Sky's The Limit

xlvi

forty six | crystal

Will would be turning over in his grave. The dirt hadn't even really settled on his casket yet, but he would definitely be making waves in the soil, if he could see us now.

The group was done, at least until 'Shaany said it wasn't.

The album was nowhere near done despite our deadline being less than a month away.

And here I was, awakening from a birthday-induced hangover, clad in my birthday suit, next to the only man in the world I was never supposed to have as a gift.

Fuck.

It was the second time I'd broken my promise to Ishaan, not that I cared much about Ishaan's feelings right now anyway.

But this also meant that this was the second time Antonio broke his promise to Will. Now, that one held a little more weight.

The first time wasn't supposed to happen.

I mean— No one ever plans to sleep with their groupmate, especially not after the loss of another groupmate.

But grief was strange. It could tear you into ribbons, and it could push you right into the first set of comforting arms you come across.

That's exactly what happened, the day of Will's funeral.

The repast was the worst part. People laughing and sharing stories like this shit wasn't fucked.

We'd just buried the heart of our group— the very same man that personally vowed to my face that he'd be our glue.

Who were we without him? Who was I?

I didn't want to come. The funeral and burial was enough, but this was overkill.

The food was good, but I was too distracted by my own boiling fury to even have an appetite.

I watched irresponsible-ass Ishaan converse with Yvonne, who'd been mean-mugging me since she arrived.

I could've given her a piece of my mind, but I had more pressing anger pent up for Ishaan than I'd ever have for Vonny's bored ass.

He acted as if he couldn't feel me and Tony waiting to confront him. Tony— always level-headed— was my voice of reason, coaching me to hold off on pressing him.

Ms. Shondra coming over to speak to us did the rest of the job, distracting us long enough to lose eyes on 'Shaany.

But it wasn't long before I cornered him. And it wasn't long before Antonio cornered Dom.

Both of which, admittedly, didn't go well for either one of us.

So, defeated and frustrated by the state of I.V. — the rap group and the actual friend group— Antonio and I left.

We were at odds in his car, but we ultimately knew our need for unity— even if it was just us two right now— was greater than our differences.

Evidently, that proved truer than either of us realized at the time.

"I guess I should, uh, be, on my way," Antonio's awkward tone wasn't lost on me.

It started sounding like he was in a bit of a rush to leave. Yet and still, I wanted him to remain by my side, just as he'd been doing all day.

"Wait," I piped up a bit too urgently.

He halted, his eyes darting into mine as he awaited reasoning for him staying.