drag me down | grayson dolan

【epilogue】

may 6th, 1996

"Mommy." The soft sound of my daughter's voice calls out to me. "Mommy, wake up." She giggles while tapping on my shoulder.

My eyes flutter open, looking at the gorgeous little girl in front of me. She is absolutely breathtaking, and I'm so lucky to call her mine.

Her dark brown hair is shoulder length, with bangs hanging over her forehead. Her bright blue eyes are striking, the most beautiful shade of blue I have ever seen. Her smile is wide as she climbs into my bed.

"Happy birthday!" She giggles while clapping her hands together.

"Thank you, Gray." I lean up and place a kiss on her forehead.

Grace Anne Dolan was born on May 15th, 1992. I fell in love with her the second she was placed into my arms. It was the perfect birthday gift to myself, having a daughter with a birthday so close to mine. Even though Grayson and I aren't married yet, I still gave her his last name.

Duke was with me every step of the way, and he still is. I moved into a larger apartment, still located in Los Angeles. Duke also lives in my complex, right above me. He still works for the LAPD, which makes me proud. He worked his way to the head of the department, and eventually took Angelo's position once he quit. Duke offered me my job back, but for now I declined it. I wanted to dedicate all of my time into raising my daughter. I've been a stay at home mom for the past four years, and I don't regret one tiny bit of it.

"Mine is next." My daughter chuckles while laying on top of me.

"You're going to be four, Gray. You're a big girl now." I laugh while poking her cheeks. I thought it was appropriate to nickname her Gray, which is what she loves to be called. It reminds her of her father.

Even though Duke has been around her whole life, she knows that Grayson is her father. I talk about him everyday and show her multiple polaroids and photographs of him. She talks about him constantly, and is always excited to learn new things. I told her that he needed to be away for some time, but that she'll meet him soon.

"Do you know how old I am?" I tease her.

"Two nine." She says.

"Yup, twenty nine. That's old." I laugh, knowing it wasn't accurate.

"Will daddy be here for my birthday?" Her blue eyes light up with hope.

"I don't know, baby." I whisper while playing with her hair.

"It's next week." She states.

"I know, but daddy needs some more time." I sigh while looking up at her.

I haven't seen my fiancé in years. In fact, I haven't seen him since that day. I kept my word and made sure our precious angel was nowhere near that prison.

"Can we have pancakes for your birthday?" She giggles again.

"Yes." I say while sitting up. Grace jumps off my bed and runs toward the door.

"Where's Uncle Duke? Is he coming over?" She asks while turning back to me.

I rise to my feet and exit my bedroom, following her into our kitchen. "Yes, I'm shocked he isn't here right now." I let out a laugh.

"He's always here." My daughter pouts.

"He'll be here, don't worry." I nod my head.

Turning on the television that is hanging on the wall, I scroll through the channels to put on some cartoons for her to watch. As I'm flipping through, I catch a glimpse of the news.