The Return

Epilogue

Holly

Friday June 12th 2021.

The music was slow, inviting. The lights, were colorful as they ran across the walls and over the floors. Bodies swayed pressed together in the open floor plan. Prom night at Lincoln Lane Prep changed since Scarlett. There was a minimum of four teachers chaperoning the event, one policeman, and an ambulance on standby. Court-ordered until after the trial. Jenna-Sue was pressing charges. She was taking the next step.

When she walked through the balloon archway into the school's gym, it was like time stopped. String lights illuminated the pictures on the wall of her; Scarlett Leighton. Remembered as not just the lead cheerleader, but the girl on the hospital bed, the girl in rehab, the girl abused by her jock boyfriend.  Prom night 2021 was a tribute to Scarlett. It was beautiful and long overdue.

There was a DJ booth in the corner and tables of refreshments and girls with corsages and clutch purses hanging around them. The room smelled like flowers and hairspray and perfume.

Holly's whole face lit up. Her burgundy princess dress wasn't stoplight, she wasn't going for head turning or jaw-dropping. Prom to her was a special night to connect with the four other kids she met on her return to a town she buried. Coming back tossed her headfirst into a story of a girl she didn't have to meet to relate to. And with that story brought friends, memories, and a flutter in her chest whenever she saw him.

That smile and that—wait matching? —burgundy tux. The sly bastard must have been talking to Rowan again.

They were laughing at something at the table when Holly walked up to them. "Am I interrupting?"

His pupils flared; he licked his lips. "Never, I saved you a seat." He pulled her into his chest and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Detective Steinfeld, thought you weren't going to make it," He whispered into her ear. Something about it had the butterflies in her stomach kicking up a storm. "I got you something," He reached into his pocket. Wrapped in a plastic bag were candy canes.

She felt giddy.

The music stopped, replaced by raging applause.

Claudia Jonathan sauntered to the front of the make-shift stage. "I want to thank all of you for making it here. And I want to thank Lincoln Lane's teachers and staff for not giving up on prom night. This is a tradition that we would have lost because of a tragedy. And I might have not met this girl but my father had the pleasure of renting out a room in her place. She didn't deserve her fate at the hands of three cold-blooded killers. Neither did our five devoted friends who almost died so we can have our prom."

A round of cheers and hoots filled the air. Kyle and Rowan waved as if drinking in the attention.

Holly's expression hardened. They played a dangerous game and they were only lucky to make it out alive, barely, permanently tainted with heroin in their veins.

"Not to keep you waiting any longer, the votes are in. And I am here to announce this year's Prom King and Queen!"

A drum roll blared from the speakers. She struggled with the golden envelope and her microphone. She got it open.

"Holly Steinfeld and Kyle Lawrence!"

Holly's mouth was ajar. She didn't even think she was nominated.

"Shall we, my Queen?" Kyle held out a hand to her.

Exhilaration suffused her features. She took his hand in hers. "Of course, my King."

The worst decision of her life morphed into the reason behind her smile.

Coming back was a blessing in disguise.

The End.