The ceremony was beautiful, the bride was stunning, and the best man thought his heart was going to rip out of his chest as tears glistened in his brown eyes. He never truly thought he would see this day come, he never thought his heart would be broken so deeply. The bartender leaned against the counter, a flirtatious smile spread over a tan face, as they tried to flirt with. He never noticed, though, as he threw the shot back, enjoying the burn it sent down his throat.
"Will you be alright, little one," a gentle voice crooned, a hand placed on his arm.
Looking down, he saw the soft face of his mother smiling gently up at him, her brown eyes sad. A sigh escaped his lips as he leaned down to envelop her in a warm hug, his arms pressing her tightly to his chest. Whispering softly in her ear, he revealed the tortures of his heart causing tears to well up in her eyes.
She rubbed comforting circles on his back in hope to sooth them both, but knew her efforts were wasted by the way his entire body tensed. He pulled away from her, his hands coming up to wipe her tears away with his thumbs.
"May I steal Bibi for a dance, Mama," a deep voice questioned from behind Simone. She looked up at her oldest son with a watery smile. She patted his tuxedo cladded arm as she walked past him, shooting her youngest a comforting smile.
The tall man extended his hand, palm up, towards his downcast brother, flashing a smile when chocolate eyes looked up at him. His hand came up hesitantly, his heart urging him forward while his thoughts screamed to retreat.
"Come on, Billi, I don't bite," the groom encouraged.
Bill placed his hand in the extended appendage, eyes downcast once more. The handsome man slowly pulled him out onto the wooden dance floor, the DJ calling out to the multiple other siblings to finally join the twins.
Holding Bill's hand firmly in his own, Tom placed his other hand on his twin's lower back. A head of messy blonde hair tucked underneath his chin and an arm wrapped around his back as he held him tightly. Bill tried not to let the shaking in his limbs show as the gentle music started and Tom started to sway them.
Identical brown eyes closed momentarily as they savoured the chance to be close once more. Eyes snapped open as something bumped into their legs, only to look down and see their younger twin cousins staring back up at them. The twins smiled at each other before the younger pair goofily spun away. Tom laughed while Bill placed his head back on his brother's shoulder with a gentle smile.
Neither brother was a fool, though, and knew this moment between them could not last forever and that it would not last forever. They would probably never have a moment like this again. Tom smiled and tried to tell himself that he would never let something so unbelievably horrible happen, but his heart still ached.
The time we spend apart make my love grow stronger
But it hurts so bad I can't take it any longer
I wanna grow old with you, I wanna die lying in your arms
Bill sang softly, his words slightly muffled by the way he was pressed into his brother, his lips brushing against the coarse fabric that covered Tom's shoulder. Shivers raced down the older twin's spine causing him to pull his baby brother closer. Tilting brown eyes up, Bill looked at Tom, watching him play with his lip ring nervously. He let his eyes fall back to their feet, not wanting the guitarist to see his pleading gaze.
"I love you, Billi. Forever and a day."
He placed a sweet kiss on the blonde's forehead, trying to ignore the tears sparkling in identical eyes, but the ache in his heart refused. Tom noticed immediately the way Bill's body stiffened, looking up to see his new bride.
"Would you mind terribly if I stole my husband for a moment, Billi," she asked sweetly, a radiant stretching across her young face.
Tom flinched at the nickname, anger gnawing at his heart by the use of his pet name for his brother, but Bill simply stepped away his head low. His hair cast a shadow over his eyes, protecting them from prying gazes of older brothers.
As they walked away, Bill realized she had accomplished the one thing that they had sworn would never happen. Something they promised each other since they were old enough to form words. She had come between them.
Yet as they walked away, he did not notice the way his brother looked back. He didn't know his brother's heart was breaking at the sight of his pain. He didn't realize Tom wanted to rip away from his bride and race back towards his baby brother.
I love him, Mama, I love him so much. And he's disappearing faster than I can comprehend. He keeps getting farther and farther away and no matter what I do, no matter how fast I run, no matter how loud I scream, I can never catch up. I always fall and he just leaves me there.
