A Deadly Affair

Epilogue

The air conditioning beats down on my sweaty skin as the President of the University calls the names ahead of me. My last name is right in the middle of the rest of my class, so I've had just enough time to be nervous and commence the biggest freak out of my life- who knew I would be held hostage, witness what I thought was the murder of one of my friends, the almost murder of the love of my life, and still manage to be scared of walking across a graduation stage. All the late night studying, all the stress, all the clincals, and the boring lessons have made me fully ready to be done with this chapter of my life: but I'm still scared I'll trip in the high heels Maya forced me to wear; apparently, the dress I'm wearing only looks good with heels. I narrow my eyes at her, but way up on the balcony, she thinks I'm merely smiling and waves like a maniac. My eyes travel to her left where Charlie sits with Liam perched on her lap, waving as wildly as Maya. He was so excited to be coming to my graduation, even when Charlie explained how quiet he'd have to be; based on the anxiety written on drew's face, I doubt Liam's handling his excitement well. I grin as my eyes travel back to Maya who squeezes Ben's arm, then leans over to speak to Josh who frowns as she interrupts his conversation with Ryan. Ryan's eyes meet mine, and even from all the way down here I feel my heart leap with the attention; we share a smile before he's brought back into the conversation with our friends. 

It's so amazing how well we all get along- whether that's compatibility or shared life threatening situations, it's not like Maya and Josh are my friends anymore, and Ben's his; we're all like some high school clique, I prefer to view us as a chosen family. Even from here, I feel my love for all of them; until they all turn to me, grinning and I know they probably just placed bets on if I would trip or not. I grimace, looking away from their smirks, to see my parents grinning proudly at me. They're college boosters, so they automatically got to come to graduation, which let me give extra tickets to Ben and Josh, and also gave them ground floor seats. Mom snaps a picture of me, and I laugh quietly as Dad pats her back, while she tries to secretly wipe away tears; as if she thought this day would never come. How close was that to true? Thankfully, my family is clueless as to what I've been through, and I want to keep it that way. Since Chris's death, the gang is disbanded, and we haven't had any near death experiences, so no need for my family to ever know.

"Julie Anne Montgomery." My stomach feels like it's on the verge of exploding from the nerves flying around: but I swallow my anxiety, carefully crossing the stage as sporadic cheers erupt for me. I smile at my Mom who snaps a picture before returning to wiping her tears; while Dad smiles like a proud Papa bear. I turn, gripping my degree in my hand and sending a grin upward, meeting their standing ovation, and grins. My heart grows a size from all the love I have for each of them. As I return to my seat while they continue with the ceremony, I realize I've ever been this happy. I say a silent grateful prayer, and a request for it to always be this way.

"Auntie Jules!" Liam shouts as he comes flying from the sea of people posing for pictures in the courtyard. I grin, opening my arms as he flies into them, and squeezes my neck, pulling my hair too but I manage not to yelp. "Congratulations." He tells me, stumbling over the word, causing me to kiss his cheek.

"Thanks, kiddo." I ruffle his hair, as Charlie hugs my neck, followed by Drew.

"Congrats, JJ." Charlie winks, and I send her a mock glare at my detested childhood nickname before elbowing her playfully. I look around, finding my friends almost a football length away, all searching for me, making me grin.

"They couldn't keep up with you, could they?" I ask Liam, who grins showing off his missing front tooth, and shaking his head.

"Nope! I'll get them!" He announces, before darting away, thankfully in a path we can all still see him. Charlie takes my hand In hers, placing it on her stomach; earning a weirded out look from me, before I notice her and Drew's matching grins, and it clicks.