Trust Me

Where Ever I Am(epilogue)

This is dedicated to @theonlyninjasmurf for the epic cover!!

Two Years Earlier

"Jake,"

I poked his face and stared at him intently.

"Jakie, wake up," I whispered, poking him again. He rolled onto his stomach and groaned into the thin mattress he was sleeping on.

"Leave me be, Quinn," he grumbled, and I poked him again, this time in the ribs. "Owwww," he said, his voice muffled by the mattress. I laughed and poked him again, making him roll over.

"What do you want, kid?" he asked, and I scowled at him.

"I'm older then you. Now get up, we're not supposed to be here." I said, taking his hand and hauling him to his feet with a grunt. We were staying in some bombed out apartment. Two small cots were against the wall,  a rotting night stand underneath a window with cracked, yellowing glass. The air was permeated with the faint smell of moth balls and mouse urine. The floor was covered with white powder from the flaking plaster on the ceiling. It was cold and drafty, but it was good enough.

A few minutes later we left, making sure to grab our pack packs. We walked a few blocks in silence, then Jake grabbed my shoulders and steered me down an ally.

"What?" I asked, looking around.

"Marco's group was hanging out back there," he murmured, and I shrugged.

"So? Lets go get Boomer and Dodger and move 'em," I said, and he chuckled, then shook his head.

"Or how about we avoid confrontation and leave them alone?" he suggested, looking down at me with that familiar amused glint in his eyes. I smiled at him innocently.

"What if one of his friends is my soul mate or something?" I asked teasingly, and he snorted, running a hand through his sandy blond hair in a habitual gesture.

"You could do better than that," he teased, and now I snorted.

"Yeah, probably not."

He looked down at me, suddenly serious.

"Sure you can! Someday you're gonna find the perfect guy, and every thing is going to be okay," he said, and I looked up at him. We walked past the cemetery, where a woman was laying flowers on someone grave.

"What about you?" I asked. He looked over at the woman, a distant smile on his face.

"I'll be there," he said, looking back down at me. "Where ever you are, I'll be there too."

I smiled up at him and slipped my arm through his as we passed the cemetery.

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Present Day

I can do this.

I can do this.

I can do this.

"Quinn, you can do this."

I turned around and looked at Levy.

"Nope, no I cannot. I cannot do this," I said, sitting down on the edge of my bed and putting my head in my hands. I felt the bed sink as Levy sat down next to me. "Why is this so hard?" I groaned, and he rubbed my back.

"It's going to be okay," he murmured, and I felt him rest his chin in my shoulder. "And after we're going to get pizza, so lets go," he added jokingly, making me laugh. I looked over at him and smiled. He pushed a strand of hair behind my ears.

"I'll be right there; and this was your idea. You should go through with it." he said, looking at me seriously. I sighed and leaned my forehead against his.

"Stop using my own logic against me," I muttered, and he chuckled, then pressed his lips to mine in a gentle, sweet way. I felt my nerves tingling and my heart race, the familiar elation running through me with his touch.

"I love you," I murmured when we broke apart. He smiled at me, that silly, crooked grin that had me falling for him in the first place.

"I love you too," he said, taking my hand and standing up as we left the room. I looked back once more, at the picture of Jake and I on my night stand.

                                                                   *************************

For the first time, Jake's grave was surrounded.

Mark, Maria, Josie, Sully, Max, Nicco, Liam, and Levy all stood around it, and each one slowly stepped forward and laid a single rose down on the ground around the small stone.

It was sunny out. I remembered the day he had been buried. It had been sunny then, too. At the time, it had seemed a mockery of his death. Now, it just seemed like the worlds way of remembering him. He had always hated the rain.

I stared at his grave, tears welling behind my eyes. But I no longer felt like my heart had been ripped out and trampled on. I didn't feel cheated, or alone.

A gentle breeze blew, rustling the leaves on the trees lining the cemetery. Everyone was silent, and for a moment, it was like he was right next to me. He would have shifted uncomfortably and nudged me in the ribs just to make a weird face at me, just to make me laugh.

A single tear trickled down my face, and I smiled a little, thinking about him.

Levy slipped his warm hand into mine. Jake was gone, and he shouldn't have been. He had died too young, but there was nothing I could do about that. I knew he was okay. He'd always told me he would be okay, and for the first time, I felt like I would be too.

I wiped my hand across my cheek and dropped the rose onto his grave.

"Where ever I am, Jake," I whispered. "I know you'll be there too."