Where We Ended

by Ashley Munoz

All I wanted was Natty in my arms again. I’d waited long enough; Natty belonged to me, and even if this ended in both our lives being forfeited, at least in the end, she’d be buried with me. Safely cradled in my arms.

“Because you have me, I’ll be your hope. I’ll be your sun, your moon and anything else good in this world. Give me your dark and I’ll hand you all my light.”

Caelum. “You’re the closest I’ll ever get to heaven, to redemption or being found worthy. I look at you, and I see hope. Isn’t that all heaven is? Hope, eternity spent in the one place we can’t imagine living without? You’re that for me. You’re my religion, Natty. My place of worship and devotion. God wants nothing to do with me, but for some reason he still gave me you.”

“You are good, Silas. You think you’re covered in all this darkness, but I see past that.” With a scoff, I shook my head. “You’re the only one who ever did.”

“You belong to me, Silas Silva. No matter what you do, no matter how he tries to indoctrinate you with his darkness, at your core, you’re pure light. I’ll be here reminding you of that for as long as you want me.”

“Forever, Caelum. I’ll want you for that long, and then longer when the devil demands my soul.” She kissed my chest. “He can’t have what belongs to me.”

“Brother, please do explain to me why the fuck you’ve cuffed yourself to my wife?”

“Do not ever touch her again. She does not belong to you; she is not your toy, and she certainly will never be your girl. Next time, I’ll take your heart.”

“Anything happens to you, Caelum, and my brain won’t matter. Nor my heart, or anything else that allows me to breathe. It’s you or it’s nothing, my love.”

“I’ve wanted to make you my wife since I was seven years old. Whenever you’re ready to carry my last name, you’re welcome to have it.”

“Where else would I go, Caelum? You’re my home, my heart…my entire fucking soul.”

“It’s what’s under the ink, that’s ours, Caelum. The blood in our veins, the way our souls curl into each other, finding solace. You’re my home.”

“I’m a baker, babe. I’m up before the sun.” He played with the straps of my apron, and whispered. “You are the sun.”

“I’m positive.” I glanced back over at Killian. “She has your eyes, mentioned you…said she only ever wanted you to be happy.” Laura’s lip wobbled, her chin quivered and then she was out of her chair and throwing herself into Killian’s lap, whispering something in his ear. He buried his face in her neck as he held her to him, and he murmured something back.

“Tu meus es sol, luna mea. Vitam meam. Revertar ad te.” You are my sun, my moon. My life. I will come back for you.

“You asked what I want.” I slammed home, while she dug her nails into my skin, rasping for more in my ear. “I want a future, Natty. I want to fuck you when I wake up and kiss you before bed. I want to watch you dance in a home that belongs to only us. I want firelit winter nights and star speckled summers.”

“I want to be a peaceful man, Natty. Someone who helps the earth grow, especially after doing so much to take from it.”

“Then build your hope inside of me, Silas Silva. I’ll keep it safe and I’ll make sure our dreams come true for the both of us.”

“We don’t end, Caelum. We just keep going, we’re like the roots that hold the crust of this fucking earth together. Bound to one another.”

“I’d die a thousand times over if it meant I could keep you safe. My life is not worth living without you in it, Caelum. You’ve been my forever since my life started. If you were to end, then I would too. The fact that you didn’t realize that…it kills me.”

Under his name on the headstone, I had paid extra for his beloved tattoo of Artemis to be replicated on the stone. So, for all of time, his love for my wife would be remembered.

“This is where it ends, Caelum,” Silas whispered in my ear, and I knew he was referencing the path we’d walked that led to their grave. But I heard something else. I set Red’s bandana against the sea of crimson roses littering her casket and smiled. “No, baby. This is where we begin.”

Simon Earl Stone Beloved President of The Stone Riders Eternity may have claimed me, but I forever lay my claim on you: Callie ~Wes ~Ford & my Chosen Old Lady, Sasha When you feel the wind, look up. I’m there.

“Rook Alec Silva,” Natty yelled, coming over to scoop him up.