Used

Nokiah

The few days leading up to Ezra's father's funeral were stressful. Ezra was quiet, more than usual. I kept my distance. I knew he was going through a horribly painful time and all I could offer him was my silence and support.

The trip up to the Grayson Manor in Rochester, New York was painstakingly quiet. When we arrived at the airport, Ezra held my hand the entire flight. He didn't sleep the entire eight hour flight. His knees bounced with anxiety.

"Hey, it's going to be alright. You're going to get through this." I smiled and he forced one as well.

"Of course I am, I have you by my side." He placed a kiss on my temple and squeezed my thigh. "You're all I need."

When the plane landed Ezra's stepmother had a car waiting for us. She herself didn't meet us, no doubt she was busy with preparations.

Once we were in the car there was more silence. Not the "car ride silence" but more of a "if I say something a bomb might drop" silence. Ezra never let my hand leave his, his thumb gently stroking the back of my knuckles in circles. I rested my head on his shoulder, taking in the scenery.

"It's beautiful up here." I whispered, more to myself than to him. Trees lined the streets and flowers lined the trees. People walked their dogs and kids ran behind their parents. It was picturesque. Perfect.

I could imagine myself living in a city like this; barefoot and pregnant with Ezra's child, running around with a puppy or two. Picking flowers, trimming hedges.

Tears swelled in my eyes. I wanted that life with him, I wanted every life with him; but he just wouldn't let me past this wall, this wall of survival. It was as if he let me too close I'd see something or someone ugly and I would abandon him. Like so many people had.

I wouldn't give up on him.

***

Caroline Grayson was a stunning woman. Poised and accomplished. She was a tall woman, taller than me, almost as tall as Ezra. Her light blonde hair was tucked behind her ears in a short bob, her eyes were light blue but fierce. There were light red streaks under them where she had no doubt been crying.

She greeted us with a tight lipped smile and a welcoming hug. In a hushed voice she spoke to Ezra before wiping a stray tear from off his cheek. The gesture was quick but I could tell it meant something to both of them.

I knew neither of them had been particularly close, with him being the child of her husband's affair. But in that moment it didn't matter. They'd both lost someone close to them. Regardless of how they felt about each other in the past, they both needed the other, for support.

Ezra's half siblings, Amelie, Cyrus, and Benson, met Ezra with hugs and smiles. I could see they adored their older brother. Ezra had another sibling, an older sister, Camille. They were only six months apart, which was why there was so much tension between them.

I hadn't realized Arthur Grayson was such a man-whore, rest in peace. But cheating on your pregnant wife was enough to make me hate the man. I could see why Ezra hated him for that too. It wasn't his fault he was born though. I could see why Caroline resented him as well.

Not only had her husband cheated on her but he cheated while she was carrying his first born child. I couldn't help but feel bad.

All of Arthur and Caroline's children were spitting images of their parents. They had her light hair and his dark eyes, and splashes of freckles across their faces. They were all tall for their ages, at sixteen, fourteen, and eleven; Amelie, Cyrus, and Benson still had a few good inches if not feet left in their growing stages.

"I'm so happy to meet you, Nokiah. Although I would have preferred it to be under happier circumstances." Caroline reached her hand across the table at dinner. I smiled and took her hand.