Chasing Cars

Epilogue

    The dark maroon walls reminded me of the stains on Charleston's carpet. It was exactly one year from today. I'm tempted to get in my car right now and drive to Home Depot for a new color of paint, maybe a blue or a green, but I can't. None of those colors have any affiliation with Charleston, but there's work to be done and the wall colors can wait a while longer. Besides, if I shy away from the maroon color now, I'll be afraid of it forever, and I need to get over it. Put Charleston and Rosewood High all together, in my past.

Ignoring the walls, I stare at the shaggy cream-colored carpet. I brush my foot over it, and a smile lights up my face. This is my house. I paid for all of it, and I worked hard to get it in such a nice area. It looks nothing like I house I grew up in, and I made it that way for a reason. From this day on, never will I look at a room and be reminded of drugs or my abusive father. It's brand new, ready for it's own memories. It's nothing special, that's for sure. It's a townhouse, but it's very clean and I have my own small yard. It'll be just fine for now,

I've dreamed about this moment since I was seven years old, and it was finally here. Of course, when I'd pictured it back then, I never stopped to think about the fact that my father would be dead, my best friend would be dead, and my mother in prison, but of course, I was much too young to imagine such things.

Feeling the granite countertop with my fingertips, I admire it's smoothness and pick up my phone to call Krystine. If there's one thing that hasn't changed, it's my phone. Krystine and I never fully recovered after my last birthday, but we're slowly getting there. Things are awkward at times, but it's no reason to abandon what was a perfectly good friendship. My shattered screen was getting hard to see through, but the thought of getting a new phone isn't very appealing. I like this one just fine. Punching Krystine's number into my phone, I place it next to my ear as I wait for her to answer. While it rings, I walk around my kitchen and imagine where I'm going to hang all of my pictures and decorations I bought last week.

Evan turned out to be very good at interior decorating, and he's going to be coming over next week to help me set everything up. I'm sure we'll have fun, just like we did when we set up his house three months ago. "Hello?" Krystine answers, sounding like she had just taken a bite of food.

"Are you at your new place yet? Is it big? What's it like? What colors are the-" I cut her off with a laugh. "Yeah, I've been here for about an hour. It's nice, nicer than my old house, that's for sure. It's pretty big, I got a dog for company-" this time it's me who's cut off.

"A dog?! What does it look like? Is it cute? Can I come over and see it?" Krystine asks, her voice getting louder and louder with each question. "He's big and fluffy, his name is Carson, and yes, he's very cute," I laugh, looking down at my massive dog as I speak. "Carson? What kind of dog name is that?" Krystine scoffs. I can almost see her rolling her eyes. "It's the name he had at the humane society. I don't know, he listens to it though so there's no point in changing it."

"I suppose. I'm coming over to see him. See you soon!" She says before hanging up on me. "Come on, Carson, let's eat," I tell the dog, setting my phone on the counter and digging around in my newly stocked pantry. The only thing that looks appealing are two cans of chicken and wild rice soup (the Progresso kind), so I take them out and dump them into a pot to heat up. It only takes about two minutes.

Dumping half the soup in Carson's food bowl and the other half in one of my bowls, I take the food to the living room and sit on the floor, watching Carson spill his everywhere as he eats it. "Messy dog," I laugh, eating my own soup much cleaner. A knock on my door catches my attention, and when I look through the glass window, I see an unfamiliar man standing on my doorstep.

"Hello?" I say when the door swings open. "Greetings. Is there a Miss Karev Grey here today?" The man asks. "That's me," I laugh. "How can I help you?" He smiles at me and pulls a paper out of his pocket. "I'm Callum Winston, and I work for Rosewood Hospital. We were cleaning the patient rooms and I found this in a crack on the floor. It appears to have been hidden there, and not found until now. It's addressed to you," he says, handing me the note. "Oh, well, thanks," I answer, examining the paper in my hand. It's folded, so I can't see what's written on it, but I'm anxious to find out.

The man leaves and I take the paper back up to the living room. "Alright Carson, let's read this thing!" I exclaim. Opening the paper, I see that it's a note.

Karev,

If you're reading this paper, then I died (sad) before getting to say goodbye. I know you lived, of course. They told me three minutes ago that you made it past the part of the surgery where everyone died before, so that must mean you're okay. I love the poster, by the way!! I just wanted you to know that I'm really happy I ran into you that day at camp. I don't regret being your friend, even though you and disasters are kind of a package deal lol. Just don't forget that you're so much more than the drug dealer's kid. You're an amazing person and I have no doubt that you'll go somewhere in life. Thank you for making my life more interesting! -Andrew

When I finish reading the note, I smile, feeling happier than I've felt in a long time. He knew he was going to die, but he still wrote me something before he did. That's incredibly special to me. I felt the weight of his death lifted from my shoulders. "Thank you Andrew," I whisper, looking up at the ceiling. "You made my life more interesting, too."

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For your information, Krys and Karev were going to lose contact completely. I kept them friends for YOU. I cried when I wrote the last sentence because I was done with it :(( I'm proud of myself but utterly depressed at the same time. I hope you guys liked this story!! Like I said in my intro, this was a book I was actually going to finish, and I did it! I suffered writer's block so many times through this, nearly cut characters out, had a completely different ending at multiple points (one where Karev died too, one where Andrew was an annoying piece of poop who ended up becoming a completely different person, and so many more) but here it is. I have a printed copy of the published book and I'm so happy for it!! I changed as a person throughout the writing of this book. Looking back, it's so funny how I started this thing as a shy lil Adriana with no life goals other than not being broke and not being ugly and now I'm a wayyy more confident person (to the dismay of others), I have a job and I'm not broke, I made more friends, still ugly but trying my best, and I've grown as a writer!! I couldn't imagine it back then but I have GOALS NOW. Secret ones that nobody thinks I'll achieve but goals nonetheless. 

Thanks to those who stuck with me for the year and many months that it took me to finish this. I'll thank you forever <3

Love, Adriana Danielle Kelly

(the love is felt better with my full name don't judge my decisions)