To love you | Malum

Epilogue

Calum + Epilogue

Michael looked beautiful. I couldn't call him handsome, at least not in this context, because he was more than that. He was extraordinary. I had to remind him of that, and it brought a smile onto his face. In fact, it never really went away.

We were sitting on a couch inside of a rental apartment — one that I had been saving up for. I needed to get Michael out of that crowded house, that way Daryl could find some place nice and won't have to worry about the hassle of a kid. Michael had his foot kicked up on the ottoman. He had his neck on top of the cushion, practically hanging over the ledge of the couch. His cheeks were red, and he couldn't stop smiling. "This place is. . nice. I mean, it's great — amazing, it's definitely amazing. Thank you." He bit down on his lip and laughed. "I can't believe you want me to move in with you. Don't you think it might be too soon?"

I looked over towards the television. It was just sitting in the corner awkwardly, surrounded by paintings that have yet to be hung, and miscellaneous wires that just turn this place upside down for the worse, rather than for the better. "I don't think it's too soon."

I rubbed my thumb against the edge of his hand, trailing it along his fingers, eventually reaching the point where I could interlace my fingers with his. He looked down, still red, but a little less than he was before. Michael leaned forward and pressed his forehead against mine, squeezing my hand. "I'll have to think about it. I promise you, I will. Okay?"

I nodded, suddenly feeling very anxious and overwhelmed. He wouldn't say yes to moving in with me. Things were going too fast. I didn't know what I was thinking.

Michael could tell I was stressing. He brought some distance between us, and leaned against the cushion, still gripping onto my hand. "Hey. I have something for us to do. . something special. You won't regret saying yes." He stood up, not having to hold onto anything for balance. He's gotten a lot better at that. He pulled me up, then pressed a random kiss to my cheek. "We're going to meet up with Ashley! Apparently, Lux has decided that she wants us to be in her life. I'm so excited, Calum. Really."

I looked down at our hands, then let go. I felt the sudden urge to kiss my knuckles. I knew I was picking up a bad habit again, but I couldn't help it. "She's ready to see you again?"

He nodded, then put his hand over my knuckle. "Yeah. She's ready. And hey, there's no need to be anxious. I've got you."

I smiled at him, feeling calmer already. He had a huge impact on me without even realizing it. That's one of the many things I love about him. "Okay, but before we go, I have something we need to do first. Something I've been planning since you got in that dammed thing." I pointed down at his walking boot, and he understood immediately, eyes filling with curiosity.

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere special," I mumbled, putting an emphasis on the word purposely.

-

I had Michael blindfolded the entire time. He was afraid, and kept holding his arms out in fear that he'd crash into something, but I had a tight grip on him. The smile on his face was evident, and I could tell that he was both eager and anxious. I didn't want to hold him off any longer, so I took off his blindfold, revealing what I had been working on for weeks.

He looked around, walking to certain areas while tapping his chin. He didn't seem to understand where we were, until it hit him. "String lights, styrofoam, appetizers, music. . oh my god, you didn't." He held his hand up to his cheeks, then moved them down to cover his mouth. "You recreated the Snowball Dance? For. . For me?"

I nodded, pulling out my phone from my pocket. I scrolled through my Spotify playlist, then clicked on the first song, it immediately connecting to the speakers. "We danced that night. I remember. You looked so nice, and. . you were all sweaty and nervous, and I was too. . and, even though we danced by spinning around in your wheelchair, you didn't really get the experience that you had been dreaming of. At least, not enough of it. You left halfway through, and I want you to experience it in a better way, though this time. . without any sadness involved."

Michael smiled, shying away from all of this. "It was enough."

"No. . No, Michael. It wasn't." I closed my eyes, then opened them back up. I moved closer to him, and laced our hands together. "Dance with me."

He stepped back while I stepped forward, and we danced like we were in a ballroom for what felt like hours, even if it was only a couple of minutes. "The tattoo on my wrist. . ," I mumbled, breathing him in now more than I ever have before, "it's your heartbeat. I know you know that. . but I want you to know that this means a lot to me. It means a lot to me that you're alive because you're the only thing that matters to me in this world, and I never want to be without you."

Our bodies hovered close to one another, and he eventually laid his head down on my shoulder. "Hey Calum?"

"Yeah?"

"I'll move in with you." Michael's voice shook a bit as he said that, and for a moment, he seemed confused by his own words.

I pressed my hand against his waist, moving my face slightly away to look him in the eye. "You sure?"

He nodded, bringing his head back to my shoulder, our bodies still swaying side to side. "I'm sure. There's nowhere I'd rather be than with you."

This time, I was the one who couldn't stop smiling. We danced for a while longer, until I decided to make him aware of part two. "There's more to this than just the. . Snowball Dance. But it's outside, and you can't really have sweaty hands because it makes it harder to score." I pulled away, latching a strong grip on our hands, and pulling him out on the ramp, his leg walking much faster than it should've been. "The first day in gym class, I helped you shoot a basketball hoop." I walked toward the benches, grabbing a dark brown basketball. "It was this one. You scored, and I cheered you on."

I handed Michael the ball, and nervously, he jumped, scoring once again. I cheered him on, then pulled him once more to our final destination. "The field." I felt like I was out of breath from thinking about what we were going to do next. "He wouldn't excuse you from running, so I ran while pushing you, and I probably could've killed you, but I didn't, so. . ." I could feel my cheeks heating up. "I want you to know that I'm never going to forget our first moments together. And I want to create more."

Michael leaned down, tightened the strap on his boot, and began to jog. I was surprised to see that he was able to do this, but I knew he had been through a lot of trainings and his bones were probably healed. "Better catch me if you can!"

He started to run, and I laughed, louder than I have in a while. I began to chase after him, feeling exhilaration flowing through my veins.

I eventually caught up to him and grabbed onto his shoulder, causing him to fall. I fell too, my body hovering over his almost completely, our lips inches away from each other. I looked into his eyes, feeling a sense of comfort that I never felt with anybody before. "Please, Michael, never stop loving me."

He smiled, leaning in and pressing his lips against mine. "I don't plan on it."

And I knew he meant it, because he always did, and he always loved me, and I will always love him.

----- B O O K    O V E R

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Thanks so much for reading!

This book was an incredible experience for me when it came to writing it. It's really the only book I'm proud of and I hope that reflects in these chapters. This one was kind of sloppy, but I needed to end this book now rather than never do so.

I love you all. Thank you again. Hope you enjoyed reading To Love You.