The IV League [EDITING]

Epilogue

10 years later.

"Bye, honey. Mommy will miss you."

"Come back soon, please."

Vivian kissed her daughter's forehead. "I'll be home before you know it."

She turned to her husband. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

He smiled. "I can handle a cranky five year old."

She gave him a quick peck. "Bye, babe."

"Have fun at the wedding!"

Vivian was happy with where she was.  She's gone to college, found the perfect man, got a high profile job with one of the top law firms in the country, and had a beautiful daughter, all before she was 28. Most importantly, she hadn't touched a bottle of alcohol in 10  years.

Life had been good to her.

She wondered if it had been good to everyone else. They'd all lost touch somewhere along the way. Everyone had gone off to college and had moved on with their lives. But, she was going back there. She was going to see them again. And this time, she was looking forward to it.

***

Being back in his old room brought back so many memories. All those nights of crying, his first kiss, losing his virginity, pillow fights with his best friend; all of it came flooding back to him. He missed this place, but he was glad he wasn't in it anymore.

Carter managed to turn his life around. He recovered, and left Riverview when he was seventeen. His mother got out about five years later. He finally patched things up with her. They'd occasionally fight and bring back bitter memories, but they'd always apologize in the end. They were, after all, family.

He walked to the reception waiting for everyone else. He wondered how they all were. He knew Vivian was doing great, since her success was all over the front page. He knew Joey was fine as well since they'd stayed in touch. It was her he was curious about.

Morgan and Carter had broken up a few months after they'd both been discharged, because the long distance thing wasn't working. He'd last seen her before she went off to college. They texted each other once in a while, but he hadn't spoken to her in over a year now. He just hoped he'd see her at the wedding.

***

Joey smoothened his hair and straightened his bowtie. He checked for any food stuck in his teeth. He quickly gargled a cup of mouthwash to get rid of the bad breath. He was nervous. It was his big day. He was finally getting married to the love of his life.

Joey considered himself one of the lucky ones. He went to college, got a degree, and became an elementary school teacher. When he was twenty-five, he got a new heart. He could finally live a normal life.

It seemed fitting to have the wedding in the hospital. It was where it all started. And he was going to see his friends again. It was a good day.

Sarah knocked on his door. "It's time. Do you have the ring?"

He tapped his pocket. "It's here."

"Good. Let's go."

Being the diva he is, Joey had insisted on being the one to walk the aisle. As the wedding music started playing, everyone stood up. His breath hitched when he saw the groom. Kennedy was beautiful. Joey was the luckiest man alive.

The minister began the ceremony, saying everything he had to. The two men said their vows and slipped on their wedding bands.

"Do you, Kennedy Gibson, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"And do you, Joseph Summers, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may kiss the groom."

Joey threw his arms around Kennedy and kissed him as the audience cheered. He was over the moon. They'd made their relationship work for ten years, and they were going to that till the end of their lives.

***

Morgan leaned against the ledge and looked at the wall in front of her. Their graffiti was still there. No one had the heart to get rid of it. She didn't have the heart to let go either.

Morgan had been clean for ten years. Once in a while, she'd have an anxiety attack, but she'd learned to keep it under control. She was in a much better place now. She loved her job, she loved her boyfriend, she loved her dog. They were the only things that mattered to her.

"Thought I'd find you up here."

She turned to see Carter walking toward her.

"Hey."

"It's still here."

"Yeah. They painted the whole building but left that wall."

"I wonder why."

"How are you, Carter?"

"I'm pretty great. I'm currently working on my thesis for my PhD. How about you?"

"I got a dog. A corgi. He's a moron but I love him."

"That's great."

"I'm sorry we lost touch."

"It's not your fault. We weren't going to last forever anyway. It's fine."

"Hey, you guys are missing the party!"

Vivian and Joey sat down on either side of Carter. "What're you all doing up here?"

"Reminiscing," said Carter. "By the way, Joey, I'm still upset you didn't ask me to be the best man."

"I'm sorry bro, but Sarah insisted she deserved it for putting up with our shit."

"That's true though."

Vivian studied the wall in front of them.

"Why do I get the feeling she's here with us, mocking us?"

Morgan chuckled. "She probably is."

"I bet she's judging our adult versions for being incredibly boring," said Joey.

"Nah," said Carter, "she'd be proud of us. We've all come a really long way. I think we should be proud of ourselves as well."

He was right. They'd all made it through the darkest days of their lives only to come back stronger. They'd fought and they'd fought and they'd won.

The IV League got their happy ending. And they damn well deserved it.

Author's Note

And that brings us to the end. I still can't process it. This book has been one hell of a ride. From almost abandoning on multiple occasions, I managed to finish it, and I'm proud of that. There are still a lot of things I'm not too happy with, but overall, I'm satisfied with this novel.

I'd just like to add that I wouldn't be able to finish this book if it weren't for every vote and comment motivating me to write more. It's hit 5k reads and over 500 votes, and that's a HUGE deal for me. It's all because of all you that I had the heart to write the entire thing. So, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, really.

So, what next? Well, first I will be editing this book. I'll mainly work on grammar related errors, but I will change a few plot related details if absolutely necessary. I'm working on a few other projects as well, but I won't upload anything until I've written at least 3/4th of it, as I've learnt from my past mistakes. You can follow me to know when I'll upload next.

Please, for one last time, vote for this part! It is the last part, after all.

And don't forget to comment nice things! I love reading what you all have to say.

Have a great day! And thank you all.

Signing off,
Diyu xx