Epilogue
Emmy
A year.
It’s been a whole year since the night when my entire world was turned upside down. I spent the first three months not being able to sleep, and then when I did sleep, I’d wake in screaming fits, but Cas was there every step of the way. He held me and let me cry it all out when, one day, I realised I needed to talk through everything, not just what had happened with Pete but everything that had happened before.
It’s my last session today with my therapist Lynette; Cas dropped me off earlier saying he had some errands to run, and so here I sit in her waiting room, suddenly nervous that after this, I’ll be dealing with all of this myself.
She pops her head out of her door and smiles wide when she sees me, saying, “There she is, come on in, Emmy.”
I get up and follow her through the door, taking a seat on her giant, comfy chair.
As always, she stays silent as she waits for me to sort through my thoughts. I wring my hands together, and the tears spring to my eyes. Immediately, she is there with tissues and a soft smile; she asks gently, “Are you nervous about this being our last session?”
I nod and dab at my eyes so she carries on. “Emmy, you are a remarkable woman. You have overcome so much, and you have done exceptionally well over the past seven months. You have everything you need to work through this and anything else that comes your way, but you already know this, don’t you?”
I smile and nod my head, and I say, “You’re right; I can do this.”
I take a breath and continue, “It can be so scary sometimes to think that you’re losing it again, but I do feel stronger, and I’ve had Cas with me every step of the way”
I smile at this and realise how lucky we both are to have each other.
She smiles knowingly before telling me, “You have both been through a lot, but you’re stronger for it. And it might have started as a mutually beneficial arrangement, but it’s grown into something beautiful, Emmy. You will always have times when you have highs and lows; that is just part of life itself, but how you handle them defines you. Don’t shy away from help, and trust that what you have built with Cas will help you heal and realise that you have someone on your team.”
I nod as tears spring to my eyes again, then I laugh and say, “Yeah, you could say that again; I’ve definitely gained a lot more family members and friends!”
I think to myself, “I worry about my friend, Hayleigh, who was Pete's fiancée.”
My brow furrows as I say this. “She hasn’t spoken to me about it since those initial days, and I worry she feels she doesn’t have anyone on her side. I don’t know how to fix it for her.”
She contemplates my words before saying, “It isn’t your job to fix it, Emmy. As a friend, your only job is to be there. Hayleigh knows who she has because you’re all still there. She's simply choosing not to face it, and that’s okay. You have to be there for her when she's ready to face it,”
I think over her words and realise she’s right. “You know, Emmy, that I am always here,”
I smile, thinking of another person who has my back.
**********
After my last session ended, I drove into town and made my way to Irene’s café to wait for Cas. Walking through the doors and smelling the delicious scents of her baked goods always makes me smile; the place is quiet today, and I can’t see Irene, so I take a seat in the booth that Cas and I usually sit in and take out my journal. One of the things Lynette had taught me was how to journal effectively and how to record my thoughts and feelings.
When I discovered Pete’s entire plan, my whole world felt like it was imploding. I heard how, when he was younger, he stalked a friend of the family for months before becoming jealous of his brother, and in a fit of rage, he beat him to a pulp. Chad didn’t have a clue it was Pete, and his parents had hidden it from him all these years.
Pete had the same obsession with me, and when I broke up with Chad, he had a misguided notion that I would be with him instead. However, when that didn’t happen and when I became involved with Cas, he completely lost it. He tried scaring Cas off at first, and when that didn’t work, he involved their business. When it was clear he wasn’t going anywhere, that’s when he got drastic. It could have ended so badly, but in the end, Cas was there for me, and that’s all that matters.
He’s always by my side, and that makes me smile.
Cas
“Are you sure you have everything?”
Archie asks me for the millionth time, and just when I’m about to respond, he starts again, “I mean, I don’t think you have everything? This a big moment for us, CJ; we don’t need you ruining it for us”
he’s slightly neurotic today, more so than most.
Again I go to tell him I have everything, but Ethan cuts in, “Arch, relax; he won’t ruin it for us; he can’t possibly cock this up”
he smiles wide at me and a kernel of doubt blooms in my stomach.
Thoughts of not being good enough swirl around my head just as Nate says, “Oh shit, I think he’s going to be sick.”
I shake my head and stare at each of my brothers before clearing my throat and declaring, “I’m fine, everything is fine, and I won’t ruin this…I promise.”
Not that I need to promise them anything; this decision is mine to make, and it is possibly the most important thing I have done in my life to date.
I stand up from my truck and shake out my hands before patting down my pockets, and I have a moment of panic when I don’t feel the package I brought.
Archie pops up next to me and hands me the package, then asks, “Do you want me to be in there with you? I can hold the package?”
I roll my eyes and grab the package for him before saying, “I’m good, Arch, you’re staying here”
I give him a pointed look, and he tuts and sulks off, muttering about just loving love. I give my brothers one last look and then steel myself and head for the door.
It's quiet inside, but even if it were packed in here, my eyes would always seek her out and find her. She’s sitting hunched over her journal, her auburn hair spilling over the side of her face and hiding her away from the world.
She doesn’t notice me walk up to the table, so I slide into the booth and say, “Hey, beautiful”
She jumps a little.
As soon as she sees me, she smiles. “Hello yourself, handsome,” she says.
I hold her hands. “How was your last session today?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “It was okay, a bit sad, but Lynette said if I ever needed her, she was just at the end of the phone. How has your day been?”
I’m just about to respond when I look through the window behind her and see Arch’s face plastered against it, trying to eavesdrop. Emmy turns her head, and I panic. “Emmy!”
She whips her head back to me, concern etched on her face. “Cas, what’s wrong?”
My mind goes blank, but luckily, I don’t have to answer because Irene takes the opportunity to come to our table.
“Hello to my two favourite people, usuals?”
I nod, not trusting myself to form words yet. Irene ambles off to the kitchen, and Emmy is still looking at me as if I’ve suddenly grown two heads.
I calm myself and try and think back to the words I practised all this morning but they go entirely out of my head and I realise that my stupid inner monologue is no good because now we’re sat here in complete silence.
o I try to be as normal as I possibly can, “Emmy”, she looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to go on. “We have been together for just over a year now,”
she nods but still doesn’t respond. “A year is a long time to be with someone, isn’t it?”
she narrows her eyes, and I silently kick myself for sounding so stupid.
So, I try again. “I mean, we’ve learnt a lot about each other, and I've been doing some thinking, and I really do think that it’s time for us…”
I stop what I’m saying when I notice the tears in her eyes.
She yanks her hand from mine as she puts it against her mouth, but I still hear the small sob that escapes. Archie is looking through this window at that precise moment and thinks this is his cue to come in, followed by the rest of my brothers, parents, Lacey and finally Hayleigh.
Archie comes bounding over, completely ignoring the death glare I’m throwing his way, but he stops short when he sees how upset Emmy is. He turns his accusing glare on me. “What did you do, CJ?”
he turns to my family. “Didn’t I tell you he would mess this up for us?”
Emmy looks at me incredulously, “You brought your family to break up with me?”
Pin drop.
That is the only way I can describe the scene. That is until utter carnage breaks loose, and my idiotic brothers start talking all at once.
“You’re breaking up with her? CJ, that was not in our plan.”
“What do you mean breaking up with her?”
“Did he say he’s breaking up with her?”
My family stand around me glaring; only Hayleigh is chuckling when she realises how wrong everyone is.
I wait for everyone to quiet down. “You all done now?”
Archie goes to say something, but Rafe slaps the back of his head when he too realises I need a moment to explain.
I turn to Emmy and hold out my hands. She places hers in them, but she’s wary as I say, “I didn’t explain myself very well then. What I meant to say is a year is a long time to get to know someone, but I wanted to know if you could choose to be with someone, would you choose it for just a year or forever?”
her brow furrows, and so I stand up and move to her side before sinking to one knee and retrieving the little blue velvet box in my pocket.
I hand her the box and ask her again, “If you could choose to be with me for one year or forever, what would you pick?”
She opens the box and gasps when she sees the teardrop emerald and diamond ring I picked out for her.
She looks me in the eyes and says, “Forever. Always and forever,”
before throwing her arms around me and bringing me in for a searing kiss.
I hear my family whoop and cheer, and either Archie or my Mum is crying. I smile, knowing my life is full and happy, and I get to call Emmy mine.
The End