Bad Luck [Brallon]

Epilogue

[i don't want to finish this I have to stay strong
ALSO THOSE BAND FIC AWARDS you can vote as many times as you want hmu @ the overall band fiction section for this book & all other bands for Paper Hearts (loml) I'll love you forever

Also I'm so sorry for this]

We broke up.

4 years into a long distance relationship, almost 5, we mutually called it quits. Brendon had been aching to work towards medical school, I'd finished college and I didn't even think about looking back. We'd gradually lost the time to spend together, the first year we'd been together had been nothing like the last. Nightly calls turned to every other day to weekly, sometimes even monthly around finals for him. Even if we did still text constantly, it just wasn't the same as we'd hoped it was. I went out and did whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, and our schedules clashed. Texting and normal phone calls ceased. We broke up. Not because we didn't love each other, but it just wasn't working like we wanted. I still kept the promise ring, he still kept his, and we both went down our own separate paths.

The thing was, even after splitting almost 6 years ago, I still recognized him sitting by the diner window, I still felt the butterflies in my stomach and the cherry vanilla taste in my mouth, I could almost feel his hand in mine again.

The other thing was, he still recognized me. He still knew which drink to order and to have ketchup on the side with a plate of fries. He still remembered what I did before we split.

But Brendon looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept in weeks, months even. The fading nurse scrubs almost hanging off his thin frame were stained with junk food to no end, and the dark bags under his eyes rivaled the same shade as the various bruises running up and down his arms.

We'd been talking for a bit, catching up. He'd told me about how he slowly downgraded from occupation to occupation until he settled for an ER nurse at the hospital a few miles away. I'd been searching for apartments in the area after I got bored with the previous town, and we just happened to bump into each other. God bless the universe, fate, whoever the hell put us in the same spot at the same time.

"I burnt myself out," Brendon confessed, quietly as if he was ashamed for working so hard to end up unhappy and overworked, "I wasted so much time doing something that drains me on a daily basis. I can barely get to sleep at night and drag myself out of bed if I'm not called in for a shift."

I had to admit, I'd felt awful. The last time I'd saw him, the symptoms were only just beginning to show and I hadn't thought much about them. I just assumed he was tired and let him take a nap on Skype while I searched for first class tickets for a flight to Hawaii. "What're you going to do then?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I don't have anything else to do. I don't talk to my parents anymore, the few friends I do have are off succeeding, and I haven't been in a relationship for almost 6 years."

That made me think. I'd gotten an invitation to a wedding from Tyler and Josh. Pete and Patrick had both ironically slowed down and spent most of their time together with kids wherever they could find them - babysitting, foster care, whatever. Pete had also found a way to keep his kleptomaniac tendencies under control, which was news to everyone when the Patrick told us (he also said the kids were constantly fascinated by their tattoos, which we all found to be the cutest thing). I'd met my parents for dinner last week, and I'd made a couple friends just traveling to states over and the supermarket. My life was actually going pretty well for once.

But as for relationships, I hadn't been in one since. It was a little comforting to know he hadn't moved on in record time like I had expected. Yet it was disheartening to know too.

"It just... really sucks, you know?" Brendon sighed heavily and dropped a fry on to the tray without making a move to pick it up or take another. "I went on to do great things, people knew who I was, I had it all for a little bit. Now I feel like I got stepped on and crunched in some dirt and left to die. I see people all around me with their soulmates and whatnot, and all I really have is the hedge in my backyard I clipped into a tiny dinosaur when I was bored. His name is Herb McLeafDick."

"Herb McLeafDick?"

"I told you I was bored. My neighbor suggested Herb. The McLeafDick atrocity was my own fault. And I made a commitment to his name, and I am not revoking it. He has to live with it."

He sounded like a mess. I was too, but he seemed worse off than I was. We both needed someone to glue us back together.

"Well, I mean... if you'd ever like to... maybe try again, I wouldn't be opposed to it." I knew it was a long shot, but I'd heard numerous times when we were still together and had gotten those few days with each other in our city, that those times would be the happiest he'd ever be. And we hadn't even fought when we broke up, just lost time.

Brendon's face nearly lit up, a complete flip from seconds before. "Like, as a couple again? Dating?"

It was my turn to shrug then. "I do need a date to a wedding. You can be my 'plus a friend', but we'll be more than friends. It'll be our little secret."

He smiled, a genuine one. "Count me in."

I always told myself in our long ass long distance relationship everything would turn out okay, that the story had a happy ending and it would be worth it to get there.

And the second his lips met mine again I knew I wouldn't have had the story be told any other way, bad luck and all.

This is enough space right it's the next page I think

You've probably guessed by now that this story is over. Honestly I'm kinda sad about it. This was the third book I've ever really written (Paper Hearts was the first, 10 Days was the second) and I couldn't have asked for it to turn out as well as it did. I'm frankly very glad I published it instead of keeping it hidden away because I was nervous about the cheating scenes I'd written. Intense. I told y'all.

And now that takes me to the OTHER stories I have out/will have out soon. ;))))))))))

After this I have a possibly short (idk I'm 30 chapters in rn is that short???) texting/kik whatever those things are. It's kinda lame but it's got a semi legitimate plot instead of just unfiltered madness. It's kinda like How I Met Your Mother except for the ending is different because I hated the ending to that episode and I cried. Also, if it goes well and how I'd like it to, Paper Hearts will have a sequel. Maybe. It's difficult to write but I'll try.

I've got a couple other drafts too but idk if those will survive tbh maybe 2/10 will? I have some funky spy/detective thing but I'm stuck on a chapter because I want some other villain to pop up in a certain place for a certain plot point to happen but the way I keep writing it doesn't allow that to happen as smoothly as I want it to. I struggle.

It's fine it's fine.

But ;)))) check out ;)))))) the other ;)))))) shit I have ;))))))))) written ;)))))))))))) they're all on my profile ;)))))))))))))))))))