Hit Me Up // Jack Avery • Why Dont We

epilogue

JACK AVERY'S POV

I arrived at Val's aunt's doorstep a little over eight in the morning and I was completely covered in sweat. I was nervous as hell and drenched enough that Val almost believed me when I told her I ran all the way from the airport.

I wore my eyeglasses because I didn't have enough time to put my contacts on and in the end Val loved it so I decided to keep it like that.

I met Val's mother for the first time and she was nice enough. She didn't take me in her arms and tell me to make her grandchildren but she seemed like she was okay with me dating her daughter.

Her father was great; he seemed genuinely happy to see me. I was as stiff as a statue when I arrived but he patted me on the shoulder and asked how I was and Val's smile was so wide it reached her ears and I was automatically a goner.

Mr. Jenkins's girlfriend (who's name is Audrey) and Val's aunt (who insisted I called her Helen) was way too welcoming; her fiancé too. Val's aunt pinched me on both my cheeks and called me adorable. She thanked me profusely for my baby shower gifts and forced me to eat four large cookies that Mr. Jenkins's girlfriend made.

I spent the remainder of the day answering questions about how Val and I met and things like that. Overall it was just nice to know that Val's family didn't disapprove of us.

My mom and sisters already love her, my father too, and they haven't even met her, so whenever Helen asks me a question or whenever Mr. Jenkins looks like he's listening in, and especially when Val's mother laughed at one of my jokes; I felt more complete somehow.

Dylan arrived shortly after lunch with her boyfriend in tow. He was good-looking enough and taller than me. He kinda reminded me of Jonah in a way, which was a little weird to say the least.

Dylan then proceeds to dragged us out of the house but not without eating all the remaining cookies first.

We drove all the way to Oakdale and the car ride was a mix of Dylan's boyfriend (who's name is Brent) screaming to whatever song came on the radio, Dylan snoring loudly on the passenger's seat and Val cuddled up against me in the back.

I told Val that the blue dye suited her and she told me to shut up but she was blushing so I knew I did something right.

She quickly changed the subject by giving me the hoodie with Best Boyfriend Ever printed on it in bold and I loved it just as much as I thought I would--if not more.

Once we arrived, Val and I stopped arguing about whether or not my hoodie was purple or lavender and who was colorblind.

Dylan's boyfriend's father's house was nice and comfy and it had a landing pad on the roof. The helicopter was already there when we arrived.

Dylan's boyfriend's father's friend was a really chill guy. I couldn't quite remember his name because he pronounced it in a thick French accent but he was so kind and professional and he shook all our hands.

His helicopter driver took the four of us around Louisiana and Val was just the happiest. She kept screaming for me to look here and there, at birds, at buildings and whatever else caught her beautiful eyes.

When we landed back at Brent's house, the sun was already setting. When we arrived at the beach, we just had enough time to make a campfire. I tried rubbing two sticks together to start the fire but Dylan beat me to it with her lighter.

We spent the next few hours singing campfire songs, eating and sharing stories from our childhood. It was after the third bag of marshmallows that Dylan and Brent started arguing about who could collect the most sand dollars first and left us alone so they could go hunt for them and prove a point.

Val was cuddled up next to me and chewing on her share of marshmallows that she refuses to roast. She was worried about her upcoming first day at her new school. She had her head on my chest as she rambled on and I attempted at giving her the best advice I could give while kissing her head reassuringly every now and then.

I told her I loved her and she practically froze in my arms. I asked her what was wrong but then she only bursted out laughing in response.

She said it was like she was hearing it for the first time. She said she thought it was weird how it still had an effect on her and I told her I'm glad it did.

Dylan and Brent left earlier than expected when Brent managed to collect more sand dollars and Dylan blew a fit.

It was cold by then but Val kept me warm; the blanket Dylan left us helped too but I'm pretty sure it was mostly Val.

By then it was me laying in her arms and she was playing with my hair, it would've been absentmindedly if she didn't have her face scrunched up in serious concentration because she "didn't wanna ruin the masterpiece".

We talked about everything under the stars, it went on for hours yet it didn't seem that long. When she was little she said she dreamed of becoming an astronaut and I told her about the first time I tried riding a bike and the first time I sang on stage.

Val grew tired eventually and her eyes began to flutter whilst she was telling me about how she met Dylan.

But that's when the sun began to rise.

The beach really wasn't anything special, the sand wasn't as fair and the ocean wasn't as clear as it would be somewhere else but that look she had right then and there--that look--it changed the beach completely.

I know I sound sappy but I don't know how else to describe it. Her entire face lit up and her drowsiness disappeared and she sat upright with her mouth agape. She didn't seem to notice as I slipped sunglasses over our eyes because she was too busy staring out onto the ocean; out unto the rising sun.

She subconsciously took my hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.

When she broke from the trance, she turned to me with the happiest smile I've ever seen. I thought the helicopter ride was her happy limit but I was wrong. She squealed and crushed me in her embrace, told me she loved me multiple times and started kissing me all over. She started crying too, but she wasn't at all sad.

She apologized and said she was a mess but she didn't know just how wrong she was. She didn't know just how beautiful she looked, how amazing she is, how much I wanted to take this moment and keep it with me forever. She didn't know just how hard I was falling for her.

So I told her.

THE END.

((okayyy so first things first I'm not crying you are *sobs uncontrollably*

second things second I'd like to apologize for the delay of this chapter. I've been going over how to end this book like whether it be in Val's POV or in Jack's or in third person or if it should be text style or even a diary entry of Val's and in the end I settled with this. I chose a Jack POV because FEELLLLLSSS and I made it without dialogue so y'all would get a better feel of the chapter soooo yeh I hope I did okay

third things third HAVE Y'ALL HEARD WHAT AM I LIKE IT'S SOOO GOOD and what's obvious is that this chapter radiates vibes off that song and video but I swear I planned the concept of this epilogue since the first few chapters of this book AND THEN THE BOYS DID A SONG ABOUT IT I AM FINISHED. THAT SONG IS AUTOMATICALLY THE SONG FOR THIS BOOK OKAYY

last things last. I won't make this too long because there's still a bonus chapter SO THIS ISN'T THE VERY END but I'd like to thank every single one of you who read this far, every single person who took the time to vote, to comment, to follow me and to say you love this book. I love you all from the bottom of my heartt

p.s. there's still a bonus chapter which I'll be posting as soon as I've typed it down soo wait up for it loves))