don't forget about me | ethan cutkosky

|Epilogue|

"How do I look?" My best friend Myah asked, spinning in her navy blue dress. 

"You look amazing!" I exclaimed, tearing up at my beautiful friend. She was my maid of honour and today, at the age of 25, I was getting married. 

There was a knock at my door and my 2 bridesmaids walked in holding their bouquets, they gasped when they looked at me. Their names were Alyssa and Kenzie. I met them along with Myah when we were all in nursing school.

I moved to Texas and chose to work at a children's hospital, and they went to other hospitals. We kept in contact for almost a year and a half and when they were transferred to the hospital I worked at, we all rented an apartment together and now here we are. Alyssa married the guy she's been dating since she was 17 and Kenzie married the same contractor we hired to do work in our apartment, and Myah was getting married next fall. 

"Everyone is ready, its all you now!" Kenzie cheered, wrapping her arms around me. 

I took a deep breath and pulled at the a-line jewel wedding dress that covered my body. I fixed my hair and nodded, letting everyone know I was ready. 

Everyone took their places and while I waited, I reflected on the past ten years of my life. 

I beat cancer and I've been cancer free for ten years, I cut toxic people out of my life and got over relationships and friendships that were holding me back. I exceeded the expectations in school and in the eleventh and twelfth grade, I was on the honour roll. I got into a University in Alabama and completed the nursing program 4 years ago. Now I work in a children's hospital and I could not be happier with my job. I get to help children and their families and thats all I've ever wanted to do. 

My dad walked over and linked his arm with mine. He smiled at me with tears in his eyes and almost immediately, I teared up. 

"Dad, please don't cry, I'll cry!" I laughed, dabbing my eyes with a tissue. 

"I'm so proud of you and everything you've done. I'm so proud of the beautiful woman you've become."

I hugged him and when the wedding director tapped my back, I pulled away and fixed his suit and re-linked my arm with his. 

I watched everyone walk out before me while the music played and once it was my turn, I walked out the double doors into a beautifully decorated ballroom. I saw the man of my dreams standing at the alter with his hand over his mouth and tears falling down his cheeks. His best man put his hand on his shoulder and shook him. 

This man. His name is Shane. This man is the love of my life. It feels like I've known him my whole life. The day I met him, I knew I would marry him one day. I knew he was the one the moment he looked over at me and smiled at the barbecue my family was having on the fourth of July. The day he asked me to be his girlfriend was the day after my seventeenth birthday and I immediately said yes. We broke up when I was twenty and he was twenty one after a huge fight we had about him wanting kids one day, and I got upset knowing my chances of carrying a chid and having a successful and healthy birth were very slim. He told me he didn't mean to upset me but I overreacted and dumped him. We began dating six months later and we've been together ever since. 

He proposed to me a little over a year ago at the park we always went to with our puppy Daisy. She was a boxer and he put the ring on the little loop on her collar with a string. I picked her up to see what is was and when I realized it was a ring, he cut the string, pulled the ring off, and asked me to marry him.

I cried and said yes. He had a photographer hidden in the distance to take photos of the whole thing and they were playing on a screen on the wall. 

I got the alter and my dad handed me to my future husband who was still crying. I wiped his tears and giggled, not being able to get the smile off my face. 

When the minister asked if anyone didn't approve of the marriage, he waited a moment and when he wanted to continue, a familiar voice came from the back of the room. 

"I do."

A cold chill ran down my spine and I instantly felt like I was going to be sick. Shane looked at me with scared eyes and squeezed my hands a little tighter. 

After almost ten years without seeing or talking to this guy, he shows up on my wedding day to say he does approve of the man who makes me happiest. 

His familiar blue eyes that I used to love so much looked at my brown ones. Those were the eyes that lied, loved, cheated, and destroyed me all those years ago. He looked at me the same way Shane looked at me, in a loving way. 

I wanted to scream and cry. I wanted to scream at him for showing up and bringing back the bad memories of him cheating and lying, the bad memories of me fighting for my life with no support from him, and the memories of the day I drove to the airport before his flight left, fully expecting to kiss him goodbye and wait for his return but I ended up weighing out the pros and cons on the way there, and dumping him when they called him to board. 

I'll never forget that day. It was bad but so amazing at the same time. I finally was free. 

"Ethan, please get out.." I whimpered. 

"Baby, it's been so long-"

Shane was about to explode. I held onto his hands and assured him, I wasn't going anywhere. Nothing was going to come between us. 

"You've had ten years to apologize and tell me whatever you're here to tell me today. You had thousands upon thousands of days to tell me this but you wait until my wedding day? The day that is supposed to be the best day of my life? You're not ruining today for me. I am NOT letting you ruin another second of my life." I said, finally standing my ground. 

"Taryn.. Let me-"

I cut him off, "You have two choices. You either walk out right now and maybe if I feel like it, we can talk in a few days. Or you can leave in the arms of security. Pick one." 

He went to open his mouth but when Shane stepped forward, he closed it and nodded. He turned around and walked out. 

He left and flew to California and we never spoke. We never saw each other after that. 

But now I'm happy. I'm the happiest I've ever been and it's because of Shane. 

I'm happy, and I'm finally at peace with myself and my life.

Thats all that matters.

____________________