EPILOGUE

Amaryllis Lexington

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You know that glow you get from being happily, or should I say sappily in love? Yup. I was sporting that glow, in spades if I may add.

I knew spending midterms with my folks back in Halloway would be crazy fun, it paled in comparison to spending midterms with Carlson! He spent about a week in Halloway and we had the most fun in the world. I took him on a tour of our small city and he fell in love with it totally.

I spent half of my days in his company. I wished mum would have invited him to stay in our guest room throughout his stay, but I was quite grateful she didn't because that temptation would have been too much to handle. Hah, there's so much a girl can take.

When he left, I felt like packing my bags and going with him, but I had to see the holiday through with my parents here. I had never been happier to arrive at Lakeview.

Dad and mum came to pick me up and they hugged me till I turned red in the face, but I honestly didn't mind. Staying in Halloway made me realize there was room in my heart to love my two separate parents in different ways but in crazy measures.

When I arrived at home, I was yet to set foot out of the car when Allison came rushing out. She had dyed her red hair black. I knew black hair looked good with green eyes, yeah, but I wasn't expecting her to look this good. It felt illegal somehow.

"I was low-key hoping you'd realize you liked Halloway a lot and you would stay back." Although she tried to sound hard, I recognized the humor undertone and I raised my brow defiantly with a smirk.

I missed having someone to go back and forth with. Carmel definitely didn't give me the satisfaction when I ran into her because she suddenly sucked up to me, making me feel like I imagined all the times she was mean to me. Rose says it's because of the guy I was walking hand-in-hand with when we met. I didn't have it in me to disagree. Carlson could make the devil become best friends with you.

"And deprive you of having someone to make you feel bad about yourself? Nah, wouldn't pass up the chance." I guess our parents kinda gave up on interfering when we bickered because they just chuckled and shook their heads.

The normal thing to do would have been to rush into each other's arms and hug like our lives depended on it, but I just couldn't picture that happening with Allison. We were cool, yes, but that was on another level entirely.

"I knew I missed your presence for a reason." She grinned and surprised me by opening her arms. To say I was stunned would have been an understatement. I was just walking into the hug when she gave me the 'hol' up' look and I swallowed with slight embarrassment.

"Someone must be feeling quite needy this afternoon. Didn't Carlson give you all the hug you could ever need? I know I'm irresistible and all, but you need to tone it down. I was just practicing what it would be like to actually want to hug you." Ouch.

"I kinda don't like you right now." I rolled my eyes at her and we walked inside together. My other sister was standing by the stairs, staring at me like she couldn't believe I was still alive. When she saw mum coming around, she jumped on me and wrapped her arms around me.

"Goodness, Amari. You've grown so thin. We need to fatten you up. What have they been feeding you down there?" She tried to sound sweet, but every word that fell out of her mouth was so condescending.

I pushed her off of me once mum was out of view. "Girl, I have a date in thirty minutes and I definitely don't want to take a shower, neither do I want to arrive reeking of jealousy and daftness."

"My Goodness!" Allison whooped and I mentally gave her a fist bump. That girl knew the exact moment to make an appearance.

Maya wanted to give a smart retort, I could almost see the wheels turning in her head, but she couldn't help the fact that she had nothing smart upstairs. The sight was so pathetic I almost felt bad for her. Without thinking twice, I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Look Maya, I understand why you hate me so much. I won't lie to you and tell you I like you either. I actually do not like you at all right now, but I used to. If this is about me being friends with Carlson and his friends, then that's very stupid. Just because you hate someone doesn't mean I have to hate the person too."

Her eyes turned red and she stepped out of my touch. Thank Goodness! "I was doing you a favour, but I guess toh don't appreciate it. You're still in the 'honeymoon phase'. Very soon Carlson is going to get tired of you and just stop talking to you. I can't wait for you to come crying to me."

I sighed, shaking my head. I definitely didn't have time for this. I was meeting with Carlson and the boys in some minutes and I need to be in my best frame of mind, but I couldn't let Maya keep walking around with the stupid idea that Carlson hurt her. I needed to clear her.

"I actually asked Carlson what happened between you both and he told me. He didn't deny the fact that he cut you off, but he didn't seem apologetic about it. Actually, after hearing what happened, I strongly agree with him." Her mouth fell open but I wasn't done talking.

"You're a very entitled person, Maya. If you really cared about Carlson and regarded him as your best friend, you would have noticed that something was terribly wrong. He went from being the super bubbly and fun loving friend you knew to being withdrawn and lonely, but you didn't even care to ask what happened to him! You just suddenly got upset that he stopped being sweet to you. Who does that?! The world doesn't revolve around you, you know?"

"I... He didn't say..." She started, guilt swimming in her eyes.

"Of course he didn't say because he was having a hard time. Everyone was telling him he should keep his dad's sickness a secret. He didn't even tell the boys. Did you know he blew them off too? Didn't hang out with them because he felt like he shouldn't be having fun when his hero was battling for life. You know the difference between you and the boys? They genuinely cared and they stayed! They knew friendship was all about the good and bad, so even when he was throwing them off and sinking into himself, they supported him. You didn't. You felt entitled to be at the receiving end of his love, and you only gave back whenever he was giving to you. No one wants a friend who's only gonna be there because they are fun to be around. We all want someone who's going to stay even when we're being frustrating."

I sighed, realizing I had probably said too much, and walked away. I needed to give her time to let everything I said sink in anyway. Hearing Carlson talk about the incident made my heart break for him. I actually deliberately left out the part where he admitted to being into her. The fact that if Maya didn't mess up, the two of them would be a couple didn't sit well with me. Ugh!

I was already having a bad day and thankfully, I knew just who could fix that. I jumped into the shower and in exactly twenty five minutes, I was walking out to Carlson's car. I was surprised to find Jayden's truck outside too. All the boys rushed out when they saw me and they were basically calling dibs on who would hug me first. They were so sweet, I low-key wanted to cry.

"We missed you!"

"Girl, you look fineee!"

"At least, Carlson will be fun more to have around now rhag you're back."

"Good to see you again, bro."

They all tried to get in at once, and while I could make out the words, I can't really tell who said what but I didn't mind. I was basking in their love.

"Okay, okay, you guys have had your fill. Can I have my woman back now?" Carlson groaned, breaking our mini circle and pulling me to his side. I was grinning so much, my face was beginning to ache.

"Spoil sport." David rolled his eyes and walked back to Jayden's truck. Soon enough, the boys filled into the truck and left just Carlson and I. One would think they left to offer us some semblance of privacy, but they were staring daggers at us.

"Sometimes I hate those guys. Can't we just bail on them and hang out separately? I'm just seeing you for the first time in a week and I really don't want to share."

God, I love this guy!

"Selfish much?" I teased and he pulled me closer, placing a kiss on my forehead.

"With you, Amaryllis, I'm the most selfish person to ever grace the face of the earth."

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YOU GUYS HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO HURT ME.

I'M SO SORRY. 🥺🥺🥺

I love you guys thoooo!!!

So muchhhhh!

Thanks for your continuous support even when I didn't deserve it.