Dear No One (Wattys2017) (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

Epilogue

"Dear No One, I'm sure most of you tuning in know exactly where I'm livestreaming from at this very second."

I shifted my phone into my free hand and spun it around the room.

"That's right. I'm at Comic Con. My book Dear No One hit the New York Times Bestseller list. I can't even begin to thank you guys enough!"

I could hear Cain and Callum's footsteps retreating back in my direction, resulting in a grin breaking out across my face.

"Three months, five days, and twenty two minutes until this little guy is out and the release of The Trials and Errors of Ms. Nobody hits the shelves."

I rested my hand on top of my pregnant stomach as a warning of my battery dropping below ten percent flashed across my screen. Curisng quietly under my breath, I sat on the nearest bench next to someone dressed as Captain America.

"Thanks for tuning in. Until next time, yours truly, Ms. Nobody."

The moment my phone was back on my lap, Cain approached, holding a churro in my direction, eyes twinkling with amusement. "For you, My Lady."

I took it with a grin, my eyes drifting from my best friend to Callum and Monica a few feet away. A year ago today we had somehow managed to graduate college, through all the issues and problems that faced us, we still came out strong in the end. And, surprisingly, pregnant.

I had started documenting my blogs in a journal late Junior year of high school. My parents stumbled upon it when I was packing for college and had insisted that I try and work some sort of story out of it; a manuscript. I spent most of my freshman year of college locked in my dorm room coming up with a plot and using aliases to cover up the true names of everyone involved.

After being rejected a few times, it finally fell into the hands of an agent that managed to get over a thousand copies sold in a couple months. My life had become a whirlwind of moving from place to place and further away from home than I would have liked. It wasn't until I found out I was pregnant at the end of last year that Callum and I decided to stay in San Diego.

"How's Tommy boy doing in there?" Cain questioned, poking my stomach repeatedly.

I glared. "He was great until you started stabbing me. Now he's kicking up a storm, you idiot."

Just as Cain got ready to speak again, my nearly dead phone vibrated on my lap. I checked, my finger hovering over the power button freezing when I saw who it was from.

Stephanie.

The last time I'd talked to her, she had just left the hospital with her third child. The only respect I had for her had been washed down the drain the second she stabbed me in the back again. We had just rekindled our friendship after she got engaged to Jordan; everything had been calm for a few months.

Then Callum and Cain had come forward and said she had tried to hit on the both of them. Considering Callum had just proposed to me a month before, I had been livid and refused to acknowledged her existence.

Now, almost a year later, I couldn't possibly imagine why she would be calling me.

"Kase, babe, you okay?" Callum fell into the vacant seat beside me, one that had been filled by Captain American moments ago.

I rested my head against his shoulder, "I'm good. Just tired."

I trailed my finger along the scars that lined his wrist and forearm, eyes fluttering shut at the first time of relaxation for the last two days.

"I think Mommy's tired." Callum whispered, caressing his thumb against my stomach. When he saw my curious look, he lifted his head and kissed my cheek.

"I think we should get home before you pass out on me." Callum kissed my cheek, pushing a strand of my curled bangs off my forehead.

I heard Monica speak a few feet away, "I think it's a little late for that, Cal. She's dozing off as we're talking."

*

I woke up in the middle of the night to find Callum's nose buried in copy of Dear No One. He had promised to read it over the last couple years but hadn't ever had enough time off work or school to do so. Stirring awake to find him reading it had a smile breaking out across my face in no time.

"Are you enjoying that?" I asked. He jumped, startled, the book fall flat on his lap.

He shook his head, yawning. "I think it's great."

"Really?" I was genuinely surprised. Callum hardly read books, and when he did, he always had something pessimistic to say about them.

"Really." he reached over my head to turn out the light, marking his page so he could set the book on the nightstand. His arm tangled around my waist and pulled me closer so I was pressed against his chest, his free hand pushing against my stomach with a boyish smile.

"Aiden died last night." I whispered, avoiding his eyes. I felt his hand tense against the small of my back.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Callum breathed. "He was a piece of shit."

I laid against his arm and shut my eyes, "Piece of shit or not, rapist or not, never would I wish death on someone."

He sighed, rubbing my back.

"I don't want you to be upset over him, Kasey."

"I'm not upset. I'm just. . . life is complicated." I responded, wanting to groan. He brushed his fingers under my chin and forced me to meet his piercing blue eyes.

"But it's all worth it in the end, right? To get to heaven, you have to go through a little hell along the way." his words caused our son to start kicking, earning a quiet gasp out of him as he felt it against his hand. Once Tommy had settled down, I buried my face against Callum's scarred bare chest, running my thumb along the tattoo of my name across it.

"Goodnight, Beast." I whispered, stifling a laugh. I rolled on to my back and stared at the popcorn ceiling, counting each little bump until my eyes grew heavy.

I shut my eyes and laced my fingers through Callum's with a deep, calming breath as his lips fell against my ear, "Goodnight, Ms. Nobody." 

***AN***

Hey guys! I really hope you enjoyed! 

Let me know what you thought! You know I'd love to hear it! 

Thank you so so much for taking this long, sad and bittersweet journey with me!

~ChasingMadness24