All I Want | ✓

52 | see you later

I don't blame her.

Case throws his head back in laughter, "Just for that, I'm gonna do it again."

"No, the hell you not." Ty cuts in, "Do you know how many sleepless nights I had to go through because of you? You were haunting my dreams with your hill-billy self."

Yet again, the table bursts out in laughter.

Sky leans forward, "Cass did that same thing when she had that mid-college crisis a couple years ago."

"A mullet?" Ty questions in shock, eyes wide as he looks at Cass.

Cassidy laughs, "Not a mullet, but a TWA. I chopped my hair off."

"TWA?" Jo questions innocently.

We all answer, including Case, "A teeny weeny afro."

Monique nods in appreciation at Case, "Ah, Eliana has taught you well, young grasshopper."

I bow my head modestly, "Well, thank you. I'll be here all week." Oh, wrong choice of words.

I catch myself but the others seem to pass over it, seemingly laughing it off. Case stiffens beside me but he doesn't stop rubbing my back.

The different conversations carry on for a while longer, Luca somehow now on my lap. I bounce him on my thighs and tickle his little baby cheeks. He seems to enjoy it because his toothless smile hasn't fallen since I've started doing it.

"You're so cute..." I giggle as he shoves his hand into his wet mouth and pulls it out to run along my chest. I hold his hand away and laugh as he tries to push up on my breasts.

Case chuckles beside me, "Yeah, me too, buddy." He mumbles so his mother doesn't hear and I laugh and roll my eyes.

"Shut up."

And just like that, he's gone from my lap onto Case's where he tries to stand. Well, more like he has an iron grip around Case's fingers and the NFL player holds him up.

As the night begins to wind down, plates of food picked up by servers and our glasses being refilled for the last time tonight, I take it upon myself to make an announcement.

This might very well be my last time in a setting like this with the people I love for a long time and I don't want to go, leaving anything unsaid.

I rise from my seat. "I, uh, I just wanted to..." With everyone's attention on me, I now can't help the tears that threaten to fall from my eyes. I see on Sky's face that she's not far behind. "I wanted to, first, congratulate my fellow graduates. We survived." They chuckle but sober up pretty quickly, "And I'm proud of you. I'm proud of us and how far we've come."

"And I know we've been trying to tip toe around the topic all night," I release a shaky sigh, "But I'm leaving." Cass wipes away her tear, "And I don't want to leave without telling you guys just how much I love and appreciate every single one of you."

"Monique, I know you'll be an hour plane ride away but I want to thank you for being that older sister that everyone wants to have. You've loved and accepted me into your family since the day Cass dragged me to Spain with her when you could've just sent me back without a single regret." I laugh a bit, "Not gonna lie, you kinda crazy for allowing a random girl in your house. Anyway."