Greyscale [✓]

Epilogue

EPILOGUE - [nine years later]

Hannah sighed, mumbling profanities under her breath at her computer screen. She had spent a long time working on this particular website, slaving over every minute detail for an incredibly fussy customer and right at the end, she'd accidentally back-spaced on a small sign which caused the whole thing to go haywire. With dark eyes scanning the code she had painstakingly typed up, she took a sip of her tea and corrected it. She'd been working on this one for ages and had gotten to the point of throwing herself out of the seventh storey window of her office if she had to do it any longer. With a silent prayer up she saved it in order to view the page and shrieked out loud when it was back to perfection.

"What's up with you?" An amused voice came from behind her, as she span around in her chair with arms jumping up and down.

With crimson tinged across her cheeks at being caught dancing, Hannah spun around to face her business partner. Two years after they had both graduated university with similar degrees, Carter had approached her with the idea of starting up their own business back in their home town. It had been a long and tedious process initially, working from the very bottom and making their way up in the industry. But Hannah wouldn't have had it any other way. Now at twenty-seven, she had all she could have ever wished for.

She had finally made a place for herself in the world, after all those pesky childhood doubts that she would never be anything.

"I'll be leaving soon for Liam's graduation, okay? Will you be alright?"

Carter grinned, pushing his glasses back on his nose as he stood up and stretched. Shuffling some papers on his desk from across hers, he responded with an eye roll. "I'm perfectly capable of holding down the fort while you're gone, now get lost."

Hannah jumped up from her seat and saved her work, slinging her coat across her shoulders. It had been warm outside when she'd woken up but there was never a way of knowing when it would rain down on them. Ah, there's that lovely British weather!

Liam was graduating from Premrose today and Hannah could scarcely believe it. Her baby brother who had once been a chubby little thing was now eighteen years old, towering over all of them as he finished from her own old high school. The thought sent a smile on her face as she pulled her seatbelt on, reversing out from her parking space. She couldn't help thinking back to the very first day she had met her two siblings, a moment that now seemed a lifetime away.

Rayne had convinced her to find them, to piece back a family she hadn't even known she had.

Thinking of her very first love made her sigh slightly for it had been a long time since she had allowed herself to remember Rayne Parker. Her final year of high school had been a whirlwind of chaos, him being the only thing to anchor her down. And when she had admitted that she loved him, the moment had been nothing short of magical. Hannah knew that he had been the reason for that; he had always pushed her to do what she was scared of, helped her be her very best.

But all good things came to an end.

After they had finished high school and went their separate ways for university, they had slowly drifted apart. At the beginning that had spoken on the phone every night, whispering secrets and promises they swore they'd keep. But they had been young, stupid and in love – never a good combination – and eventually the phone calls reduced and the text messages faded away. She didn't know how it had happened but they slowly lost contact, Becky and Carter being her only lens into his world

She'd had a few other boyfriends after him and even a girlfriend; other people she convinced herself that she loved. But somewhere deep inside her soul, as far down as she could go, Hannah knew that it wasn't the same.

She knew that he had become a surgeon like he'd always intended and worked within the paediatric department of one of the busiest hospitals in London. She had always known he could do it really, he'd always had the belief and determination to get through anything – something she had always admired. She also knew that he had gotten married to one of his co-workers two years ago, at the age of twenty-five and they had a baby recently.

Although she knew the twins still spoke to him occasionally and had attended his wedding, they very rarely told her much about him. She didn't know if that was a good or bad thing really but whatever it was, she had accepted it. And as she slowly reversed her car into the care park of her old high school, Hannah sent a silent prayer up that he was doing okay.

Whilst their inevitable break up had ripped apart her heart at the time, she knew that she owed him the world because there was no doubt she wouldn't have become half the woman she was without him. Rayne had inspired her to be someone other than what people thought she was, he was the one who encouraged her to find her family and the one who helped her believe in herself. He had healed her and he had loved her and she didn't know which was better.

And speaking of families, she could see Alex's cobalt eyes searching the crowds for her. "Hey!" She called out, grinning as he caught sight of her and pushed past people to get to her.

"Hey you," he mumbled, hugging her close. "Aw man, it's been ages since I saw you. You should come and have dinner with us soon."

The two cousins walked to the chairs in the audience, meeting the rest of their family. "Only if Kalila's cooking," she teased as he rolled his eyes, mumbling something about how his cooking wasn't that bad. It was.

As Liam walked the stage with confidence radiating off him and her entire family cheered like lunatics, Hannah remembered her own graduation and all that had happened to her at eighteen. "I love you, dad," she whispered as Chris wrapped an arm around his daughter. She unconsciously ran her hand over the front of her dress, tracing over the tattoo layered over her ribs beneath the soft chiffon. It was the anatomical drawing of a heart with an incredibly detailed bird wrapped around it, wings up as though it was about to take flight. The tattoo was Hannah's constant reminder to fly high, ink pushing past every pore until she had no choice but to believe it.

And standing there, with those she loved around her as her little brother beamed on stage, Hannah smiled.

It was so good to feel whole.