The Hierarchy

Epilogue

"Why are you putting that there?!" I yell in frustration and tug at my hair.

"This is where you told me to put it!"

I scrunch up my face. "You know thats not where I told you to put it. Put it where it belongs."

Liam groans and moves the couch the the place I said to put it the first time.

I roll my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. "I don't know what I did to deserve this." I mumble.

I finally graduated from college. Yep, college. College graduate standing in the very city of Los Angels. Okay, well I've been in Los Angeles for four years now and it hasn't changed much but...I graduated so that's different. Valerie and I legally started our business and already have seven customized orders. It seems so surreal. We decided we wanted to do this when we were eighteen, standing in my bedroom, watching a bunch of other eighteen-year-old girls talk about our designs before our senior project. We thought we were just dreaming big.

Ha, yeah right.

I'm currently modeling for three different agencies but officially signing over to one in the fall. Best pay and contract. My grandparents said they were proud of me. Like I need their approval. I mean, it was much appreciated, but still.

Vitoria and Viola are both the cutest little ballerinas at four years old. Mom and dad are still running their dance business and doing a wonderful job doing so. They opened seventeen more schools on the west coast and ask me to check up on them every now and then. I hate being all the way across the country but my work is here. My mom moved around a lot before finding the right place to stay. I know she understands but I want to see my family. Lorenzo is already sixteen and has a girlfriend. Angelo is twelve and starting Jr. High this fall and little Leo isn't little anymore. He's ten and going into fifth grade. I'm not saying he hasn't departed from Herbie or anything but still.

Liam is playing for the 49ers next year as quarter back. UCLA gave him a scholarship for quarterback even though he was a running back. They said he would do better there which he did. Led them to national championships four years running. He wanted to stay close to me as ridiculous as that sounds.

Mackenzie never left New York. My mom told me she's working upstate at the famous Annie's diner. Pretty sad, if I do say so myself. Like I said, high school doesn't and won't matter after you graduate. Even before then it doesn't matter.

Liam and I are currently moving into our first little house together. I lived in the dorms while I was still in college. Val and I were roommates and Liam and Ricky, Valerie's fiancé, shared a small apartment just outside of campus. They were both on the football team so they had convenient schedules and now are really good friends.

"I can hear you Reece. I'm not deaf."

"Oh, I know you're not babe." I say unpacking picture frames from a box. "I just thought you should know."

"Come open this box instead. Lets stick to one room at a time." he tells me and points to the box labeled Liam and Reece's New Living Room.

Yeah we labeled everything Liam and Reece's new blank. It was cute. Now it's kind of cringey. Whatever.

I sit on the floor next to him pulling my mess of hair into a ponytail and blowing the other strands out of my face. It's so hot in LA. I open up the box and look and realize it's empty.

"Did you just first to pack this box?" I ask looking up at him.

He grins. "No there's something in there."

"Liam there's nothing." I look in it again and see a small box. "You wasted all of this space for a small box? What's in here anyway?You're so stupid."

I open the box and see a small diamond ring. I scrunch up my nose and look up at him. "Who's is this?"

His face drops and he slaps himself in the face before dragging a hand through his hair. "You so lucky you're pretty sometimes."

I look at it again and reality hits me. I start shaking my head. "Nope. Uh nope. There is no way you're doing this." I stand up and hand him the box.

"I'm doing it Reece."

"No you can't do this in our unpacked/unfinished house  when I look like hell." i say pacing back and forth.

"Stop pacing and stand here." he tells me stopping me from moving around. He lowers himself on one knee.

"Five years ago, your life was a train wreck."

"That's a horrible way to start off an engagement Liam," I inform him.

"Shut up In trying to be sentimental," he mutters and I laugh. "You we're getting over a breakup with a jerk and your best friend. So I became a bigger jerk and somehow made it better. So now I want to spend the rest of my life with you. We don't have to get married next year or the next two years if you don't want to. But when you want to, I want you to know I'm here. The whole ride peanut, i'm here."

"So Caprice Hunters-Valentine, do you what to add another name to that long name of yours and marry me?" he asks.

I can't stop my self from crying so I nod and hand him my left hand as he slips the ring onto my finger and lifts me up into a kiss.  "I love you so much, idiot."

"Me too peanut. Me, too"