Authors: Karli Perrin
Chapter
Twenty Two
An hour
later, we were full of pancakes and on our way. Lucy had tears in her eyes as
she said goodbye to Brody but insisted that she didn't want me to stay at home
with her. I think she needed some time alone. I noticed that she was wearing
Brody's ring on a chain around her neck.
Isaac and
Brody spent the whole journey talking about music and I was quite content
listening to them. It made me happy that my two favourite guys in the entire
world seemed to genuinely like each other.
"It's
the second house on the right" Brody announced as we turned onto our
street. It felt strange being back, so much had happened since leaving a few
months ago. Isaac parked up before shaking Brody's hand, "It's been a
pleasure."
I laughed,
"Sweet talker."
"There's
nothing wrong with a bit of bromance" Brody winked, "Make sure you
treat my little sister right or I'll set my psycho groupies on you."
"You can
keep them all to yourself" Isaac replied, laughing.
"Go and
show America what you've got!" I told Brody as we got out of the car and I
pulled him into a giant hug. I was going to miss having him around but I knew
that he was leaving for bigger and better things.
"I will.
Be careful and call me any time you want."
"You're
going to regret saying that. Different time zones, remember?"
"Okay,
just stick to mornings."
"My
mornings on your mornings?"
He laughed,
"You know what? I'll call you. Look after Lucy for me, okay?"
I nodded but
his face turned serious, "Hey, don't worry, she'll be fine."
"Shit."
"What's
wrong?"
"She
shouldn't be back yet."
"Who?"
I turned around and quickly discovered who he was talking about. The front door
opened and out walked my mother.
I didn't know
whether to talk to her or get back in the car and tell Isaac to drive away. She
made the choice for me when she walked over to us. She didn't fall over, which
was a good start. She pulled me into her arms, "It's so nice to see
you." I was surprised when she didn't reek of alcohol. "I've missed both
of you." She turned to Brody, "I didn't think you were coming
back."
He shook his
head, "I'm not staying, why don't we go inside and talk?"
"Who's
that?" she asked, looking at Isaac.
Before I could
stop him, he got out of the car and extended his hand, "Hi, I'm Isaac.
It's nice to meet you."
"We
should be heading back" I said as they shook hands. I didn't want my mum to
embarrass me in front of Isaac.
"Are you
still coming home for Christmas?" she asked.
I shrugged,
"Are you going to be sober by Christmas"
"I hope
so."
"Me
too."
I said
goodbye and hugged Brody one more time before getting back in the car.
"Are you
okay?" Isaac asked as we drove away.
"I'm
fine."
"You
really need to learn some new adjectives."
I rolled my
eyes, "
Fine
, maybe I will."
He laughed.
When we pulled up at some traffic lights, he turned to face me, "Why don't
you ever talk about her?"
"There's
nothing to say. She's an alcoholic, end of story."
"I don't
think it has to be the end, I know someone who could help her."
"Are
they a miracle worker?"
"No but
they're really good at what they do."
"Isaac,
you don't have to help her."
"You're
right, I don't
have
to help her but I
want
to."
I glanced out
of the window, scared of letting my two worlds collide. I wanted to keep my life
with Isaac separate from my mother but I had a strong feeling that it was out
of my hands.
"Can we
make one more stop before we head back?"
He grinned,
"Of course."
***
After
squealing in our faces for five minutes, we brought Katie up to date with
everything that had happened.
"Oh my
god! My best friend is a fucking porn star!" Katie whispered after she
dragged me into the kitchen, leaving Isaac in the living room with Ian and
Jamie.
"I knew
I shouldn't have told you."
"Can I
have a signed copy?"
"You've
got serious mental issues."
"Hey,
I'm not the one who made a sex tape." She pulled her phone out of her
pocket, "I'm googling it right now."
"You're
not going to find it."
"Well
that's weird because it's already buffering."
"What?!"
"Yeah,
it's right here on WWW dot my best friend is a porn star and made a sex tape
with her hot tutor dot com." I had to listen to her laugh for two whole
minutes.
"That's
not funny."
"I disagree.
Have you watched it back yet? You could totally self-evaluate."
"No and
I'm not going to."
"You're
such a spoil sport. So when are you going to make the next one?"
I sighed, "I'm
so confused, I miss you but I don't at the same time..." Now it was my
turn to laugh.
"You
know, the whole student/teacher thing is popular in porn, you could draw from
your real life experiences."
I only had
myself to blame.
I quickly
escaped before she could make any more porn related comments. I grinned when I
saw Isaac bouncing Jamie on his knee.
"Oh my
god, so he
can
be quiet" Katie said as she appeared next to me.
Ian chuckled,
"You need to visit more often, he's not been this quiet
in...forever."
She nudged
me, "I'd keep this one if I were you."
I laughed,
"That's the plan."
"Apparently
his charm works on people of all ages." She winked at Isaac, "And
genders."
We all burst
out laughing.
Chapter
Twenty Three
I walked into
my lecture on Monday morning and grinned when I saw Lukas sitting in the front
row. It had been weeks since we were in a class together. "Hey,
stranger."
"Hey, I
saved you a seat."
I sat down
next to him, "Thanks. I haven't seen you in class for a while, have you
been on holiday or something?"
He grinned, playing
along with me, "Yes, actually."
"Did you
go anywhere nice?"
"I went
somewhere really hot." I burst out laughing but he carried on, "I
went all inclusive. The food wasn't anything to write home about but they
waited on me hand and foot."
"Well it's
good to have you back."
"It's good
to be back. How are things with you?"
"Great,
thanks."
"Have
you sorted your new accommodation out yet?"
I grinned,
"Lucy asked me to be her official flatmate and I said yes."
"That's
awesome."
I nodded,
"We're having an official flat warming soon, you should come. It's nothing
big, just close friends."
He grinned, "I
like the sound of that."
"Me
too."
I knew from
that moment on that everything was going to be okay.
Chapter
Twenty Four
The
butterflies in my stomach came alive as I heard a key turning in the lock. Isaac's
face lit up when he saw me, "Do you have any idea how awesome it is to
come home and see your beautiful face in my apartment?"
I grinned as
I walked over to him, "Not as awesome as this..." I threaded my hands
through his hair as I leaned up to kiss him.
He set his
briefcase down on the kitchen counter before picking me up. My legs naturally
wrapped around his waist as he carried me into his bedroom. He placed me down
on the bed and began to plant gentle kisses all over my face and neck, "Zero
days."
I felt my
eyes fill with tears, "We did it."
"We did
it" he repeated.
"Is this
real?"
"Hell
yes, it's real. I've already changed my facebook status to in a relationship."
I giggled,
"I love you."
"I love
you too. So what do you want to do first? Feed each other ice cream or take
selfies of us kissing?"
"Let's
do both at the same time."
He grinned,
"Deal."
Epilogue
Two
years later
My heart
swelled with pride as I looked out into the audience at all of my favourite
people. Isaac was standing up taking photographs while my mum fussed over a
heavily pregnant Katie. Brody slapped Ian on the back before waving at me.
Lukas nudged
me, "Look how far we've come."
I let his
words sink in as I turned to face him. I wanted to remember this moment
forever. I was so grateful that we had managed to work through our problems. He
would always be one of my best friends. "What a ride" I replied.
"Understatement
of the century."
***
Half an hour
later, I had officially graduated. Who knew that throwing a cap up in the air
would feel so damn good? After being blinded by the flashes on everybody's
cameras, we all headed back to the flat for the after-party.
"Speech!"
Brody shouted as he tapped the side of his champagne glass.
I scowled at
him. "I'm going to keep it short and sweet. I would just like to say a big
thank you to everybody for coming. I'm so glad that I can share this special day
with you all."
"Nice
speech" Lucy told me once the clapping had died down.
"Thanks,
you can do the next one."
She laughed
before glancing over at Brody.
"He's
been asking about you."
She blushed, "Who?"
"Oh,
come on! You've just graduated, you can't get away with playing dumb."
A couple of
months after Brody left for America the first time around, their phone calls stopped.
To this day, both of them refuse to talk about what happened. She fiddled
nervously with her necklace - the one which had Brody's ring on it. The one
which she refused to take off. "I think you should talk to him."
She looked
down at her feet, "I wouldn't even know where to start."
I caught
Brody's eye and motioned for him to come over, "Start from the
beginning."
Proving how
perfectly attuned we were, Isaac came up and wrapped his arms around me before
gently leading me away, leaving Lucy and Brody alone.
"I'm so
proud of you."
I grinned, "I
couldn't have done it without you."
"Will
you come for a little walk with me?"
I wiggled my
eyebrows, "A little walk, hmmm?"
He laughed,
"Just a walk...for now."
"Do you
think it's safe to leave those two alone?"
"Let's
check." He shouted over to Brody, "Am I okay to steal your sister for
a little while?"
"Sure,
as long as you bring her back." Brody grinned at me as we walked out of
the door.
I couldn't
begin to get my head around how happy I was. Me and Isaac were the happiest we'd
ever been, Brody's band was doing awesome and my mum was sober. Eighteen months
and counting. I would never be able to thank Isaac enough for his compassion.
After Brody left home, she spiralled out of control. Isaac paid for her to
check into a private rehab centre. It was a long process but with the right
help, she got her life back on track. I began visiting her once a month and we
were slowly trying to patch up our relationship.
We strolled
hand in hand until we arrived back at the University. "Why have you
brought me back here? I've graduated, that's it, I'm free!"
He laughed, "I
want to show you something."
"Oh
yeah? I thought you said this was an innocent little walk?"
"April
Adams, you have a dirty mind."
"Are you
complaining?"
"Not one
little bit."
When we
reached the line of trees, he placed my hand on his bicep, "Hold on, I
won't let you fall."
I laughed, "Wow,
I feel like we've just been transported back in time. You know, I nearly died
when you tensed your arm."
"When?"
"That
first night at the mixer when you told me to hold on. You tensed your arm and I
nearly melted onto the floor."
He winked,
"I did it on purpose."
I gasped,
"You did not!"
"I did,
I wanted you to feel the guns."
We were both
laughing when we reached our tree. I sighed happily as I ran my hand across the
bark where the letters I and A were engraved. "I'm going to miss this
place."
"Me too,
we can come back and visit."
"I'd
like that."
He wrapped
his arms around my waist and gazed down at me, "I'm so glad that I came
out here the morning that I met you."
"Well
I'm glad that I was running late."
"Me too.
Our relationship hasn't always been easy but I wouldn't change a thing. Everything
happened the way that it did to lead us to this very moment." He reached
into his pocket and pulled out a piece of folded up paper, "I have
something for you."
I grinned,
recognising the paper. I loved it when he shared his diary entries with me. It
made me feel closer to him and it was a nice way of reflecting on the good
times that we had shared. I took the paper from him and began to unfold it.
"You are the best thing that's ever
happened to me."
I leaned up
to kiss him, "Short but sweet, thank you." He handed me another one. "Two
in one day? You're spoiling me!"
"I'm
allowed to spoil you, it's your graduation day."
I grinned as
I read his sweet words -
"I want to spend the rest of my
life making you happy."
I laughed
when I looked up to see that he was holding another one. His eyes twinkled as
he handed it to me, "I've saved the best for last."
I unfolded
the paper and gasped as I read his handwritten words -
"Will you marry me?"
My heart
began to pound as he slowly got down on one knee. He reached into his jacket
pocket and pulled out a small box. "April Adams, will you do me the honour
of becoming my wife?"
I couldn't
stop the tears from flowing as I threw my arms around him and nearly tackled
him to the ground. "Yes! Of course I will marry you!" I felt like I
was going to burst with happiness as he placed the ring on my finger. I looked
around us, trying to absorb every little thing about this moment.
His eyes were
brimming with tears as he gently wiped away mine, "Hey, what's with the
April Showers?"
I took his
hand and held it against my chest, "Feel that? It beats for you."
I grinned as
I saw the next fifty years flash before my eyes. I saw love and happiness and
grandchildren.
Lots
of grandchildren. I felt like the luckiest girl
alive. Not only had I found my husband but I had found my best friend, my soul
mate, my forever.
The End.