A Side Order of Fate

Chapter 8

A/N (Please read): Hi. So it’s been at least a year and a half since I last updated this story. My writing style has changed and I honestly wasn’t going to finish this story. I hated it. I owe it to myself to finish it though because, well, I started it and I’ve been kind of disappointed that I didn’t finish it. This chapter is dedicated to @Dewintheria because they left me a nice little comment asking me to update. So thank you for the comment, and I would like you to know that you’re the reason I’m writing this chapter. Without you I probably wouldn’t have realized how annoyed with myself I am for not ever finishing it. Now, this chapter is going to be very rushed because I’m trying to get all the puzzle pieces in place as fast as I can. Also, this is not edited.  

CONRAD

“Damien. My name is Damien.”

Conrad clenched his fists so tight they knuckles turned white. He struggled to keep his usually amiable temper in check as Damien flirted with Ella. He remembered him from Marie’s pictures. She had two in her wallet which were creased with wear and torn at the edges.

There was one of him kissing her cheek and another of them holding hands and smiling big cheesy smiles at the camera—big cheesy smiles she’d never given Conrad. She told him that Damien was her cousin. He should’ve known she was lying the moment her cheeks coloured. He should’ve realized he was more to her by the way her lips twitched upwards and her eyes flashed with sparkles or the way she dotted her i’s with hearts whenever Conrad brought him up.

Conrad took a step forward and he almost didn’t notice Ella quiver in fear at the sight of his face, shining with raw, unadulterated hatred for the newcomer. Damien held up his hands in defense, “Woah, don’t give me that.”

“Give you what?” Conrad’s voice was pure menace. “What you deserve? A slug right into that smirked she loved so much?”

Damien scowled, ready to protect his territory. His dead territory. “I never asked her to fall in love with me. It just happened. She was in too deep and she couldn’t get out.”

“Don’t talk about her like that.”

Conrad felt Ella’s delicate fingertips skim his shoulders and he felt the tension go away. So maybe the kiss had been accidental, but it felt good. She felt good. She still feels good. He trapped her hand between his larger one and stroked her thumb until he felt air rush out of his mouth in a deep sigh.

Conrad deflated and felt the redness leave his face for good. It had been three months. It was time to face the facts, the future and everything she left behind. “So she was cheating on me.”

Damien shrugged, sensing the fight go out of Conrad. “If it makes you feel any better she was kind of cheating on me, too. She was dating both of us at the same time. But I found something she wrote for you.”

Conrad closed his eyes and when he opened them again a piece of stationary lay closed in Damien’s palm. Conrad met his unwavering gaze and shrugged, taking the proffered envelope. He tucked it into his jacket pocket and turned to Ella, grabbing a strand of hair between his thumb and forefinger and gently rolling it.

“I’m sorry about the kiss,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking about you at all. I was being selfish and taking advantage of your hospitality and your kindness. I’d like to be able to kiss you again, but it needs to be when you and I are both ready for it.”

Conrad was trying to be the bigger person, and by letting her go, he was doing just that. “I’ll come find you when I’ve figured out how to live again and we can see if either of us wants the kiss.”

Tam said, “That’s assuming that Ella here wanted it in the first place.”

Conrad nodded. “When I come back I’d like to start from the beginning with you. No achy pasts, no weird sketchy guys. Just you and me and the world ahead. I want to see where this leads.”