More Than I Bargained For

Epilogue

Epilogue

It's been two years since the day I left. It's been two whole years. And God, has so many things changed. I don't even know where to begin.

I'm out of high school and I'm seventeen now, turning eighteen soon. I'm starting my first year of college soon. Evan postponed going to college. He wants to stay with Mom, until she gets better. And it's been two years and she still hasn't really gotten over everything that happened yet.

Grady and I are...good. We're better than good. We're great - better than ever. We still live together, we got engaged six months ago. But we have a new addition to the family. We got a puppy, and I named her Kitten.

But there have been a few major changes that have occured over the past couple of years.

Grady and I have an eleven-month-old daughter. Her name is Annaleigh Bayleigh Taylor, and she's the most beautiful thing on this earth. I found out I was one month pregnant about five months after Grady and I had been together. It was one of the most...exciting days of my life. I was excited in a good way but in a bad way too. I was happy because if there were anybody I could have a child with, I'd be happy to have it with Grady. But I was worried because...I didn't know what we would tell everyone. I was a minor - I still am - and he's an adult, so I was really scared. In the end it all worked out.

But three months into my pregnancy, tragedy struck.

Grady was in a car accident. And in an ironic twist of fate, Drew was the one who'd caused the accident. Grady went off to talk to my mother and I went to bed. I was awoken with a heartbreaking phone call. I'd received the news that Grady was in an accident, and things weren't looking good. I rushed off to the hospital to make sure he was okay, and he was in a coma. I wanted to see the person who hit Grady and they showed me to their room. And it was Drew.

It wasn't fair. Grady was in a coma for God's sake, but Drew wasn't. He wasn't in the best condition, but at least he could talk. At least he could open his eyes. I didn't not to hold that against Drew, we'd held enough grudges. When I went to see Drew he smiled like he'd seen me for the first time. We'd decided to mend our relationship and slowly and reluctantly we became acquaintances. Not really friends, but we managed to let things go.

Almost three weeks had gone by and I was worried that Grady would never be okay. But he finally came out of his coma. Things were looking up. Things were getting so much better. But just as I got Grady back...I lost Drew. Over the last week his condition worsened and I lost him.

Drew passed away.

It was one of the worst days in my life. It was two days after Grady came out of his coma. Grady was just waking up so I left him a minute to get situated and I went to see Drew. As I was in his room he began to complain of a headache. He had a fever too as well as shortness of breath. I asked him if he wanted me to get the nurse but he refused, he insisted he was okay. After about ten minutes he said he was tired and I wanted to leave him to sleep but he wanted me to stay. Another two minutes had passed and I was telling him a story and he fell asleep. I kissed him on the forehead and told him I'd be back later. I turned around and was just about to leave the room when I heard that dreaded sound. The heart rate monitor had flatlined. Before I had time to react doctors and nurses were rushing into the room with the defibrillator. I was rushed out the room begging to be let in as I heard the numerous shouts of "Clear!" and sound of the defibrillator pumping Drew's body up and recharging. I knew what had happened before the doctors gave me the news.

I still look back at the day and wonder how things would be if Drew were still here. I still feel the pain I felt that day when I lost him. I still hurt inside, and I'm not sure if I'll ever heal. They say things get better over time, the pain goes away over time. But that's not true. The pain never goes away, it just dulls enough for you to ignore it. But I can't live in yesterday. To a certain extent I've accepted Drew's passing, and it's helped me become stronger. And I'm even close with his dad and Dan, but I've still never met his mom.

One good thing did come out of Drew's death.

My mother and I are on better terms. After Drew died we both decided that life was too short to hold grudges, especially with us being family. We go out for brunch once a month, and call each other up every now and again. She knows about the baby but she has yet to know that it's Grady's, but I think she knows the truth. Evan and I are speaking, though we're not as close as we once were.

I've become really great friends with Aly, the bathroom attendant from the club, and Adam, the bartender from the club. We hang out often and surprisingly have a lot in common.

Auden and Chace have gotten really close. She's going to college wih me and we're going to be roomates. She hasn't decided what she wanted to do yet, some she's taken up modeling and she's really good. She knows about Drew, Grady, my mom, and I and she's been a really great friend about it. At the beginning she was a little iffy, but she got over it and tried to look at everything from my perspective. She's been both at my side and my mom's side, and I applaud her for that.

It's amazing at how a simple thing can change things forever, and you don't realize it until everything's much, much different. One little mistake or big choice could alter things forever.

I look back every now and then and wonder how things would have turned out if my dad had been here. Would my mom have been with Grady? No. That means we would have never met. That in turns mean that Grady and I would have never been seeing each other. My mom wouldn't be a complete and utter mess. And that means that Drew and I? Well, we might have still been together. He would still be alive.

I try not to stay stuck in yesterday. Because how can you live happily always wondering "What if" or always thinking "If only I had done this differently." Don't wait for things to come, whether they are good or bad. Make them happen. Change things, so that they are positive, not negative. Don't wait for the perfect moment. Take the moment and make it perfect.

A lot of things have changed. Some for the good and some for the bad. But I've accepted the changes because, after all, everything does happen for a reason. I'm happy. And that's what really matters.