EPILOGUE
FINNEAS
Cute, cute, cute. My bunny is so cute while he sleeps. From the way his nose twitches to the way his fingers curl around my sleeve. He’s so cute. So perfect. So mine. I could spend hours just watching him interact with the world around him.
But then that means I’d have to share.
I wish life was always like this. Even though it was only last night, it feels so far away. Watching him through a screen isn’t enough. It’s never enough, not even when he’s on the couch awake and waiting for me.
Maybe he forgot when I told him I had cameras set up around the house. When he slipped out that day, I noticed. Of course I noticed. But what was he going to do? My sweet Duncan isn’t one for thinking. He acts first, and lives with the consequences later. It’s what led him to me in the first place.
No one is sweeter than he is. He had no reason to defend me that night, but he did. He had no reason to become my friend, but he did. Truthfully, Duncan is too sweet for his own good. What if someone bad had gotten ahold of him first?
His friends and family have been useless. The search ended a little after January, and to the rest of the world my little bunny is as good as dead. How could they give up on him so easily? It’s their loss. It’s truly their loss.
Duncan is lazing about on the couch with nothing on but the cutest pair of blue shorts, a white tank top and the hairclip I gave him on one of our dates. His summer tan is my favorite, especially since I’m the only person on the planet who gets to see where the tan disappears.
The little white pill in front of me crushes easily against the back of my metal spoon before finding its home in Duncan’s iced tea. My bunny listens so well, even before I decided to do a little bit of extra work to make him more agreeable.
I’d sooner slit my own throat than ever lose him. That wheelchair was a mistake. I gave him a taste of freedom and he got too bold. It was my mistake, but a mistake nonetheless.
“Here, bunny.” I set the glass down on the coffee table, smiling warmly at him. Like the lovesick puppy he is, Duncan leans in for a needy kiss. Of course I give it to him. How could I ever deny him? “Drink up quick before it gets warm, okay?”
“Okay,” he nods with a dopey smile. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” A kiss on his forehead makes him shudder. My eyes rake across his body, admiring my marks of devotion. Bite marks, hickeys, bruises around his wrists since he loves being held down. It’s all so perfect. He’s so perfect. “You want anything else?”
Duncan shakes his head, tugging at my shirt in an attempt to make me cuddle with him. He’s watching one of those stupid romance movies he loves so much. “Stay?”
“Let me go change,” I give him another quick peck for good measure. “Promise I’ll be right back.”
There’s something so addicting to the way his brows push together and the corners of his mouth fall. He can barely take being away from me, but honestly neither can I.
After petting his head for a minute, I slip away into my bedroom. All the photos that used to be stuck to the ceiling are gone, but only because he asked so sweetly. That was still in winter, though. He doesn’t usually ask for anything except my attention now.
My latest guilty pleasure is his phone. Of course the SIM card has been long destroyed, but thank the heavens for iMessage. Every now and then he’ll get a text from his mother, or god forbid Haley.
His mom definitely took it all the hardest. Every message is just another layer of her unravelling, which would be sad if it wasn’t her fault things ended up this way in the first place. Would Duncan like knowing how miserable she is, now?
mom
I miss you everyday, baby. I wish I was kinder to you. I wish I loved you properly.
Wherever you are, I hope you’re happy.
Of course he’s happy. He’s happy to be away from the people who destroyed him. From the people who ripped him apart and then left him for dead. Just thinking about it makes me so mad, but all the little indents on my palms make that obvious.
Haley’s messages are a little more depressing. It’s not like she ever did anything wrong, exactly. She had her own life to live, and Duncan wasn’t part of that. In some ways, I wish I could tell her he's fine. But I’d never do anything to jeopardize what we have.
Haley
my bf proposed, dunk! im engaged :)
im going to invite you to my wedding regardless, okay? there’s always going to be a spot for you. even if you dont rvsp, you can still show up, okay?
please show up
i miss you so much
you cant be gone
you're my best friend
Why did nobody told him all this when he needed to hear it? Not that it bothers me, though. Their loss was my greatest victory. Smiling from ear to ear, I keep scrolling until I hear a familiar bell jingle enter the room.
Chalupa walks in with his tail raised high, giving me a one-over before jumping up on the bed and curling up in the spot where Duncan sleeps. Stupid cat doesn’t like me, but February was bunny’s birthday and he really wanted the mangy thing back.
Getting into Sandra’s apartment was a little easier than I thought it would be. Hopefully she takes the cat vanishing as a sign to be more safe, since she’s a sweet lady and I’d hate for anything to happen to her.
Turning the phone off and slipping it back on top of my shelf, I don’t spare Chalupa another glance before heading back to the living room. Usually Duncan gets all excited when I enter the room, but he doesn’t move.
Stepping up to the couch, I peer over the back to find his adorable sleeping face. Those pills do tend to make him tired, but he usually fights it off better than that. Humming to myself, I lift him just enough to join him on the couch without disrupting his slumber.
He’s my favorite blanket, and napping with the love of my life is something I only used to dream about. I hope my dad is rotting down there. I hope he’s suffering wherever the hell he is. All my life he told me I’d never amount to anything. That no one would love “someone like me.”
But Duncan loves me, and I love Duncan.