Chasing you | ✓

Epilogue - Cade

Allie knew something was up. She could sense it. I knew she could. I had known her for too long not to know when there was something on her mind.

It was ironic. She hadn't figured out the prank Jack and I had been pulling on her, but she could tell when there was something bothering me.

"Everything cool?" she asked, voice wavering.

We had walked along most of the path to her house in silence. The dark had fallen quite a while ago and the trees surrounding us blocked out the light from the nearby street. I hopped over a fallen tree branch that I just barely spotted in the dusky light, wondering how I could answer her question. 

I had found myself in a predicament. 

I couldn't tell her the truth, that it wasn't me that she had just kissed at our grad party. There was no way I could explain or justify mine and Jack's actions in this situation. 

But I also couldn't lie to her. Not because I couldn't—I often lied to her to protect her from things that would cause her more harm than good—but because I couldn't think up a lie clever enough to save mine and Jack's asses from this gigantic mess. 

Dammit, Allie had been right all along. Of course my own boneheadedness would get me in trouble one day. I always knew she would be right about that, but I never expected her to be the cause of my downfall.

"Totally," I said, deliberately avoiding the elephant in the room.

I didn't know how to address it. The kiss between her and Jack hadn't been part of the plan. It complicated things.

Maybe telling her the truth was the safest bet after all? Maybe she wouldn't even be mad. Maybe she'd just be happy for me that I found my twin brother.

The twin brother I hadn't told her that I had.

Because I hadn't told her that I found out I was adopted.

Fuck, the truth was out of the question. That was a can of worms I couldn't open right now. Not on our grad night. She deserved better than that. 

Because telling the truth would mean telling her about the prank. There was no way I could do that. She'd hate me. She'd yell at me to grow up already and tell me that I'd gone too far.

The worst part? She would have been right.

"So..." I said instead. "Did Mrs. Tanner from algebra cause you to take a nostalgia shot tonight or was that just me?"

She looked at me for a second before her mouth twitched and she made a sputtering sound as she started to laugh.

"Teacher's pet!" she called. 

I laughed, too. She had that effect on me.

I just wanted her to be happy.

That's the only reason I'd gotten mad at Jack. I thought he had been pulling her leg with the kiss, but after I confronted him about it, I could tell he was serious about her. Too bad Allie wouldn't be as quick to believe that. Her crappy self esteem wouldn't let her believe it was anything but a joke on her behalf.

Not that I could blame her. I don't know why I ever thought pulling a prank on her of this proportion would be a good idea.

Damn my brain and its lack of consequence analysis!

But maybe this situation we were in wasn't a complete mistake. If Jack was into her and she was into him, then wasn't that a good thing? 

"What are you smiling about?" Allie asked, pointing me in the chest.

We had arrived at her house now.

"See anyone you like tonight?" I asked, wiggling my eyebrows at her.

She shot me a strange look but laughed as she stepped onto her front porch.

"You're impossible," she said. "I don't know what to make of you half of the time."

Okay, maybe I was going about it the wrong way.

I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead when a thought hit me. 

I couldn't believe it hadn't occurred to me sooner. I had been busy worrying about how she would react to the prank that I hadn't seen the most obvious solution staring me right in the face.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing."

Fuck, I had to compose myself. I couldn't let anything on—I would have to be smooth to pull this off. I only hoped Jack would agree that this was a good plan.

"Come on, Cade. I know that smile. What are you thinking about?"

In an attempt to not reveal myself, I started stepping away from her porch. She seemed to be able to read me like an open book and I couldn't have that if this new plan of mine was going to work.

She kept protesting.

"I have a secret," I told her, which was true. "I'll let you know what it is tomorrow."

It was perfect.

Allie didn't have to get hurt by my stupid prank, there was no reason for her to be. Tomorrow, I would introduce her to Jack.

I would tell her that I just found out I had a twin brother. That I met him and that he's great. I would tell her that he's still in town and that they should meet. She wouldn't ever have to know about the prank or that it was Jack she had kissed tonight. She would think that she was meeting him for the first time and even if she could sense some sort of familiarity with him, she would write it off as him being my twin. 

I'd let her know that I love her but that we're better off as friends. Even if she'd initially be disappointed—honestly, who wouldn't be?—she'd get over it quickly when she got to spend more time with Jack. 

After all, she had already fallen for him once. Even if she didn't know it.

The reason I was sure the plan would work was because I had seen them. I had seen the way their eyes locked in the gazebo when they danced. That idiot was in love with her and she had seemed damn eager to kiss him back. There was no doubt about it—they would definitely end up together.

It was only a question of how... and when.

THE END.

~ ~ ~

A/N

I'm not emotional, you are. 

We're here now. The end. Finito. I can't tell you how wonderful, sweet, frustrating and sad it was to write this ending. I'm a ball of conflicting emotions right now. This has been a long journey for me and I'm really going to miss these wonderful, flawed people. 

Did you like getting a glimpse from Cade's POV? Don't be mad at him for the prank and the mess he made, he's just a goofball who always goes for the wrong decisions. He still deserves every bit of our love <3

But I don't want to be sad about this ending, I want to celebrate it and look forward to all the wonderful things to come. So let's end this on a fun note:

If you could summarize this story in three emojis, which ones would you choose? 😀

Until next time,

—xoxo, linnea