The Beastly Lights

FREYA

“Freya Elaine Coleman, step away from the table setting,” Liam scolded as his arms wrapped around my torso from behind, bringing me into his chest.

“I’m almost done. I swear!” I insisted, craning to kiss the tip of his nose affectionately. “Just five more minutes.”

He groaned, burying his head into my neck.

“I just have to check the ham,” I continued, freeing myself from his grasp and heading for the kitchen.

As I walked past the fridge, I stalled for a moment, my eyes drawn to the haphazard collection of family photos hanging from cheap refrigerator magnets.

~Liam and me at the beach in Coney Island.~

~Anthony cutting the cake on Ryan’s birthday.~

~Liam taking Lucinda’s son and daughter on the Central Park Carousel.~

Most walls of the apartment were also covered with framed photos of our life together—that or pieces of art.

In the past several months, we’d transformed his barren apartment into a place we could truly call ~home~.

The doorbell rang, and suddenly I heard the gleeful shouts of Lucinda’s children.

I followed the noise into the living room, unable to contain the grin spreading across my face as I watched Liam interact with Davis.

He was showing Liam one of his Christmas presents, a plastic alien blaster gun, pretending to shoot Liam.

I watched in amusement as Liam clutched his chest, staging an overly dramatic death, while Davis clapped gleefully.

Lucinda set Charlie on the ground, struggling to remove her tiny pink coat.

“Luce!” I exclaimed, rushing over to hug her.

“Oh, Freya.” She smiled. “You look beautiful.”

Jarred, Lucinda’s husband, filed past me with a stack of pies, heading toward the kitchen. “Hey, Frey.”

“Hey, Jarred. Need a hand with those?” I asked.

“Nah, I’m okay,” he replied. “But Ant might.”

I turned just in time to see Anthony barreling through the door with a stack of gifts larger than his own body, all perfectly wrapped, like out of a catalog.

“Careful!” came Ryan’s voice from the other side of the door. “Some of those are ~fragile~, babe.”

I rushed forward to catch a box just as it slipped from the top of the stack, laughing.

“Thanks, Frey.” Anthony grinned, following me down the hallway and into the living room, where our enormous Christmas tree stood beside the fireplace.

“Apparently Santa couldn’t be bothered to carry any of his own presents this year,” he added, rolling his eyes.

“I heard that, ~Anthony!~” Ryan called from behind us.

As I watched them—the people who I was lucky enough to call my family—fill the apartment, arguing, teasing each other, and simply sharing the moment together, I couldn’t get over the feeling of utter gratitude.

It had been years since I felt like I belonged to a part of something—a family, no less.

And while we appeared, quite possibly, the strangest family on paper, I knew I wouldn’t trade any of them for the world.

***

“Does anyone need more wine?” Liam asked, rising from the table to play host.

His own glass was filled with sparkling cider.

“Yes, please,” Ryan chirped, passing his empty glass.

We sat around the dining room table, feasting on tiny hors d’oeuvres, while Liam bounced from person to person like he was hopped up on too much caffeine, intent on keeping the conversation going.

I’d tried on countless occasions to start the meal, but each attempt was met with protest.

“Liam, I think we’re all pretty hungry,” I said, exchanging a look with Luce. “Why don’t I bring out the turkey?”

Liam froze, glancing nervously at the clock on the wall. “You know—I’m really not hungry yet,” he replied quickly.

~Alright, something is up.~

~Why is he acting so strange?~

“Luce, you’re not drinking?” Ryan asked, swiftly changing the subject. We all turned to peer at Lucinda, who suddenly looked anxious.

Jarred reached across the table to take his wife’s hand, nodding.

“I’m…”

“Oh my God,” Ryan exclaimed suddenly, clamping a hand over his mouth. “Are you…”

“I’m pregnant,” Luce admitted finally, blushing. “I was waiting to tell you guys, but—”

“Lucinda! That’s incredible,” I gushed, circling the table to throw my arms around her.

“I hope everyone thinks so,” Jarred chuckled, glancing at Davis, who was too engrossed in his coloring book to pay him any notice.

Our celebration of the news was suddenly cut short by the sound of the doorbell.

I looked at Liam, confused.

~Were we expecting anyone else?~

~Harri, maybe?~

“I’ll just get that,” Liam said before dashing out of the dining room.

My eyes landed on two spare chairs that were stacked in the corner of the room.

~Liam’s up to something.~

I suddenly noticed that everyone at the table seemed to be avoiding my gaze.

~They’re ALL up to something.~

I heard the sound of footsteps approaching and someone clearing their throat.

And then Mason was standing in the doorway, watching me nervously.

“Hi, Freya,” he said quietly.

“Mase? What are you—” I froze as my brother stepped aside to make room for someone else.

For my father.

“Dad?”

“Thanks for inviting us,” Mason said, rubbing the back of his neck—the telltale sign that he was uncomfortable.

Liam burst through the doorway, quickly moving to place the extra chairs at the table.

“I—um…”

I’d only seen Mason and my father a few times over the past few months, and each time I was shocked by the transformation.

Mason’s sobriety seemed to be sticking—for now, at least—and my father had surprisingly been the one who scraped my brother off of the sidewalk the one time he had relapsed.

It was a strange process, learning to heal, to forgive, but one that I was willing to try.

“Please,” I said finally, “sit down. We’re so happy you’re here.”

After everyone had settled and the food was served, I felt myself pull back for a moment, taking in the group of people around me.

Never in a million years had I seen myself ending up here.

In fact, I wasn’t quite sure how I had even landed wherever ~here~ was.

And as I watched my family—the old and the new—fuse together before my eyes, I couldn’t help but smile, and just for a moment, thank my brother for playing that stupid game of poker.

The one that changed my world.

***

Once they had all gone, and the leftovers were carefully packaged and put away, Liam and I lay contently on couch, watching the roaring fireplace, as I drifted off into sleep.

“You still awake?” Liam whispered into my ear, kissing my cheek softly.

“Hmm?” I stirred, rolling around so that my chest was on top of his. I stroked the contour of his chin, kissing him softly on the lips.

~I could lie like this forever.~

“I have another gift for you,” Liam said, winking. He pecked me again before propping himself up suddenly.

“Don’t make me get up,” I groaned, nuzzling my face into his chest.

“I think it will be worth it,” Liam replied knowingly. “Come on. It’ll be quick.”

Placing his hands over my eyes, Liam led me down the hallway in the direction of the bedroom.

“No peeking,” he instructed.

“Hmm…let’s see. You’re taking me to the bedroom,” I mused.

“Maybe,” he replied coyly.

“Oh, so it’s ~that~ kind of gift?” I joked, nudging him.

Liam chuckled a little. “Not quite.”

Once we reached the door, he removed his hands from my eyes and leaned in to whisper into my ear. “Merry Christmas, Freya.”

I scanned the room suspiciously. And then my eyes rested on the wall above our bed, which had previously been blank.

The wall that bore a massive golden frame.

And inside of the frame…

I sucked in a breath.

~Beastly Lights.~

“You bought it,” I whispered, feeling the tears filling my eyes.

I climbed on top of the bed, running my hand along the edge of the frame reverently.

“Of course I did,” Liam replied, suddenly behind me, resting his chin on my shoulder. “I couldn’t let anyone else have it.”

I stared up at the painting before my eyes, at the piece of my soul that I’d feared I lost forever.

~I can’t believe it was him all along.~

My fingers traced the scene on the familiar canvas, the choir of luminous, golden sunflowers, which all turned to face the silhouette of a man looking down upon them.

He was the sun.

Their source of light—of life.

And yet he was also their captive.

A prisoner of the beastly lights, blinded by their relentless, hungry gaze.

“I love it,” he whispered into my ear, wrapping his arms around my waist.

“I love ~you~,” I replied, closing my eyes and basking in the heat radiating from his touch.

“I just have one question for you,” Liam said suddenly. “What’s on the back of the painting? I was too afraid to take it off.”

~The back?~

“I didn’t put anything on the back of it,” I replied, dumbfounded, turning to look at him.

Liam shrugged his shoulders. “There was definitely something on it. Maybe the gallery…”

“That’s not…” I trailed off. “Why would they…”

“Should we take a look?” Liam asked.

Carefully lifting the painting from the wall and placing it facedown on the bed, Liam helped me remove the frame.

I stared at the back of the painting, which appeared to have a small square clinging to the underside of the wood I’d used to stretch the canvas, patched over with a piece of white fabric.

“Wanna do the honors?” Liam asked.

Furrowing my brows, I peeled the fabric away from the wood and pulled out—

~What the…~

In my hand was a tiny black box.

~It almost looks like…~

I slowly opened the tiny box, my pulse quickening.

~Oh my God.~

~He didn’t.~

“Freya Coleman,” Liam said suddenly, and I slowly turned to see that he was kneeling on the floor behind me, his golden eyes dancing.

“You make me the happiest version of myself. The only person that I want to be.”

~He’s…he’s…~

“I can’t imagine spending another day of my life without you,” he continued, taking the box from my frozen hands.

“So please, ~for the love of God~,” he added, and I laughed, tears welling in my eyes, “will you marry me?”

My disbelieving eyes flew down to the box in his hands. The box that held a square-cut diamond ring, the most exquisite thing I had ever seen.

I thought about my life—about the kind of life I wanted for myself.

No matter how frustrating, or irrational, or quite simply maddening he could sometimes be, there was no version of that life that didn’t include Liam.

He was my counterpoint, the one person who could balance me out completely. The only partner who could make me truly happy.

“Yes,” I murmured finally. “Of course I’ll marry you.”

I knew what lay ahead likely wouldn’t be easy.

A life with Liam Henderson meant living in the beastly lights forever—that the world would feel they owned a part of us.

But Liam was a meteor, an ephemeral shooting star, and I hoped—I knew—that if I held on to him tightly enough, I had a shot at a life that was truly extraordinary.

^If you have any questions, use the Support button. 💬^