Fulfillment by Golland, M. (best large ebook reader .txt) 📕

lives of his parents and littlebrother, Lauchie. It was also the accident that subsequently led toGareth suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Gareth, Lucyand Nic were walking a few meters ahead of us. Lucy was carryingthree large lillies, Nic carried Alexander, and Gareth held a bookcalled the The Hunger Games.

Bryce was bymy side as I hopped along with my crutches, crutches I wantednothing more than to burn by way of a celebratory bon fire. He wasquiet; they all were, but not in a bad way. I guess doing thisannually for the past 16 years had made each year just that littlebit less harrowing...then again, possibly not. Maybe they had justfound their own mutual way to emotionally deal and communicateduring this particular day, either way, I was still glad to be byhis side supporting him.

“Hey, youalright?” I said under a low voice.

He looked overat me. “Yeah, it just doesn’t get any easier, you know?”

“I don’t thinkit’s supposed to get easier. I just think you learn to accept thatyou are supposed to believe that it does.”

Bryce scoffedmildly “Yeah, we do tend to fool ourselves more than we fool thosearound us.”

“Uh huh, wedo. It’s one of life’s greatest fallacies,” I saiddisappointedly.

He placed hishand on the small of my back. “I’m glad you’re here with me.”

I looked upinto his sad but appreciative eyes. “Me too.”

There wassilence for a minute, then Bryce slowed his pace, forcing me to dothe same. “I need to warn you.”

“Warn me ofwhat?’ I asked curiously.

“There’s avery good chance you could meet Deirdre today.” Deirdre?Oh...Deirdre. Deirdre was one of Gareth’s alters, an alter thatwas not only female, but elderly and a mother-hen type, so tospeak. From what I had been told, she kind of held the other altersin check and tried to keep the peace.

He struggledto retain a straight face but I could see a trace of humourcreeping in. “Let me just say she is...um, how do I put it?Pushy...and forward...and...” He leaned in closer, “fuckingannoying.”

“Bryce!” Iwhispered back, my eyes darting from him to the back of Gareth’shead.

“She is,you’ll see.” Oh God. I hope Deirdre doesn’t want to hurt me likeScott does.

The thought ofScott wanting to hurt me entered my mind, giving me wave of dreadand a vision of my fall again. Alexis, stop linking the twotogether. Scott was not there in the apartment. You would have seenor heard him. I had to keep telling myself that. He couldn’tpossibly have been there that morning, could he? No, he didn’t haveaccess to the apartment, Bryce made sure all keycard access numberswere changed after his last uninvited visit.

“Here we go,Hunny.” Bryce said, snapping me out of my thoughts and compellingme to a halt before I ran right up the back of Gareth.

I looked upand noticed Lucy and Nic bent down on their knees, placing thelillies on each of the three graves. Lindsay and Stephanie Clark’sheadstones were on either side of Lauchlan Clark’s headstone, and Ifound it both touching and fitting, as if they were both stillnurturing and protecting their young son even in the afterlife.

Gareth movedforward and propped the book up against Lauchie’s headstone. “Thisone’s a good one little mate, you’ll like it,” he said, his voicesoft, endearing and obviously holding an enormous amount of lovefor his young cousin. It was heartbreaking, but also enlighteningto see this side of him. He stood back and took in the grave beforehim.

Bryce noticedme staring and leaned closer to my ear. “Lauchie loved books, andso does Gareth. He brings him a new one every time he visits.”

Gareth removeda weathered paperback that I’m assuming he’d left here the lasttime then stood back up while gazing down at Lauchie’s grave with alost expression. Bryce moved forward and placed his hand onGareth’s shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze before putting hishand back in his pant pocket.

“God, I missthem,” sighed Lucy as she traced her finger along the letters ofher mother’s headstone.

Nic wrappedher arm around Lucy’s shoulder, pulling her head closer to gentlytouch her own. Alexander squealed at his mother’s sudden closenesswhile trying to grab at her hair. I hopped two steps forward sothat I was standing next to Bryce again, then I slid my hand intohis pocket, taking a hold of his and removing it so that I couldencase it in my own and let him know I was there for him. He lookeddown at our interlaced fingers then up to my eyes. His eyes weremildly moist, and the hurt and pain he felt was clearly visible,destroying a small piece of me at the sight of him this distraught.In that moment I decided I absolutely hated the man who ran the redlight and caused this overwhelming feeling of grief, hurt, andloss—I hated that man.

Lucy laid outa blanket next to her mother’s grave and put her hands out for Nicto pass Alexander to her. “Come here, my big boy,” she cooed athim. “Let’s tell Nanna what you have been doing lately.” Her saddemeanour now pushed aside and a forged happy alternative replacingit.

“Yeah, tellNanna how you keep rolling around everywhere, and that Mummy boughtyou a jail because of that,” Nic said while clapping Alexander’shands in her own.

“Don’t,” Lucygroaned. “I already feel bad about the stupid kiddy pen.”

“Mum wouldabsolutely freak if she saw that thing, then she’d throw it rightover the balcony,” Bryce interjected, with a knowing smile.

He took a seaton the grass next to Lucy then stretched out his arms to gentlypull me down into his lap.

“What is sowrong with a kiddy pen? I used one with both my kids, and theydon’t have a jail-complex,” I said defensively.

“I don’t know,they just kind of look punishing. Maybe if they replaced the bars,I’d feel better. Hey...” she addressed Bryce, by lightly flickingthe back of her hand on his leg. “Remember that time when Mum’sfriend, Ros, came over and her son, Jacob had one of those childrestraint things on—”

“Yeah,” Brycesmiled as he traced his finger up and down my leg. “Mum took it offhim and threw it straight into the fireplace.”

“How shockedwas Ros?” Lucy giggled.

“Well it didlook like a leash, Luce. Mum was appalled.”

“I know. Thatwas