𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐭

epilogue

[i recommend listening to
'tomorrow' by 'bensound']
—play on repeat—

dear my river,
knowing someone for such a short amount of time yet coming to love them so easily, is the worst part. it's the uncertainty of the memories we could share and the certainty you'd be in my life for the long run.
it's the kind of pain which never really seems to leave.

it's not even the worst right now. when it's really going to hurt, is when i go to ring you and realise that's no longer possible. it's when i want you and took you for granted, that it's really going to hit, because getting used to someone's presence is so dangerous.

you never quite know when they'll be stripped from you and it's all the more painful when it happens.

but i shouldn't focus on the negatives. river, you taught me to trust, believe and have faith in people again; but most importantly love again. i fell so in love with you to the point it scared me more than i'd like to admit it.
so i didn't.

i never got the chance to tell you how i loved, adored and admired you. and i never will.

but above all, i loved you despite the bad.
caleb always told me, "you like someone because and you love someone despite..." and that's what i did. i liked you because you were kind and protective and i loved..no, i love you despite you being too selfless—enough for you to lose your life.

but i'll wait for our next life together, or the one after that, or whenever we make it back to each other, because i have no doubt that we will.

river, you were the kindest soul and i hope you know just how much you changed me for the better.

my love, when i say you'll be missed, i mean i'll ache for another moment with you until the end of time. but i promise i'll live this life for us,
for you.

it has been my privilege to know you and it's such a tragedy that no one new will get to meet and cherish you the way you deserved.

river, you consumed me in a love so grand i didn't realise what had hit me until it was too late. however, i will never stop loving you.

in another life we'll be unbroken and unbreakable.

— with respect and undying love

hunter.

_____

3 years later

kai recovered almost perfectly, not including the large scar which now sits on his lower stomach.

jayden took care of him all the way through his recovery and they seemed to bloom into something more.

as for hunter, she made it out of new york.
she now lives in san francisco for a different city lifestyle.

she opened a little diner on top of an overhang named 'vee's' and it's a pizza place.

she always wanted a little restaurant in a secluded place where she could get a steady income and work properly for her money.

seeing jayden and kai as often as possible, she knows they're both doing good and are finally happy together. they even moved in with each other during this past year.

also visiting new york to see the pair, she gets to go to river's grave on the overlook; where she refreshes flowers for him.

hunter's not really ready to find anyone at the moment, she's living for herself and river too.

just like she promised.

that last heist changed her life for the better and the worse.

she's learnt things that were once unimaginable.

and to thank, she has river who made her broken-self empowered and
more evolved.

because after all,
the broken are more evolved.

—

<3