Are you okay?

Well, bye

(A/N) Well, bye

Exactly 2 years, 1 month ago on June 14th 2020, I started writing AYO.

It still hasn't sunk in that I've finished telling their story - my story, to be honest, hidden in metaphors through these two characters.

This story was not supposed to be this long at all. The first version of AYO was only 40 chapters long but as I was rewriting, I found myself adding more to the plot, trying to find any way I could to keep their story going. I think I was scared to be without Romeo and Cassie, because they've been with me through all of the pain of these past two years.

I started AYO when I was in an extremely bad headspace, and my mental health was honestly terrible. I wrote AYO as a way to survive, as a reason to keep going on days when I debated whether or not I should still be here.

Parts of this story have been typed in the notes app of my phone at 3am in the morning; parts were written at 1pm during school when I've been breaking down in the toilets. Parts of this story have been written as I've been on my own rooftop, feet dangling over the edge while I've tried to silence my thoughts. Parts of this story have been written at 6am, when I've dragged myself out of the house and forced myself to go on a walk so I can get out of my head for a while; parts were typed when I've been crying silently in the middle of the night, breathing through my mouth so I don't wake anybody up with my sniffles.

When I first published the first few chapters, I didn't expect to meet such incredible people that messaged me and commented to show their support and care. The love I've received from people has genuinely been the best part of being a writer, because just knowing that I've managed to have an impact on people has given me strength to continue.

To anyone who is reading this, anyone who has commented or voted or sent me a message, I truly appreciate it. Thank you so much for reading this story and for supporting me. I'm more grateful than I can ever show through words on a screen. Hitting 7K is ironic, seeing as the epilogue is set 7 years in the future, and I'm so proud that I actually managed to complete this.

I wish I could say more to thank you all but I'll be honest, I'm not doing well mentally at the moment, and I can't bring myself to express the amount of emotion I wish I could. I wish I could be here to tell you all that my mental health is great now, but it's not. I don't have the words to express how I feel because I'm not really feeling at the moment. And that's perfectly okay.

This is the end of Romeo and Cassie's story, but I hope to be starting another book soon.

The ending of AYO was particularly hard to write, because I didn't want to gloss over Cassie's pain and make her happy, but I didn't want to leave her in the same mental state she had been in at the start of the story. In the end, I went for how I personally feel right now: I'm not okay, but I've gotten better than where I was, and I'm still working on being happy.

I've gotten to experience happiness and it's been amazing, but I've hit lows I never would have thought I could reach. At times I've felt like God has literally been dragging me through life when I wasn't strong enough to do it myself. Even recently, I've found myself falling into old habits, but I'm trying to hold onto the stars like Romeo said. I'm trying, and that's what matters.

If any of you are left with any questions for me about this story or myself personally, feel free to comment them here and I'll try to answer as best as I can.

I asked you all this question at the start of my story, and I suppose I would like to ask again as I say goodbye. We have reached the end, so I want to know before you close this story:

Are you okay?

For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo
- T.R. ❤️