Chapter Thirty-Seven… Epilogue （Three Months Later）
Blue
Several times today, I’ve had to remind myself that this is real. Not just some dream that’s lived inside my head since I was a kid.
Every local news outlet is here, and so are my family and friends. The community was so excited that we even prepared the open lot beside the center to host vendors who wanted to help celebrate the day.
The center’s long-awaited grand opening.
Someone squeezes my shoulders from behind, and I turn, smiling the second I realize it’s Jules.
“I’m still in shock,” she says, and I squeeze her hand when she reaches for mine.
“About what? The fact that you just lost a potato sack race to a seven-year-old?”
She rolls her eyes with a small laugh. “No, I mean yeah, but… I’m talking about all of this.”
We both scan the property, all the people who came out to support.
Scar managing the snow cone machine, Hunter and firefighters from the nearby station giving tours of a fire truck, my dad handing out goodie bags to all the neighborhood kids, Coach Wells and about ten members from the team handing out free Cypress Pointe Emperors swag.
Then, we both take in the sight of the building I fought tooth and nail to finish to provide the kids with a place to hang out, to learn, to be safe.
This place was all those things to me and more growing up.
I’m just grateful we were able to bring it back to life.
“You did a good thing here, BJ.”
Now I’m the one rolling my eyes. She knows I’ve always hated that nickname, but I’ll let it slide since I’m in such a good mood.
But just this once.
Joss, Dez, and Lexi make their way over, but Jax is clearly the leader of the pack. Judging by the number of stuffed animals his mom’s carrying, I’m guessing they’ve hit all the game booths pretty hard.
“Aunt Blue! Look what I won!” Jax shouts, holding up a neon green frog that’s almost the size of his entire torso.
West appears beside me just in time to see Jax showing off.
“No way! This yours?” He crouches down to Jax’s height. “Dude, this thing’s terrifying.”
“No, it’s not,” Jax laughs, then launches himself into West’s arms. West catches him easily, then tosses him up once before setting him back down.
It’s a knee-jerk reaction to flinch in situations like this. Ones where West’s shoulder could take a blow, but then I remember that’s no longer an issue. He’s healed beautifully, and according to the surgeon, he might even be back on the field this coming season.
Watching him with our nephew tugs at something strange inside my chest. My mind flashes forward to the future, seeing him with our own children. Instinctively, I place a hand on my stomach.
Four months.
Not enough for most people to notice yet, but enough that I’m starting to feel tiny little flutters when I’m lying still.
West steps behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “You holding up okay?”
I nod, then kiss him once over my shoulder. “Couldn’t be better. Unless you count trying not to cry every five minutes.”
He laughs, but this isn’t an exaggeration. I cried so much one day I actually got dehydrated. But luckily, the doctor says that part of the pregnancy should pass soon.
Hopefully.
“So far, you’ve cried during the ribbon cutting,” Jules cuts in. “Then again when the marching band showed up, and again when the hot dog guy said there was a five-minute wait.”
“I was hungry,” I say under my breath, realizing now that tears over a hot dog might’ve been a bit much. But what’s done is done.
“Ugh. I remember those days,” Dez chimes in.
“Don’t even get me started,” Lexi adds, but the sound of her phone ringing in her pocket has her awkwardly shifting the stuffed animals under her arms.
“Uh… need help?” Joss offers, but she’s a second too late as Lexi’s phone slips out of her hand and into the grass.
“Shi-oot,” she says under her breath, nearly swearing before she remembers Jax is close enough to hear.
Jules stoops down to grab the phone, thinking she’s helping, but the way Lexi snatches it back, you’d think otherwise.
“Damn,” Jules laughs. “Someone’s feeling possessive this afternoon.”
Lexi tries to play it cool, pretending to be casual as she glances at her screen, but none of us buy it.
“You always get this flustered when Matt calls? Or is something going on?”
None of us miss the cheeky grin on Jules’ face when she casually blows Lexi’s cover. I’m remembering how we practically had to pry that story out of Lexi months ago. The one about Matt buying her flowers after her exam. Now, with how red her face has gotten, I’m guessing there’s more to tell.
One glance toward West and he gets the hint.
“Know what? Why don’t I take the stuffed animals to our truck for now, then take Jax to see what his dad is up to. That way you ladies can talk freely without corrupting the kid,” he adds with a smile.
I kiss him and mouth a silent thank you. My eyes are glued to him as he relieves Lexi of Jax’s loot. He scoops them up with ease and still has a free arm to hold Jax. All without breaking a sweat.
Yep, he’s gonna make a great dad.
He leaves and I turn my attention back to Lexi, and the others are focused on her, too. At first, she stands there, giving us this mean-ass look she thinks will scare us into minding our business, but she knows that’ll never work.
Eventually, she rolls her eyes and lets out a breath.
“Fine. What the hell do you want to know?” she concedes.
Jules’s eyes light up. “Start with why you had that look on your face when you realized that call was coming from Matt.”
Lexi sighs again, but we don’t care. We just want the details.
“We’ve been… talking more,” she starts, but then her eyes shift across the lot, and without even having to turn, I know who she’s just picked out of the crowd.
Sterling.
Her lashes lower when she chooses to look at the ground instead, but it’s too late. I’ve already clocked her.
“And?” Dez pushes.
“And… we recently decided that we’re going to go on a date and see what happens.”
Joss arches a brow. “Well, that’s definitely progress.”
Lexi flashes a nervous smile, and I don’t blame her. She’s led an incredibly busy life the past several years. Between school, work, and Jax, there hasn’t been time for much else, including dating. So, for her to be taking this step is a pretty big deal.
And it means something that Matt is who she’s choosing to take it with.
Plenty of guys have pursued her over the years, tried to woo her with gifts and the promise of expensive dates, but she never budged. I never said it out loud, but I always thought she may have been holding out hope. However, with this news… I guess it’s safe to say that’s not the case anymore.
“Good for you,” Dez says, giving Lexi’s arm a quick squeeze.
Lexi shrugs like it’s no big deal, but the small smile tugging at one corner of her mouth says otherwise.
“This is still really new,” she says quickly. “Don’t start planning a wedding or anything.”
“Of course not. We’ll wait until the second date for that,” Jules teases.
Joss laughs while Dez shakes her head.
“For what it’s worth,” I say, nudging Lexi with my elbow. “Matt’s always been good to you. Good to Jax.”
“Yeah,” she admits quietly. “I know.”
Her gaze flicks across the lot again before she catches herself. Sterling’s still standing near the food trucks, talking with the guys, completely unaware of the conversation happening over here.
Lexi clears her throat and straightens. “Anyway,” she says, forcing a smile. “It’s just a date.”
But I know Lexi well enough to hear the uncertainty buried within those words. And judging by the way Sterling keeps glancing in our direction every few minutes…
I’m not entirely sure he’s as indifferent as he pretends to be.
***
I’m exhausted and can hardly feel my feet but… today was amazing.
I prepared myself for there to at least be one major crisis, but to my surprise, everything went completely according to plan. And as we drove away from the center a few hours ago, I had the distinct feeling that this place is going to be so much more than I ever dreamed possible.
“I could lie like this forever,” West says, and I glance down to where he’s currently resting against my stomach.
I let out a quiet laugh. I’ve hardly even got much of a baby bump, but he’s already obsessed with it. Kissing it, touching it, talking to it every chance he gets.
“So, did you keep your word?”
He peeks up at me briefly, confused. “About?”
“The ultrasound.”
Just hearing me say it has a smile crossing his face. “We agreed to keep it a secret, so… I’m keeping it a secret.”
That sounds good, but I know my husband. Get him in a room with his brothers and Ricky, and they gossip more than me and the girls ever could. So, to trust him with his own secret is a bit of a stretch.
“West—”
“I swear!” he laughs, then goes back to rubbing my stomach.
The plan is to do a gender reveal during the shower in the coming months, but we’re keeping the results of the ultrasound under wraps until then.
No matter how badly we want to tell everyone.
I run my fingers through West’s hair as my eyes start to close. Today was perfect. The center, our friends, seeing the future we’ve been fighting so hard to build finally coming into existence.
West presses a soft kiss to my stomach, then shifts slightly to look up at me.
“So, what do you think the odds are that we’ll get a star athlete? The sport doesn’t even matter,” he adds.
I laugh quietly. “You’re already recruiting?”
“Just planning ahead.”
My fingers trace the line of his jaw.
Three months ago, I was sitting in a hospital waiting room, terrified of what surgery might mean for his future. Now he’s here. Happy, healthy, and whole. I couldn’t ask for more than that.
And in a few months, we’ll be bringing a life into the world. At the thought of it, my chest tightens with the kind of happiness that still feels unreal sometimes. After everything we went through, everything we thought would never be, we’ve suddenly got it all.
West’s phone vibrates on the nightstand, and he ignores it. But then it vibrates again.
This time, he sighs and reaches for it, and I move my hand away from his face as he sits up.
“Who the hell’s calling this late?” he grumbles, then glances at the screen, and his entire expression changes.
“What is it?”
West sits up slowly. “It’s Sterling.”
Something in the way he says it makes my stomach drop.
“Hey,” he answers.
Then, a pause.
West’s posture stiffens instantly, and that weird feeling twists in my stomach again.
“What do you mean there was a fire?”
I can’t hear Sterling’s voice through the phone, but whatever he’s saying drains the color from West’s face.
“Slow down,” West says, already swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “Where are you right now?”
Another pause, and my pulse begins to pound. West drags a hand through his hair.
“Sterling… what hospital?”
My stomach drops. “Who?” I whisper.
West looks at me, his expression tight in a way I haven’t seen in months. “Lexi,” he says quietly.
My head spins, and I sit up, piecing together the bits and pieces I’ve overheard—fire, hospital… Lexi.
Another stretch of silence passes while Sterling talks, and West’s jaw clenches.
“Is Jax okay?”
The room suddenly feels too small, too quiet, and my heart hammers inside my chest. West ends the call a moment later, already reaching for his jeans from the floor, and I’m trying not to panic.
“What happened?” I ask, my voice barely working.
He doesn’t look at me right away. “There was a fire at Lexi’s place.”
My heart slams against my ribs even harder. “And?”
West finally meets my eyes, and his are filled with too much emotion. “They took her and Jax to the hospital. That’s all I know. That’s all Sterling knows.”
And just like that… the world shatters beneath our feet.
*
@QweenPandora:
Rumors are spreading tonight after emergency vehicles were spotted outside #LostAngel’s residence not too long ago.
Witnesses say the blaze engulfed the entire home, but there’s no official statement yet regarding injuries.
But what we do know is that multiple members of the #GoldenCrew were seen crowding the emergency waiting room tonight at Cypress Pointe Memorial. And call me crazy, but… that can’t be a good sign.
Stay tuned…
—P