Chapter 181: Sometimes the Strongest Thing Is Nothing at All
Acceptance.
The last stage of grief.
That’s what they say, right? Like it’s some finish line you eventually stumble across. Like the moment you reach it, you’re cured. Like grief has an expiration date.
But nobody tells you how impossible it feels when the person you’re trying to accept as gone still lives in every corner of your chest.
How the hell do you accept something like this?
Sitting there, watching Dominic force himself to stand at that pulpit. I felt my chest tearing apart with every word that left Dominic’s mouth.
His hands shook on the pulpit, his voice cracked more than once, but he kept going. He stood there strong for everyone, for the Everharts.
And God, it hurt to watch him like that.
Because I knew what that weight felt like. I’d lived it once already.....standing at my dad’s funeral.
I was the one who gave the speech. I was just a kid, but everyone kept looking at me like I was supposed to hold the family together. Like words could patch the hole he left behind. I remember staring down at the paper in my hands, telling myself not to cry, not to break. But inside... I was already in pieces.
And now, years later, I was watching the boy I loved do the same thing. Pretending he could carry the weight of the world when I could see it was already breaking him apart.
I wanted to go to him. Every part of me screamed to get up, cross the aisle, wrap my arms around him, press his shaking hands into my chest and whisper, you don’t have to do this alone.
But I couldn’t. Not here. Not with everyone watching. Not when he was fighting so hard to be strong.
So I just sat there, biting the inside of my mouth, watching him bleed in silence because sometimes the strongest thing you can do... is nothing at all.
My throat burned with the same words I couldn’t say back then for my dad....you were my safe place, and now you’re gone.
Dominic’s eyes finally found mine. His whole body looked wrecked. When he saw me, he managed the smallest, weakest smile. For a moment, I could breathe again.
I whispered the words anyway, so only he could see them. I love you. I’m here.
Then I turned my head.
And the air was sucked out of my chest.
They were here.
Standing in the back of the church like shadows come to life.
The man who killed Liam. Same hard jaw. Same dead eyes. The same face I’d never forget.
And beside him, another one. The tattoo snaked up the side of his neck, black ink bold against his pale skin.
They weren’t hiding anymore. Not masks. Not hoodies. No shame. But In suits. As if they belonged here.
My whole body froze. My stomach dropped so fast it made me dizzy.
What were they doing here? Why now?
Around me, the people who loved Liam most were crying, clutching tissues, bowing their heads. Liam’s parents, broken in the front row. Diane beside Dominic. Ian, Ren, Jasper, Casper, all trying to breathe through the weight of loss. None of them saw. None of them knew.
What if they were here to finish what they started? What if they weren’t done?
My hands shook so hard I almost dropped my phone. My chest heaved, but I forced my thumbs to work, to type fast, to get the words out before I collapsed from panic.
Dominic, they are here.
By I hit send, still staring at the monsters.
They didn’t move. Just sat there, watching.
And suddenly, grief wasn’t the heaviest thing in the room anymore.
Throughout the rest of the ceremony, I couldn’t stop staring at them.
My leg bounced under the pew, my nails chewed down to nothing. Nobody else noticed them. Nobody else suspected at thing. But I couldn’t look away. And they saw me.
When the last prayer ended and people started shuffling out, I grabbed Dominic’s sleeve and pulled him into a corner near the side exit.
He gave me this small, tired smile, brushing his hand through my hair like he always did. "Hey. Thanks for coming, baby."
"Dom," I whispered, still chewing my lip raw. "They’re here."
His hand froze. "Who?"
"The people," my voice cracked, "the ones who took Liam away from us."
His jaw clenched, chest kept rising and falling. I’d never seen his eyes look like that dangerous.
"Where?" His voice came out harsher.
"Dom, wait!"
"Where, Ash?"
I swallowed, pointed toward the back. The guy was there, grinning like this was all some sick joke.
Before I could say another word, Dominic was already moving.
"Dom, wait..." My voice caught in my throat, but he was already halfway across the churchyard.
The man must’ve seen him coming, because he slipped through the side entrance and bolted down the alley that ran behind the church. Dominic followed without hesitation, running after him.
By the time I caught up, Dominic had already shoved him into a corner behind the dumpsters...hidden away, where nobody from the funeral could see.
Suddenly, Dominic’s fist landed on his faces
The guy smirked through blood on his teeth. "Oh, look. The best friend."
"How dare you?!" He grabbed his collar, and slammed him against the wall. "You even came to the funeral!"
Dominic kept hitting him.
"Dom, stop!" I rushed forward, grabbing at his arm. His whole body was trembling, rage kept pouring out of him like he’d been holding it in too long.
"He killed Liam!" Dominic shouted, as he punched again and again. "He took him away! He left me with nothing! And he’s still smiling, Ash, he’s still fucking smiling..."
The man’s lip split, blood on his teeth, but he just smiled, like Dominic’s fists didn’t matter, like all of this was a game.
He was crying now, the tears kept blending with the sweat and blood. His hits weren’t just violence....they were grief.
I tried again, tugging at him, "Dom, please! You’ll kill him!"
"GOOD!" His voice cracked, his chest heaved. He swung again, but my hands grabbed at his shoulders, trying to hold him back.
He shoved me harder than he meant to, but enough to send me stumbling. My head cracked against the stone wall, I felt dizzy immediately. Heat spread instantly, wetness dripped down the side of my face.
I froze. My hand flew to my face. Blood.
"Ah!" The sound left me before I could swallow it.
That’s when Dominic stopped.. His fists hovered mid air, his whole body shook as he turned toward me.