𝑻 𝑯 𝑬 𝑵 𝑨 𝑵 𝑵 𝒀 (18+)

Epilogue

                                    A M A R A

                            Six months later...

Months of flying around the world and I still hadn't gotten used to it. Actually, I think I hated it more than I did before. The jetlag was the worst part, I was just lucky this time around I'd be able to sleep it off in my own bed. My old bed I should say. I hadn't slept in it since I was eighteen years old. For all I knew my dad still had the same sheets on from when I left.

I hadn't been back to Maine in years either and that guilt crept up on me more than my excitement. It wasn't like I did it on purpose. I would've loved to visit my dad more while I was in Cali but it wasn't in the budget. Even when I did start earning a salary that would allow me to travel back and forth there was no time. I'd make up for all that we lost now and that was all that really mattered.

"Amara?" I heard my dad call my name from a few feet away. Yawning I grabbed my things and walked over to him, dropping them when he pulled me into the tightest hug.

"New cologne?" I teased him and he cleared his throat. My dad had been wearing the same scent for as long as I could remember and it was a cologne my mother gifted him for their anniversary one year. "I wanted to try something new, do you not like it?"

"No I like it," I smiled, "it's just different. That's a good thing though."

Maybe he finally took my advice and started dating again like I so desperately wanted him to. I wouldn't pry if that had been the case though. I certainly was far from forthcoming when it came to my relationship with Dominic. If he was seeing someone new, I'd give him time to figure it out.

"Are you happy to be home?" He asked while stuffing my things in the trunk of his car. I was happy. Elated actually. While I may not have had all of the experiences a normal kid did growing up I loved my hometown. I loved being on the boat with my dad and I loved helping him out in the restaurant. Even the grim memories were good. If I wanted to move past them, I had to face them. Coming back home, visiting my mother—it was the only way to open this mew chapter of my life.

"I am but I'm more so excited to see this surprise you have for me," I glanced at him and he only shook his head. He'd called me ahead of time and swore I'd be in for the shock of my life. I took that with a grain of salt though, my dad was a boring man. For all I knew, his big surprise was a new set of fishing rods.

"How was your internship? Did you learn anything new?"

"Oh, it was amazing. Andrea was pretty laser-focused on us learning about how deeply culture was woven into architecture but I got to spend a few nights exploring on my own. The food, the people, the music. All of it was incredible." So much so that it didn't matter if I was the one she called at the end of these two weeks. Just having the opportunity to experience a world I'd never known was enough to keep me inspired for the next twenty years. Didn't matter where I ended up, whatever it was I knew it would be fulfilling.

"That's good to hear, I'm really happy for you Mar. How's uh—Dominic? You two still talk?"

I turned my head and rested it against the window, "Dominic is good. He's been a little busy lately so I haven't been able to talk to him much. I am sorry about keeping you in the dark on that end. I wasn't doing it on purpose, I just wanted to make sure it was worth telling you about."

"And is it?" He interrupted me. "Yeah, I think it is."

He only hummed in response.

"I thought we were going to the house?" I raised a brow and tried to make out my surroundings. I knew it had been years since I'd been home but I still knew the way to get to my house. This was not it.