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I miss you and your mom so much.
After a long moment, she turns to look up at me while my fingers move to instinctively brush the hair out of her face. “He would have loved you,” she says through a shaky voice.
I nod, so honored that she would share this moment with me.
She looks up towards the sky, her eyes closed with a placid smile that looks so serene. She looks so beautiful, her skin glowing with pride and her heart melting with so many emotions coursing through her. I bend down to kiss her softly at the corners of her mouth, then travel up her cheeks to her eyelids.
“You make me so happy,” I say softly into her skin. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but Eleanor…” My brows furrow as I try to find the right words. Words to let her know that everything I did, all the pain I caused her, will always be a deep reminder of our journey. Our story that will only be defined as ours. I will spend the rest of my life proving to her that my place in life is right alongside her, walking her through moments like these.
“I love you,” she says, placing her hand over my heart.
“I love you too.” I pull her into a deep kiss, my hands cupping her face as her arms wrap around my waist.
When I pull away, I smile down at her. “I don’t know how comfortable I feel making out with you in front of your dad.”
She chuckles lightly before nuzzling her cheek against my chest.
We stay like this, our bodies interlaced with our arms wrapped around each other as if holding on to this most precious of moments, before we realize that we might actually be late to her graduation.
“Come on,” she says, stepping away from me while pulling at my hand. “We should get going. If I don’t get there on time to meet Claire before the ceremony, she’s going to kill me.”
“Well then, college graduate,” I respond, “we better hurry.”
We both take one last look at the headstone before saying our goodbyes. Ellie slows her steps on our walk back to her car, meeting mine as I limp along in a steady, even pace.
Once inside her car, I lean back and wrap my arm behind her on the headrest. “You ready?” I ask, turning to her with an eager smile.
She answers with an excited nod before turning the ignition.
She drives off, the afternoon sunlight catching against the windows as we drink in the cool summer air. We’re ready for whatever chapter we’ll move on to next, whatever the future holds for us. From here on out, it will always be the two of us. Us two against the world.
THE END
EPILOGUE
ELLIE
“Oh my God. I’ve been waiting all night to take these off.”
My hands move to the soles of my feet, kneading out the knot that had settled into the arch. I audibly moan, my throat rumbling with pleasure, as my eyes roll into the back of my head at the relief.
Rhylan watches me, amused, with one brow raised and a thin slice of cheesy pizza held in his hands midair. “If you keep making noises like that, more than your shoes are going to come off in this limo.”
I roll my head towards him, shaking my head, but I can’t hide the smile. “You really are insatiable.”
Having already inhaled my pizza, my hands move to the thirteen-inch-tall gold statue sitting between us on the long, cushioned bench, tracing the smooth surface and the words etched into the base.
Academy Award to Rhylan Matthews.
Best performance by an actor in a leading role.Aurielle. 2024.
I sigh. No matter how many times I read the words out loud, it still feels surreal. The whole night feels like an absolute dream.
“Be honest, were you surprised when they called your name?”
He brings a hand to his chest. “I mean, it was an honorjustto be nominated,” he says, dripping with quipped sarcasm. He’s saying the words that he’s said in every interview asking the same question: “Do you think you’ll finally win your first Oscar?”
My laughter is loud. Full and joyous as my grip on the award slackens from its weight.
