Epilogue
LEO
Two years later
The spring air is warming up as we approach summer. It feels like this year is flying by, especially since April snuck up on us so quickly.
Honestly, the past two years have felt like someone pressed the remote's fast-forward button. But I guess that is what happens when you are truly living your life.
I stopped working for my dad last year. As much as I enjoyed working on cars and helping him out, I was able to start doing what I loved again.
The office I worked at before being employed at Black Lake was able to overlook my felony and allow me to come back.
Granted, the office is run by the same boss as it was back then. He knew that I was good at what I did; I mean, he was the one who referred me to the asylum in the first place because of my qualifications.
We ran into each other at the grocery store and got to talking. I told him I was working for my dad, but it wasn’t fulfilling enough. That is when he offered me my job back. He had said he wasn’t worried about what had happened in the past and knew that I needed to help people.
At first, I thought it was a joke, but when he told me to show up on Monday, I did, and he gave me a list of patients I would be seeing.
No one in the office or the clients cared about my actions. Honestly, it all blew over shortly after that night on the cliff.
Edith reached out to me. She has retired, and we meet for lunch once a week. She tells me stories about the asylum patients and how things have remained pretty much the same since I left five years ago.
Dr. Bennett is still running the place but has hired someone to take over his spot. Let’s hope that the new person is just as impressive as Henry. If not, those girls there will give the new person a run for their money if things don’t stay the same.
Edith told me they stopped searching for Veronica when all that gossip was out of the way. I acted shocked, of course, when she said that Veronica’s body was found. She didn’t go into much detail about her death, but she didn’t need to tell me.
I knew what had happened, but I did hear that the authorities were blaming Veronica for falling into the wrong crowd, which was perfect for me.
No one questioned me.
Not once.
Not the cops.
Not Stephanie.
When they returned from their honeymoon, the only person who did was Chloe, who found out Veronica was gone. I had told Myles everything that happened—well, not everything. I left out the part about hearing that voice in my head because the last thing I needed anyone to think was that I was insane.
Luckily, that voice went away after Veronica did.
I debated on telling Chloe the truth. She didn’t need to know that I killed Veronica, but Myles insisted I just tell her. He said that she would be understanding, and if I didn’t tell her the truth, she would know I was lying anyway and keep pushing me.
So I did. She was initially shocked, but then she told me she understood why I did it.
My mind wanders back to the asylum and all the memories it held for me—not just because of Veronica but also because of Edith, Henry, and Scarlet. I got curious and looked into what Scarlet was up to since she never returned to Black Lake.
She didn’t return to a mental health facility at all. I guess what Veronica did to her traumatized her more than we knew. I found online that Scarlet is a secretary at a pediatric office.
Something safe, and I don’t blame her. After what she went through, she needed that.
We all do.
The sound of my tires screeching on the asphalt brings me back to the present. I drive through the gate and down the road until I see where the other cars are parked. I step out, the warmth kissing my skin as I shut the car door.
The cemetery is quiet, as always, except for the two children giggling. A smile breaks across my face as I approach my mother’s grave and see my family.
Dad is sitting with Mila in his lap. Chloe and Myles sit across from him while Carter has his back to me. I still can’t believe that he is about to be twelve. And he has excelled in his art.
He might be the next Picasso.
I approach them, but Mila sees me first.
“Uncle Leo!” she squeals, and the two-year-old claps her hands together. She is a good mix of her parents, with Chloe’s dark hair and Myles’ blue eyes.
Carter twists his head around, and when he sees me, he beams—pushing himself off the ground to rush over to me. His arms wrap around my waist, and he squeezes. “Hi, Uncle Leo!”
“Hey bud.” I squeeze back.
Once he lets go, he tells me I can sit by him. I position myself between my nephew and father, and Mila crawls over to me when I do. She gives me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek before settling into my lap.
Myles narrows his eyes at me, and I laugh as I tease him, “I think she might like me better than you.”
He scoffs. “I’m her father. There is no way.”
Chloe shakes her head with a chuckle. “You two, stop it! She loves the both of you, but of course, she loves you more, Myles.”
He flashes me a smug smirk, which I only respond to with a laugh.
“The next one is gonna love me more than you, too,” Myles jokes.
My eyes leave him and move to Chloe. “Are you pregnant?”
She swats at her husband, who winces. “It was supposed to be a surprise.”
“Sorry,” Myles mumbles.
Chloe returns to unpacking the food from the basket and spreading it out for us. We eat, laugh, and catch up on anything we missed.
Myles got a raise, enough for Chloe to stay home with the kids, which she has been loving.
My father decided to retire and appointed one of his best guys to run the shop. I know he wanted me to do it, but when I told him about being able to help people with their struggles again, he was ecstatic.
When all the food has disappeared, Mila decides that she wants to play. How she has the energy to want to run around baffles me. I swear she ate more than the rest of us, and I feel ready for a nap.
Our father takes her hand and walks her over to the patch of grass on the other side of the cemetery. Carter grabs a backpack, probably full of toys, and follows them over there.
The three of us watch them run around, my father keeping up with Mila. When I peel my eyes away from the chaos across the way, I look to see Myles and Chloe in conversation. They are talking softly, and I can’t understand what they are saying, but what caught my attention was how Myles’s hand rested on her stomach.
I smile, tears brimming as I witness their love, and I look away before they can see me on the verge of crying. It isn’t because I’m sad, but because I don’t have a love like theirs.
One day, I will find a love that consumes me. I know I’ll find someone who will love me for me, but it will take time for me to trust again.
The tears threatening to escape are happy ones because, for right now, I am content with the love of my family.
It’s all I need.
Chloe clears her throat, making me blink away the tears and look in her direction. She has two glasses in her hand, one filled with water and the other with wine. I take the alcohol, but before I can take a sip, she stops me.
“To Leo.” She raises her glass, as does Myles. “For doing difficult things to keep his family safe.”
“To Leo,” Myles mimics.
I lift my glass in the air, nodding at them slightly before taking a sip.
“Oh, by the way,” Chloe says. “I have a friend I want to set you up with.”
I lower the glass, looking over at Myles. We both shake our heads with a laugh because the last time Chloe had this bright idea, it didn’t end well.
She shrugs her shoulders and gives me a look that says “ we will talk about this later. ”
From the corner of my eyes, the purple windmill next to my mother’s gravestone begins to spin. Chloe and Myles don’t notice it because they resume their conversation, but I don’t take my eyes off it.
There is no wind, even on a spring day.
I smirk to myself.
When I visited my mother after I got out of prison, I asked her for forgiveness for what I had to do while seeking out my revenge. I wasn’t planning on killing Veronica then, but seeing it spin right after Chloe’s little toast, I’m taking it as a sign that my mother forgives me.
Leaning back on my hands, I shut my eyes and soak up the sun, and I think about how for the rest of my life, I will be living it happy and free.