiss, or lick. There wasn’t a moan or pant left for me to voice after he thoroughly made love to me the way we wanted.
The way we both needed.
I was lying in his arms, kissing the scar near his heart. He was covered in ink now, but it was the only one I wouldn’t let him get a tattoo over.
It was my scar.
It belonged to me.
I peered up at him with loving eyes and whispered,
“I love you, too.”
Chapter 24
<>Austin<>