Double Take [Sequel to Bound]

52. All In All

Most likely one more chapter + an epilogue OR just the epilogue left. . . Unsure as of right now.

Enjoy while you can, folks! ;-)

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Chapter 52—All In All

Leah's POV:

I had never seen Dylan cry before.

The sight of the tears running down his face and nose slightly red would have been absolutely heartbreaking—if he was crying due to heartbreak. But these tears that stained his cheeks were of tears of absolute happiness and utter relief—of gratefulness that was so overwhelming for him that he could not help but show it in the tears that poured out of his eyes. And the sight of him just made me tear up even more than I already was.

Riley was unbelievable, miraculously, thankfully free of cancer. When Dylan had told me a few months ago that her condition had deteriorated, he had failed to mention that the doctors had started slightly more aggressive treatments. Apparently he didn't want to get his or my hopes up in case it didn't work out. But the doctors had pulled out all the stops—treating Riley with all sorts of medication but also making sure it wasn't too much for someone of her age to handle. Now, I wasn't to privy on all that happened or had any knowledge of the medical crafts that occurred, but all I knew is that Riley was okay. She was alright, and that's all that mattered. I wasn't going to question it, I wasn't going to ask how or when—I was just going to embrace it with Dylan.

When I had gotten Dylan's call about the news, which happened to be a FaceTime call which showed me the surprising sight of his tears, I was in the middle of a meeting with Klara and our managing team, going over last minute details about the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and other events we had lining up—which happened to be a lot. The second I had hung up with Dylan, I excused myself from the meeting, and practically ran out, promising Klara I'd have Lenny drive back over to pick her up from the rest of the meeting. A bit unprofessional of me, to run out like that, but that was the furthest thing from my mind at the moment.

Once I had reached the hospital, I made my way down the familiar path to where I knew Riley's room was, feeling my heart pounding in my ears once I reached the open doorway. Upon entering, I saw most of her stuff was taken down—the cute decorations and drawings on the walls, her toys scattered around the room along with picture frames. A couple of cardboard boxes were on the floor, filled with those items, with Riley sitting on the bed with a smile on her face and her dark hair starting to already grow in.

"Ready to go home?" I greeted as I entered the room, catching Riley's attention as she looked at me with a toothy grin, nodding happily as I caught sight of Dylan from my peripheral. He was stacking the boxed, flannel rolled up to his elbows as he stood straight at the sight of me, no longer looking like he had just been crying the happiest tears a person could.

"Extremely ready," the young girl replied, her skinny legs swinging off the edge of the high bed. "I'm so excited," she added, waving her hands around, effectively twinkling around the silver bracelet around her wrist that I had given her.

My smile widened as I sat next to her, arms wrapping around her smaller frame as I gave her a hug, feeling her arms around me as she returned it. "I'm so happy and proud of you, Riley. I knew you could beat this, love," I added, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before pulling back to grin down at her.

Riley grinned up at me, eyes sparkling happily as she returned, "Thanks, Leah."

Dylan then approached us, standing in front of us and effectively towering both Riley and I's frames as I glanced at him and asked, "Where's Emily?"