Hold Me | Santo August

Epilogue

A tear cascades down Alyssa's face, and her voice comes out as barely a whisper. "He's really gone?" Dahlia nods, not knowing what else to say. "H-How did this happen?"

"No one knows. Chandler says he remembers him getting out of the building with them, but once they split up, there was no telling as to what happened," Dahlia explains.

After hearing that, Alyssa breaks down. She knew something had to have happened since Chresanto hadn't tried to contact her in five years, but never in her deepest thoughts would she have considered him dead; she wished anything else had happened to him other than death, honestly.

Dahlia pulls her friend into a hug, rubbing her back as she sobs into her shirt. "What am I going to tell my children when they get older?"

"You're going to tell them the truth," Dahlia states. "You're going to tell them that their father was a great man who provided for his family. You're going to tell them how big of a heart he had and how much he lobes the three of you. You're going to let them know how passionate and determined their father was when he has his mind set to something. You're going to let them know that he will always be with them in spirit because no matter what, he will always be their father."

Alyssa doesn't say anything; instead, she lets her tears fall more and more. She's wishing that this is just a nightmare she's having and that once she wakes up, Chresanto will be downstairs making breakfast for she and their children. She wishes that she could turn back the hands of time to stick around after the building exploded to know if all three of the guys had made it out safely. She wished for a lot of things, but sadly, this is her new reality.

"What did Keeleigh say about it?" Alyssa questions, finally being able to compose a coherent question.

"Chandler told Shiloh, and he told her. I don't imagine she's handling it well, though. She just got her cousin back."

Alyssa looks up at Dahlia. "This is all my fault. I should have never gotten involved with him!"

"Don't say that," Dahlia chastises. "No one, and I mean no one places any blame on you. Everyone is destined to leave this world at some point, and it was his time to go." Dahlia pulls away from the hug and digs through her purse before pulling out an envelope; she holds it out to Alyssa. "This is for you. The detectives found it not too far from where they found his body."

Alyssa looks at the dirt covered envelope to see her name neatly written in Chresanto's handwriting. She wastes no time in ripping open the envelope and pulling out the folded paper. She unfolds it and begins reading.

Aly,

If you're reading this, then that means one of two things have happened: one, I've been arrested; or two, I'm dead. I hope it's the first one because I can't put you and our child through something as horrible as the second one.

Why would I be arrested you might ask. I'll tell you why: I've done things I'm not proud of, things I know you wouldn't be proud of, and I want to apologize. I didn't expect to meet such an amazing woman like you, and I damn sure didn't plan for us to fall in love or start a family together.

In the event that I am deceased, don't fret. You and our child will be well taken care of. Without your knowledge, I set you up a bank account and wired $7.5 million to it; I've also linked my account to yours, so if you ever need more money, ask Lia or Chan, they know all my passwords and bank account information.

I love you and our child more than words can ever explain. Be sure to give them my love in addition to yours. One day, we'll see each other again, I'm sure of it. I love you all so much, never forget that.

-Chresanto

Alyssa places the paper to her chest as another wave of tears hit her. She didn't care about the money, she just wanted him back.

"If you'd like, I can take the twins and Chloe to the park to give you some time alone," Dahlia suggests. Alyssa only nods, not knowing what else to do or say.

~•~•~

A little past a quarter to three, Alyssa finds herself sitting in the kitchen, drinking a glass of straight vodka. She promised herself she wouldn't drink, but something inside of her snapped when she read the letter Chresanto wrote for her.

Why had it taken the detectives this long to find his body and get that note to her? Was he not important enough to go look for as soon as she filed the missing person's report nearly half a decade ago? Did they not care that more children would grow up fatherless?

A million more similar thoughts ran through Alyssa's mind as she continued to drink her pain away, not caring about anything at the moment.

"Well, well, well," a nasally whine of a voice comes from behind her, causing her to turn to face Maria. "You know, you shouldn't leave your front gate or door open like that. Anyone could walk into your not-so-humble abode."

Through clenched teeth, Alyssa growls, "Maria, I really don't have the time nor patience to deal with your shit. I would appreciate it if you kindly escorted yourself out the front fucking door before I have to force you out."

"Torn up by your baby daddy's death, huh?" Maria taunts, leaning against the wall. "Now you see how I felt when Ace was killed. Tristan is going to grow up fatherless, just like your kids."

"Leave my kids out of this!" Alyssa shouts, spinning around and pointing a finger at Maria. "I'm not going to ask you but one more time to get the fuck out of my house before I drag you out."

"Is that asking or telling?" Maria challenges, her eyebrow raised.

"Get. Out." Maria chuckles once more before walking up to Alyssa. "I warned you."

Before Maria can say anything, Alyssa stands up and takes a swing, hitting Maria square in her jaw; that causes her to stumble, but Alyssa doesn't stop. She punches Maria again and again until Maria trips over something, allowing Alyssa to straddle Maria's stomach while she continuously lands powerful punch after punch to Maria's face. Alyssa continues to punch Maria in her face until she feels a familiar set of arms wrap around her and pull her off.

She turns around to see Chandler, and she breaks down in his arms as Maria stands up and limps from the house, one of heels broken due to her fall.

Instead of questioning her, Chandler comfortingly rubs her back, planting a kiss to her forehead. "Shh, Aly. It's going to be okay. I'm right here for you."

Alyssa cries harder, unaware of the angered audience she has standing behind her.

- - - - - - -

THE END.

thank you to all of you who have stuck by me thru this whole book. you tha real MVP!

I'm thinking of doing a sequel, but if I do, it will: (a) be published after I get enough requests to do a sequel and have a couple chapters (as well as a title) thought out; (b) and after I've finished another book I'm working on.

the book I'm referring to is still having some title issues being worked out, but once that's done with, I will try to have it posted. hope you all enjoyed this book!