Face-Off at the Altar

by Toni Aleo

  “So any kids?”

  Mekena choked on her spit. “I’m only twenty! Almost twenty-one.”

  “Oh, so? My mom had me when she was fourteen.”

  Mekena’s eyes widened in shock. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  Brie laughed. “I’m just kidding. I was trying to distract from the fact that you look older than twenty and act it. You aren’t annoying as fuck.”

  Mekena cracked up as she nodded. “I get that a lot, but put me with Markus and my age shows. He’s a nerd.”

  “He is sweet, though. Have you see him with the kids at Vanderbilt, when he goes to visit the darling little ones fighting cancer? He loves them, which is nice.”

  “It is,” Mekena said with a grin as Brie looked down to her journal. She turned the page to a picture of a young man. With just one look, Mekena knew he had Down’s syndrome, but even with the distinctive facial features of his genetic disorder, she could see he had Brie’s eyes. “Your brother?”

  Brie looked up with a smile on her face. “Yeah, Rodney. He goes by Rod, though, ’cause he’s a man.”

  Mekena grinned. “He looks very happy.”

  “Yeah, he just won the gold in Track and Field at the Special Olympics. He’s a great runner.”

  He looked so young. “How old is he?”

  “Eighteen. We’re almost twelve years apart, Rod and me, but you can never tell when we’re together. Either I get younger, or he gets older. One of the two,” she said, running her finger down his face in the photo.

  “He is handsome.”

  “He is full of himself,” she laughed, rolling her eyes. “He’s my baby brother, though, and boy, he hates when I go on trips. I hate leaving him, but I gotta bring home the bacon.”

  “He lives with you?”

  “Nope. Since I leave so much, I have him in an assisted living group home, but I see him every day. I just can’t afford private care.”

  Mekena’s heart broke for Brie. She looked so stricken. Gone were the grin and playfulness, and they’d been replaced by worry. She loved her brother, Mekena could see that loud and clear, and she couldn’t imagine having to put her sibling in a home. Well, if she liked her sibling and cared if she had to live in a home. Which was a lie. She might not like Skylar at that moment, but she wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to the point where she would need to be under medical care. Clearing her throat, she said, “Oh, that blows.”

  “Yeah, it does. I hate it. But one day, I’ll have enough money to do it. That’s my plan anyway,” Brie said with a smile. “We’ll have a nice house, and when I leave, people will come and stay with him. It will be perfect.”

  “Can he not travel with you? If you had someone to care for him when you were working?”

  Brie shook her head sadly. “He has a heart condition. He can’t leave the state on trips, and if we do, it costs a ton because we have to bring so much stuff with us, along with a trained nurse. It’s hell, and I hate it because I want to take him to Harry Potter World. My mom never got to take him before she died, and I promised I would. But every time we try, he gets sick.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry about your mom.”

  “Yeah, cancer is a fucking bitch, but I’ll get him there.”

  “I hope y’all make it.”

  “Me too,” she said, and then she shut the book. “Do you have any siblings?”

  Mekena nodded. “An older sister, but we don’t talk.”

  Brie made a face. “That’s too bad. I couldn’t imagine not talking to Rod. Siblings fight, but in the end, they’re blood and you have to love them.”

  Mekena shrugged, and while she thought Brie was cool, she didn’t want to share her drama with her sister. Brie may be right, and in the end, it might turn out like that, but right at that moment, Mekena couldn’t even look at her sister. She had caused too much pain, not only to Markus and Mekena but to her parents too. So instead, she smiled and said, “Yeah, maybe.”

  Squinting her eyes, Brie pinched her brow before reaching down to put her book in her bag and grabbing a pill bottle. “Hate to be a drag, but I get myself so worked up about flying, I get headaches and I feel one coming on.”

  “Oh, no,” Mekena said before reaching down for her neck pillow. When she reached out to hand it to Brie, she was already popping her pills before washing them down with water. “Wanna use this?”

  “God bless you,” she said with a nod, taking it and wrapping it around her neck. “Dinner later?”

  “I’d love that.”

  “Good night,” she said, closing her eyes, and Mekena smiled before leaning back in her seat, looking out the window into the clouds.

  She wasn’t sure where they were on the map, but it didn’t matter. As she studied the heavens, her mind wandered to Skylar and if she was okay. It was the first time in a while she had worried for her sister’s well-being. Seeing how much Brie loved her brother reminded Mekena of how much, at one time, she had loved Skylar. So much had changed, so much hurt and pain. Now, Mekena hardly thought of her in a good light. Not even now as she looked out into the sky, the sun shining bright, could she muster up anything but resentment for her sister. She was still angry, still mad at what she had done.

  It was unforgivable in her opinion, but then she remembered Markus saying that one day they would need to forgive her. The problem was Mekena had no clue how. How did you forgive someone for ruining a relationship with someone you truly loved? She didn’t know. Yeah, she had Markus now and they were beyond happy, excited for their futures, but was she supposed to just let Skylar off? Was she supposed to just let go of what her sister did and be civil?

  Like she had been doing with Markus’s parents?

  That was hard enough, and she was trying. For Markus. She could tell he really had missed them and that he loved them. Boy, did they dote on him too. When Markus and Mekena had gone to church with his parents the previous Sunday, they walked around like they were the head cocks in the hen house, showing Markus off as they gushed about him being a star hockey player. He, of course, ate it up, but Mekena didn’t trust it. She felt like they were using him because of who he was and how it made them look good. She knew that was shitty of her, but she didn’t trust them, even though she was trying.

  She just prayed they didn’t hurt him again. Because she wasn’t going anywhere, and she was pretty sure they were aware of that. They even introduced her as their future daughter-in-law, which was nice. Maybe they were trying and she was just overreacting. Maybe she just didn’t trust anyone nowadays. She was living on a prayer and holding on to Markus with the hope that everything would work out.

  “Psst.”

  Mekena jumped at the noise and looked around, unsure where the sound was coming from. Brie was knocked out, so she knew it wasn’t her, but no one was looking at her. Coach was reading, the camera crew was sleeping, and the trainers were watching video on their laptops. Confused, she looked to the front of the plane, and then she heard it once more.

  “Psst, Mekena.”

  Her eyes widened before she looked between the seats, where she assumed the noise was coming from. She was met by a pair of dark caramel eyes that she knew and loved very much. “Markus?”

  “Hey.”

  “Hey.”

  “What are you doing?”

  Flabbergasted, she made a face. “Reading. What are you doing?”

  “Hanging with the boys. I don’t want to get in trouble, but I’ve got to tell you something,” he whispered, and she shook her head, in awe of the stupidity of this moment. They were adults. No, they couldn’t sit with each other, but surely they could talk.

  “Why would we get in trouble?”

  “’Cause the seat belt sign is on.”

  She looked up and glared. “Markus! Go back to your seat,” she mock-yelled and he grinned.

  “I gotta tell you something!”

  “What?” she stressed, her eyes as big as saucers, annoyance rolling off her in waves. He drove her
batty.

  “It’s important.”

  “Okay, what?”

  A goofy grin stole over his face as his eyes softened and he held her gaze. “You give me butterflies when I think about you.”

  Gone was her annoyance as a grin overtook her face, and then he disappeared, leaving her with that sweet little statement and all the feels a girl could get. He was good for that, though. The corniness and sappiness that only Markus Reeves could get away with and make a girl swoon. Because of that, her earlier thought would always ring true. They would be fine because they had each other. No matter what came: his family, hers, Skylar, distance, or anything else, they’d have each other.

  Always.

  “So I think it’s weird that Libby expected Mekena to work for her when y’all came into town.”

  Markus laughed as he looked over to where Avery was wrapped up from behind by Jace as they walked together on the beach. Ashlyn was sitting on Markus’s shoulders, eating ice cream as they walked, enjoying the waves and sun. The Assassins’ road trip was going great, with them winning four of the five games they played. The Panthers were the last stop, and winning against his best friend would probably be the highlight of his career. Not that he was telling Jace that.

  “Yeah, I think Mekena offered, though. The girls Libby has been hiring haven’t been working out.”

  “Because Libby chases them off,” Avery laughed and Markus nodded.

  “Basically, but Mekena misses working with her, so she figured she would pitch in for the next two days, get some extra money. You know, she’s gotta support her scrub boyfriend.”

  Avery laughed as Jace nodded. “You still haven’t gotten signed? Jeez, you suck.”

  He shook his head as a blob of ice cream ran down his neck. Shivering, he said, “No, asshole, not everyone is amazing like you.”

  “Already knew that,” Jace said, and Markus rolled his eyes.

  “But I did get paid this month, and it wasn’t too shabby. I paid the bills for the month, and I still have money to spend. Hey-o!” Avery and Jace laughed as Markus grinned happily, using a napkin to wipe off the mess that Ashlyn had made. “Into the mouth, sugar. You’re getting it all over me.”

  He was answered with sweet laughter from the little girl as Avery looked over at him. “So everything is good?”

  He nodded. “Good. Real good. We finally forced Mr. Right on to a diet. He’s lost one pound since we’ve been gone, and he’s only tried to kill the babysitter three times.”

  “That’s amazing,” Jace commented.

  “I felt the same. I’m pushing for another pound next month when I’m home, but Mekena, man, she feeds into him. Literally.”

  Jace laughed as Avery shot him a look. “I didn’t mean the cat, though. I meant how’s therapy going? Mekena says you go every week.”

  Markus laughed as he nodded. “Oh, my bad, but yeah, I do. It’s great. Dr. Lemiere is awesome and listens great.”

  “Good, so you feel good? You’re playing awesome,” Jace said and Markus smiled.

  “So awesome I’m gonna kick your ass Friday. You won’t score on me, bro.”

  Jace scoffed. “I will, and I’m not worried about Friday. I’m worried about you now.”

  “Aw, you love me.”

  “I do, you douche, so you better not be lying to me,” Jace shot back.

  “I’m not.”

  “You promise you’re good?”

  “I am. Promise.”

  Avery piped up. “You do seem it. And Mekena is just amazing. I’m so happy because she’s happy, though this shit with Skylar is ridiculous.”

  He swallowed hard as he looked over at her, not knowing what she was talking about. He hadn’t heard anything since they had gone to dinner with her parents. Even then, it was just that she was fucking up left and right, which wasn’t something new. She had been on a downward spiral for a while, and getting busted was just the icing on the cake. He wasn’t surprised, but maybe there was more. “What do you mean?”

  She held her hands up quickly, her eyes wild. “Oh! Nothing. I’m sure you know everything and probably more than I do. I just mean all of it. I wish Skylar would just get help and stop hurting everyone.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed with a shrug, a weight falling off his shoulders. Not Ashlyn, she was still up there, dripping ice cream on him, but figuratively. It was getting easier talking about Skylar, and he knew that was good for Mekena. She needed to talk sometimes, especially when she would get off the phone with her mom. Mrs. Preston was a mess, and he hated that. They were good people. Really nice, and very inviting to him. They liked him, a lot, and he liked them, which made it easier on him and Mekena. “She’ll wake up one day. We hope, at least.”

  “Have you talked to her?”

  “Skylar? No,” Markus said, shaking his head. “Neither has Mekena. She sent this shitty text a while back about how I’m scum and shit, but we haven’t heard from her since. I think we like it that way. In a way, she doesn’t exist to us, but I know Mekena misses her. As much as she hurt her and everything, they were close and Mekena isn’t a grudge-holding kind of girl.”

  “Maybe not before, but after all this, I think she is now. Though you’re right, I do think Mekena misses her, not that she would admit it,” Avery said with a deep sigh. “Skylar really did a number on everyone, and I’m glad that you and Mekena are okay and getting over it.”

  Markus agreed as Jace said, “I’m just glad you’re good, not fucked up and all like Baylor was. But it’s different for guys, I guess. I don’t know. I just worry about you.”

  “Thanks, and yeah, I’m glad I didn’t handle it like Baylor either. But like you said, it may be different for guys. I don’t know, but I’m good. Mekena is good, and we are doing great. We are really happy, and I feel like being together is helping both of us,” Markus said with a grin, and Avery smiled happily.

  “I think so too. And can I just say, I love that it’s a we thing! It gives me goose bumps! Mekena was so in love with you for so long,” she gushed and Markus laughed.

  “It feels great being a we,” he said, wiping away more ice cream from his neck. “I don’t ever want to be a me again, only a we. I love her. A lot, and I’m really blessed and lucky that things have worked out.”

  “It was meant to be,” Avery sang, her eyes full of love as she leaned into Jace. He kissed her temple and Markus smiled. He loved how great they were together. They were young and everyone probably thought they wouldn’t have made it, but they did and they would continue to. When they were close, they were touching. And when they were apart, he knew they thought of each other constantly. He had loved watching them fall in love, get married, and then have Ashlyn. Avery had had a lot of mental issues, but Jace took care of her. No matter what, Jace had her back and loved her through the bad, the good, and the ugly. Markus felt like that for Mekena, ten times over, and he wanted what Jace and Avery had.

  Everything.

  “Do you think it’s too soon to ask her to marry me?”

  He wasn’t sure what he was thinking when he said that. Maybe he had forgotten that Avery was there because it felt like it did when it was just him and Jace. As soon as he said it, he wished he had thought it through. Within seconds, Avery was waving her arms in the air, jumping up and down.

  Ashlyn giggled loudly as Avery gushed, “You’re gonna ask her!”

  Rolling his eyes, he laughed as Ashlyn continued to giggle at her crazy mommy. Stumbling on his words, his heart pounded in his chest as he shrugged. “I don’t know. I just…want to.”

  “Eek! Yes!”

  He shot her a look. “I’m not asking you, dork.”

  She glared. “I know, but ask her. She’ll say yes, I know she will.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I do! She’s my best friend.”

  “She is. She would know,” Jace laughed and Markus rolled his eyes.

  “We haven’t been back together that long, and what if I’m rushing it? I don’t
know,” he said, his face burning as Jace laughed and a big blob of ice cream fell into Markus’s eyes.

  “Obviously, you do since you asked us,” he said, and Markus rolled his eyes as he wiped the frozen dessert off.

  “No, I mean, I don’t know, as in, I have no clue if I’m gonna get signed, if I’ll live in Nashville full time, or if I’ll be back in Jacksonville. Everything is up in the air, and she deserves to have it all done right. Like, we should be settled, I think. I don’t know.”

  Jace shrugged. “Will it matter?”

  “Huh?”

  “Will it matter? If you’re there and she’s in Nashville, will that make you not want to marry her?”

  Markus’s face scrunched up. “Hell no, why would it?”

  “Then what don’t you know?” Jace asked simply. “If you want to ask her, ask her because you want to, and you love her. You’ve never thought things through before, why are you doing that now?”

  “Because I want it to be right. I want her to be happy.”

  “She will be if you are. If you ask her for the right reasons, then she will be because she loves you and wants the same thing. Have y’all discussed it at all?” Avery asked and he scoffed.

  “I mean, in passing, but nothing too serious. Like, my mom and dad asked if we were, and we both kind of ignored them. God, I feel like an idiot,” he laughed, shaking his head. “I’m all nervous and shit, and I haven’t even decided if I want to ask her. But the thing is, why wait? We could die tomorrow, and I don’t want to wait. I waited two years for her, and I’m tired of waiting. I want her.”

  He forgot that he was with Avery again because his emotional vomit was usually reserved for Jace or Baylor. When he looked up, she was grinning, her eyes wide and happy as she nodded like a bobblehead. “Ask her.”

  “Shh, you,” he joked and she smiled.

  “You want to—do it.”

  “Are we even ready for that?”

  “Is anyone ever really ready? We weren’t,” Jace said, his arm coming around Avery’s neck. “But we did it because we loved each other and we wanted to be together.”

  “And because you were pregnant,” Markus added dryly and Jace laughed.