17 Last Times

⤹36❁ Swim

Welcome back!
The next chapter will be the LAST chapter and also the END of these series *crying*.
I am very proud of how this chapter has turned out. So proud.
As always, please comment your name under this section to be mentioned in the last chapter.
Thank you!

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𝓕𝓮𝔀 𝓶𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓱𝓼 𝓵𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓻
Summer time

The past few months have been hell of a ride. I studied a lot to catch up with everything I had missed after my parent's death. Like Will and I had also discussed before, we did relive some of our memories however, they weren't ours anymore. We shared those moments with our partners and friends, and if I'm being honest, it made it even better. All of us: Will, Emily, Connor, Rayna, Imaan, Declan, Mason, Jeremy, Nathan and I, went out for a picnic, sang some karaoke, created some absolutely and terribly abstract paintings and did go jogging. It was fun. It brought us closer and made us trust more, after all, we weren't an entirely normal group of friends, or when I think about it, we actually were — messed up in our own ways.

Will has changed completely around Emily. He's become understanding, compassionate, loving and so full of joy. It made me understand the value of the right person by one's side, and I can proudly admit that I have bettered myself around Nathan. My anger is gone now.

Seguing back to Will, he's rebuilt his love for running and now does it nearly everyday, sometimes accompanied by his girlfriend. Alike Nathan and I, him and Emily moved in together. Their place isn't far from the house I had inherited from my parents, in which, Nathan and I decided on staying. I would have lied if I said that I'd never thought about selling it, but it echoed with so many memories I didn't want to lose that eventually we came to the agreement of keeping it. We never regretted this decision.

Lana rumbled around my head for a very long time. Nathan was the only person who knew about her existence. At last, I told my friends the truth and asked for their opinions. It wasn't an easy conversation, but it also wasn't filled with anger. I believe that my initial decision as to not keeping in touch with my sister made them realize how much I cared for them therefore, they wanted to do the same for me. They insisted I did contact her, so I did.

And there she was, my sister, among us, every couple of weeks. At first, as anyone could imagine, we all felt uncomfortable and anxious, especially Connor and Will. Over a short period of time, Lana had learnt the truth about Beverly and felt extremely sorry and guilty for being a conscious reminder of such a terrible person however, that reminder hadn't last long.

Lana was different. Lana was caring and delicate, funny and amiable, a complete contrast to her twin sister. She was easy to become fond of, which we all did, and her boyfriend Ollie emanated the same sort of kindness. Whatever damaged Beverly had caused, Lana purified it with her soft presence.

Beverly was an annihilation.
Lana was everything that comes after. A new life.

During those months, even Ambrose subsided and found it within himself to apologize for how he'd approached the whole situation. A part of me believes that he only did it to meet Lana, which he'd once bumped into when she was out with us, but the other part of me knows that he missed Beverly deeply. As it turned out, she must've cared about him a lot, and it'd become very clear after he'd shared the memories he had with her. I think she never wanted Connor to know about Ambrose because she didn't want to lose him in the boyfriend versus best friend aftermath. I couldn't blame her for it. Her biggest fear was abandonment, and somehow, Ambrose made her feel like she would never be alone.