Epilogue
KAMILA
End of January – Junior Year – Two days before Spring Semester
L evi’s face twists into one of horror.
Jake visibly cringes. “I’m so confused. Does that mean he wants to fuck her?”
“No,” Emma scoffs. “It means he’s her protector. She’s his to look after and make sure she’s safe and loved. Werewolves can’t help who it happens with,” she answers.
“Don’t they end up together?” Levi raises a brow.
Em pops in a gummy bear. “That’s beside the point.”
Cameron shakes his head, sitting on the floor with the boys, staring at the screen. “At least he didn’t kill her.”
“Do you guys want us to stop the marathon?” I ask.
“No,” all of the boys say in unison.
Em and I make eye contact as we suppress our laughter.
What started off as a very early day of unpacking and playing board games around lunch time turned into Twilight playing in the background while we continued with card games. Eventually, the boys became so invested that they dropped all the games and put their entire focus towards a movie series about vampires, werewolves, and love. Em and I convinced them to come to campus two days before classes started with the goal of tricking them into having a Twilight marathon.
Mission accomplished.
“Guys always end up being entertained by movies and shows like this. Whether they hate it, like it, or love it, they can’t take their eyes off the screen,” my roommate whispers.
“True, very true.”
The credits roll. One movie left to go, and we’ve barely taken any breaks. Everyone gets up to stretch before the finale.
I stand to get a drink when Cam grabs my arm and pulls me tightly to his chest.
“Hey, baby. Have I mentioned today how lucky I am that the girl of my dreams fell in love with me?” He smiles and places a soft kiss on my lips.
“Hm. Once or twice.”
Four times, actually. Once before fucking, once after, once before the games, and once during the movies. Now it’s five. But who’s keeping count, right?
He’s kept his promise to tell me every day how much he loves me, over the phone, text, and in person. I’ve never felt more cared for or loved than I have the past month.
“Get a room!” Jake yells.
Cam flips him off. All of them have been getting along amazingly well, which is something I was desperately seeking for in a partner.
“After the movie, do you want to take a couple of blankets to the fields and look at the stars?” he whispers, indicating that he only wants it to be the two of us, which I don’t mind at all. It’s our thing, and I plan to keep it that way.
“Absolutely.” I give him a peck. “Lots of blankets, it’s freezing.”
He chuckles. “Already done.” He gives me one last kiss before squeezing my butt and letting me go to the fridge.
Levi catches my attention when he groans loudly while looking at his phone. Just as I’m about to ask what’s wrong, Jake receives a text message, which he laughs loudly at distracting me. Then, as I open my mouth to ask what’s so funny, Em gets a call that blasts her ringtone, which she takes outside.
Looking around the room seeing Levi and Jake focused on their screens, while hearing Em speak in her posh voice outside, I give up on asking what I was going to.
“What is it with everyone tonight?” I voice out loud to Cam. “I mean, am I going crazy, or are they acting weirder than usual?”
Cameron shrugs and kisses me on the head. “It’s the beginning of a new year and semester. You know that the first week is crazy.”
I nod, unconvinced. On one hand, they’ve had their phones muted during the movie; on the other, they’re being kind of secretive. Ever since New Year's Eve, my friends seem to be having a lot going on that I have little to no knowledge about, which is rare.
“Mind your own business, Kamila,” Cam whispers.
Narrowing my eyes at him annoyed that he knows me so well, I reluctantly agree knowing they’ll tell me everything once they’re ready. Just like I did.
Once Em is back in the room, with a neutral face in place, which then turns into a smile, she claps her hands. “Alright, Breaking Dawn Part 2 time.”
Cam throws his arm around me, and I lean my head on his shoulder, clearing my mind and focusing on his touch. We all watch the movie with the guys commenting back and forth the entire time. When the final twist comes, they all start yelling at the screen while Em and I sit back, cackling until we’re crying. It’s the perfect start to the semester.
I have a boyfriend who gets along with my friends, his two best friends adore me as well, and the feelings are mutual. I’m also sure that Cameron Kahlo is the love of my life. And to think that all of this happened at only twenty years old. Except it started years ago. I found my soulmate at fifteen, and not many people can say that. I never forgot about the transfer student who became my best friend, turned into someone I later resented, and yet managed to fall in love with me during the toughest of times.
Looking down, I admire the tattoo I hated only a couple of months ago. Now, it brings me an extreme amount of joy and serves as a reminder that we’ll always be connected. Cam notices me eyeing the ink on his skin when the movie comes to an end, and he kisses my shoulder.
“It never stopped being my favorite tattoo,” he whispers.
And just when I thought I couldn’t love him more than I already did.
The night ended with a beautiful man by my side calling me his, a clear sky full of stars, and whispered I love you’s.
What started as one type of love ended as another.
Only this isn’t the end; it’s just the beginning.