Epilogue

Rainier's POV

"Laurent, Rainier Jacques!"

My parents were already up on their feet. They clapped so hard and screamed. Their faces were beaming, and pretty much exhausted. They were still recovering from clapping for Julie, who had been called onto the stage just before me.

I walked onto the stage proudly with my gown waving behind me. I donned the colors of Lake Harlow high school, navy blue and sky blue. This was it. It was officially my final day as a high school student. I was now a graduate. I would miss the school terribly. For the past 4 years it had been my home. I was familiar with almost every aspect of the building and the grounds. I knew almost all the teachers.

My diploma was thrust in my hand and I shook hands with the person who gave it to me and the principal. My parents were still on their feet and clapping. They were really proud of Julie and I. I raised my diploma high above my head and the other students clapped.

I returned to my seat at the far end of the stage. We were seated in alphabetical order based on our last names, so Julie and I sat next to each other.

Other students were called onto the stage to receive their diplomas.

Julie looked at me while we clapped.

"You don't really seem that much happy", she whispered.

"I'm going to miss this place", I said.

"It's more than that", she said matter-of-factly.

I sighed. "Chloe promised, but she's not here and Ryan will be crushed".

"Maybe something happened", she said.

"I hope so...well, not something bad. Ryan was really looking forward to seeing Kayla".

I leaned forward to glance at Ryan. Even after a year I still found him to be gorgeous beyond words. He was seated far from me because his last name started with a C. Just as I expected, he was looking around.

I couldn't believe Chloe would do this to him. She had agreed to bring Kayla to his graduation. It was a special day for him and he wanted to share it with his now 3-year old daughter. He had missed 2 years of her life. The school had allowed Kayla to attend, and she was underage.

After Ryan told me about Kayla I helped set him up with my dad's friend who was a lawyer. He helped him get supervised visitation. He couldn't leave with Kayla and he wasn't happy about that, but he was glad he could see her. He promised to seek more once he was stable. He loved her; you could just see it when they were playing. I had met her once. She was a spitting image of her dad with the blue eyes, though she had just one dimple. She looked cute either way.

Ryan and I were going to celebrate our 2 year anniversary later that year, hopefully. We didn't really have a date, so we celebrated the whole of November and December. Those two months were really important to us. It wasn't just because we started dating, but we helped free each other from our burdens.

Ryan was still the guy I wanted, and I had him. Our relationship wasn't perfect, but it was perfect for me. We fought but our fights were never serious. We complemented each other well.

We'd actually won couple of the year and our picture was in the yearbook. It was a silly award, but I guess people saw the love between us. I still loved him very much and my love grew tenfold every day.

"Rainier, 1 o'clock!" Julie whispered.

I looked at her and then at what she had directed me to. A girl was walking hastily towards the seats where the parents and guardians sat. She was holding a baby girl in her arms. I didn't have to recognize her to know it was Chloe. The girl in her arms wearing a pink dress spoke volumes. She had come! I knew Ryan would be very happy.

I looked at him, just in time to see him catch a glimpse of Chloe and Kayla. I watched as his face displayed the biggest smile I had ever seen. I smiled too. His smiles were contagious. I looked at Chloe, who pointed Ryan out to Kayla. Kayla started clapping. It was a cute sight.

Soon all the students had their diplomas. We were all asked to stand up and the parents clapped. The ceremony finished soon after that.

I wanted to talk to Ryan, but my parents rushed to hug me and tell me how proud they were. I was smothered by kisses from my mom and hugs from my dad.

"Look at you two", mom said surveying Julie and I. "I am the proudest mom".

"Of course you are mom", I said sarcastically. I'm sure most moms said that.

Mom grabbed me by the ears and kissed me. "Of course I am", she said.

"Can I go say hi to Ryan?" I asked.

"Say hi? More like..." Julie started talking but I stepped on her foot.

"Can I?" I asked, not that I would stay if they said no.

"Yeah, just come back soon. Your dad is taking us out for lunch", mom said. She was reluctant to let me go. You would swear I wasn't coming back.

I walked over to where Ryan was with Chloe, Kayla and his uncle. He was holding Kayla and she was playing with his hair. His aunt wasn't there. He was in touch with her and she knew his uncle was funding him, but he still stayed on his own. She didn't really accept him, but after trying to convince his uncle to stop funding him, she gave up. He was allowed to see Emily and Sally.

"Hi everyone", I said when I got there.

"Hey baby", Ryan said enthusiastically, smiling at me.

"Hi", Chloe said.

"Hello Rain, congratulations", Ryan's uncle said.

"Thank you sir", I said. "Hi Kayla".

"Say hi Kayla. Remember Rain?" Ryan said to Kayla.

"Hi Rain", Kayla said sweetly. She had the cutest voice, and the cutest little face. She went back to playing with Ryan's hair, the same hair color as hers.

"Rainier!" Julie called my name. It seemed they were leaving.

"I have to go. Nice seeing you guys", I said.

Ryan's uncle nodded.

"I'll walk you", Ryan said.

He gave Kayla to Chloe.

We started walking. We couldn't have gained much distance before he said, "Can I kiss you now?"

I chuckled. "Kayla isn't looking".

He turned me to him and gave me a sweet peck. It wasn't long and I wanted more, but we weren't about to make out in front of parents and other old people, which sucked.

"I'm proud of you Ryan" I said looking into his eyes.

"And I'm proud of you. Look at us, we are graduates", he said. He held my hand.

"For a moment I thought Chloe wasn't coming", I said.

"Yeah, I thought so too. She got held up by traffic cops, something about Kayla's baby seat", he said.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

He beamed. "I am happy my uncle is here. I owe that man my life. He never gave up on me. I'm happy Kayla is here. She might not understand anything about today, but I wanted to assure her that I'm going to try my best to be a good dad and take care of her.", he said.

"When she's old enough to understand, I'm sure she'll be proud of you", I said.

"I wasn't done. I'm happy you are here with me too. I'm happy you still think I deserve you. And I'm happy you are staying when you could be in Europe painting", he said.

Didier LaFond had seen my work and awarded me a scholarship to go to an art college in France. I loved painting and drawing, but I didn't want to be that far away from home. I wanted to be close to the people who loved me so I declined. Besides, I didn't want to learn how to paint. I already painted and that was good enough for me. I painted my emotions, thoughts and my soul. No school was going to teach me that.

I was going to the community college to study marine biology. I still loved ocean life, and I loved scuba diving just as much. I would still paint, and maybe one day I would make it a career. Ryan was going to the community college too. He'd gotten a soccer scholarship to study communications. We were going to be together, which was awesome.

For the first time I was going to be separated from my sister. Julie was going to Juilliard to study drama. Jordan was at New York University so it was ideal. Julie and I were twins. It was going to be hard being away from each other, but it was necessary. We couldn't go all our lives living as if we were attached at the hip.

"I am where I want to be", I said softly.

He smiled. "I'm glad. Any chance I can twist your arm about auditioning for Idols?"

That was a subject we'd been discussing for months. Everyone including my parents were all for it. I sang a lot the previous year, having found my voice again when I finally moved on from what had happened that fateful day on the bridge. The Idols auditions were coming up.

"I don't want to embarrass myself", I said.

"...Says the guy who won the school talent competition two years in a row. Besides, you love playing and singing".

Ryan sometimes reminded me of Tristan. I guess it was because of how he supported me with everything I did. He was always there to listen to a song or help me out with the fundraising even when he wasn't part of the club.

I shook my head.

"Did I say it? I get to boast about my boyfriend's talent".

He took out his phone and we took a picture. He had a wide smile and I had that 'I'm about to laugh out loud' face.

"I love this one", he said. "This is for all those people who won't believe you are mine".

"You have countless pictures of us together", I said.

"Yeah, but this is most recent", he said.

I smiled. He made me love him more every day. It hadn't been an easy start, but I was glad we persevered. I was crazy about the guy.

I didn't see Julie walk towards us, so when she appeared behind me I moved away.

"Here", she said to Ryan, taking his phone from him. "Smile lovebirds", she said to us, taking a full-length picture.

She shoved the phone in Ryan's hand and started dragging me away.

"I'll call you", I shouted to Ryan.

He waved.

"Gosh he's dreamy", I said absent-mindedly. I was walking backwards.

Julie heard. She chuckled. "Someone is love-drunk"

I smiled. "When's Jordan going to get here?"

Julie said something.I wasn't listening. I was looking at Ryan playing with Kayla. He really seemed happy, and I was happy. Who could have assured me when I was slitting my wrists in the bath that one day I would find true happiness again? 

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Hey guys

D.J here. So, we've come to the end. Unlike my previous stories, I finished this one within a month. That meant ignoring my boyfriend and daydreaming about the next chapter. I guess I love it too much. I enjoyed writing it. I hope you've enjoyed reading it just as much, if not more.

I'm big on sequels, so there might be one in the future. I obviously have attachment problems :D. Any thoughts, comments, votes and whatever else will be appreciated. 

D.J Cullen