Unspeakable Truths by Alice Montalvo-Tribue Page B

to witness because somewhere in my mind I knew that I had wanted that for me. I had wanted her for myself, but I bowed out gracefully so that my best friend could have what he wanted. I watched as he made her fall in love with him, never being completely honest with her about the things that he was doing behind her back, the chances he was taking that would one day cost him his life and her, her heart. Knowing the entire time that I could have done better, I would have done better, given her something that was real and honest, without the secrets that would leave her life in ruins.
    But the time for thinking about what could have been is over. Now Tyler’s gone, he’s gone, and I hate it. I miss him, but Everly’s alone and I’m done. I’m done burying what I feel, I’m done denying myself what I want, what I’ve always wanted. So I’m going to do whatever it takes to bring Everly back to herself and make her see me as something other than her dead husband’s best friend.
     

~Everly~
    I take a sip of my wine as I listen to Stella and Michael West go on and on about their latest charity functions. This after about a half hour of hearing Michael tell me all about the latest goings on at his firm. This he does in an attempt to woo me in hopes that I might just change my mind and come work for him, or better yet decide that I would like to reconvene my pursuit of a law degree. He believes that one day I’ll wake up and realize that I should have been a lawyer all this time, that I should have gone to law school, taken the bar exam, and come work for him. This is something that I have no intention of doing. I have no desire to come work for him in any capacity. But I understand. I get why he feels the need to push me, why he wants me to accomplish what his son never would.
    For Michael West failure was never an option where his only son was concerned, he expected and demanded the best of and for him. I’ve never doubted his love for Tyler, I never once believed that he didn’t adore his son, but the amount of pressure he put on him was at times unbearable. I sit here and stare at Michael and wonder—now that I know the whole truth, now that I know the kind of problems Tyler was facing—about the pressure he felt to be the best. I can’t help but wonder if his father’s need for perfection in turn propelled his son to unravel.
    Maybe I’m stretching theories here, making more out of it than there really was. I don’t know, but I do know that had Michael been more understanding, less stringent, maybe Tyler would have gone to him when he started to run out of options. Maybe he’d still be here; maybe he’d have gotten help and turned things around. I know better than to live my life based on what if’s… but I can’t help but wonder.
    It’s done now, over, there’s nothing that can be said and done, no reason to hold a grudge or blame this man. I’m sure he has enough guilt tucked away in the recesses of his own heart to last him a lifetime. For now, I’ll do my part and give him what he needs, a living breathing connection to his lost son.
    I turn my attention back to Stella whose gaze is locked with mine. It’s an empty gaze, devoid of any real emotion. That died with her son, she’s never been the same. No one can relate to that more than me.
    “I was coming out of the bank this morning and I saw Luca Jensen coming out of the pharmacy. I had no idea he was back in town,” she says softly. It sounds more like she’s revealing a state secret than a statement of fact.
    “Just stay away from him Stella. I don’t want you anywhere near that boy, he’ll only upset you. That goes for you too Everly, stay away from him.”
    I’m taken aback by his demand, telling us that we need to stay away from Luca when all the while he knows that Luca had nothing to do with Tyler’s death. He also knows that Luca is the only other person in the world who knows the whole story and keeping Stella and I in the dark