Brake My Bones ✓

26 | Epilogue

"Yes, I am," I stated with a wide smile. One day, I would be.

Twenty minutes later, the man was stopping the car in a parking lot of a hotel with more than thirty floors. He helped me out, smiled and told me to enjoy the rest of my day. I replied the same and made my way to the entrance.

Pearl was standing in front of the glass sliding doors, typing away at her phone. From the way a small smile graced her lips, I knew it must've been Zion. They'd been married for a year and were the happiest I'd ever seen them. A few months after they tied the knot, Zion got a call from the NBA and secured a spot in the Miami Heat team, much to our surprise. We thought he stopped playing basketball after high school, but when Pearl began studying journalism, she must've encouraged him to aspire to his old dreams. He did.

Now, both Gabriel and Zion were professional athletes, leaving Nico and River proud of their best friends' achievements. Nico was pursuing ice hockey with hopes of getting into the NHL. The thought of three out of four men in the same friend group playing for different athletic professions made my heart burst with joy for them. They were following their dreams, and that was the best thing anyone could've done.

River, on the other hand, was pursuing a law career. His daughter was turning five in a month, and raising her with his mother had been a large help. Teagan's relationship with them was amazing, too, until a year into their marriage when she thought it was a good idea to separate. It broke everyone's heart when she went completely radio silent for a few months after that.

River and Teagan hadn't spoken in a year, and I doubted she'd be here for the game when River would be. She didn't want to see him, and it made me wonder what had happened between them to leave a strain this bad in their relationship.

Pearl's head lifted, and as soon as she met my eyes, her lips curved into a wider grin. She walked over to me and helped me with my luggage. I was only staying for a week, but I'd packed two suitcases for Gabby's clothes, too. He thought he was going to stay here for a few days only. He was wrong. I planned to surprise him with a small vacation.

"Hey!" Pearl pulled me in for a hug. "How was your flight?"

"Made me sleepy," I said truthfully, feeling my eyes sting from the exhaust.

"Well, you can't sleep yet," She grabbed my shoulders and moved back to look at me. "The game starts in two hours, and we have to get you ready."

⭐︎

The stadium was already roaring half an hour before the game. Everyone wore smiles on their faces, talking happily with people they brought to watch. Blue and white colours took up a majority of the arena - New York Giants. That was the team Gabby played for.

"Mi perla," Zion's voice spoke over the crowd as Pearl led us to the skybox.

It was a room above the rows of seats that occupied most of the players' families and was considered to be the place reserved for VIPs. In this case, we were.

Pearl stopped walking to glance behind my shoulder. Zion was on his way toward us, sporting a wide grin on his glowing face. He wore a basketball cap, a t-shirt and sweatpants. On his hands were rings, the most prominent one was on his ring finger; his wedding ring. Pearl wore the same on hers. One day I'd have that with Gabby.

"Hey," Pearl walked to him, embracing him in a quick hug after pecking his lips, then pulled back to grab his hand. "I'm taking us to the skybox. The game starts soon."

"You still need to talk me through how the game works," Zion murmured to her, intending to be quiet, but I heard anyway.

Pearl laughed, and I tried to hide my snicker. After all these years of watching Gabby's games, Zion still didn't understand the rules of the NFL, only limiting himself to learning his own basketball tactics. Gabby didn't take any offence to it because he didn't know how basketball worked either. At least they both understood the games Nico played when he was on the ice. River explained it to them once, and it clicked.