The Gay Delusion

29: The Goodbye Delusion

Holy freaking crap, I can't believe this is the last chapter before the epilogue. I'm almost hyperventilating right now. Endings are the hardest thing in the world for me in every single sense of the word, but I really, really hope you enjoy this one. 

I just wanted to say thank you to those of you who have stuck with this story and these characters until now - you're all so, so overwhelmingly kind and I'll be the first to declare that I have the best readers on wattpad when it comes to those reading this story :P For nearly the last time, please let me know you think! :) Lots of love, River. xoxo

29: The Goodbye Delusion

The rest of the early afternoon melted past all of us, filled with laughter – in Cassie's case, laughter which was so hard that she snorted a substantial amount of lemonade out of her nose – and food. Often I found myself having to stop, step back, and smile some more simply because I was smiling.

I was happy.

It was a surprisingly beautiful day considering it was the very end of November, the sun making shadows dance across the (unfortunately quite dead) grass. However, we all still pulled on our coats to lounge outside in Verity and Matt's tiny garden, mugs of tea cupped in our hands to keep them warm.

'All right gang, I'm cold and I need a nap, so you can all shift your delightful arses out of my house now,' Verity announced, standing up from where she was perched on the top garden step and waving her hands toward the door. 'Perks of being preggers – I can tell people to piss off without any consequences.'

Freya rolled her eyes from where she was sat huddled beside me. 'Again, you're full of shit, Verity.'

'Please guys, not this argument again,' Lewis groaned, although I could see him struggling not to smile. Standing up, he threw an arm across Verity's shoulders, pecking her on the cheek. 'I've actually got to dash now anyway, but thanks for having us, V. Congratulations again on the tiny one-to-be.'

Verity smiled warmly, scrunching her nose when Lewis's lips made contact with her cheek. 'Thanks, lovely. I'm really going to miss seeing you when you leave for all your European adventures,' she told Lewis, patting the side of his face maternally.

He winked at her. 'Don't miss me just yet - I'm not going until after Christmas! Besides, I'll send you and the baby something from every single place I visit,' he promised. 'Although I'm not too sure you'll want your baby to receive a postcard from Amsterdam's red light district...'

'Feel free to send me one, along with some weed and maybe a sex toy or two,' I said, raising my hand and waving it in the air.

Lewis grinned. 'I'll put that on my to-do list.'

Verity hit him around the back of the head. 'You little perv! I do actually want one from there, though,' she responded, her eyes suddenly sparkling with tears. 'I want a postcard from every place you go.'

Freya looked at her in alarm over the cup of tea she had brought to her lips. 'Oh shit, you know something's wrong when Verity's crying.'

Verity glared at Freya in feigned fury, her bottom lip sticking out sulkily. 'It's these damn pregnancy hormones,' she sniffed, rubbing her nose. 'And I'm just so sad because of how much things are about to change, and you guys all remind me of how young we were once. Look at us, getting old and having babies like...old people.'

'But we're all still young, Verity,' Cassie murmured soothingly, sliding her arm across Verity's waist and resting her blonde head on her shoulder. 'Sure, life moves quickly, but just look at what a life it's been so far. And besides, a baby! That's so exciting.'