It Started With Hello

Epilogue

​​"Home sweet home," Emma whispered with a smile as she stood in front of her childhood home, her rolling luggage bag beside her. It had been a while since she had been back.

She had come home for holidays and her friends' birthdays during college, but this time felt different. She was here to stay. A wave of emotions washed over her—the nostalgia of the past mixed with the excitement of the future. She would start house hunting soon, but for the time being, her parents were happy to have her.

​Though she was moving back to town, there was another reason she had returned so soon: it was Alex's sixteenth birthday tomorrow, and his parents were having a party at their place. It was something she wanted to be part of. Despite her and Blake breaking up, Alex had kept in contact with her, texting her occasionally just to catch up.

Speaking of Blake, she had seen him in passing but hadn't had a full conversation with him. In fact, she would run the opposite direction. Her feelings for him were still there; she wished she could say no, but yes, they were. Even though she had tried hard to forget about him in college by partying a lot and hooking up with random guys, she was never able to go all the way.

​She let out a soft sigh and walked up to the front door. It opened instantly to her smiling mother. "Hey, mother," Emma said, and her mother pulled her into a tight hug, making her smile. Her relationship with her parents had improved a lot since she left, which was honestly a relief. She had always wanted that close relationship with them.
​Her father came up behind her mother from the kitchen. "There's my daughter! How was your flight?"

​She pulled away from her mother to hug him. They pulled apart, and he picked up her bag, bringing it inside for her while her mother closed the door. "It was fine, just long. I'm happy to be home," she said, smiling at them.

​Her father handed her back her bag. "Well, we'll let you go ahead to your bedroom and get settled. Dinner will be ready in a few hours. Your mother's making your favorite. Oh, and welcome home, dear."

​She turned and walked upstairs to her old bedroom. Pushing the door open, she found the room was exactly how she had left it, from the lavender bedspread to the pictures hanging on the walls.

A grin made its way onto her face as she walked around the room, setting her bag on the bed and sitting on the corner. She pulled her phone out of her bag pocket, turning it on. It had been off since she got on the plane.

As soon as it turned on, messages from her college friends popped up on the screen. One from Erica said how much she already missed her. Another from Jake asked who was going to control Erica's "wild self" now that she had left. And the last was from Lora, telling her to make sure to visit soon.

​She was thankful she had met all of them; she probably wouldn't have made it through college without them. They really helped her take her mind off Blake and everything she had been through. She was able to actually enjoy her college experience, graduating at the top of her class in American history.
​She had been able to start her own business: a non-profit for underprivileged communities.

It was designed to help them learn more about the untold stories in American history. It was fully funded by the government and donations, and she was proud of herself for pushing forward and becoming more than just a history teacher. It wasn't easy, and it took a lot of hard work and time, but it was definitely rewarding. Blake was right all those years ago: there was more for her out there.

Now she was able to reach so many more people, and educate and enrich them so much more. The name for the program was Pear's Historical Enrichment Program, and she couldn't have been prouder of herself. She already had two buildings in Los Angeles and hoped at some point she could open one here in her hometown so all her friends and family could visit.