Chapter Thirty-Five
Allie
“Allison Paige Evans! Logan Blake Sawyer! Get your asses down here right now!” Mom’s voice sounds from downstairs and Logan and I both look at each other like we are five-year olds that just got in trouble.
“Now!”
Ditching our laptops on my bed, we race downstairs and I mentally prepare myself for what the hell I could have possibly done to get in trouble at twenty-two.
Logan bumps into me as I come to an abrupt stop when I see Mom and Dad standing at the bottom of the stairs holding two Taylor Swift t-shirts that match my parents.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
Mom’s face morphs into a big smile, and she jumps up and down. Glancing over my shoulder, I look at Logan and mouth. “What is going on?”
Logan shrugs and points to my parents, who are now dancing and singing Love Story by Taylor Swift.
I can’t contain my laughter and watch as my two favorite people dance as if no one is watching. “Sorry to interrupt you two lovebirds, but can someone explain what is going on, please?”
Mom stops and tosses the two shirts at our faces. “Go get dressed. It’s time for Mama’s belated birthday and we are about to go spend it with Mother! Hurry!”
Shaking my head, I giggle and turn around to walk back up the stairs behind Lo. “Only my mom would choose to spend her birthday with a bunch of twenty-year olds.”
Logan laughs, “Just shows she has taste even in her old age.”
“Hey! I’m only forty-six, you brat!”
Logan turns around and I almost run into her, and she sticks her tongue out at Mom then books it up the stairs singing Lover at the top of her lungs.
Shaking my head, I smile and follow Logan into my room.
I love this family.
The crowd stands almost still, completely captivated by the girl on stage, pulling at our heartstrings.
I am so mesmerized and singing along to the lyrics that I am almost scared when Logan loops her arm through mine. I glance over at her and see the glitter on her cheeks running down her face.
I’m about to poke fun at her for crying like everyone else when she points to the other side of us and my eyes follow.
Immediately I see why Logan is crying, and it’s not because Taylor has the ability to move an audience with her words, it’s because of my parents.
They are standing amidst the crowd, but I guarantee they only see each other, as the lyrics to Never Grow Up filter through the stadium.
Their heads are pressed together as they sway back and forth, singing to each other. I have never seen two people more in love.
Every day, they remind me that soulmates exist in many forms and they will come to you when you least expect it. They have had their struggles because that’s human nature. But these two are proof that even on the hardest days, you can make it through if you find the right piece to complete the puzzle of your soul.
Mom must sense us staring because she waves me over and I fit myself right into their open arms as they sing along.
Not caring that the tears are going to ruin my makeup, I glance up and let them see the happy tears flowing down my face. I am happy I do, because the smiles on their faces are ones I will never forget.
My smile grows bigger as I mouth, “Happy Birthday Mom,” and place a kiss on her cheek.
Movement catches my attention and I see Dad pulling Logan to the other side of us.
Our eyes lock, tears shamelessly flowing at rapid speed.
“Thank you both for being the best daughters a dad could ask for. We love you both infinitely.”
Logan swipes her face and tries to speak, but can’t every time she tries.
Leaning down, Dad places a kiss on both mine and Logan’s head and holds up the sign, for I love you in sign language and Logan returns the gesture.
In this moment, underneath the purple lights flashing in the stadium, we are a family. If this is what unconditional love feels like, I never want to feel anything less.
My phone screen fills with droplets and I have no idea if it’s from the rain or the tears rapidly falling from my eyes.
A photo of Mom, Dad, and me at a concert for Mom’s birthday blurs as the tears become harder and harder to control.
Putting my phone back in my pocket, I tilt my head up to the sky and say through a cracking voice, “Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you.”
The rain falls harder on my face and I collapse to the ground, the weight of my parents truly being gone finally hitting me.
Six years ago, I was thriving with my favorite people, celebrating the best mom in the world. And today, I am celebrating her birthday alone as she drifts along somewhere in the universe.
Never in my life would I have imagined losing the two people I love the most in my life. No one ever thinks of losing their number one fans because that is morbid and depressing. This is my worst nightmare coming true and now I am stuck in this hell where they don’t exist.
All I want to do is escape back to a time where I was happy, but that reality is far from possible and I hate it.
Glancing up towards the sky, I whisper, “I hope you and Dad are attending a concert of your own wherever you are. I miss you both more than words can say.”
As the last words leave my mouth, I curl into a ball on the porch and wish for it all to disappear because this pain I have been pushing away is finally rearing its ugly head and I have no idea if I can summon the energy to get back up.