Epilogue – Liana
”Come on, Kara!” I called through the door, as I banged on it one more time. I heard Kara let out a little groan, but at least I knew she was awake. I glanced at my watch – I knew I had to be out of the door in the next half-hour, and I wanted to see Kara on to the bus by then.
”Is she up?” Lee asked as he stepped out of the bathroom, brushing his teeth.
”She better be,” I replied. ”I have breakfast on the table already. Ugh, where’s my coffee-”
Before I could get too lost in overthinking, Lee caught my arm, stopping me in my tracks.
”Hey, Liana,” he murmured to me, a gentle smile on his face. ”It’s going to be okay. We always get it done, don’t we?”
I paused, inhaled deeply, and then exhaled. He was right. I had to keep reminding myself of that. No matter how hectic these mornings got, we were always able to get Kara to school, me to college, and Lee across town to the tattoo shop to meet with the Dogs; though I seemed to forget that every time the alarm went off and I was sent into full-blown panic mode.
”You’re right,” I replied, and, just as I said it the door to Kara’s bedroom opened and she wandered out sleepily. I couldn’t help but laugh at the manic state her hair was in – she”d wanted it cut short recently, and it looked adorable on her, but in the mornings, it was as though she had been thrashing around in a pile of hay.
”Come on, sweetheart,” I told her, leading her downstairs. ”Breakfast. I’ll brush your hair while you’re eating.”
”Good morning,” she mumbled to me, and I squeezed her hand.
”Good morning,” I murmured back, hardly able to keep the smile off my face.
It was hard to believe it had been nearly six months since she started school – she was growing and changing so quickly, but I was beyond happy to see that she was keeping up with the rest of her classmates. I had been worried that her start in life might set her behind everyone else, but from everything her teachers told us so far, she was doing an amazing job.
Of course, there were still struggles. She still asked about her mom sometimes, her birth mom, and we’d managed to come up with some version of the truth that didn’t seem to sting too much – that her mother had been ill, and had passed away, but that she cared for her very much. I didn’t know how Kara remembered about what happened in that prison cell of a home, but I guessed it would start to come back to her as she grew older. I couldn’t undo what happened to her, but I could provide her the most solid, stable grounding to work through it, and that’s what mattered.
As for me, I had been throwing myself into my studies – I had been accepted in a social services course that would let me begin work as a support worker for women who were escaping domestic abuse and addiction, and I could hardly wait to get started. I knew it was going to be a demanding career choice, but after everything I had been through, I knew I could handle it. I remained silent about my real reason for getting into this job, making sure none of my classmates knew that I was living with a member of a motorcycle gang. They wouldn’t understand, and I got why.
But if they could see all the good the Dogs were doing for the city of Atwood, I know they would feel differently. Lee was currently working closely with another branch of the Dogs from another part of the state, to help bring down another sex trafficking ring that had taken root there – and the Dogs had cleared out the compounds Lombardi had used to house his victims in and turned them into safehouses where the women fleeing any nightmare where they were kept captive – whether trafficking or abuse - could settle for a while as they got back on their feet. He’d called in my help for that, getting my guidance and advice on how to make the place feel truly safe and welcoming after these women had been through such unthinkable hell.
I brushed out Kara’s hair while she munched on some toast, and Lee poured himself a generous cup of coffee, taking a long sip as he leaned on the table. Just beside him was one of the pictures Kara had drawn of the three of us – the first one that featured us as a family, I was pretty sure. It still made me smile every time I looked at it. A reminder of how far we had come – from the girl I grabbed from that cell all those months ago, to a real family.
”Do you have everything packed?” I asked Kara. She nodded.
”Your gym bag too?” I reminded her. Her face twisted, and she bolted away from the table, rushing back towards the stairs to get it all packed. Lee chuckled.
”She’s just as forgetful as me,” he remarked, and I sighed, shaking my head.
”I don’t know how anything gets done around here, with the two of you forgetting everything important...”
”Hey, we’re not that bad,” he protested, and I grinned and came around the table to kiss him. He slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me in close.
”You want to meet for lunch today?” I asked. I knew he was busy with everything going on, but we tried to get together for lunch at least a couple of times a week – a chance for us to be a couple, instead of just parents. I valued every second of it.
”Hmm, I guess we could,” he replied, leaning down to brush his lips against mine. ”Or we could sneak into my old room at the compound and...”
Before he could whisper any filth into my ear, Kara burst back into the room, her freshly-packed bag on her shoulder.
”Ready!” she exclaimed brightly. I kissed his cheek, laughing.
”I’ll text you later,” I promised him, giving him a little wink to let him know that my mind was exactly where his was right now. He grinned over the top of his coffee cup, and I steered Kara towards the door.
”Alright, sweetie, the bus will be here any second...let’s go meet it, huh?”
I headed outside with her, and we held hands as we waited for the bus to come around the corner. A few minutes after we stepped out, I saw it turning the corner and breathed a sigh of relief. See? I needed to start believing Lee when he said that everything was going to get done.
I kissed her, waved her off, and headed back into the house to gather my stuff to get to college – Lee was already in his leathers, his helmet under one hand, by the time I headed back inside, and I wolf-whistled playfully.
”Damn, you look hot like that,” I told him, and he shook his head at me.
”Typical, you only want me for one thing,” he replied.
”Can you blame me?” I replied. He dropped a kiss on my lips, resting his forehead against mine for a moment.
”I love you,” he told me softly. I would never get tired of hearing how sweet those words sounded coming out of his mouth – to know that he loved me deeply, completely, without reserve. Loved me enough to turn what we had into a life.
”I love you too,” I replied and reluctantly pulled back.
”See you at the compound on your lunch break?” he suggested.
”Oh, you better believe it,” I laughed and checked my watch. ”Catch you in a few hours...”
”See you then,” he agreed. And with a big-ass grin on my face, I headed out the door to start my day.