47. Epilogue
Epilogue
Alec / Summer
Alec
I blow out a long breath, my skin itching and my nerves clawing their way through my insides. There’s no reason I should be nervous, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a wee bit worried about how my aunt is going to react to my being here.
Court was over a week ago. My charges were dropped, and the restraining order was lifted exactly as Summer and I argued. Yet, I still have this unsettling feeling weaving deep in the bottom of my stomach that the second Jules opens this door, she’s going to slam it in my face after telling me never to show up on her doorstep again.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised.
Aunt Jules’s feelings toward me aren’t going to just magically go away like they were never there to begin with.
Callie is my baby sister. It’s not like I can take Jules to court for parental rights. Sure, I could steal a page out of Summer’s book and threaten her with the recording. But what good would that do for me? We got what we asked for.
The only thing I’m left with now is praying, and I’ve never prayed harder in my life.
I watch intently as the knob turns. My stomach is left, creating an endless knot. I’m forced to hold myself together, though, because if I crack, everything else in my life will follow. I’m met with Jules as the door cracks open. The look on her face is unpleasant, but what’s odd is she doesn’t give me the knowing, snarky attitude that I’m used to. In fact, she doesn’t say anything at all.
“Jules,” I nudge my head as a way of saying hello. “I was wondering if I could take Callie for a couple of hours. Summer and I were hoping you wouldn’t mind if we took her with us to Midnight Bowl.”
I’m mentally preparing myself for her to spit in my face, but oddly, that doesn’t come either. Her nostrils flare from breathing. Not in an aggravated way, which has me a little confused.
Jules clears her throat. “She’s upstairs. If you could excuse me for a moment.”
She closes the door, but not all the way. I’ve begun to bite my tongue hard, hoping that the pain will take away the fact that my heart is beating excessively fast.
I take a step forward to listen carefully through the door. I’m able to hear her footsteps climb up the stairs, but they fade the further up she is. I wish I could hear more than that, but the door blocks all sounds that come from upstairs. For now, I’m left twirling my thumbs.
A squeal pulls my attention away from my hands. A large crease forms between my eyebrows as I listen to small footsteps run down the stairs, and the door flies open.
“Alec! Alec!” Callie shouts, hopping on her tiptoes. “Auntie said I can go with you!”
Oh?
This was a lot easier than I thought it would be.
I smile, crouching down to her level. “Hey, pumpkin.” When I take her hands into mine, she stops jumping and stares at me with big eyes, waiting for me to say more. “Have you ever been bowling before?”
Callie starts to hop on her toes again and shakes her head at the same time. “No, but I want to go! I want to go!” she shouts. She lets go of my hands and turns around to Jules standing behind her. Callie locks her fingers together. “Can I go? Please. Please. I want to go so bad!” she begs.
I look up to Jules, her expression unreadable. Jules sighs, places a hand on Callie’s shoulder, and gives her a soft smile. “I said you can go.”
Callie’s eyes light up and she leaps into my arms. I give her a tight squeeze not wanting to let go of her because this moment I’ve waited for a very long time. But when she’s had enough, her arms drop to her sides, and I have no other choice but to let go.
I take her hands back into mine. Her smile spreads widely across her delicate, tanned cheeks. “Why don’t you go grab a bottle of water and put your shoes on? I’ll be right here waiting.”
Her eyebrows narrow, and it pains me that she’s worried I won’t be. “You promise?”
My lips curl upward. “I promise. Have I ever broken a promise?”
She shakes her head. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere!”
She skips her way back into the house, through the living room, and into the kitchen.
I breathe out, looking at Jules. It’s clear she is anything but happy. “Look, Jules. I know your feelings about me haven’t changed. And hell, I never know if they will, but that little girl is the only reason I’m even alive. She means more to me than anyone else in the universe. I can assure you that the only person she’s safer with than you is me. You have nothing to worry about.”
Jules doesn’t respond for a few beats, and it sends something souring in my stomach, but then she shakes her head. “I know.” Jules turns and walks to a small end table by the window. I follow slightly but stay in the doorway, not wanting to invade the space of her home. I watch her fumble in the drawer and grab a paper and pen. She writes something down before putting the pen back where it was.
“This is my phone number. If anything happens… anything at all. You call.” She passes me the paper. I look down at it for a second before my eyes move back to hers.
“I won’t hesitate to call you.”
Callie skips back over with a mermaid thermostat in her hand. I glance down, noticing her shoes are on the wrong feet. I’m left chuckling, grabbing her hand and taking her to the top step. “Take a seat for a minute so we can fix those shoes of yours.”
Callie looks down at her feet and wiggles them horizontally. “Auntie says my toes will grow in the opposite direction if I keep putting them on the wrong feet, but I know she’s joking me, so I do it on purpose.”
I take both of her shoes off and put them onto the right feet. “Well, I think Auntie is clever to remind you of such a thing. You don’t want to walk like you have two left feet and trip over everything, do you?”
Callie rolls her eyes, popping the lip to her thermostat and taking a sip of her water. “You’re joking me, too.”
I chuckle. “You’re pretty clever. You know that?”
Callie smiles and stands. Jules pivots our way and bends down to give Callie a hug goodbye. “Have fun, OK?”
“I will!” Callie yells, letting go of Jules and wrapping her arms around me before she slips her hand into mine.
I walk down the steps, and Callie hops onto each one.
“Oh, Alec…” I turn back around, hearing Jules call out. “The car is unlocked. Her booster is on the back. She knows how to buckle herself.”
I nudge my head as a thank you and grab Callie’s seat from Jules’s car, placing it into my back seat. I wait to hear the seatbelt click into place before starting the car and driving straight to the Midnight Spare across town, where Summer is waiting.
The car ride is delicate and sweet and filled with nothing but laughter. Callie has wanted me to play “Barbie Girl” and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” over and over again.
Parking, I get out of the car and open the door for Callie. She unbuckles herself and leaps out.
“I’ll race ya,” I say.
“I’m faster!”
“Wanna bet on it?” Callie smiles wide and takes off. “Hey! That was cheating!” I dodge after her, laughter filling the quiet parking lot. She reaches the doors before me, and I grab her, lifting her in the air and spinning around. She laughs louder, a small snort falling out of her.
Placing her carefully back onto the ground, she looks up at me. “I told you I was faster.”
“That’s because we fixed your shoes. See, if you kept them on the wrong feet, you wouldn’t have won.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Callie says, turning to peek inside the door. “Is Summer here?”
I smile at the fact that she remembers her name. “She’s inside waiting for us.”
Callie claps, and swings open the door. She finds Summer right away and runs right to her. I wait by the door for a few minutes watching as they both bond and laugh together before Callie slides her hand into Summer’s, and they make their way to the desk for a pair of bowling shoes.
I hadn’t imagined what it would feel like to see my baby sister love the girl that I’m in love with, but it’s the best feeling in the world.
I chuckle to myself, shake my head, and meet them at the desk.
Wrapping one arm around Summer’s waist, I pull her toward me and press a kiss on her head. “She’s never played before. We’ll need bumpers.”
The employee working places a pair of shoes for Callie and a second pair for Summer. I give her my size, and she walks to grab them just as Callie grabs her pair off the counter and runs to the first spot to put them on.
“How did everything go?” Summer asks once Callie isn’t within hearing distance.
“Oddly OK.”
Summer’s eyebrows shoot to her hairline. “Oh, wow. OK. That’s great, then.”
I smile, keeping my eyes on Callie as she does the bunny ears to tie the shoes. “It’s more than OK.” I look at Summer. “And I have you to thank for that.”
My mouth meets hers for a quick peck before Callie makes her way back to us. “Ew, gross.”
Summer laughs and grabs Callie’s hand again. “Come on, I’ll show you what to do.” Summer turns to look back at me over her shoulder, and the smile she has brightens the entire bowling alley.
My heart fills with adoration and happiness and right now, in this moment, everything falls into place and is exactly how it should be.
***
Summer
I bring a bottle of water to my mouth and take a large sip. A smile hasn’t left my face since Alec walked in with Callie. He looks so… happy. Happier than I’ve ever made him. Happier than when I finally told him I loved him.
I watch as he shows Callie the different spheres on the ball rack. He shows her that each ball is unique in its own way, from the size of the holes where your fingers go to the color and design of each ball. All I do is watch them interact because even though he was so confident that he wanted me to be here with him, this moment isn’t for us. It isn’t for me to get to know his sister. This moment is all about him catching up on lost time.
He needs this.
I watch as Alec shows Callie how to place her fingers on the ball she called dibs on. Her bottom lip curls downward when she becomes frustrated that she can’t get a good grip on the ball.
“I can’t do this. My hands are too little.” Callie frowns.
Alec shifts to her level. “Hey now, none of that. Never tell yourself you can’t do something because everyone on Earth has the power to do anything they dream of.”
Her mouth falls open. “I could see the stars? I could go to space and see the stars in the sky?”
Alec chuckles. “If that’s what you want to do. Then yes. You are capable of doing anything.” He takes her hand into his and passes her the ball. “You know the best thing about bowling?”
“What?”
“You can hold this ball any way you please. All you have to do is roll it down the lane with as much force as you have inside of you.”
“So, I can hold it like this?” She holds the ball up with both of her hands.
“You sure can. Come on, I’ll show you.”
They walk up to the lane. Alec shows Callie how to toss the ball down, holding it with both hands. She listens to his instructions carefully, excitedly ready to try for herself. When she takes the ball into her hands, she positions herself as Alec showed her, holding the ball between her legs. She pulls her arms back and swings the ball forward. The ball rolls down the lane. It takes a slight curve but bounces right off the left bumper and straight into the front bowling pin, knocking them all down.
Callie leaps in the air. “I did it! I did it!” She turns and runs toward me. “Did you see that? Did you see what I did? I got them all.”
“I saw it. You’re a pro!” I respond, my eyes glancing up at Alec as he walks over to us.
My insides melt seeing this side of him. He’s a good brother. A good friend and an amazing human being.
I stand up when he reaches me and wrap one arm around him, placing my other right over his heart. My favorite part of him. I crane my neck to look at him.
“I love you, Alec Sokolov.”
His lips tilt up, then he crashes his mouth to mine. “I love you, too, Summer Raleigh.”
“You two need a room.” Callie nods her head, eyeing us with her lips pursed and hands on her hips.
We both laugh, and Alec takes her hand to finish bowling. I stay behind to watch them interact with each other so beautifully.
My heart remains fuller than it ever has before.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.