Broken Memory ✓

25. Epilogue

"Hey! How was the visit?" I ask Caleb as he enters into the car and sits in the seat next to me. He puts on his seatbelt, then leans over and gives me a kiss on the cheek. That's what we always do upon seeing each other, and despite the fact it's been done so many times, his soft kisses never fail to make my heart jump.

"Pretty good," he replies as I begin to back out of the driveway. "His kids are also being more okay with me around. It's a nice change considering they used to despise me."

"Aww, I'm glad. My mom said I could stay the night, by the way. Is Connor coming?"

"Yep, with Addriene. He said he wanted it to be a double date type thing. We have like an hour until they arrive, though. Wanna take a quick detour?"

"Yeah? And go where?" I grin at him.

"Oh, ya know. Maybe to swim in the lake. I may or may not have grabbed some extra clothes before leaving."

I chuckle. "Typical Caleb. Alright, let's do it." I get off this road and make a turn towards the nearby lake. It's kind of 'our spot'. We hang out here for dates and camping... But always only the two of us. It's a secluded area, and it seems almost nobody knows the lake even exists.

I park in an empty space and we get out together, Caleb immediately taking his shirt off and running with me to the lake. He suddenly picks me up and I begin to shriek, giggling in between my screams. He laughs too and runs across the wooden dock leading into the lake. I hold onto him for dear life as he jumps into the water, still holding me in his arms, and the shock of the cold water hits me. Once we're both above the water, recovered from the sudden drop in temperature, Caleb leans over to me and kisses me gently on the lips. I smile and playfully splash water at him, causing him to grin and splash me back.

We play around for a bit in the water, but eventually end up sitting next to each other on the dock. "Hey Caleb?" I ask. We have ten minutes until we have to leave.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"So uh, I've never quite said this before but... Ah, I don't know. You're the only person I trust with 100% of myself and uh... I think I love you."

"I know I love you too. You chose me when nobody else thought I was worth the time of day. I love you."

When we get back to Caleb's house, the first thing I do is change my clothes. I was freezing after a while in the wet clothes I wore home, but didn't have the time to change... As well as not thinking of it. Returning to the living room, I see Connor and Addriene sitting on the couch next to each other. Caleb is on the other couch and smiles upon seeing me.

"Heyyy! Ash!" Connor exclaims. "Meet Addriene! I've been talking about her for ages, but now I can finally prove that she indeed exists!"

I wave at Addriene. She has gorgeous black hair in wild curls that reach past her shoulders. Addriene waves back, giving me an awkward smile, and I immediately detect that she's quite shy. "It's lovely to meet you."

"Don't worry, guys!" Connor notices how awkward she must seem to us. "She's shy right now, but I swear she'll warm up to you real quick."

"Well, I'm happy you found someone. I'm sure she's great," Caleb says as I sit down next to him.

"Aww, thanks, Caleb. And hey! I'm not a third wheel anymore!"

I chuckle at his excitement and lean into Caleb. 

And I slowly begin to space out, because you know what I realize?

I feel happy.

It feels like life is finally going up after having so many downs.

END :)

(Sorry this was short, but yeah uhh I'm so tired of this book lmao)