"Yes!" Kirstie said loudly.
Seth slid the ring on her finger and stood up to kiss her. He felt like the luckiest man alive. When he first met the amber eyed beauty with the long, dark blonde hair two years ago, he immediately knew she was the one. Now he had proposed in front of their friends and she had said yes. He couldn't be more happy.
"This calls for a celebration," Bronson said.
Bronson was the only one Seth wouldn't call his friend. He was Kirstie's cousin from Australia who was over for a visit. He was staying with Kirstie's parents but she had invited him to their party tonight. Seth didn't mind even though he didn't care much for Bronson. At least Bronson had shown up with a homemade cake, and Kirstie always said he was a great baker.
"I'll get the cake," Bronson said.
Bronson left the room and got the cake out of the fridge. A couple of Kirstie's friends followed him to carry plates, napkins and forks. Bronson returned with the cake, and Seth had to admit to himself that it looked delicious.
"There's no peanuts in it, right?" Kirstie asked.
"Of course not," Bronson said.
Kirstie had a deadly peanut allergy so she always made sure there were no traces of it in anything she ate. Bronson cut the cake and handed out the plates. Kirstie and Seth got the two first slices and dug in.
"It's delicious," Seth said.
"Thank you," Bronson smiled. "Let me know if you need me to bake your wedding cake. I'll charge though since it will be a bigger project."
"We'll see what we'll end up doing," Seth said.
Kirstie coughed and Seth looked at her. She had a scared look in her eyes.
"Are you sure there's no peanuts in it?" Kirstie asked.
"Don't you think it's time you stop faking it? Allergies aren't real, Kirstie," Bronson said.
"Fuck, no!" Seth yelled.
Seth ran out of the room while Kirstie's cough got worse. She dropped the plate and placed her hands on her throat.
"Where is it?" Seth screamed.
Seth came running back with a bewildered look on his face.
"I can't find your epipen," Seth said.
"I took it," Bronson said.
"Where is it?" Seth asked.
"I threw it down the sewer drain," Bronson said.
"Why the fuck would you do that?" Seth asked.
"To prove my point," Bronson said.
Seth couldn't keep arguing with Bronson. Kirstie needed help. He ran to her, picked her up, and ran out of the house. She needed to get to the hospital before it was too late. Bronson looked around at the guests who all gave him judging looks.
"You'll see that I'm right. She's faking it. Allergies aren't real," Bronson said.
"You're a piece of shit!" Dean growled.
"I'm right," Bronson said.
Bronson continued eating his slice of cake but no one else was finishing their slices. The silence hung thick in the air for a long time. No one was speaking and no one was leaving either. They all waited to hear from Seth or Kirstie. After nearly an hour Seth finally returned. He stepped inside the house and looked like someone who had just gone through a month of torture.
"Seth?" Roman asked.
"Is she alright?" Dean asked.
"She's dead," Seth said lowly.
"What?" Dean asked horrified.
"You're lying. She can't be dead. Allergies aren't real. It's a prank, guys. He's joking," Bronson said.
"She's fucking dead and it's your fault!" Seth screamed.
Seth launched himself at Bronson and started raining punches down on the bigger man. His fists came flying fast and hard. He didn't feel the pain from his knuckles breaking or the air being sucked out of his chest as he continued punching like a crazy person. He just kept beating up Bronson until two people grabbed his arms and pulled him off Bronson.
"Let me go!" Seth screamed.
"Calm down, sir," a man spoke.
Two police officers were the ones who had pulled Seth off Bronson. He remembered talking to them at the hospital and telling them exactly what Bronson had done. Afterwards he had excused himself to the bathroom but instead left the hospital without telling anyone. He had left the front door open when he came home, and they had arrived and walked in since all they could hear was screaming coming from inside. Screams of pain from Bronson and screams of anger from Seth. They had walked in on a scene they hadn't expected. A smaller man beating up a bigger one, and everyone just watching in silence. Seth felt his lungs were on fire and his hands were aching. He burst into tears, and Roman and Dean rushed to comfort him.
"Bronson Reed, you're under arrest for murder," a police officer said.
"She's not dead. Allergies aren't real," Bronson cried.
Seth tensed up in his two best friends' arms but they held on tighter to him.
"No," Roman whispered. "Let them do their job."
"She's dead, Roman," Seth sobbed.
"I know, Seth," Roman said.
"He'll fucking pay for it," Dean said.
"But she's dead," Seth sobbed. "He took my baby from me."