normally would’ve; instead, he moved to sit at the foot of the bed, reaching an arm out to me.
I met that arm halfway, my fingers brushing against his.
Things would be hard, but we would get through them. They would be my rocks, and I would be theirs. Midpark had tried to drag me down, tried to kill me as it had succeeded in killing so many others, including my mom, but I was still here.
I was stronger than this town, and anyone who didn’t believe it could fuck off.
Chapter Thirty-Two - Jaz – Epilogue
I sat in my uncomfortable hat and gown, surrounded by people I didn’t care about. The ceremony was outside, in the back clearing behind the school. The weather was nice and accommodating, the sun shining brightly overhead and the breeze blowing by every few seconds.
Okay, that was a lie. There were quite a few people I cared about here. Two of them sat in the seats facing the front stage with me: Archer Vega and Vaughn Scott. Both were graduating with me, though their plans were different. Archer was going to Hillcrest next year, with me, while Vaughn would be working for his family.
That didn’t mean he wouldn’t come visit all the time, though. Because he would. I’d make him.
Dante sat beside Ollie and Jacob in the audience. They were smackdab in the middle of a whole host of trophy wives and husbands who probably couldn’t care less about this ceremony. I had to admit, I couldn’t care less, either. I just wanted it done.
Stupid Principal Wash talked too much about the students we’d lost this year. Ryan and his friends, Deetra and Chelsea… and Brittany.
Her body had been found by two of Vaughn’s brothers when Markus sent them to look. She’d been haphazardly buried in the woods near her parents’ house, so it was only a matter of time until they discovered her remains. Since the Scotts took care of her, we didn’t have to worry about that.
The Scotts took care of a lot, even things I wished they didn’t. They handled Bobbi’s body, the cleanup, and my mom. Out of everyone, my mom deserved a real funeral. She didn’t get one, of course, but that didn’t stop me from making a small, informal ceremony on the back patio with my guys and Ollie.
Ollie surprised me the most, I think. Not in that he stopped working so hard—if anything, he buried himself in his work even more—but because he’d started to see Holden Wilde. You know, Bobbi’s dad. They were friends, sort of. I think.
Ollie also let Archer stay with us, and he even told Dante to stop staying at that cheap motel. Yeah, living with two of my boyfriends was a good stress reliever, I’ll tell you that. And finally getting put on birth control? Made it even better. Jacob and Vaughn were over a lot, too. It’d been nice, although every once in a while I still felt myself thinking back to that awful day, to how broken I’d felt and how much I’d enjoyed doing what I did.
No, I’d told myself that I wouldn’t think about it.
You might be wondering where I was getting the money to go to Hillcrest, how I’d gotten accepted when I hadn’t even applied—I could thank Ollie for that. I think, after everything, he was helping me out because he felt responsible, because he’d failed to save my mom by realizing the danger right in front of him.
That, or because he literally had no one else. Ollie was lonely, I think, and my mom’s death hit him hard.
Finally, the speeches were over, and the teachers on the stage began to hand out diplomas as Principal Wash read name after name. Row by row, the student body got up and headed to the stairs on the side of the stage. I was in the same row as Vaughn, so I couldn’t cheer him on too much.
Had to focus on not tripping in my heels.
But when it was Archer’s turn to walk across that stage and accept his diploma? I hooted, I hollered. I made a big fuss even though we were all told to be silent until the very end. Poo on that, I say. Screw them all.
I was sweating my boobs off by the time the ceremony was over, and though the principal had warned us not to toss our hats, ninety percent of the students did anyway, including me. Again, screw them.